Detached Towers - Castle Quest

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Detached Towers

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Author	Topic: Detached Towers
ElCid Senior Member	posted 09-12-2004 05:37 AM Hello everyone - this is my first post to the group. I am researching the use of detached flanking towers in castles and would appreciate any comments from members on the subject, in particular for any sites outside of Spain. Those of you who know Spanish castles (my main area of interest)will be aware of the use of detached towers placed outside of the main curtain walls but linked by a bridge. They are a very common feature in Spain, especially in Moorish castles, but also in the castles of the Military Orders and others. I am looking at the use of such defensive towers outside of Spain as well as their development within that country. There is an example at Pontefract castle in Yorkshire (UK) dating from the late 14thC - the so called 'Swillington Tower'. This tower follows the same principal as Spanish examples but differs in being quite distant from the main curtain (the Moorish examples are close to the curtain). It was however connected to the curtain by its own wall-walk and drawbridge in clasic Spanish style. Any other examples around Europe (inc UK) or the Middle East that members can give me will be much appreciated. Thanks Peter Burton Yorkshire UK
ipflo Moderator	posted 09-12-2004 06:17 AM hi, on http://www.oldtykes.co.uk/pomfret.htm you can find a pic of a model of pontefract castle. the detached tower is the tower on the above right side of the pic? An other example is the keep of the Bellver castle in Palma de Mallorca? If yes, there was such tower in a castle in the Netherlands. ipflo
ElCid Senior Member	posted 09-12-2004 04:06 PM Thanks for the Pontefract link ipflo - the tower there is now is very ruined. The defensive towers I am researching are different to the detached keeps such as at Bellver in Majorca. Detached keeps ( a UK example is Flint castle in north Wales)are providing an extra level of defence, a final refuge in one way or perhaps a detached residence with apartments separate from the main body of the castle in another. The towers of my research are purely defensive in nature. They can and do sometimes have internal chambers and arrow loops(not residential normally , just military) but can also be solid masonry with a battlemented platform on the top. They are used to provide flanking fire at the face of the curtain wall in defence of the castle. Any attackers who have managed to get to the base of the wall have to contend with defenders attacking from behind and above from these towers. They are simply curtain wall towers, but happen to be slightly in front of the wall and connected by a bridge at wall-walk level. In Spanish they are called 'torre albarrana'. A good example of a castle with detached flanking towers is Trujillo castle in Extremadura - link to photo's here: http://www.castillosnet.org/caceres/CC-CAS-001A1.shtml? Regards Peter B. Yorkshire UK
Levan Moderator	posted 09-13-2004 04:09 AM The old castle in Corfu town (construction spans from Roman, Venetian and British periods of rule) is more of a fortress than a castle, but does have a feature similar to your description. It does have a tower, with lookout points, gun loops, and is connected to the main castle by a bridge. I believe the most recent military function of the tower was as a magazine - I guess there are pros and cons to having one of these inside or outside your main curtain wall! When I get chance I'll publish a photo of the tower. Levan
Peter Member	posted 09-13-2004 06:45 AM There are examples in Italy, one of which I visited a few years ago in Piemonte. Will try and sort a pic out for you. Sure something like this has been tossed around before. Though I can't bring it to mind at the moment. France also has quite a few. And as you mention Fflint just down the road from me, which is supposed to be modeled on one in France. Drat! Memory isn't working this morning. Almost sure we have visited one in Ireland a few years ago with the Castle Studies Group. Which, if you aren't a member of, and are doing this kind of reasearch would well worth joining. Always supply you with details. Peter
ElCid Senior Member	posted 09-13-2004 11:52 AM Thanks Levan/Peter - keep the suggestions and photo's coming please. Peter, I have been a memeber of the Castle Studies Group for a couple of years now but have not, as yet, been to any gatherings. Since I joined things have been a bit distant from Yorkshire where I live. Regards Peter B.
Marko Senior Member	posted 09-13-2004 05:45 PM As far as I know the 'albarr� tower' as ElCid means only occurs on the Iberian peninsula. They are indeed an offensive tactic of Moorish origin taken over by the Christians. It seems to have been introduced into the Iberian region during the Almohad period (13th century). The detached towers in other European countries are probably always keeps. Portugal of course also has got some castles equipped with these kind of towers; like Castle Paderne, Castle Silves and Castle Loul�. Two Spanish examples are Castle Escalona and Castle Montearagon. ------------------ "But round about the castle there began to grow a hedge of thorns, which every year became higher...." Visit my website at http://www.castles.nl/
Peter Member	posted 09-14-2004 06:55 AM Good on you. It is awkward and expensive to go to the once a year gatherings. Don't think we will be going down south next year, mainly as we have other commitments. No relation to Bill Burton who wrote me an article for Postern some years back ? E-mail me and I will stick you on the mailing list for the next issue. Some French ones they may interest you; though will have to sort out where in France. One or two may meet the critera you are after; Dourdan Falaise Lillebonne Nesles-en-Dole Philippe Auguste Cheers Peter
Merlin Senior Member	posted 09-17-2004 03:33 AM Another and very rare type of a detached tower (without defensive functions) is to be found at the royal Castle Trifels, Germany: The detached tower, connected to the main castle by a bridge, is a gigantic well and the castles' only water supply. Picture: http://www.burgen-rlp.de/burgen/3_trife/zoomb3_3.htm Has anyone ever seen something similar somewhere else?
Peter Member	posted 09-18-2004 01:44 PM There are the detached towers in Poland connected also by a bridge, 'dansk'. These were the sewerage towers, projecting from the castle over moving water. It would seem thst some of these were huge and did provide a dual function. Peter
ipflo Moderator	posted 09-18-2004 04:48 PM I was reading 'castles of God' and saw a picture the dank of Marienwerder (kwidzyn) castle in eastern Prussia, and immediately thought about this topic, only to see that Peter was me before to mention the use of the dansk I can tell something more, it is not really a feature of Polish castles, but of the castles of the teutonic knights in Prussia. Stephen Turnbull says in his book 'Fortress Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights (1) the red-brick castles of Prussia 1230-1466' (Osprey publishing - 2003) the following about the danks (on page 20-21): "One interesting feature of many Prussian castles is the elaborate dansk, or sewage (latrine) tower. Some where so big as to be almost castles themselves. Marienburg has two, which are well integrated into the overall design, and one was in fact designed to act as last tower of refuge during a siege. Thorn has a smaller but typical version where the approach to the latrine tower is conveyed across a three-bayed viaduct to an isolated keep-like structure. Pride of place, however, goes to the incredible Marienwerder, where the latrine tower is reached by a soaring edifice not unlike an English Victorian railway viaduct such as the one at Stockport in Greater Manchester! The tower originally spread its four supports over the river, which is now a good distance away. A model on display within the castle shows how the latrine complex is on of the few structures to have survived from what was originally an enormous fortress. Even today, the bulk of the castle, adjoining cathedral, the remaining towers and the amazing latrine tower, all of which are located on top of a hill, provide a stunning sight equalled only by Marienburg." ipflo http://www.dickemauern.de/thorn/index.htm http://www.dickemauern.de/malbork/index.htm
ElCid Senior Member	posted 09-19-2004 06:13 AM Dear all The detached towers being mentioned from around Europe are very interesting in showing a similar arcitecture to the 'albarrana' towers but for different purposes. Please keep examples coming - I will be using such examples to show differences between purely defensive towers and towers for multiple uses. As Marko has pointed out 'albarrana' towers are not keeps and do indeed appear to originate in the Almohad period in the Iberian peninsula (no 'Spain' and 'Portugal' then of course). The Almohads were a powerful dynasty originating (I think)from Morrocco where they built many fortresses. They came to Iberia in the mid 12th century to overthrow the ruling Islamic dynasty at the time, the Almoravids. Their influence was mainly in the south - Andalusia - and they were the last real resistance to the advancing Christian armies of the re-conquest. The Almohads built many castles and fortresses - some from scratch, others by strengthening existing castles. Dating the various elements of Spanish (and Portugese of course)castles seems to be quite difficult and there is still much work to be done in this area. It seems 'albarrana' towers in Spain could date from late 12th C to 15thC, by which time they had been adopted by non-Islamic castle builders in the penislula. It is the (seemingly very rare) use of such defenses outside of Iberia that I am looking into. The example I gave above of the Swillington Tower at Pontefract Castle is definately an example. This tower was not a keep, nor was it residential, but purely defensive to protect an exposed and otherwise undefended section of curtain wall. The reason it was built at such a late stage in the castles history (c.1399) was that a normal curtain wall tower had been removed to create better domestic accommodation at this point on the wall, only for it to be realised that a weakness in defence had been created. The detached tower was built to remedy this weakness. There must be other examples somwhere?. Is anyone familiar with the castles of North Africa at all. The Almohads of Iberia came from Morrocco - did they use 'albarrana' towers there?. Cheers Peter Burton
ipflo Moderator	posted 09-20-2004 01:30 PM Yesterday I was leaving through a book about crusader's castle and found another example: the citadel of Aleppo in Syria has also an detached tower, built by the mamluks. ipflo
Marko Senior Member	posted 09-20-2004 03:06 PM Ipflo, I thought of that one too, but I think that the tower you mean is a barbican (a defendable gate tower). At least; if it's the one with the arched bridge leading up to the citadel. I also looked at other Crusader and Muslim castles but could find no real 'albarrana' type tower.
ipflo Moderator	posted 09-20-2004 04:40 PM no, besides the famous gate of Aleppo, which everybody recognizes when thinking about Aleppo, there is also a detached tower on the other side of the citadel, which is not that very well known. You can also see it on the following (beautiful) picture: http://www.syriantours.net/AllPhotos/Aleppo/aleppo_citadel_1.jpg http://www.syriantours.net/Arch_Details.asp?AcrID=158
ipflo Moderator	posted 09-20-2004 04:43 PM I have to better myself: Aleppo has two detached towers: one on the other side of the castle and one on the right of the great gate. Already suspected such when seeing the photo from the air, but I got mine final 'evidence' with this picture: http://www.myarabicstory.org/SYRIA/cities/alepcitadel.jpg
ipflo Moderator	posted 09-27-2004 02:09 PM Another example: castle Hocheppan in the vicinity of Bozen in Southern Tirol (Italy), also has a detached tower, the so called Kreideturm. It is on some distance of the main castle. The merit goes to Herr Wolf http://www.forumromanum.de/member/forum/forum.php?action=ubb_show&entryid=1089309047&mainid=1089309047&USER=user_134059&threadid=1088598253 You can find some info on both the castles on (in German): http://www.dickemauern.de/hocheppan/hocheppan.htm http://www.dickemauern.de/kreidet/kreidet.htm
Merlin Senior Member	posted 09-28-2004 05:17 AM The "Frohburg" near Olten, Switzerland, residence of the counts of Frohburg from the 9th to the 14th century, had a detached building on its nothern side. As its in ruins today, it's not sure if it was some sort of a tower. The groundshape was triangular and it was altered during the centuries. I found no good pictures online, but there's a lot of literature about this castle, because it was object of a big archaeological campaign during the 1970s.
Merlin Senior Member	posted 09-29-2004 05:57 AM Found an aerial view an a reconstruction-drawing of the Frohburg at last: http://www.restaurant-froburg.ch/geschichte01.htm Click on the second and the third image to enlarge them and you'll see the detached building I mentioned. [This message has been edited by Merlin (edited 09-29-2004).]
ipflo Moderator	posted 10-08-2004 05:42 AM hi, I was today in the university library of Amsterdam and I found by accident an article about detached towers in Bohemia in German in 'Ch�teau Gaillard volume 19': Die vorgeschobenen Basteien der b�hmischen Burgen des sp�ten Mittelarlters ipflo http://www.deremilitari.org/BIBLIO/1998books.htm