Fortified structures have been in existence for thousands of years. In
ancient and medieval times castles were the ultimate symbol of power,
dominating their surroundings, and marking the landscape with their
imposing size and impregnable designs. After the Norman conquest of
England, castles exploded in popularity amongst the nobility, with
William the Conqueror building an impressive thirty-six castles between
1066-1087. Windsor Castle is one example of such a castle which survives
today, a monument of the remarkable architecture designed and developed
in medieval England.
This concise and entertaining short history explores the life of the
castle, one that often involved warfare and sieges. The castle was a
first and foremost a fortress, the focus of numerous clashes which took
place in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Castles became targets of
sieges, such as that organized by Prince Louis of France against Dover
castle in 1216, and were forced to adopt greater defensive measures.
Also explored is how they evolved from motte-and-bailey to stone keep
castles, in the face of newly developed siege machines and trebuchets.
The trebuchet named Warwolf, which Edward I had assembled for his siege
of Scotland's Stirling Castle, reportedly took three months to construct
and was almost four hundred feet tall on completion. With features such
as 'murder-holes' for throwing boiling oil at the attackers, the
defenders in the castle fought back in earnest. Alongside such violence,
the castle functioned as a residence for the nobles and their servants,
often totaling several hundred in number. It was the location for
extravagant banquets held in the great hall by the lord and lady, and
the place where the lord carried out his administrative duties such as
overseeing laws and collecting taxes.
