Medieval Castles the Start of the Modern Age

1119 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: peasant life in medieval times

Medieval castles were the start of the modern age. They had forms of government, and everyone had a specific job. It was, however, still primitive to modern standards, because they still had a King and Queen and no indoor plumbing. This blend of primitive and modern makes medieval castle life an interesting and intriguing time to live.
A medieval castle usually had five main buildings: The hall, the kitchen, barracks/living quarters/supply buildings, water rooms, and a chapel. The chapel was the most influential and sacred place of the entire castle. Usually the chapel would be two stories tall to separate the royal family from servants. The royal family would be on the second floor while the servants would be on the ground floor. If the royal family was especially rich their room was connected with the upper level of the chapel. It was proper for the royal family to wake up and go to morning mass every day. While the royal family would be in morning mass the servants would be making breakfast, and mass usually lasted around an hour on a normal day. The royal family usually woke up between ten A.M. to eleven A.M. while the servants woke up much earlier. The chapel was always connected with the main hall for easy access to the servants and whoever was in the main hall.
The hall is the most important part of the whole castle. It is where the major dealings of the castle happened as well as where meals took place and everyone could go to the hall. The hall was easily accessible to the people and usually resided on the ground or second floor. It was the biggest room in the castle and was also connected to the royal living quarters just as the church was. The common folk would enter the hall through a door on the sid...

... middle of paper ...

...side of the building on the wall like a fireplace. They would use a chimney structure to collect the smoke and would expel it through the roof. The fireplace is still in use today.
Life in a medieval castle was luxurious compared to peasant life at the time. Still, life in a medieval castle is very interesting and quite challenging. Being king would be the best job. If you were a servant, however, you would sleep on the floor of the king’s room or wake up early and prepare his food. Life of a servant would be a hard life but still better than those outside the castle. You should be thankful that you are not a servant and do not live in medieval times.

Works Cited

Life in a Medieval Castle. Thomas L. Jeffery. Jan. 14. 2014.
Castle Life Living in a Medieval Castle. Jan. 20. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • What Is The Social Structure Of Monty Python And The Holy Grail

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    Others were more like slaves. They owned nothing and were pledged to their local lord. They worked long days, 6 days a week, and often barely had enough food to survive”(“Middle Ages History”). Knights were above the peasants and they were given land granted by the barons in exchange for their military services if the king needed it. They were responsible for protecting the baron who granted them land as well as the baron’s family and the manor they lived at. The knights were able to keep any amount of land they were given, and they gave out the rest to the serfs. The lord, or baron, was above the knight in the social class divide. They were given land by the king and in return they showed loyalty to the monarch. They provided the king with fully equipped knights if the king needed some to serve. If the baron “did not have an army, sometimes they would pay the king a tax instead. This tax was called shield money”(“Middle Ages History”). The king was at the top of the feudal system and held the most power and wealth. The king could not maintain control over all the land in England so he divided the land up to the barons which eventually

    Read More

  • The Punishment Given To Esther Price Summary

    390 Words  | 1 Pages

    room there where many cloaks to sleep on so there was no need for a

    Read More

  • English and European History: The Tower of London

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    Royal monarchs did not start living on the grounds until several hundred years after its construction. In 1220 Henry III began to largely expand on the royal palace and increased the castle defenses. When the tower did become a common place for monarchs, it also became a new stage for climatic events in England. The palace became a place for royal ceremonies and drama. The casual attributes of the tower like the armory, treasury, temple, the castles green and even an added Jewel house were all made mo...

    Read More

  • Architectural Designs Of Castles Vs. Modern Homes

    1192 Words  | 3 Pages

    Castles in the Middle Ages were built primarily for defense in war. They were constantly being attacked so they had to be built very strong and almost impenetrable. Castles were very large to protect from invaders, but they were definitely not made for comfort. They were very dirty inside, but their main purpose was for defense. Castles were built with very strong walls. Some of the castles had walls that could be as big as thirty feet thick. They also had multiple walls so that if invaders got past the outer wall they still had to get past one or two more, this made defending the castle much easier. The walls were constructed with narrow, wedge-shaped slits in them for archers to shoot arrows at invaders. The outer walls also had holes in the floors for defenders to drop rocks down on invading people who had gotten through the first wall. These holes were called murder holes. Inside the castle were many knights, archers, and soldiers prepared to defend against anyone who breaks all of the way through the walls and gets inside of the castle. Castles also had very large gates and gatehouses to let people into the castle. There was a gatehouse for each wall. Each gatehouse usually had a very large metal and wooden gate that could be lowered into the opening to stop an enemy from getting in or it could be raised to let friends in. Besides huge gates, outer gatehouses also had drawbridges, which could be lowered across moats to let people into the castle. They were also raised to prevent people form getting across. Castles were also built in strategic places so that they could use natural defenses. For instance, some castles were built on the sides of mountains. Others were built in places with many trees surrounding them. Some were built near lakes and rivers, but most of them had moats dug around them.

    Read More

  • Castle Development during the Middle Ages

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    The primary use for all castles, in general, is defense. They were often built on hills, cliffs, islands, swamps, etc. to limit the probability of a siege or uprising, and motte and bailey castles were no different. The motte and bailey castles were first used to protect the nobleman of the Norman fleet, and followed a fairly basic design. Mottes, according to Dr. Reginald Allen Brown, medieval historian with vast knowledge and experience in this field, were artificial mounds constructed by piling consecutive layers of earth and stones. The stones created stability throughout the motte and also helped with drainage. The sides of the motte were often covered with a layer of clay...

    Read More

  • A Closer Look at Life at Camelot

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    To learn about different aspects of a knight's life, you can click on various parts of the tapestry above.

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Elizabethan Architecture

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    All of the castles on the european continent were constructed long before the Elizabethan era by the Normans (citizens of Normandy). These castles were built purely to make the Normans look strong and mighty, not much different from the Elizabethans. Majority of these castles were constructed around 1100, almost 50 years after the Norman invasion of

    Read More

  • First Knight Greed Quotes

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Medieval times was an age of ignorance, encompassing a long span of years in where people were placed in classes ranging from clergy being the highest to serfs being the lowest, education was only limited to noblemen and was strictly prohibited to women, and poverty was orderly. In the movie, First Knight, many of the problems in Medieval times are portrayed accurately. Empires immense hunger for land, inequitable enforcement of laws, and Religion are some of many issues during the time period represented in the First Knight.

    Read More

  • War from the 16th Century to the Invention of Gunpowder

    2083 Words  | 5 Pages

    Of course with the new design of castles came new ways to attack. Some effective ways to attack these castles, but also rare ways to attack, were by surprise, by storm, or by treachery. The most common way to attack the castles were long term engagements that consisted of either surrounding the castle or getting in close enough that the castles guns would be ranged over the position. The long-term methods consisted of starving out the population, forcing surrender, or by mining and bombardment from close range.

    Read More

  • Warfare of the Middle Ages

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mr. Donn. "Middle Ages for Kids - Medieval Castles." Middle Ages for Kids - Medieval Castles. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Weapons In The Middle Ages

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Medieval Ages was a time in history when people were extremely undeveloped, war was not uncommon, and people had absurd beliefs. Among these poor things, culture did have a big role in the Medieval Ages; since there was a majority Christian population, the church often ruled most lives. This was also a time of great kings and their kingdoms, and the valiant knights that protected them.

    Read More

  • The Middle Ages

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Medieval Period, life was either very great or very bad, according to your class. Only 2 classes existed during this time: the nobles, such as kings and knights who lived inside the castle, or the peasants, such as working-class people who lived in often unspeakable conditions. The peasants treated the nobles with the utmost respect, for if they didn’t, then the nobles could have them beheaded. (Sanders, p 34). The nobles were almost always the ones who owned land, and the peasants worked on this land in exchange for a small portion of it, in a sense, rented out in exchange for the labor. Peasants often worked 16-hour days as long as they could see into the nighttime and got very bad nourishment. The noble was not interested in the health of the peasants working on his land, as there was a significant supply of others who were very willing to take his or her place.

    Read More

  • What Is Medieval Warfare

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is when one army would decide to try and take over a village or in most cases, a castle. Castles are forts consisting of a village/town surrounded by massive walls with some sort of heavy door for a way in and out. There was also a building where the king and his family would live in the village/town. Castles were build to stop small to medium groups from pillaging the village/town: vikings, Arabs, Mongols, and Magyars protecting the King, his family, and servants, and everyone inside the walls. But how would they siege these castles? There was many different way some being catapulting dead animals into the town which would spread diseases around the town weakening it from the inside or having a ram tower that would break down the heavy door allowing for troops to go inside and pillage. An example of a modern day “Castle” would be the White house. Though it doesn’t have big walls surrounding it does have a 7 foot fence and many guards. In conclusion the castle and strategies at attacking that happened in the medieval times it has allowed us to think about what worked best and how we can improve on it to get the best

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Hunting In Medieval Times

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are two ways you could be a knight in the medieval period you were either born into it or you showed bravery and prowess on the battlefield. If you were born into power you would be sent off to learn how to be a page at the age of 8. Then by the age of 13 were called a squire they were taught how to be a better knight. Knights had a lot of tournaments all the time they jousted, shot bow and arrows, and had hand to hand combat. Knights even had a code of conduct which was also called the code of chivalry. The code of conduct or chivalry told you what your goal and what you had to do to be a good knight. Knights were expected to do a lot around the castles and what not. A knight was expected to protect those less or lesser rank than himself and to hold to the highest standards of combat and knowledge in religion, writing, music, and leadership. A knight was very closely related to their horse. They had a lot training in them horses and hours working with them. A knight had to have years and year of training before they called be called a knight. Their armor was very expensive to produce. They had to be brave and fearless in battle to be able to be a knight. Knights also did some hunting and they had to put some hour into everything they honestly did. Being a knight meant you have a job and you better go get or done or you were severely punished. A knight didn't just stand for having power it meant you

    Read More

  • Importance Of Medieval Architecture

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first castles built (Motte and Bailey) were made of wood and quick to build, but they were burnt and worn down easily, so the next castles were made of stone. (Square keeps) They were tall, strong, large and lasted long, but attackers would surround the castle and wait for ages for the people inside to come out. The third castles (Shell Keeps) were even stronger, but because they were made of heavy stone, they might collapse. So finally, the fourth castles (concentric) were built and they were the strongest, largest most defensive and most expensive castles built.

    Read More

More about Medieval Castles the Start of the Modern Age

Open Document