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Jolene Member |
posted 12-25-1999 10:08 PM
  
I need information on Medevil Castles for a report in school. I am a senior and it has to be 3 pages long and have an activity following my presentation. |
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wurdsmiff unregistered |
posted 12-26-1999 07:42 AM
From a Scottish perspective; In the 12th century it was a deliberate policy of the Scottish Royal House to befriend and grant estaes to some Norman families from England. The Normans were renowned as the most efficient and feared warriors of their day. The administrative centre and main residence of each settling lord was the Motte and Bailey Castle. It consisted of an earthen mound, often layered alternately with stones to provide stability, built steeply within the perimeter of a deep ditch. Atop this mound would have been a wooden tower as the main residence of the Lord. The whole was surrounded by larger area known as the bailey, containing a living area for the garrison and livestock, again surrounded by a ditch and supporting subsidiary buildings such as a chapel, brewery, and stables. The defences were supplemented by palisades, or wooden walls surrounding both the motte and the bailey, the ditches filled with water creating a moat , or heavy spikes set into the ground. In the closing days of the 12th C that the first stone castles of the mediaeval age began to appear. The earliest confirmed dating of a surviving stone castle is Castle Sween, built around 1200, give or take a decade. These early castles consisted simply of a high , thick, curtain wall or enceinte, which supported a parapet from which the entry and walls could be defended. In these earliest structures, the buildings within would initially have consisted of lean-to wooden buildings with the largest functioning as the main hall and Lord's residence. These simple structures were added to as new defensive features were developed and incorporated in response to the increasing sophistication of assault weapons and tactics, a process continuing even today in modern warfare. Initially corner towers would have been added, gatehouses, and then stone keeps, with the result that the remaining examples require close study to reveal how the surviving structure came about over the centuries. These additional features became part and parcel of the design of each new castle, individual buildings reflecting the wealth and social standing of it's lord. The Wars of Independance resulted in the deliberate policy of rendering indefensible all castles which could be held by an invader against the Scots. This policy was conceived by Robert 1, Dumbarton and Berwick were to be the only exceptions amongst the Royal castles outwith the highland area, where raiding rather than full scale invasion was more likely. The consequence is that only the sections of buildings which were left in a repairable state survive as testament to the skill of the early mediaeval tradesmen. Simple keeps were the order of the day in the 14th century. These consisted of a tall square block normally within a courtyard, with exceptionally thick walls and battlements. There were as a rule, three storeys, the basement having no communication with the other floors. The main entrance was by removable stair from the courtyard to the main hall on the first floor, the private quarters on the floor above accessed by a narrow stair built within the structure of the wall. Often additional rooms were created within the walling, these mural chambers serving as smaller guest rooms or as a garderobe (toilet). The roofs were of stone, a parapet providing a fighting platform around the walltops, and slabbing the remainder to protect against attack with fire. As always, the grander the house the greater it's lord, with later additions masking the original building. Until 1400, the expense of building stone castles limited their construction and ownership to the upper eshcelons of society. However as part of a systematic reduction of the power of the great lords, the crown passed an act of parliament in 1401 which took the baronies directly though independently under Royal control whenever the superior Earldom fell to the Crown. This division of these great properties allowed the granting of smaller though substantial parcels of land to lesser lords, and heralded an explosion of activity in the construction of lesser houses. These new lords were eager to display their new found status and as a result the traditional Scottish tower house was born. Later, in 1535,another Act of Parliament demanded that each landholder 'on the borders or inland' was obliged to build a Barmkin ,a small courtyard, with a tower within if required as residence. The result was a 2 year flurry of activity on the building front. Finance and the standing of the resident Lord determined the complexity and size of the tower house. Initially a single tower ,then more commonly an L-plan from the dawn of the 16th C, later developing added protection and extra living space by additional towers to create the Z-plan,T-plan ,E-plan etc. The tower house is the most frequently occurring variety of Scottish castle. Each was surrounded by a barmkin, which supported lesser buildings such as stables, stores etc. Usually of 3-4 storeys, early access was to a basement with vaulted ceiling, often with no access to the floors above. The main entrance to the simple tower would like the stockier keeps of previous years, have been to the first floor, by a removable stair. The standard arrangement provided one room per floor, the first floor as the hall, and private quarters above. L-plan castles provided better defensive ability and improved domestic planning. They began to appear from the early 16thC, either as new builds, or extended single towers. The position of the main entrance within the re-entrant made it possible to place the door at ground floor level, covering fire being given from gunloops at strategic positions on the adjacent walls. Additional defensive features were various, caphouses, bartizans, parapets and open rounds. An iron gate or yett protected the door. The hall would have remained on the first floor, though a more complex arrangement of numerous rooms to each storey was now possible. The increasing sophistication and tastes of the gentry now demanded wine cellars, numerous bedrooms, kitchens, food stores, and separate stair towers. As these tastes developed, we find that by the latter part of the 16thC, extensions were added to create the more complex structures of E,Z and T-plan, each geometrically enhancing the defensive capability of the building. Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603,defensive features should have became less necessary . Wisely, the Scots were slow to give up the main design motive of their homes. It proved a worthwhile cause as religious war, civil war, and the various Jacobite rebellions prove. By the latter part of the 17thC , fortifications were gradually omitted as comfort and spaciousness became the main driving force. Many of our castles were extended until they eventually became the lesser part of grand mansions. The period 1560-1650 brought us the Bastle House, a simple fortified farmhouse which defended stock and inhabitants against the reivers of the borderland and Clydesdale. These structures varied in character a great deal, and so any description is bound to be a generalisation. Their purpose was as that of the brochs, whilst also used as a main residence of the landholder, and as a barn. The ground floor was the animal shed accessed by a single door, usually wooden, which could be defended from the floor above. In some there was a vaulted ceiling. The upper floor consisted of the living quarters, reached by an internal stair. A garret was standard. There was not normally a courtyard, though a collection of out-buildings clustered around would have formed a yard of sorts. Often there were earthworks or dykes around the whole. The Bastle House was the best building in the farmstead, and represented the working core and main residence. Most have disappeared, though ruins survive in some of the far-flung corners of the upper ward of Clydesdale. As the period of the fortified house closed, the creation of fortresses built to sustain a full time garrison from the standing army became necessary. The castles then became less like homes, and more like military strongholds. [This message has been edited by wurdsmiff (edited 12-26-1999).] |
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Philip Davis unregistered |
posted 12-26-1999 08:46 AM
Also try these web site; http://www.castlewales.com/home.html http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/castles/enter.html http://www.radix.net/~mfeinberg/castles/ http://www.manitoulin-link.com/medieval/castles.html If your still unclear of anything please post again and I'll try to give a specific answer. ------------------ |
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