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Essay On Medieval Castles

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Castles were built as symbols of security, wealth, power and control. But, castles weren’t only for defense against the foreign invaders; they were also served as a basic tool in preserving the king’s and noble’s power over the land. This essay will be proving the hypothesis that medieval castles changed dramatically over 400-500 years due to the development of weapons used to destroy or capture them. Firstly, it will talk about the Motte and Bailey castle, outlining a range of problems within it and why it eventually became redundant. Secondly, it will confer about the stone keep castle that replaced the motte and bailey castle, the problems it outlined and why it also leveled out. Then, it will discuss about the concentric castle that took over the stone keep castle and why they became inessential. After that, it…show more content…
Concentric castles were built in the 12th and 13th century. They were surrounded by two sets of walls that were built at different height levels. The inner wall provided the archers a vantage point. The symmetrical shape of the castle helped provide a superior view for the lookout men across the neighboring country. Death hole was the name given to the space between the two walls. If invaders/attackers broke in, they would be trapped and killed between the two walls. For additional protection, these castles were often surrounded by a moat where as a drawbridge was used for entering inside the castle. The Beaumaris Castle can be found in Wales. King Edward I first assigned most of the concentric castles. Concentric castles soon became redundant, as they were very expensive to build and required a lot of man power as well as labor resources. Siege warfare was mainly applied when trying to take over the concentric castles. The castles would be destroyed due to the bombardment from the ballista, the mangonel and the trebuchet. Also the wide spread use of gunpowder ended the castles in
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