Castle Quest - Reply to Topic

Forum:	Castles In General & Medieval History
Topic:	architecture (urgent)

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T O P I C R E V I E W
Melyndee Help! I need to know the three layers of a castle in what order! Is it 1) dungeon 2)storage 3) living quarters or 1)storage 2)dungeon 3) living quarters
My report is due Friday!! (2/26)
Trail According to Castle (by David Macaulay), the dungeon was the lowest level, basement above, living quarters above that. Macaulay's book would be very helpful to your report--check your library -juvenile section- for a copy (you can probably check your library's on-hand holdings on-line!)
[This message has been edited by Trail (edited 02-25-99).]
Remgath Also, remember that there are not hard and fast rules about some things. Not all castles had dungeons and the number of floors varied from castle to castle.
Philip Davis Certainly in Britain few castles have specific prison cells (Warwick Castle is an exception in having a clear underground cell.) Most, so called, dungeons are storage cellars.
Castles were used as prisons for important people, who often were being held as hostages for political reasons, and, as such, these prisoners were treated well. Such prisoners would have been kept in a good suite of rooms with servants and in some luxury. The name dungeon is a corruption of the French term Dunjon the term used for the great tower or Keep of French castles. In medieval Britain prison was not a form of punishment and convicted criminals were executed, mutilated or fined depending on their crime. Of course people awaiting trial may have been kept in a cell in a castle but this cell may have just been a storage room used as a cell as a temporary measure. Also castles were homes to important families and, particularly in small castles, they would not want common prisoners around. When many castles stopped being important as homes in the 15th and 16th century some important castles (mainly Royal castles) were turned into prisons as imprisonment started to become a form of punishment notably the great Norman Keep at Norwich, Lincoln castle (were a court still sits) and Lancaster which is still a prison to this day.