The Functions of a Medieval Castle Essay - 1295 Words

The building of a castle was a monumental task; it required many laborers and took many years to complete. When a lord had decided to build a castle, he would hire a Master Builder to design and build the castle. He would choose a design for the castle. The castle was meant to be the fortress of the lord so it had to be strong. Castles had many different types of defense to protect the Lord and his family. The many types of defense that castles had meant that those attacking had to develop ever more strategic and powerful ways to attack the castle. When the King or Lord had decided to build his castle, he would hire a Master Builder to design the castle and to hire the laborers for the building of the castle. Construction of the new†¦show more content†¦It was also protected by wooden Palisades (walls) and a moat (14-15). The wood would eventually rot and have to be replaced. The wood could also be burned during attacks (16). Later they began to build castles using stone. Th ese stone castles took many years to complete (13). In the beginning only the keeps were changed to stone and kept the same square layout (18). Eventually it was found that the square corners were a weak spot in the design and changed to a rounded profile (Jarrow 29). Later the wooden walls were changed to stone. The new curtain walls were much larger. They were often between fifteen and thirty-five feet tall, and six to nine feet thick. Though some were built much larger (19). Third, the castle was also the home of lords, nobles, and kings. This is why castles had to be built strong enough to with stand days of constant battering, or months of blockade. The strongest part of the castle was the keep. The lord and his family lived in the keep that was usually on top of a motte (Jarrow 15). In the keep is where the lord and his family would eat, sleep, and store supplies and weapons (Jarrow 15). As castles were built stronger with thick stone walls the keep lost its importance and was often unused. This allowed the lords and their families to have a much roomier living area that was still well protected from attack (Jarrow 19). Keeps had everything that was needed. They usually had storage on the lower levels or in theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Matthew Johnson s The Strengths And Weaknesses1678 Words   |  7 PagesMoreover, Matthew Johnson effectively challenges conventional views of castles and underscores the complexity of such structures by using a variety of credible sources and evidence. He successfully supports his thesis by covering all his bases and acknowledging different viewpoints. 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