How Castles Were Developed in the Middle Ages
How castle developed in the middle ages?
In the middle ages, castles were very important to show power and defend your country. The first castles were made out of wood with little land and barely any defence. Castles became more important when the Normans started to invade Britain. Over the years as castles developed they got bigger and stronger.
The battle of Hastings in 1066 marked the start of William the Conquerors reign. Once he was crowned King of England he began to build a network of wooden Motte and Bailey castles across England. A Motte is a giant mound of earth, with a keep, or tower built on top. A bailey is consists of the outer wall of a castle and a courtyard which surrounded the keep.
These early castles could be built very quickly and it is thought that as many as 1000 motte and bailey castles were built in England by the Normans.
Materials
At the start of the Middle Ages, as you know, castles were made out of wood, which could break and burn very easily. The wood could also rot very quickly.
Over the years people developed materials and tools and soon they started to re-build the wooden castles using stone. In William the Conquerors reign he built 86 stone castles, in 21 years!!! To begin with stone walls were built and the Keep re-built in stone. And so emerged the first stone castles.
Example of a
Stone keep
At the famous
Tower of London
After the materials of the castle were changed, soon people thought that the structure and shape of the castles should be changed as well.
Parts of the Castle
Castles changed a lot to strengthen their defence, from small defenceless wooden castles to tall powerful stone castles.
Moats were made around castles to increase the defence.
Moats were very deep so that the enemy could not wade through. If there was no river nearby, they would put wooden stakes in the moat. There were rumours that the moat contained sharks and alligators but this was only a myth. The moats also
In the middle ages, castles were very important to show power and defend your country. The first castles were made out of wood with little land and barely any defence. Castles became more important when the Normans started to invade Britain. Over the years as castles developed they got bigger and stronger.
The battle of Hastings in 1066 marked the start of William the Conquerors reign. Once he was crowned King of England he began to build a network of wooden Motte and Bailey castles across England. A Motte is a giant mound of earth, with a keep, or tower built on top. A bailey is consists of the outer wall of a castle and a courtyard which surrounded the keep.
These early castles could be built very quickly and it is thought that as many as 1000 motte and bailey castles were built in England by the Normans.
Materials
At the start of the Middle Ages, as you know, castles were made out of wood, which could break and burn very easily. The wood could also rot very quickly.
Over the years people developed materials and tools and soon they started to re-build the wooden castles using stone. In William the Conquerors reign he built 86 stone castles, in 21 years!!! To begin with stone walls were built and the Keep re-built in stone. And so emerged the first stone castles.
Example of a
Stone keep
At the famous
Tower of London
After the materials of the castle were changed, soon people thought that the structure and shape of the castles should be changed as well.
Parts of the Castle
Castles changed a lot to strengthen their defence, from small defenceless wooden castles to tall powerful stone castles.
Moats were made around castles to increase the defence.
Moats were very deep so that the enemy could not wade through. If there was no river nearby, they would put wooden stakes in the moat. There were rumours that the moat contained sharks and alligators but this was only a myth. The moats also