the medieval castle What is a castle? A castle is a properly fortified military residence. Why were castles built? Initially, they were designed and built to hold down conquered territory. They also served to intimidate and strike fear into the local peoples, were places of refuge, and places for the lords to live. They were also impressive symbols of the power and wealth of their owners. How castles came to exist in Europe? Castles were brought to England by William the Conqueror, when he invaded England from his homeland in France. Known as the Duke of Normandy, William invaded England in 1066 and, due to his victory in the Battle of Hastings, William was crowned the King of England, and became King William 1. One of the most powerful ways for William to take control of his new kingdom, which included England, Scotland and Wales, was to have castles built throughout the land. At first, he ordered the construction of very simple castles, called motte and bailey castles. They consisted of an earthen mound, called a motte, topped by a tower (first built of wood, and soon rebuilt in stone to make the towers more sturdy). The bailey was a large area of land enclosed by a shorter mound, placed next to the motte. Inside the bailey were the main activities of the castle workshops, stables and livestock, household activities, and more, while the tower on the motte was used as the lord's or king’s residence and as an observation post. These earth and wood castles were not very sturdy, because the wood would rot fairly quickly and was easy for an enemy to burn. So, William the king ordered the construction of stone castles. Stone castles were much more sturdy, did not rot like wood, and also were much more able to withstand any attack by an invader. Over the centuries after William was king, other kings ordered elaborate castles to be built. Castles were not just used by the king. Most castles, in fact, were granted by a king to their most loyal subjects, knights or barons who fought valiantly in battle and supported their king. The king, starting with William the Conqueror, gave his loyal knights vast estates and permission to build castles. In return, he expected these men (most of whom were given the titles of earl or lord) to control their lands as the king's representative, to keep the local p... ... middle of paper ... ...h a soldier could shoot arrows at an enemy without being shot back at); and murder holes (gaps in the ceiling above the entrance passage through which boiling liquids or deadly missiles could be thrown down upon attackers). * Most castles were surrounded by some form of ditch (which we more commonly called the moat). Moats were deep, cut into the bedrock or earth around the main part of the castle, and also around a bailey. While many ditches were water-filled (some by changing the direction of an adjacent river.), others never had water. They were every bit as difficult to cross as the water-filled moats, because they were very deep and had very steep walls. * In order to gain entry to the castle, wooden drawbridges were built to span the moats. These bridges were ingeniously designed and could be moved away from the moat to prevent unwanted visitors from gaining access to the castle. * Also many castles were built atop steep hillsides that would make it difficult for an invader to climb (especially carrying heavy weapons). These high locations also allowed the castle guards to see a longer distance into the countryside, which was also useful for detecting an invasion.
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
A typical feature of a concentric castle is the protective wood work at the top of the walls. We cannot tell whether this was a feature of Portchester Castle because any evidence would have rotted away.
The tower was founded by William, Duke of Normandy when he conquered England in 1066. He began building the stronghold as a declaration of his power to the English people who were resentful of his reign. William invaded England and defeated King Harold and his armies at the Battle of Hastings. When he began building, the white tower was constructed, which was the first step of many more additions to make the castle we see today. Because it was built around war time, the tower was designed with the principle of defense. Roman walls, guard towers and gates were put up around the tower. Later other monarchs would also add more defensive walls, a moat, more towers and reinforce the military tower guards, Yeomen warders or more commonly called Beefeaters. Many of the monarchs continually improved on the white tower, in attempts to make it more and more secure. From its beginning the white tower has been the most formidable part of the royal castle.
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.
Towers extend from each of the four corners. Exterior walls enclose the premises. The walls were clearly built for defensive purposes with towers on each corner. The tower of London exists, with some later modifications, till this
How have castles evolved over time? Did castles across the world during medieval times look the same and were they used for similar ideas? Castles have a surprisingly long history and some of the earliest castles date back to around 6500 B.C.E. Of course, the castles built in the 500-1500 C.E look much different and have many more technological advances since ideas have come and gone since the early castle times. Castles were adapted all over Europe and can be found from England to Latvia. Ireland, Scotland, France, and the Netherlands have castles inside their countries borders also. It was a commonly found structure in the medieval era. We will delve into castles had and their features such as defense mechanisms, designs, sizes, shapes, purposes, and much more as the paper progresses.
William of Normandy (also known as William The Conqueror) Introduced feudalism into England in 1066.
The greatest advantage of the early rifles was that the weapon could be mastered in a matter of months, but it could take up to ten years to master the bow. Eventually the muskets overtook the battlefield, replacing t...
As time progressed the feudal system was created. It was designed to divide the lands and protect from attack. The king first gave a fief or a piece of land to a royal vassal. As proof for this exchange in land a vassal would swear to the lord to be his man all the days of his life and protect him against "all men who may live or die." Next came investiture. Investiture was a symbolic gesture when a King or a lord presented a royal vassal or a vassal a stick, a small rod, or a clod of earth to show that he has given him a fief. Now this royal vassal was in charge of a huge piece of land. In order to defend it he would then divide his land into smaller pieces. He would take these smaller pieces and give them to warriors or who agreed to be his own vassals. Thus, the royal vassal became a lord to other vassals. The vassals now under this lord would now divide their lands and grant fiefs to warriors of their own. Last in the dividing of land was the knight whose parcel of land was too small to be divided.
In 1047 a serious rebellion of nobles occurred, and William with the aid of King Henry of France, gained a great victory at Val-ès-Dunes, near Caen. Which led to the capture of the two strong castles of Alençon and Domfront. Using this as his base of operations, the young duke, in 1054 made himself master of the province of Maine and became the most powerful vassal of the French Crown, able on occasion to bid defiance to the king himself. William even married Matilda, the daughter of the Earl of Flanders, in 1053,in spite of the papal prohibition.
Castle Vale was built in between 1964 to 1969 to accommodate 20,000 people (Mornement, 2005). In the early days, the estate was comprised of 34 tower blocks alongside a mix of maisonettes and houses. This area was initially redeveloped throughout the 60s to provide houses to the people who had to be relocated through slum clearance in Birmingham City Centre.
Nimocks, Aaron. "Medieval Period - Castles, Weapons, Torture Devices, and History." Medieval Period - Castles, Weapons, Torture Devices, and History. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. .
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.
The most impressive structure of Windsor Castle is the Round Tower, or Keep, which stands 80 feet high. According to tradition, King Arthur sat with the Knights of the Round Table within this tower. Surrounded by a moat, it was also used as a prison until 1660.
Perched atop of Castle Rock, an extinct volcano, Edinburgh Castle is well protected to the north, south and west by ragged cliffs that rise 400 feet above sea level. It is no wonder that this castle has been a fortification for more than 2,000 years. To get to the castle there is a steep road coming up on the east side. The castle offers awesome views of Edinburgh.