posted 08-28-2001 07:14 AM            

1/ How many medieval castles exsist in the world? Impossible to say. Many are in various states of ruin, some have gone almost totally. Hundreds survive in relatively good condition, many thousands are ruined or lost.

2/ King Arthur is a legendary king with little historical evidence to suggest he was who the stories suggest. I don't know where you could find stories on the web. Are you looking for real historical literature? Froissart's Cronicles are good, but a little biased and inaccurate. You should be able to buy a copy, possibly even in Spanish.

3/ Which are the most important castles? This will depend on your point of view. Important architecturally, historically, strategically...etc? So it's imposible to say.
If you are just looking for castles of interest about which there is a lot of interesting information then I'm sure we could come up with some names for you.
-The crusader castles such as Krac de Chevalier.
-Cathar castles, I forget the names but there is a lot of information about the Cathars which will include the most important information.
-Chinon castle, France.
-Carcassonne castle amd town, France.
-Karlstejn castle, Zcheck(Sp?) Republic

It's hard to remember which castles are important and for what. The best way to pick some important castles may be to read through a castle book at your library to see which ones they mention.

Hope that helps,