Castles were among the most dominant features of the medieval landscape
and many remain impressive structures to the present day. This paperback
edition of a book first published in hardback in 2002 is a fascinating
and provocative study which looks at castles in a new light, using the
theories and methods of landscape studies. For the first time castles
are examined not as an isolated phenomenon, but in relation to their
surrounding human as well as physical landscapes. Taking a thematic
approach, the study examines a broad range of evidence - archaeological,
documentary and topographical - to put castles back into the medieval
landscape and assess their contribution to its evolution. Far more than
simply a book about castles, this is a study of the impact of power and
authority on the landscape