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T O P I C     R E V I E W oliwal2 I am halfway through my dissertation at Leicester University (England) I was hoping for some more information that may aid my study - 'Strategy and placement of castles in the east midlands 1066-1100'. -does anyone have any idea where i can get more info to help me. especially with the stragey idea eg. how the strategic aspect meant castles were placed where they were cheers, any help is apprecited oliver walker ipflo hi You probably are already welknown with the 2 following books: Charles L.H. Coulson: Castles in Medieval Society: Fortresses in England, France, and Ireland in the Central Middle Ages http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198208243/ref=br_lf_b_15/202-6327285-1529422 O.H. Creighton Castles and Landscapes in Medieval England http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0826458963/ref=br_lf_b_19/202-6327285-1529422 I personally haven't read them, I only know them from the website of www.amazon.co.uk. But maybe these books will be helpful. Synopsis Castles in Medieval Society: The image of a medieval castle perched on a hill is a familiar one, but do we really know what castles were for? In this challenging new book Charles Coulson overturns many of the traditional assumptions about the nature and purpose of castle-building in the middle ages. Going back to the original sources, he proposes a new and more subtle understanding of the function and symbolism of castles as well as vivid insights into the lives of the people who inhabited them. In this title Charles Coulson overturns many of the traditional assumptions about the nature and purpose of castle building in the Middle Ages. He demolishes the traditional belief that castles were overwhelmingly military in their function, showing how this was simply one aspect of a more complicated whole. He sets out to recreate the medieval understanding of castles as symbolically fortified places of all kinds, from ancient walled post-Roman towns and prestigious religious enclaves to transitory campaign forts. Going back to the original sources, Dr Coulson proposes a new and more subtle understanding of the function and symbolism of castles as well as insights into the lives of the people who inhabited them. Fortresses were only occasionally caught up in war, but constantly were central to the ordinary life of all classes: of the nobility and gentry, of widows and heiresses, of prelates and clergy, of peasantry and townspeople alike. This text presents and explores this broad social panorama. Synopsis Castles and Landscapes in Medieval England Castles were among the most dominant features of the medieval landscape, and many remain impressive structures to the present day. This work looks at castles in a new light, using the theories and methods of landscape studies. Castles are examined not as an isolated phenomenon, but in relation to their surrounding human as well as physical areas. Taking a thematic approach, the study examines a broad range of evidence, archaeological, documentary and topographical, to assess the contribution of these structures on the evolution of the medieval landscape. The imprint of castles on the human landscape was powerful and often long-lived. As imposing icons of status and lordship, castles re-shaped the landscape in the minds of contemporaries, while as estate centres and manors they were closely connected with their surrounding hinterlands. The settlement landscape was also deeply affected by castle building as their powerful aristocratic owners fostered new towns and villages, while other communities were disrupted by their construction. The types of sites chosen for castles are also examined, as are the features that often accompanied them, including churches, mills, monasteries, deer parks, fishponds and gardens. Throughout, this book challenges many of our perceptions about medieval castles and presents some new avenues for future research. ipflo I also found two articles by O Creighton, which could be of interest: Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Rutland, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol 73 (1999) pp 19-33, http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/Books/booktext/ecmlroc.html Early Leicestershire Castles: Archaeology and Landscape History, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol 71 (1997) pp 21-36 , http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/Books/booktext/elcoc.html ipflo maybe you can also find here some info: Society for Landscape Studies http://www.landscapestudies.com/page5.html More info on O Creighton, you can find on: http://www.ex.ac.uk/archaeology/staff-creighton.html oliwal2 cheers, that is a great help. I have read the oliver creighton book, i highly recommend it jess01 hi i'm Jessica There is a very good website wich is: www.castles-of-britain.com you could try there?!?!?

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