Castles  By Mary C. and Harmony S.  <3  Core 1

What are Castles?  A castle is a type of building built in Europe in the middle east during the Medieval times. This is different from a fortress, which was not a home, and from a town, which was a public defense. The term has been popularly applied to structures as different as hill forts and homes.

What are Castles?  The term has been popularly applied to structures as different as hill forts and homes. Over the approximate 900 years that castles were built they took many forms with many different features, although some, such as arrow slits, were common.

About Castles  Castles were built in Europe from about the 1100’s to about the 1500’s. These buildings served not only to defend the country from invaders but as the basic tool in keeping the king’s and the nobles’ power over the land. The social system was very rigid in the Middle Ages.  Castles were built in Europe from about the 1100’s to about the 1500’s. These buildings served not only to defend the country from invaders but as the basic tool in keeping the king’s and the nobles’ power over the land. The social system was very rigid in the Middle Ages.

Wowz~~!  Nearly every part of the world has a castle~~!

Feudalism  Under Feudalism, the basic social structure in this time, all land was held by the king. The king gave pieces of this land to various high nobles, in return for their help in fighting his wars.

Feudalism ~~  Not only did the higher nobles have to fight for the king themselves, they had to supply a certain number of lords and other knights to help fight also. These higher nobles then gave some of their land to knights, in return for their help in battle.

Feudalism  Below all the knights were the serfs, who actually farmed the land. They gave a portion of their crops each year to the lord who ruled over them, in return for use of the land and protection.

Even MORE About Castles  The king could not be everywhere in the country, especially with the poor roads and the limited transportation of the Middle Ages. The king’s vassals, the lords, however, could be all over the country, with their castles as symbols of their power for all to see.

Castle Structure  At first castles were made out of wood, but it was too easy to burn, then where made of brick.  Gun powwwwerrrr~~!

Inside the Castle  A chapel was either built inside the lord’s home or a separate building. The chapel was a place to hold religious ceremonies.

~The Keep  The keep was a large space inside a castle that stored food like wine and grain, incase of siege.

The Great Hall  A passageway that connected the lord’s home to the Keep.

Attacks  Castles were a main target for attackers to take over..

Castles Attacks  Siege weapons were improved and widely used.

Castle Attacks ~When a Castle was attacked the main technique was to cut off it’s supplies and throw dead bodies into the castle using a catapult to spread disease.  ~When a Castle was attacked the main technique was to cut off it’s supplies and throw dead bodies into the castle using a catapult to spread disease. 

The Gate House  The structure used by the guards as they watched the gates of the kingdom.

Castle Defense  A large ditch filled with water called a moat was built around a lot of castles.

Castle Defense  A bridge was built across the moat, the bridge was raised during time of attack to keep attackers out.

The bridge  The bridge was called a Drawbridge and it was raised and lowered to keep intruders out.

Castle Defense  The moat was filled with traps and spikes incase someone tried to swim across it.

Castles~~~Defense  Castles weren’t built for comfort, but for protection. They weren’t comfortable to live in at all. Only the highest lords got heat, and windows were slits in the walls.

Castle Defense ~ Because castles continued to be attacked, they began building the castles more protectively. A wall could be 60ft thick.

Facts  Castles were normally built on a big artificial or natural mound.

~Facts <3  Meals in castles were at a long dinning table in a grand hall and the guests were arranged by social standing

Questions  What are the tactics to overcome a castle?  What did they catapult into the castles?  What were castles made for?  Who got heat in a castle?  What were improved and widely used as weapons?

 medieval-castles.net  medieval-castles.org  Medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/castles.html