How Norman Castles Changed During The Middle Ages

Spain has the most formidable castles in the world. Spain has more than 1000 Spanish castles recorded through history. The castles were built for various reasons. However, the primary reason was to stop the Arabs when they invaded Spain in 711. The Spanish built so many of them in fact. These castles were mostly concentrated in the northern part which was where the Arabs advanced when they attacked. And when the Spanish military moved to reconquer the peninsula towards the south, they built additional strongholds to prevent the Arabs from reclaiming Spain. These castles were known as Castilla.

In Europe, the lords would build castles out of stone to protect themselves whilst the Japanese lords, known as Daimyo, built castles out of wood rather than stone.

The Moors also built atalayas, or watchtowers and rock castles that served as part of the defense system for the castle. The watchtowers were used as communication devices for castles that were great distances apart. The watchtowers would signal the castle in case of an enemy attack by using smoke and mirrors. They built rock castles, or small defense castles high on rocks, using the natural terrain to the maximum effect. Since the rock castles were small they did not house many soldiers.

Changes are an important part of history, and a natural part of life. In the case of geography throughout history, the world has made many changes to its borders and who has grievances with one another. From the High Middle Ages of olden Europe, to the twentieth century, change has occurred. These changes have unified and broken ties between countries and regions time and time again throughout history. There are many forces that push toward and against unity throughout time. The world map became what is today because of both unity and division marking change in the past.

As knights increased their social standing, with some becoming nobles, the idea of owning a castle became a common idea. War was often a way for one side to gain large amounts of wealth, which allowed more castles to be built. This allowed for the development of many different types of castles.

The once subjugated Saxons were required to raise a knoll that was twenty-one meters high and surrounded by a dry trench. There were Wooden pikes or posts that protected the buildings on top of the knoll, while to in the south and east of the knoll there were yards that were protected by banks and ditches this all this was to set in motion the ground work for the castle of Norwich. Edward Boardman a Norwich born architect completed the Norwich Castle, a medieval and fantastic defense structure in the city of Norwich which was one of the greatest castles of its time because of its architecturally advanced structure, a symbol of military power, and a symbol of political control that was founded by the Normans.

In the 12th century Goodrich Castle, was replaced with stone. This decreased the level of destruction during wars. As a development of Stone Keep castles, concentric castles were built from 1250 onwards. The concentric design was copied from the castles in the Middle East; knowledge and understanding of design and structure came into England through returning crusaders (soldiers) during the 1200’s.

The Middle Ages, also known as the Medieval era, though scarred with a history of violence and war, has given the world some of the most marvelous and beautiful pieces of art, particularly in architecture. The Middle Ages is the name given to the time period from the late 5th century to the 15th century, particular to European history. The construction of these types of buildings was a constant for various cultures for a thousand years. They can be categorized into three phases; Pre-Romanesque, Romanesque and Gothic. The most important buildings during medieval times were religious, defensive and governmental or power related.

Castles were extremely important during 1066 – 1500 and they changed overtime to get more protection. A castle is a fortification that was used in the middle ages to protect territory against an invasion. They were important during these times because many kings and lords wanted to show off how wealthy they are and they used them as bases, controlling their land and people from a higher point.

Before Edward became a king, he had been very good at building and constructions. Some of the castles he built are the Beaumaris Castle, Conway Castle, Harlech Castle and Caernarvon Castle.

     Medieval tactics were essential for an attack or siege of a castle. Many tactics and strategies helped develop much-improved version of an attacking artifact, like weapons and sieging machinery. The knights of Medieval England which were the cavalry, improved as the years went by, but never actually had any tactics or strategies. The usual knight would just go out there and fight. The knights were the counter offensive against a small siege, but they were ineffective against a large siege of a castle. A siege was very essential for medieval warfare. Siege was like the most important part of an attack; that is if you’re attacking a castle.

This remarkable improvement in methods indicates the fresh importation of skills from the East and this applies not merely to England but to all Western Europe at that time (“The Flowering” 88). Into three main phases the development of architecture through the period may be divided. The elements of Gothic style and their gradual elaboration over a period of rather more than a century came first at the opening of the 12th century. After the year 1000 there was a fully coordinated Gothic art particularly marked by the invention of windows with baltracy, Jean d’ Orbais probably used it first at Rheims cathedral during the generation following 1211, why the east end was begun. A century followed with classic poise in which an international architecture reached its peak and produce perfect forms of castle and palace, cathedrals enriched with painting patterned tiles, figure sculpture and stained glass (“The Flowering” 92).

Ever since its creation by Gundolf in 1078, the Tower of London has served many purposes. Whether it was a royal residence or prison and torture chamber, most importantly, it has been a significant symbol and monument of English history and architecture. A small, modest building, many tourists are surprised to see the Tower of London, as it is not the magnificent, tall tower they were expecting. For some years, the Tower of London was used as a royal residence where monarchs would stay for a night before departing to continue their journey the next day. More interestingly, it was used as a prison, torture chamber, and execution grounds.

Each wave of migrations and invasions brought different cultures and added to what is now modern-day the United Kingdom. The Romans left their numerous long roads, whose names became lost in time since there was no written records or inscribed sources. Built by the Roman army and long after they returned home, their roads survived, and some routes are in use today. The Normans built fortified castles, which was a new concept since before that time there was none in the United Kingdom. One example is Restormel Castle, which is in a circular in shape as well as surrounded by an entrenched circular ditch for protection against attacks. The Vikings left parts of their language in the names of the towns and villages, such as names ending in by are where Vikings settled first. Places ending in Thorpe are their secondary settlements, and places that end in ton is for town or city.

The Tower of London is one of the most famous and visited historic monuments in the world. For some people it conjures up images of Norman architecture and towering battlements, but most associate it with arms and armour, ravens, the Crown Jewels, Yeoman Warders, imprisonment, death and ghostly apparitions. But this does not do it justice: the history of the Tower and its buildings is a vast, fascinating and complex subject, intertwined with the history of the country of England, its government, its kings and queens, and its people and institutions. The castle's first four centuries, during the Middle Ages, saw the development of the layout of buildings that we know today and its