Kenilwortha as a Typical Medieval Castle

Kenilwortha as a Typical Medieval Castle

Kenilworth which was built around the 12th century is one of the

finest and most extensive ruins in England. It started off life as a

simple Motte and Bailey owned by Henry I. It was then adapted into a

square stone keep and later a palace owned by John of Gaunt. The

famous mere once surrounding it is now gone but still standing is the

huge Norman keep with walls nearly 20m in places. The remains of John

of Gaunt's Great Hall and state apartments, and the Earl of Leisters

stables and gatehouse still stand within the encircling walls built by

King John.

1575 was the date of one of Kenilworth's most famously splendid royal

occasions. It was a 19 day long entertainment spree hosted by the Earl

of Leister for Queen Elizabeth. It included a variety of entertainment

which included music, dancing, fireworks and hunting.

In 1066 King Harold and most of the Anglo-Saxon army had been killed

at the battle of Hastings and Duke William became King of England. He

decided to make the old English nobles give up some of their land to

make more room for his supporters who had been Promised land for

helping him. Through doing this William could make sure that no nobles

would be too powerful thus, able to overthrow him. He did not just

give his land away but rewarded his supporters for performing duties

for him. This system of duties and rewards was called 'The feudal

system'. He encouraged his barons to build castles at strategic points

all over the country so that he could keep a close watchful eye on

every Saxon town and village and to protect himself as he was not a

popular man after conquering England...

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the reason for building Kenilworth was very unusual. Thirdly,

Kenilworth's defences were very different to most other castles of its

time, for example, the mere played a significant role in the castles

defences which was very significant.

However, I believe Kenilworth was more typical than A.typical as most

of the A.typical defences and improvements at Kenilworth were down to

the mere for some reason or another. Still, however, the reason for

building Kenilworth to deter Henry De Newburgh can only be described

as A.Typical, although, this does not affect my decision for classing

Kenilworth as a typical medieval castle.

Bibliography

Kenilworth Castle Guide book

Information boards - Kenilworth castle

English Heritage video

Kenilworth castle - M.V Thompson

The medieval castle - M.E Reeves