#caerphillycastle

Medieval Castle

Medieval Castles were built from the 11th century CE for rulers to demonstrate their wealth and power to the local populace, to provide a place of defence and safe retreat in the case of attack, defend strategically important sites like river crossings, passages through hills, mountains, and frontiers, and as a place of residence.

Whether a permanent home for a local lord or a temporary one for a ruler embarking on a tour of their kingdom, medieval castles were converted from wood into stone and became ever more impressive structures with more and more defensive features such as round towers and fortified gates.

The Evolution of the Castle

A good location for a castle was on a natural rise, near a cliff, on the bend of a river, or where older fortifications such as Roman walls could be usefully reused. Castles needed their own water and food supplies and usually a permanent defensive force, additional factors to be considered when choosing a location.

Castles were an expensive undertaking which could take years to finish. A master mason, who was, in effect also the architect, led a team of hundreds of skilled workers ranging from carpenters to blacksmiths and dyke specialists to common labourers. The transportation of materials was the highest cost of all so the proximity of a local quarry was a big plus.

The earliest form of castle was a simple wooden palisade, perhaps with earthworks, surrounding a camp, sometimes with a permanent wooden tower in the centre. This then evolved into the motte and bailey castle - a wall encircling an open space or courtyard (bailey) and a natural or artificial hill (motte) which had a wooden tower built on top of it. These were especially popular with the Normans from the 11th century CE.

In the next stage of development, an outer wall was built of stone on top of the motte and then known as a shell keep. Finally, in the 12th century CE, the outer wall and main central tower also came to be built of stone, but not usually on the motte itself as that was not stable enough to use as a foundation for such a heavy structure. Indeed, entirely new locations might be preferred or required, and the foundation of choice was bedrock which prevented any undermining by an attacking force. The keep became a staple feature of castles, although they were called a donjon (from the French word meaning 'lord') prior to the 16th century CE. Usually with three or more stories (tower keeps); some were lower and are called hall keeps. The keep was the heart of the medieval castle and the last point of refuge in case of attack or siege. Before they got to the keep, though, attackers had to negotiate a long list of defensive features.