Medieval Castle Architecture

Back when castle's first begun to be built, there were many different options that were took into consideration during their construction. They would look into housing for the noble family but there was also a retinue of servants, specialists, and tradesmen that lived in the castle also. They also considered the location of the castle, to make sure it's in a good city but also that it's architecture will help put it in a good position to defend itself. The reason the architecture was so important was because the main objective was making the castle as defensive as possible.
There is an obvious connection between medieval castles and cities, for both relied on well-built fortifications to withstand attack and they were frequently found together. …show more content…
So therefor the medieval castle architecture ranged from the romanesque architecture style of the Normans. The romanesque style of medieval architecture moved on to the Edwardian Concentric castles built by the Plantagenet English King Edward 1 and then the more slender and pointed style of the Gothic Medieval architecture which is also referred to as Perpendicular style of architecture. The norman castles styled in Romanesque architecture had design faults which led to many problems in terms of defense. The wooden Motte and Bailey castles were at risk of fire and their towers were quickly replaced by the stone keeps, which also had their own problems. The influence of the crusades led to the construction of the concentric castles and a new style of medieval architecture which focused on defensive features designed for siege warfare. Every element of their architecture was designed to make sure that the castle was as strong as it could be, and could hold out against sieges which could sometimes last months. All these changes in the castle architecture were made in response to: social and cultural changes during the medieval era, the changing needs of the Medieval population, and advances in technology in terms of the building tools. The new building techniques, construction methods and ideas for new styles of …show more content…
What surrounded the castle was called the motte and bailey. The motte is a mound and a bailey is the yard. For a better command of the surrounding countryside, castles were constructed atop the motte. Then a surrounding yard; then the perimeter walls, often fortified with towers of their own and finally a moat. The water in the moat would have been truly disgusting, it was stagnant and all the waste from the castle toilets was tipped straight in. The castle was just based whenever possible on an existing hillock and enlarged by the fill from a ditch, or moat, dug around the base. But between the ditch and the motte was the bailey that provided room for the more temporary accommodation of castle retainers- servants, craftsmen, soldiers and horses. (How Castles