Castles In The Middle Ages

Much of Europe during the middle ages was divided amongst lords. In order for them to defend the land and its people the lords would first have to defend themselves. To do this they built large homes called castles. The castle made defending the lands easier. Also it made it harder for enemies to attack because of the large walls. Castles were built on tall hills or in the center of the land to see the invaders attack and to govern the land. Originally, they were built with mud and wood. Which would later be replaced by other materials that were more study, for example stone and brick. The walls were built to protect the castles from invaders or enemies. A castle consist of many room for example a solar, which was intended for sleeping and …show more content…
The wardrobe was a dressing room or a storage room that stored the clothing of the lord and expensive jewels and furs. The dungeon is a room in a castle that was intended for keeping prisoners captive. It was usually found in an underground room of one of the towers. Every part of a castle was built for a reason whether it was for defensive purposes or a living space for the lord.

Originally castles were built with square roofs, then later it changed to rounded roofs for better defense and visibility. Castles have many parts that were built for different purposes. The curtain walls were the outer walls of the castle. Typically the sections of wall between the four corners of the castles. Towers were place at the corners of the castle to increase the stability of the curtain walls and for defense. Arrow loops are holes that are shaped like a keyholes or a vertical slit on the walls. Intended for archers to shoot arrows at invaders. The inner courtyard of a castle is called a bailey, also known as basilica. The entrance to the castle is called the gatehouse it is made out of the combination of the gate, bridge and the portcullis. The portcullis is a gate that was used to …show more content…
Also there are many part of a castle for example the curtain walls, the gatehouse, arrow loops and the towers. Most parts of the castle were built for defending purposes like the arrow loops that provided a space for archers to shoot the enemies and stop them from attacking the castle. Also the moat was built surrounding the castle to make it difficult for enemies to enter the castle when the drawbridge is up. A castle is so big that it consisted of many room for example the pantry for storage of food and dishes, dungeon which was used to keep the prisoners captive, solar that provided living quarter for the lord’s family and the chapel that was used for prayers. Since a castle consist of many ways for defense, enemies have figured out many ways in attempt to invade the castles. Some ways were by burning the castle down, using battering rams to knock down the walls, miners digging the tunnels under the castles walls, and by using ladders enemies would climb over the walls and attack. Castles were an important part of the middles ages without them the lord would have been defenseless and it would have been impossible for them to protect their