Castle

Castle
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For a list of all castles, see List of castles.
For other uses, see Castle (disambiguation).

Bodiam Castle in Sussex, England, was described as "an old soldier's dream house" in 1960s although its defences are now considered more ornamental than practical.[1]

Alcázar of Segovia in Spain
A castle (from Latin castellum) is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territory.
Roman forts and hill forts were the main antecedents of castles throughout Europe, which emerged in the 9th century in the Carolingian Empire. The advent of cannon and gunpowder in the mid-13th century changed the needs of warfare in Europe, limiting the effectiveness of the castle and leading to the rise of the fort.
Contents[hide]
1 Definition
1.1 Etymology
1.2 Defining characteristics
2 Types of castle and common features
2.1 Residential towers
2.2 Motte-and-bailey
2.3 Keep
2.4 Curtain walls
2.5 Gatehouse
2.6 Moat
2.7 Additional features
3 History
3.1 Antecedents
3.2 Origins and early castles
3.3 Innovation and scientific design
3.4 The advent of gunpowder
3.5 Revival castles and the castle as a country house
4 Construction
5 Castle landscapes
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
//
[edit] Definition
[edit] Etymology

The Norman "White Tower", the keep of the Tower of London, exemplifies all uses of a castle: city defence, a residence, and a place of refuge in times of crisis.
Castle is derived from the Latin word castellum. This is a diminutive of the word castrum, which means "fortified place". The Old English castel, French château, Spanish castillo, Italian castello, as well as other European words for castle derive from castellum.[2] The word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this type of building, then new to England, introduced to the country by Normans working for Edward the Confessor.[3]
Although the various terms used for castles in Europe derive from the same root, they are not universally applied to the same types of structures. The French château is used to describe a grand country house at the heart of an estate, regardless of the presence of fortifications.[4] In Spain, while the Catalan word "castile" is employed, a fortified dwelling on a height for the administering authority retains its Moorish name of alcázar. In Germany there are two names for what would be called a castle in English, burg (burh) and schloss. A burg is a medieval structure of military significance, while a schloss was built after the Middle Ages as a palace and not for defensive purposes. In Celtic countries, Caer or castell (Welsh), dún and caisleán (Irish), dùn and caisteal (Scots Gaelic) are used.[citation needed]
When European castles were opened up and expanded into pleasure dwellings and power houses from the late 15th century, their "castle" designations, relics of the feudal age, often remained attached to the dwelling, resulting in many non-military castles and châteaux.
[edit] Defining characteristics
In its simplest terms, the accepted definition of a castle amongst academics is that of "a private fortified residence".[5] This is in contrast to earlier fortifications, such as Anglo Saxon burhs and walled cities such as Constantinople and Antioch in the east; castles were not communal defences but were owned and built by the local feudal lord.[6] In the late 20th century, there was a trend to refine the definition of a castle by including the criterion of feudal ownership. This has the effect of tying castles to the medieval period, but does not necessarily reflect what medieval people called castles. During the First Crusade (1096–1099), the Frankish armies encountered walled settlements and forts which they indiscriminately called castles, but would not be considered such under the modern definition.[5]

Windsor Castle in England was first built as a fortification of the Norman Conquest, and today is home to the Queen of the United Kingdom.
Castles served a range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, and domestic. Early on, castles were primarily a military institution, intended to be places of protection from an enemy. As well as being a defensive structure, castles were also an offensive tool which could be used as a base of operations in enemy territory. Both uses are clear when looking at Norman castles in England established by invaders to pacify the inhabitants.[7] For example, as William the Conqueror advanced through England, it became necessary to fortify key positions to secure the land he had taken. In the period 1066 to 1087, he established 36 castles such as Warwick Castle, which was used to help guard against rebellion in the English Midlands.[8][9] However, recent trends to view castles less as military institutions and more as social structures has lead to calling into question the current definition. As the Middle Ages progressed, castles lost their military significance and became more important as residences and statements of power.
In spite of the generally accepted definition, the word "castle" is sometimes used to mean a citadel (such as the castles of Badajoz and Burgos in Spain) or small detached forts d'arrêt in modern times. In Britain the term castle has also been used to refer to Iron Age fortifications such as Maiden Castle.[10] The use of the Spanish equivalent castillo can be equally misleading, as it can refer to true castles and forts (eg. Castillo de San Marcos); terms such as fortaleza ("fortress") are in similar situations.
A castle was not only a bastion and place for detention of prisoners but also a social place where a knight or lord could entertain his peers. Over time the aesthetics of the design increased in importance, as the appearance and size began to reflect the prestige and power of the occupant. Castles were built as defensive measures and offensive weapons, but often over time comfortable homes evolved within the fortified walls.
[edit] Types of castle and common features
[edit] Residential towers
Some of the earliest recognizable castles were essentially fortified residential halls, enclosed by a defensive wall. Halls which functioned as habitation for an important person, chieftain or lord, and his followers, had existed since the earliest times all over Europe.
During the times of uncertainty which followed the collapse of Carolingian authority, it became necessary to fortify more strongly the habitation and possessions. As a result the wooden halls were replaced by much stronger stone buildings as early as the 10th century. Examples include Langeais, Doué-la-Fontaine.
[edit] Motte-and-bailey

The wooden palisades surmounting mottes were often later replaced in stone, as in this example at Château de Gisors in France.
Main articles: Encastellation and Motte-and-bailey
The motte-and-bailey is a plan common to many early castles. An essential feature of this type was a circular mound of earth surrounded by a dry or water-filled ditch and flattened at the top. Around the crest of its summit was placed a timber palisade and a tower, possibly residential,[11] known as a keep.
This moated mound was styled in Old French motte (Latin mota), a word still common in French place-names. In addition to the mound, a bailey or basse court of horseshoe shape was usually appended to it, so that the mound stood on the line of the enceinte. The latter housed the domestic quarters, stables, stores, a forge and a water well.
These earthworks were dug from the perimeter area, leaving a defensive ditch.[12] In many cases the motte seems to be a later addition to an already existing wooden settlement, surrounded by a wood palisade. Lewes Castle, built by Gulielmus de Warenne, is an unusual example, as it featured two mottes.[12] Wooden castles were built up until the 12th century.
A description of this earlier castle is given in the life of St John, Bishop of Terouanne:
The rich and the noble of that region being much given to feuds and bloodshed, fortify themselves ... and by these strongholds subdue their equals and oppress their inferiors. They heap up a mound as high as they are able, and dig round it as broad a ditch as they can ... Round the summit of the mound they construct a palisade of timber to act as a wall. Inside the palisade they erect a house, or rather a citadel, which looks down on the whole neighbourhood.[13]
[edit] Keep
Most castles, even from the earliest times, followed certain standards of design and construction. Generally, the central feature of the castle was the keep, or donjon, the main commanding tower.[12] The primary function of the keep varied; usually it was a residential structure functioning as a redoubt in times of trouble, but it could also be used as a secure storage area, or, later, as a prison. In motte and bailey castles, the keep typically surmounted the motte.
The tower houses of Britain and Ireland, as well as peel towers, are examples of this type. Most, however, required outer walls of some sort. The keep was contained within the walls or attached to the walls. The area delineated by the walls was known as the bailey or the court, and the enclosure known as the enceinte.
[edit] Curtain walls
The curtain walls of a castle are another recognizable feature. Essentially, a curtain wall is a second layer of fortification, separate from the keep and bailey. In some cases, this was a simple defensive barrier. More often, the wall was surmounted by a walkway and other defensive structures. As with Roman and earlier architecture, projecting flanking towers were frequently added. Such castles were built on a concentric plan, where curtain walls and towers formed two rings around the keep, resulting in an inner and an outer court, pushing the enemy further out and allowing addition layers of attack against besieging armies.

Carcassonne, France, showing the classic features of the curtain walls, defensive ditch with arched bridge, and cylindrical flanking towers, with a gatehouse and additional wooden defensive structures.
[edit] Gatehouse
The gates were a weak point in the defences of castles, so gatehouses could be strengthened with flanking towers, a turning or removable bridge, doors, and a heavy portcullis. There would often be multiple portcullises, with arrow slits in the sides of the gate passage, allowing the defenders to trap the enemy and kill them within the gate.
Additionally, gates were often placed in such a manner as to channel attacking forces against a series of perilous defensive fortifications, enabling the defenders to defend on their terms. Many gatehouses had a second body. Archers in the second body could shoot down at their enemies while they were defenceless.
[edit] Moat
Main article: Moat
Moats were ditches, typically filled with water, which were dug around the perimeter of a castle to provide a preliminary defence. They were effective against siege engines such as siege towers and battering rams, which needed to be brought against the castle wall to be effective. They also prevented mining, the practice of digging under fortifications to bypass or destroy them.
[edit] Additional features
Castles featured an array of defences to delay the attackers' progress towards the keep. Moats and ditches formed the most obvious, as these would have to be filled with sticks or stones before heavy siege engines could be moved towards the walls.[14]
Overhanging wooden hoardings could be constructed if a castle was under threat. These covered walkways would be covered with damp hides to protect them from fires and allow several lines of defending fire.[12] Later, permanent fixtures known as "machicolation" were built in stone.
Perhaps the most notable features of castle defence were the crenellations and merlons, which offered relative cover for archers.[12] "Murder holes" and embrasures might be built into the walls and gatehouse so projectiles could be launched at the attackers
[edit] History
[edit] Antecedents

Ambleside Roman fort, England
Historian Charles Coulson states that the accumulation of wealth and resources such as food in ancient societies lead to the need for defensive structures. The earliest fortifications originate from the Fertile Crescent, the Indus Valley, Egypt, and China where settlements were protected by large walls. Northern Europe was slower than the east to develop defensive structures and it was not until the Bronze Age that hill forts were developed, which proliferated across Europe in the Iron Age. They differed to their eastern counterparts through the use of earthworks rather than stone as a building material.[15] Many earthworks survive today, along with evidence of palisades to accompany the ditches. In Europe, oppida emerged in the 2nd century BC; they were densely inhabited fortified settlements, such as the oppidum of Manching, and developed from hill forts.[16] The Romans encountered fortified settlements such as hill forts and oppida when expanding their territory into northern Europe.[16] Though primitive, they were often effective and required extensive siege engines and other siege warfare techniques to overcome, such as at the Battle of Alesia. The Romans' own fortifications (castra) varied from simple temporary earthworks thrown up by armies on the move, to elaborate permanent stone constructions, notably the milecastles of Hadrian's Wall. Roman forts were generally rectangular with rounded corners.
[edit] Origins and early castles
The earliest recorded structures universally acknowledged by historians as 'castles' were built in the late 9th century, and included wood, earth and stone structures.[12] Roman fortifications, or, when possible or needed, other edifices, were often turned into castles or similar structures during the early Middle Ages. A famous example is that of the Hadrian's Mausoleum in Rome, which is known to have been used as a fortress as early as 537, during the Gothic War.[17] Other late Antiquity-early Medieval castles survive in Brescia and Trento in Italy.

One of the earliest representations of a castle from the Bayeux Tapestry. It depicts attackers of Château de Dinan in France using fire, one of the dangers to wooden castles.
Like the feudal society they were part of, castles had their origins in the 9th and 10th centuries. This period saw the emergence of a social and military elite in the Carolingian Empire. Previously, warfare in western Europe was mostly infantry based, however mounted fighting developed. It was a costly and time consuming endeavour, requiring specialised equipment and trained horses, and for their efforts these early knights were granted land by the lords they fought for. The link between knight and lord was the basis of feudalism, and could go higher up the social scale with loyalties between lords, dukes, and princes. When the Carolingian Empire collapsed in the 9th and 10th centuries, it took with it effective centralised administration , leaving local lords – usually the lords who had granted knights land for their service – to carve up the empire’s lands.[18] Castles sometimes required the permission of the king or other high authority. Charles the Bald prohibited the construction of castles without his permission and ordered them destroyed; this could be the earliest reference to castles being built without permission, breaking the feudal agreement between lord and vassal, however there are very few castles dated with certainty from the mid-9th century. Converted into a donjon in around 950, Doué-la-Fontaine, in France, is the oldest standing castle in Europe.[19]
Military historian Allen Brown asserts that in the absence of a working state and the breakdown of society associated with the decline of the Carolingian Empire, feudal ties became more important. The rise of castles is not solely attributed to defence of the new feudal lords’ lands, but as a reaction to attacks by Magyars, Muslims, and Vikings.[18] It is likely that the castle evolved from the practice of fortifying a lordly home. In a time of social unrest, a lord would wish to protect his home or hall, and the greatest threat was that of fire as they were usually wooden. To protect against this, and keep other threats at bay, there were several courses of action available: create encircling earthworks to keep an enemy at a distance; build the hall in stone; or raise it up on an artificial mound, known as a motte, to present an obstacle to attackers.[20] While the concept of ditches, ramparts, and stone walls as defensive measures is ancient, raising a motte to exploit the advantages of height is a medieval innovation.[21] A bank and ditch enclosure was a simple form of defence, and when found without an associated motte is called a ringwork; when the site was in use for a prolonged period, it was sometimes replaced by a more complex structure or enhanced by the addition a stone curtain wall.[22] Building the hall in stone did not necessarily make it immune to fire as it still had windows and a wooden door. This led to the elevation of windows to the first floor – to make it harder to throw objects in – and to change the entrance from ground floor to first floor. These features are seen in many surviving castle keeps, which were the more sophisticated version of halls and contained the lord’s household.[23] Castles were not just used as defensive sites, but to enhance a lord’s control over his lands. They allowed the garrison to control the surrounding area,[24] and formed a centre of administration, providing the lord with a place to hold court.[25]
References to castles in texts such as charters from 1000 onwards increased greatly. Historians have interpreted this as evidence of a sudden increase in the number of castles in Europe around this time; their interpretation has been supported by archaeologists dating the construction of castle sites through the examination of ceramics.[26] The increase in Italy began in the 950s, with numbers of castles increasing by a factor of three to five every 50 years, whereas other parts of Europe such as France and Spain were slower. In 950, Provence was home to 12 castles, by 1000 this figure had risen to 30, and by 1030 it was over 100.[27] Despite the common period in which castles rose to prominence in Europe, their form and design varied from region to region. In the early 11th century, the motte – an artificial mound surmounted by a palisade and tower – was the most common form of castle in Europe, aside from Scandinavia.[27] Isolated from mainland Europe, castles were not introduced to the British Isles until the 11th century by the Normans, shortly before their invasion of England in 1066.[28] The motte and bailey – a motte with an outer enclosure – remained the dominant form of castle in England, Wales, and Ireland well into the 12th century, although after 1154 it was very rare for a motte castle to be built in England.[29] At the same time, castle architecture in mainland Europe became more sophisticated.[30]

Castle Rising in Norfolk
The donjon – or great tower[31] – was at the centre of this change in castle architecture in the 12th century. Central towers proliferated, and typically had a square plan, with walls 3 to 4 m (9.8 to 13 ft) thick. Their decoration emulated Romanesque architecture, and sometimes incorporated double windows similar to those found in church bell towers. Donjons, which were the residence of the lord of the castle, evolved to become more spacious. The changes in design changed from utilitarian to decorative to impose upon the landscape as a symbol of lordly power, sometimes compromising defence for the sake of display.[30] The elaboration of the main tower in this period is also demonstrable in England, with the construction of sites such as Castle Rising in 1138.[32] Historians have interpreted the widespread presence of castles across Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries as evidence that warfare was common, and usually between local lords. Although England suffered internal strife such as the civil war during the reign of King Stephen (1135–1154), states such as England, Castile, and parts of Scandinavia were generally free of this localised warfare between lords due to strong monarchies.[33]
In some countries, it was necessary to obtain the permission of the king through a license to crenellate, or else the builder risked it being slighted. This was not universal, as in some countries, the monarch had little control over lords, or required the construction of new castles to aid in securing the land – as was the case in England after 1066 and the Holy Land during the Crusades – so was unconcerned about granting permission. Switzerland is an extreme case of there being no state control over who built castles, and as a result there are 4,000 in the country. Before the 12th century, castles were as uncommon in Denmark as they had been in England before the Norman Conquest. The spread of castles to Denmark was precipitated by the attacks from Wendish pirates; they were usually intended as coastal defences.[34]
[edit] Innovation and scientific design
Early on, stone-built and earth and timber castles were contemporary,[35] however by the late 12th century the number of castles being built went into decline. This has been partly attributed to the higher costs of stone-built fortifications, and the obsolescence of timber and earthworks sites meant it was preferable to build in more durable stone.[36] Though outdated by their stone successors, timber and earthwork castles were by no means useless.[37] This is evidenced by the continual maintenance of timber castles over long periods, sometimes several centuries, and at the start of the 15th century Owain Glyndŵr’s castle at Sycharth, founded in the late 11th century, was a timber structure.[38][39]
In the late 12th century, there was an obvious change in castle architecture. Before, castle plans probably had few towers; a gateway with few defensive features such as arrowslits or a portcullis; a great keep or donjon, usually square and without arrowslits; and the shape would have been dictated by the lay of the land, and the result was often irregular or curvilinear. The design of castles was of course not uniform, but these were features that could be found in a typical castle in the mid-12th century.[40] By the end of the 12th century or the early 13th century, a newly constructed castle could be expected to be polygonal in shape, with towers at the corners to provide enfilading fire for the walls. The towers would have protruded from the walls and featured arrowslits on each level to allow archers to target anyone nearing or at the curtain wall. These later castles would not always have a keep, but this may have been because the more complex design of the castle as a whole drove up costs and the keep was sacrificed to save money. The larger towers provided space for habitation to make up for the loss of the donjon. Where keeps did exist, they were no longer square but polygonal or cylindrical. Gateways were more strongly defended, with the entrance to the castle usually between two half-round towers which were connected by a passage above the gateway – although there was great variety in the styles of gateway and entrances – and one or more portcullis.[41]

The gatehouse to the inner ward of Beeston Castle, England, was built in the 1220s and features an entrance between two half-round towers.[42]
When seeking to explain this change in the complexity and style of castles, antiquarians found their answer in the Crusades. It seemed logical that the Crusaders had learned much about fortification from their conflicts with the Saracens and exposure to Byzantine architecture. There were legends such as that of Lalys – an architect from Palestine who reputedly went to Wales after the Crusades and greatly enhanced the castles in the south of the country – and it was assumed that great architects such as James of Saint George originated in the East. However, in the mid-20th century this view was cast into doubt. Legends were discredited, and in the case of James of Saint George, it was proven that he came from Saint-Georges-d'Espéranche, in France. If the innovations in fortification had derived from the East, it would have been expected for their influence to be seen from 1100 onwards, immediately after the Christians were victorious in the First Crusade (1096–1099), rather than nearly 100 years later.[43] Roman remains in western Europe were still upstanding in many places, and as they too featured flanking round-towers, and entrances between two flanking towers. The castle builders of western Europe were aware of and influenced by Roman design as demonstrated by the reuse of Saxon shore forts in England, a late Roman innovation despite their name, and in Spain the wall around the city of Avila imitated Roman architecture when it was built in 1091.[43] It has been argued – by historian Smail in Crusading warfare – that the case for the influence of eastern fortification on the west has been overstated, and that crusaders of the 12th century in fact learnt very little about scientific design from Byzantine and Saracen defences.[44] The explanation for this is that a well sited castle which made use of natural defences and had strong ditches and walls had no need for a scientific design. An example of this approach is Karak Castle. Although there were no scientific elements to its design it was almost impregnable, and in 1187 Saladin chose to lay siege to the castle and starve out its garrison rather than risk an assault.[44]
After the First Crusade, Crusaders who did not return to their homes in Europe helped found the Crusader states of the principality of Antioch, the County of Edessa, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the County of Tripoli. The castles they founded to secure their acquisitions were designed mostly by Syrian master-masons. Their design was very similar to a Roman fort or Byzantine tetrapyrgia: a square curtain wall with towers in each corner, also usually square and not projecting much beyond the curtain wall. In the interior, the keep would have had a square plan and generally be undecorated.[45] While castles were used to hold a site and control movement of armies, in the Holy Land some key strategic positions were left unfortified.[46] Castle architecture in the East became more complex around the late 12th and early 13th century after the stalemate of the Third Crusade (1189–1192). Both Christians and Muslims created fortifications, and the character of each was different. Saphadin, the 13th-century ruler of the Saracens, created structures with large rectangular towers that influenced Muslim architecture and were copied again and again, however they had little influence on Crusader castles.[47]

Krak des Chevaliers is a concentric castle built with both rectangular and rounded towers. It is amongst the best preserved Crusader castles.[48]
In the early 13th century, Crusaders castles were mostly built by Military Orders, such as the Knights Hospitaller, Knights Templar, and Knights of the Teutonic Order. They were responsible for the foundation of sites such as Krak des Chevaliers, Margat, and Belvoir. The forms of the castle varied not just between orders, but individually from castle to castle, although it was common for the castles founded in this period to have concentric defences.[49] The concept, which originated in castles such as Krak des Chevaliers, was to remove the reliance on a central strongpoint and to emphasise the defence of the curtain walls. There would be more than one ring of defensive wall, one inside the other, with the inner ring rising above the outer so that its field of fire was not completely obscured. If an assailant made it past the first line of defences into the outer enclosure, they would be caught in the killing ground between the inner and outer walls and have to assault the second wall to secure the fall of the castle.[50] Concentric castles were widely copied across Europe, for instance when Edward I of England – who had himself been on Crusade – built castles in Wales in the late 13th century, half of the eight he founded were concentric.[49][50] Not all the features of the Crusader castles from the 13th century were emulated in Europe; for instance, it was common in Crusader castles to have the entrance in the side of a tower and for there to be two turns in the passageway, lengthening the time it took for someone to reach the outer enclosure. It is rare for this feature to be found in Europe.[49]
It was common for castles in the East to have arrowslits in the curtain wall at multiple levels; contemporary builders in Europe were wary and believed they weakened the structure. Arrowslits did not compromise the wall, but it was not until Edward I's programme of castle building that the caught on in Europe.[51] The Crusades also led to the introduction of machicolations into western architecture. Until the 13th century, the tops of towers had been surrounded by wooden galleries, allowing defenders to drop objects on assailants below. Although machicolations performed the same purpose as the wooden galleries, they were probably an Eastern invention rather than an evolution of the wooden form. Machicolations were used in the East long before the arrival of the Crusades, and perhaps as early as the first half of the 8th century in Syria.[52]
[edit] The advent of gunpowder
The advent of gunpowder in the Middle Ages, first recorded in Europe in the mid-13th century,[53] signalled a change in the purpose of a castle: its military role became less important while its administrative and residential roles remained. From the Renaissance onward, this loosening of military importance allowed for a more aesthetic approach to construction, for example, Castello Estense of Ferrara in Italy, the castles of Valderrobres and Manzanares el Real in Spain and the series of highly decorated castles built (or rebuilt) in France along the Loire River from the 15th century onwards.
Whilst siegecraft had consisted of throwing machines such as trebuchets, the primary aims in the construction of castle walls were height and thickness. However it became almost impossible to follow this ideal to cope with ever more powerful cannons. Existing castles which retained military importance were updated as far as practically possible to cope with new siege technologies. One example is the English fortress of Bodiam, built from 1385, provided with opposite slit to allow firing from arquebuses.
But inevitably, those fortifications previously deemed impregnable eventually proved inadequate in the face of gunpowder. These included: Friesack Castle, which was reduced in two days during February 1414 by Frederick I with "Heavy Peg" (Faule Grete) and other guns; Constantinople, the massively strong walls of which were breached in 1453 by the Ottomans after lengthy cannon bombardment; Nanstein Castle (Franz von Sickingen's stronghold at Landstuhl, which was ruined in one day in 1523 by the artillery of Philip of Hesse.

The rounded walls of Sarzana Castle, Italy, show adaptation to gunpowder.
Architects of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, many of whom were also renowned as engineers, were called to plan countermeasures; e.g. Guillén Sagrera, Giuliano da Sangallo the Younger, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Baldassarre Peruzzi and Leonardo da Vinci. Viollet-le-Duc, in his Annals of a Fortress, gives a full account of the repeated renovations of a fortress (at an imaginary site in the valley of the Doubs), the construction by Charles the Bold of artillery towers at the angles of the castle, the protection of the masonry by earthen outworks, boulevards and demi-boulevards, and, in the 17th century, the final service of the medieval walls and towers as a pure enceinte de sfireti.
The general adoption of cannons led therefore to the disappearance (or to the loss of importance) of majestic towers and merlons. Walls of new fortresses were thicker and angulated, towers became lower and stouter. Examples of the late type of castle-fortress are that in Sarzana (Italy), that built by Henry VIII of England in Deal, the Fort de Salses constructed by Ferdinand II of Aragon and the Imperial Castle of Nurnberg. Henry VIII built a chain of coastal defences known as Device Forts or Henrician Castles that had squat round towers surmounted by entablatures through which canons could be fired.
In the end, the introduction of gunpowder led to a disappearing of traditional castles, in the meaning of a building intended for both military and residential roles. This transition began in the 14th century and was fully underway by the 15th. In the 16th century the feudal fastness had become an anachronism.
Here and there old castles served in secondary roles, as forts d'arret or block-houses in mountain passes and defiles, and in some few cases, as at Dover, they formed the nucleus of purely military places of arms. Normally castles, when they were not let to fell into ruins, became peaceful mansions, or were merged in the fortifications of the towns which had grown up around them.

Fortaleza Ozama, Santo Domingo - first castle built in the Americas.
In the Viollet-le-Duc's Annals of a Fortress the site of the feudal castle is occupied by the citadel of the walled town, for once again, with the development of the middle class and of commerce and industry, the art of the engineer came to be displayed chiefly in the fortification of cities. The baronial "castle" assumes pan passu the form of a mansion, retaining indeed for long some capacity for defence, but in the end losing all military characteristics save a few which survived as ornaments.
However, some true castles were built in the Americas by the Spanish, English, and French colonies.[54] The first stage of Spanish fort construction has been termed the "castle period", which lasted from 1492 until the end of the 16th century.[55] Starting with Fortaleza Ozama, "these castles were essentially European medieval castles transposed to America."[56] Among other defensive structures (including forts and citadels), castles were also built in New France towards the end of the 17th century.[56] Where artillery was not as developed as on the battle-fields of Europe, some of Montreal's outlying forts were built like the fortified manor houses of France. Fort Longueuil, built from 1695–1698 by a baronial family, has been described as "the most medieval looking fort built in Canada".[56] The manor house and stables were within a fortified bailey, with a tall round turret in each corner. The "most substantial castle-like fort" near Montréal was Fort Senneville, built in 1692 with square towers connected by thick stone walls, as well as a fortified windmill.[56] Stone forts such as these served as defensive residences, as well as imposing structures to prevent Iroquois incursions.[56] To guard against artillery and gunfire, increasing use was made of earthen, brick and stone breastworks and this redoubts, such as the geometric fortresses of the 17th century French Marquis de Vauban. These soon replaced castles in Europe, and eventually castles in the Americas were superseded by bastions and forts.[55]
[edit] Revival castles and the castle as a country house

Neuschwanstein - a 19th-century neo-romantic castle
From the late 18th century to the early 20th century, as a manifestation of a romantic interest in the Medieval period, and as part of the broader Gothic Revival in architecture, many so-called castles were built. These castles had no defensive purpose, but incorporated stylistic elements of earlier castles, such as castellation and towers. The Scottish Baronial style personified these features. The "Gothick" rebuilding of the largely ruined Warwick Castle in the 1750s was a prominent early revived castle.
Revival or "mock" castles, most of which were country houses, were particularly common in the British Isles, for example Belvoir Castle and Eastnor Castle in England and Castell Coch in Wales. Edwin Lutyens' Castle Drogo was the last flicker of this movement in England. In Ireland, a considerable number of vast, complicated mock-castles were built, including Belfast Castle and Castle Oliver.
In Spain, revival castles with the traditional Gothic theme include the Castillo de Butrón and the Torre de Mendoza. In Mexico, Chapultepec Castle was the imperial residence of the monarchs of the Second Mexican Empire, and was created in the Neo-Classical and Neo-Gothic styles. Famous revival castles in other countries include Neuschwanstein in Germany and Miramare in Italy.
[edit] Construction
See also: Medieval technology and Stonemasonry

Construction of a large tower, with scaffolding and masons at work. The holes mark the position of the scaffolding in earlier stages of construction.
Once the site of a castle had been selected – whether a strategic position or one intended to dominate the landscape as a mark of power – the building material had to be selected. An earth and timber castle was cheaper and easier to erect than one built from stone. The costs involved in construction are not well recorded, and most surviving records relate to royal castles.[57] A castle with earthen ramparts, a motte, and timber defences and buildings could have been constructed by an unskilled workforce. The source of man-power was probably from the local lordship, and the tenants would already have the necessary skills of felling trees, digging, and working timber necessary for an earth and timber castle. Possibly coerced into working for their lord, the construction of an earth and timber castle would not have been a drain on a client’s funds. In terms of time, it has been estimated that an average sized motte – 5 m (16 ft) high and 15 m (49 ft) wide at the summit – would have taken 50 people about 40 working days. An exceptionally expensive motte and bailey was that of Clones in Ireland, built in 1211 for £20. The high cost, relative to other castles of its type, was because labourers had to be imported. The castle was an attempt to expand the lordship of Meath and the locals would not have wished to help impose English rule on themselves.[57]
Although their cost varied according to factors such as their complexity and transport costs for material, it is certain that stone castles cost a great deal more than those built from earth and timber. Even a very small tower, such as Peveril Castle, would have cost around £200. In the middle were castles such as Orford, which was built in the late 12th century for £1,400, and at the upper end were those such as Dover, which cost about £7,000 between 1112 and 1191.[58] Spending on the scale of the vast castles such as Château Gaillard (an estimated £15,000 to £20,000 between 1196 and 1198) was easily supported by The Crown, but for lords of smaller areas, castle building was a very serious and costly undertaking. It was usual for a stone castle to take the best part of a decade to finish. The cost of a large castle built over this time (anywhere from £1,000 to £10,000) would take the income from several manors, severely impacting on a lord’s finances.[59] Cost in the late 13th century were of a similar order, with castles such as Beaumaris and Rhuddlan costing £14,500 and £9,000 respectively. Edward I’s campaign of castle-building in Wales cost £80,000 between 1277 and 1304, and £95,000 between 1277 and 1329.[60] Renowned designer Master James of Saint George, responsible for the construction of Beaumaris, explained the cost:
In case you should wonder where so much money could go in a week, we would have you know that we have needed – and shall continue to need 400 masons, both cutters and layers, together with 2,000 less skilled workmen, 100 carts, 60 wagons and 30 boats bringing stone and sea coal; 200 quarrymen; 30 smiths; and carpenters for putting in the joists and floor boards and other necessary jobs. All this takes no account of the garrison ... nor of purchases of material. Of which there will have to be a great quantity ... The men’s pay has been and still is very much in arrears, and we are having the greatest difficulty in keeping them because they have simply nothing to live on.[61]
Not only were stone castles expensive to build in the first place, but their maintenance was a constant drain. They contained a lot of timber, which was often unseasoned and as a result needed careful upkeep. Castles such as Exeter and Gloucester were often given figures of between £20 and £50 annually in the late 12th century for constant repairs.[62]

The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork, Poland, is an example of brick-built castle and was built in a style different to that of castles in western Europe and the Near East.[63]
Medieval machines and inventions, such as the treadwheel crane, became indispensable during construction, and techniques of building wooden scaffolding were improved upon from Antiquity.[64] Finding stone for shell keeps and castle walls was the first concern of medieval builders, and a major preoccupation was to have quarries close at hand.[65] There are famous examples of some castles where stone was quarried on site, such as Chinon, Château de Coucy and Château Gaillard.[65] Yet even without the usual costs of transport, it is estimated that as many as 800 stonemasons would have been used in building Château de Coucy in the early 13th century, as well as perhaps 800 other craftsmen.[66]
Brick-built structures were not necessarily weaker than their stone-built counterparts. In England, brick production proliferated along the south-east coast due to an influx of Flemish weavers and a reduction in the amount of available, leading to a demand for an alternative building material. Brick castles are less common than stone or earth and timber constructions, and often it was chosen for its aesthetic appeal or because it was in fashion, encouraged by the brick architecture of the Low Countries. For example, when Tattershall Castle was built between 1430 and 1450, there was plenty of stone available nearby, however the owner, Lord Cromwell, chose to use brick. About 700,000 bricks were used to built the castle, which has been described as “the finest piece of medieval brick-work in England”.[67] Brick castles were predominant in Scandinavia and the Baltic;[68] Denmark had few quarries, and as a result, most of its castles are earth and timber affairs, or later on built from brick.[69]
[edit] Castle landscapes

The approach to Kenilworth Castle, England, was lengthened by a winding route through a moat and an artificial water landscape.
As castles were not simply military buildings but centres of administration and symbols of power, they had a significant impact on the landscape around them. Rural castles were often associated with mills and field systems due to their role in managing the lord's estate,[70] which gave them greater influence over resources.[71] Others were adjacent to or in royal forests or deer parks and were important in their maintenance. Fish ponds were a luxury of the lordly elite, and many were found next to castles. Not only were they practical in that they ensured a water supply and fresh fish, but they were a status symbol as they were expense to build and maintain.[72]
Although sometimes the construction of a castle led to the destruction of a village, such as at Eaton Socon in England, it is more common for the villages nearby to have grown as a result of the presence of a castle. Sometimes planned towns or villages were created around a castle.[70] The benefits of castle building on settlements was not confined to Europe; when Safad Castle was founded in Galilee, in the Holy Land, during the 13th century, the nearby town benefitted from its presence as people could now move freely in the area and the 260 villages locally became profitable.[73] When built, a castle could result in the restructuring of the local landscape, with roads moved for the convenience of the lord.[74] Settlements grew naturally around a castle, rather than being planned, due to the benefits of proximity to an economic centre in a rural landscape and the safety given by the defences. Not all castle dependant settlements survived, as once the castle lost its importance – perhaps succeeded by a manor house as the centre of administration – the benefits of living next to a castle vanished and the settlement depopulated.[75]
During and shortly after the Norman Conquest of England, castles were inserted into important pre-existing towns to control and subdue the populace. They were usually location with reference to any existing town defences, such as Roman walls, although this sometimes resulted in the demolition of structures occupying the desired site. In Lincoln, 166 houses were destroyed to clear space for the castle, and in York agricultural land was flooded to create a moat for the castle. As the military importance of urban castles waned from their early origins, they became more important as centres of administration, and their financial and judicial roles.[76] When the Normans invaded Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in the 11th and 12th centuries, settlement in those countries was predominantly non-urban, and the foundation of towns is often linked with the creation of a castle.[77]
Symbolism in relation to castles and their setting was very important, as demonstrated by the proximity of high status features such as fish ponds. Also often found near to a castle, sometimes within its defences, was the parish church.[78] This has been interpreted as a relationship between the church and feudal lords, where the lords patronised the church, which was one of the most important institutions of medieval society.[79] Even elements of castle architecture that have usually been interpreted as military can be highly symbolic. The water features of Kenilworth Castle in England – comprising a moat and several satellite ponds – forced anyone approaching the castle entrance to take a very indirect route, walking around the defences before the final approach towards the gateway.[80] Another example is that of the 14th-century Bodiam Castle, also in England; although it appears to be a state of the art, advance castle it is in a site of little strategic importance, and the moat was shallow and more likely intended to make the site look more impressive than as a defence against mining. The approach was long and took the viewer around the castle, ensuring they got a good look before entering. Moreover, the gunports were impractical and unlikely to have been effective.[81] This also demonstrates that licenses to crenellate were not solely about a desire to defend oneself, but to have proof of a relationship with or favour from the monarch, who was the one responsible for granting permission.[82]
[edit] See also
List of castles

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