What Castles Were Built During The Middle Ages

The castles played an important role in the middle ages. The castles structure was built to fortify and maintain control over an area. The architecture that was put into building the castles, was designed to hold back any enemies with heavy weaponry and stronger armies then them. Source 1 states “The earliest medieval castles were built with mottes and baileys.” Mottes were built with wooden walls around the edges, in the process formed a ring-work fort. This sort of protective structure was used in the late twelfth century. The Motte was one of the most defensible areas, while the bailey was one of the main places where the battle took place.

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.

Castles in the medieval time period were more than just a home, but rather a safe haven for the whole town. The first castles were built in the tenth century in Western Europe. Castles played a crucial role in European history. However, by the end of the thirteenth century they had lost their military, political, and social significance and were being abandoned. Castles in the medieval and Anglo Saxon times, especially in European area, were built entirely for proper function towards protection from the outside world.

There are many ways that kingdoms defended themselves with things like moats, bridges, walls (Morris & Exploring-Castles, n.d.). Luckily for the attackers, there are ways to get pass defences, such as battering rams for heavy doors. Also, mining was used to go under a defensive wall. If people thought that chemical warfare was a new thing, then those people were wrong. In medieval times, if a castle had wooden structures, then that castle was in grave danger of having it set on fire.

Because of a lack of a strong central government during feudal society, wars happened often. For protection every noble built a castle. The first proper castles were built in England after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Wooden motte and bailey castles were the first type of castle to be built in England. The tower of the keep was built a huge mound called a motte and had an enclosed courtyard called a bailey.

Life in a medieval castle would have been ordered and organized, full of ceremony, and cold and smelly. Castles were first built in 1066, in England. Essentially, castles were the heart of the society in Medieval times. They sorted out a new social system of feudalism in place. Each new castle secured the power of a local lord over his vassals, “who was a holder of land by a feudal tenure on conditions of homage and allegiance to the land.” (Google Dictionary). Medieval castles did not have electricity back then so people would only use candles or open fires for heat and to see in the dark. Medieval castles had their own traditions such as Heraldry, jousting, and hunting and hawking.

Medieval castles were used from the early 10th century right through to the mid 17th century. During this time they changed a lot from the early motte and bailey castles through to castles with thick stone walls.

     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.

The medieval castle had many occupations and with many jobs came many people to fill those jobs; they ranged from acrobats to watchmen. Acrobats and Actors were very vital in the medieval era. The travelling circus was originally before the Middle Ages and was amazing sources for entertainment and revenue for towns. As many people did not read and were not fortunate enough for a formal schooling. The actors’ job was very important because they had to show people what had happened in the past. There was not very much training available for an actor, those who had that position were not highly thought of in the people.

I am certain you have seen a picture of a castle with its surrounding body of water called the moat. The moat is the castles defense mechanism from attacking parties, both by tunneling under the castle walls and wall approaches. Castles without moats are extremely vulnerable to attack.

“If you are going to build something in the air it is always better to build castles than houses of cards.”(Lichtenberg). Castles are meant to hold up in defensive times to protect the people and country. “Why should we strive, with cynic frown, to knock their fairy castles down?” (Cook). At first, castles were built for military and government means. As centuries went on, hostilities subsided, and wealth started to flow during Renaissance, nobility and royalty started to create vanity castles that were used to be summer houses, hunting houses and royal houses. Castles are used mostly for defense, they protect the nobility from danger, and they were used as a fortress to protect the country. The castles were large enough to be seen over many

Castles were a very important part of the Medieval times. They had many different rooms and places in the the castles. There is the great hall, dungeons, Lord cambers, the garden towers walls and alot more. This will be about all of the castles rooms and places.  The great hall and Dungeons were very differnt from each other

The Burg Eltz is an early German castle that focused more on looks and the good medieval life of a royal rather than the hard lines and toil of a defensive fortress. Castles are considered to be large, fortified private residences. Castles started showing up during the 9th and 10th centuries. These fortifications provided a home base from which attacks could be launched, or as protection from enemy raids. Also, the structures served as symbols of power and centers of administration. Castles were first constructed from timber and earth, but had their walls replaced later on by stone. Even though gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the 14th century, it was not powerful enough to significantly affect the construction of new castles until

Castles were the core of a society in the Middle Ages, acting as a fort and defense. One of the first castles meant to as a defense fort was the motte-bailey castle, one of the earliest fortifications of the Middle Ages. The motte and bailey castle date back to the early ‘s, . This design would have the castle upon an elevated set of land known as the motte. The motte was surrounded by a defensive ditch which also separated the motte from the palisade, this was known as the bailey. A bridge connected the motte to the lower bailey, this construct was meant to guarantee that the keep, the stronghold or center of the kingdom, was harder to get to during invasions. Surrounding the entire kingdom was a wooden fence that contained a girded and barbed

Defensive castles were something to fear and if they messed with the wrong on that it was their funeral. These strongholds had moats, arrow slits, siege towers, battlements and some even had cannons. They would have to have everything under the king or lords orders to keep everyone safe.”Sieges could last for weeks and even months, no food could reach the castle during this time”For instance, they used battlements which were at the top of the castle walls, but generally they were cut out from walls allowing defenders attack while still being protected by the walls. The defensive ways for castle ways were very strong and well built, so let's just say that some castles were the boss of their