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INTRODUCTION
Choosing a theme "Medieval castle: secrets of fortification" was no coincidence.
The Middle Ages is a majestic mystery, largely unsolved by medievalists. One of the components of the Mystery is medieval castles: magnificent monuments of architecture and fortification art.
These citadels, which arose as a refuge for the feudal lord, his family and at the same time indicators of the wealth and strength of the owner, which became widespread in the first half of the era, gradually turned into fortresses and were mostly destroyed during numerous wars.
We really wanted to learn more about these impregnable structures than what is written in textbooks, and to answer the question: what allowed the defenders of the castles to withstand a long siege and what secrets of castle architecture helped them in this.
Relevance: from Today, medieval castles and their fortification architecture are becoming objects of close attention not only by scientists and tourists, but also by authors of computer games, strategies, books and films in the “fantasy” style, where events develop in ancient fortified palace-fortresses. This develops our interest and curiosity, the desire to learn more than is written in educational literature about the castles of the Middle Ages surrounded by mystery.
At the same time, the castle becomes for us not only a place of exciting adventures and battles together with the heroes of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Warmachine, Kings of War, Confrontation, “Games of Thrones”, “Robin Hood”, “The Lord of the Rings” and other fantasy novels, films and wargames, but also that business card The Middle Ages, which helps to comprehend its content, opening one of the most interesting pages of history.
This judgment is justified, since the Middle Ages went down in history as a period endless wars not only interstate, but also internecine, feudal. Under these conditions, the knight's (feudal) castle became a reliable fortification, and the features of its fortification structure helped the owner and the garrison withstand a long siege of the enemy.
As we can see, from the point of view of relevance, the study acquires a special meaning. And if earlier researchers and authors of projects talked mainly about the castle - a masterpiece of medieval architecture, today - about the secrets of architecture for special, military purposes, turning a home, the center of civilization of a single feudal estate into a citadel.
Object of study
A medieval castle as a dwelling, refuge and palace of a feudal lord.
Subject of study
Elements of castle fortification architecture and the secrets contained in them.
Purpose of the study
Find out the structure of the most important parts of a medieval castle-fortress and their special purpose in defense against the enemy.
To achieve this goal, the following were set: tasks:
Study literature containing information about medieval castles, the history of their construction, and purpose.
Find out the features of the fortification purpose of the elements of a knight's castle.
Educational (problematic) question
1. What fortification secrets allowed the defenders of the castles to withstand a long siege?
Research methods: collection and study of information; generalization and description of the fortification features of the medieval castle.
Research Products
1. Model of a medieval castle.
2. Book - manual "Medieval castle: secrets of fortification."
3. Medieval castle (crossword puzzle “on the contrary”).
The work consists of an Introduction, three sections, a Conclusion, a list of references and an Appendix.
The Introduction substantiates the relevance of the study, defines the purpose, objectives, object and subject of the study.
In section 1 “Knight’s castle of the Middle Ages: a little history” we consider general idea about the time and necessity of the appearance of knightly castles in Europe, general principles location on the ground and arrangement.
Section 2, “The most important elements of a castle and “traps” for the enemy,” discusses fortification details, tricks and their purpose.
Section 3, “Approbation of research materials and conclusions,” presents diagrams illustrating students’ knowledge indicators before and after familiarization with the research materials we prepared (Manual book “Medieval Castle: Secrets of Fortification”).
The “Conclusion” summarizes the general results of the work, outlines the conclusions, and substantiates practical use and the significance of the work.
The “Bibliography” reflects the sources that we used to conduct our research.
The “Appendix” contains testing materials, separately - the book-guide “Medieval Castle: Secrets of Fortification”, diagrams reflecting the level of knowledge of students BEFORE and AFTER getting acquainted with our work, as well as a “crossword puzzle in reverse” as material for reflection.
SECTION 1. Medieval knight's castle: secrets of fortification
Medieval castle: a little history
Our history teacher often repeats that the causes of phenomena and events must be sought not only in the era contemporary with the event, but in what preceded it, even if such a connection is hidden behind the curtain of many years...
Indeed, slavery and Antiquity were born from primitiveness, which had outgrown itself, and the distant Middle Ages - from Greco-Roman civilization, when it had exhausted its capabilities...
But it would seem that it is either impossible or very difficult to find similarities between Roman times and the European Middle Ages in particulars and details. What if you take a closer look?
And if you look closely, the theme of our work “A medieval castle and its fortification features” in the main detail - “the purpose of the castle” - takes us back to the structure of a Roman camp, the direct purpose of which was to protect its inhabitants.
Judge for yourself, the site of the Roman legionnaires is a fenced area, inside of which there is a tent camp. A medieval fortification is a complicated version of such a shelter.
Based on the experience of defensive structures of the past, aware of the danger of the Norman invasion, people at the beginning of the 12th century began to build shelters that could protect him from external invasion. At first, he fences a fortress house on a hill with a palisade, digs a ditch around it and supplies water to it, and then, realizing that wood and limestone are unreliable materials, he begins to build a fortress out of stone and surround it not just with a fence - with a wall, the height and thickness of which is now measured in meters.
With each new castle on the map of Europe, a new design of its structure appears, the main purpose of which is not only to prevent enemy plans, but also to stop the enemy, defeat him, if not on the approaches to the citadel, then inside it, using the tricks of fortification architecture.
Today we are playing computer games, empathizing with the heroes of fantasy films, putting together puzzles, we partially delve into the meaning of the construction of huge defensive structures, analyze the internal structure and system of fortifications, often asking ourselves: what is there, behind the stone barrier standing in the way of the conquerors, why did the knights build not just beautiful and good houses, but shelters, fortresses?
The conclusion suggests itself: the wars prompted them to do this! With whom? With everyone! In particular, and among themselves for land, peasants, wealth, prestige, honor...
The 12th century came to Europe as a time of disasters and great bloodshed and made you think about whether a rival of superior strength might come and take a fancy to your home, forest, river, fields?
And then, like mushrooms after a good warm rain, such castles appear that even today inspire awe, respect, and sometimes serious fear: will a ghost in armor emerge from the wall with a rusty sword in his hands?..
The owner of the citadel clearly knew what he wanted: the castle should be inaccessible to the enemy, provide surveillance of the area (including the nearest villages belonging to the owner of the castle), have its own source of water (in case of a siege) and show the power and wealth of the feudal lord.
The location was chosen based on these requirements: a mountain, a high rock, in extreme cases a hillock, it would be good not far from the water. The construction of the main dwelling, the donjon, began. The matter is troublesome, slow, and carefully planned. While the builders were erecting walls and digging a well (a source of water, and therefore life!), local people (from the owner's artisans, warriors, peasants) guarded the approaches to the future fortification and paved roads to it. The road necessarily contained numerous obstacles that only knowledgeable person(camouflaged pits, false crossings across rivers and large streams, ambushes with cleared sectors for shelling the enemy...). Required condition- the road must twist so that the horseman or foot warrior certainly ends up with his right, unprotected side towards the citadel.
Having completed the construction of the donjon, they began to build defensive walls. The richer owners built several obstacle walls, the poorer ones made do with one, but it was always powerful, high, with towers and loopholes, strong gates, a protruding barbican, a drawbridge over a moat filled with water.
It also happened the other way around: they started with a moat and walls, and ended with a donjon. But, most importantly, the outcome was always the same: another fortress appeared, an impregnable citadel, striking in its power, beauty or architectural inventiveness. Take a look at these European castles.
Amazing, isn't it?
SECTION 2. “The most important elements of the castle and “traps” for the enemy”
Loopholes, their types and purpose
A medieval castle with its fortifications, which had a specific defensive purpose, is not today’s rich “antique” house. A medieval castle is a formidable, often gloomy fortress with towers and sentries warily surveying the surroundings from their eye sockets.
The towers were built hollow; inside they were divided into floors by floors made of wooden planks with a hole in the center or on the side. A rope passed through them to lift shells to the upper platform in case of defense of the castle.
The stairs were hidden behind partitions in the walls. Take a look: each floor is a separate room in which the soldiers were located. For heating, a fireplace was often built in the thickness of the wall, in which, by the way, it was possible to cook game on a spit...
The only openings in the tower that connected with the outside world were loopholes for archery. Long and narrow openings, they expanded into the room. Typically, the height of such loopholes is 1 meter, and the width is 30 cm on the outside and 1 meter and 30 centimeters on the inside. This design prevented enemy arrows from getting inside, and the defenders had the opportunity to shoot in different directions.
For archers, the loopholes were long narrow slits in the wall, and for the crossbowman there were short loopholes that widened to the sides. They were often called keyholes.
There were also loopholes of a special shape - spherical. These were freely rotating wooden balls with a slot fixed in the wall. They provided the shooter with maximum protection.
The number of loopholes should have frightened the enemy, who understood that the more loopholes, the more defenders, the stronger the defense, of course.
As contemporaries of the Middle Ages, historians and even tourists write, the presence of loopholes became especially important during a war or siege, since in a narrow vertical hole it was not visible whether the shooter was behind it or not. The height of some loopholes was even calculated taking this circumstance into account.
What is interesting for us is the fact that loopholes in walls were not common in Europe until the 13th century, as it was believed that they could weaken their strength. But, regardless of their purpose, loopholes became a mandatory attribute of medieval castles starting from the 13th century.
Secrets of the spiral staircase. Knight's swords*.
Secrets of the spiral staircase.
The Middle Ages are considered to be the time when the technique of constructing a spiral staircase appeared and then flourished. Trying in every possible way to complicate the lives of their enemies, the knights adapted spiral staircases to all structures, and the screw always tightened clockwise.
When advancing to the top of the tower along such a staircase, attackers were waiting for a large number of troubles: steps turning around their axis, a narrow passage, lack of space to swing a sword, open space for an attack from above, repeated at every bend. Under such conditions, even a very modest garrison is able to hold its positions without losses, which would be impossible on an ordinary ladder. You couldn’t shoot through a crossbow or a bow, you couldn’t pierce the steps of the stairs with a spear or a sword, but the holes in the steps made it possible to assess the situation, watch the besieging enemies making their way up, and finally break their legs.
However, there is a castle in Europe in which the stairs twist counterclockwise. This is the ancestral seat of Count Wallenstein in Bohemia. The fact is that this ancient and warlike family became famous not only for its great victories and commanders, but also for its left-handed warriors...
In the Middle Ages, only privileged guilds of craftsmen had the right to build a spiral staircase. Drawings, sketches of stairs and even indirect indications of who and where built the “cunning” structure were kept by the artisans in the strictest confidence.
*Knight's swords (for the most curious). From the 12th century The girdling of a sword and the blessing of this weapon became a mandatory part of the rite of knighting. Like the king, the knight was entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the world from foreign conquerors, protecting the church from pagans and enemies of the Christian faith. It is no coincidence that sacred inscriptions and religious symbols appeared on the blades of medieval swords, reminiscent of the high service of the Christian warrior, his duty to God and civilians, and the hilt of the sword often became an ark for relics and relics. Throughout almost the entire Middle Ages, the general shape of the sword changed little: it invariably resembled one of the main symbols of Christianity - the cross. The question of geometry, blade profile and its balancing was inherently very important: swords can be adapted for piercing or chopping fighting techniques. The cross-sectional shape of the blade also depended on the use of this sword in battle.
Donjon. Secret passages and chambers in medieval castles
Donjon. Despite the external diversity, all castles are built according to the same plan. Most often they are surrounded by a strong wall with massive square towers at each corner. Well, inside there is a tower - donjon. Initially, these towers had a quadrangular shape, but over time, polygonal or round structures began to appear in order to increase their stability. After all, one of the few ways to take impregnable fortress there was a tunnel followed by undermining of the foundation at the corner of the building. Some towers had a dividing wall in the middle.
An additional level of protection included bars, strong doors and strong locks. The dungeons were very carefully thought out.
Such towers were erected from stone. Wooden fortresses could no longer provide adequate protection from fire, throwing and siege weapons. In addition, the stone structure was much better suited to the nobility: it became possible to make large and safe rooms that were well protected from bad weather and the enemy.
Architects always took into account the terrain during construction and chose the most advantageous places for defense for future castles. The donjons, in turn, rose high even above the level of the fortress, which not only improved visibility and gave an advantage to archers, but made them practically inaccessible to siege ladders.
There was only one entrance to the tower. It was raised above ground level and a ladder or even a ditch with a drawbridge was built so that attackers could not use a ram. The room immediately after the entrance was sometimes used to disarm visitors. The guards were also stationed here. Food was stored in the basement of the tower, and it was also one of the most safe places for storing the treasures of the nobility.
On the second floor there was a room for meetings and feasts.
There could have been more floors, but this always depended on the wealth of the owner of the castle and on the ability to separate one floor from another in such a way as to make the upward movement of unwanted guests long and completely unsafe. In addition, some owners of the citadel ordered the construction of entire underground passages leading far beyond the castle... And then the formidable and impregnable structures were overgrown with new creepy stories that chilled the blood...
Secret passages in medieval castles. Medieval castles had ingeniously designed fortifications that used many ingenious and creative ways to protect the castle's inhabitants from attack by enemies. Literally everything - from the outer walls to the shape and placement of the stairs - was very carefully planned to ensure maximum protection for the inhabitants of the castle.
Almost every castle had secret passages that only the owners knew about. Some of them were made so that the inhabitants of the castle could flee in case of defeat, and some so that during a siege the defenders would not be cut off from food supplies. Secret passages also led to secret chambers where people could hide or food could be stored and an additional well was dug for water.
One of the striking examples of a castle with many secret rooms and passages is Benrath Castle in Germany. There are as many as seven invisible passages hidden in the walls of the building!
Yes, a medieval castle was much more than just a big glamorous palace with massive stone walls around it. It was a structure designed down to the smallest detail to protect its inhabitants. And each castle was full of its own little secrets.
Ditch and zwinger
Moat. The first barrier guarding the castle was a deep ditch. It was often connected to a river to fill it with water. The ditch made it difficult to access the fortress walls and siege weapons. It could be transverse (separating the castle wall from the plateau) or crescent-shaped (curved forward). Could encircle the entire castle in a circle. Very rarely, ditches were dug inside the castle to make it difficult for the enemy to move through its territory. If the soil under the castle was rocky, then a ditch was not made at all. It was possible to cross the ditch only by a drawbridge hanging on iron chains.
Zwinger. Often the castle was surrounded by double walls - a high external one and a small internal one. An empty space appeared between them, which received the German name zwinger. The attackers, having overcome the outer wall, could not take additional assault devices with them. And, once in the zwinger, they became an easy target for archers (there were small loopholes in the walls of the zwinger for archers). Within the walls of the zwinger, which was also the inner wall of the moat, semicircular towers or bastions were often built to facilitate observation of the moat.
Main defensive wall of the castle
... In previous blessed times, when neighbors at the same table peacefully drank wine, hunted and competed in strength and dexterity, everything was simpler: no big house surrounded by a palisade. Then a larger house and a wall made of clay and lime blocks. And then, when the war of each against all came knocking on our door, the houses turned into fortresses, and the fences into walls of stone!
Both the castle and the wall were now built in such a way as to withstand a long siege, save from captivity and shame, and stop the enemy! And each element played its important role. This also applied to the main wall of the fortress.
It should be of such a height that attackers could not climb it using ladders or using siege towers, and, of course, very wide and thick. Then you can give up trying to quickly make a hole in it - time will be spent not only in vain, but a lot without an obvious result. Powerful trebuchets can, of course, collapse the roofs of towers or break fortress battlements. Most likely, the enemy will use soldiers with pickaxes, but here the defenders of the castle will be helped by loopholes in which arrows are hidden, and machicolations, from which both boiling water and hot tar will pour on the enemy...
At the top of the wall is laid combat move. All possible weapons will be used here by the defenders of the fortress, hiding behind the battlements of the wall, in order to prevent the enemy from setting up assault ladders, making a tunnel, or breaking through a niche for an explosion.
The builders strongly recommended to fit protruding forwards into the wall. towers with loopholes and walkways. The towers also served to strengthen the corners - the weakest point of the wall, since it was in the corners of the fortress that the most enemy forces and the least defensive forces could be concentrated.
Barbican and wolf pits
Barbican. No matter how strong the castle gates were, they still remained a weak link. Therefore, the builders of the glorious Middle Ages figured out how to protect the entrance to the citadel. And this structure guarding the gate was the barbican - the outer fortification of the city or fortress.
What is the secret of the Barbican? The fact is that you cannot bypass it, if you are going to break open the gates of the citadel, you must go through it!
And here was the cunning of the barbican - the gate tower: this powerful stone structure had a platform at the top on which throwing weapons were placed. Moreover, the barbican had two floors. On the first there is a through passage a little wide more sizes carts. The small detachment, having got here, found itself cut off from the main one by an iron grate falling from above, on the outside, and by a strong gate, locked with a powerful bolt, on the inside!
The guards serving on the second floor, opening the hatches in the floor, could (and did!) pour hot tar or boiling water on the enemies rushing to the main gate.
In fact, the barbican was the only way into the castle and, of course, it was well guarded.
Wolf pits. Another terrible obstacle on the way to the castle were wolf pits - cunning and cruel structures that were invented by the ancient Romans. The pit was arranged in such a way that, firstly, it had inclined (inward) walls. Therefore, getting out of it was not so easy. Secondly, short pointed stakes were driven into its bottom in several rows. Having fallen into this disguised trap, a person almost always lost the opportunity to stay alive, and his soul flew off to God after severe torment of the body.
Enemy infantry was doomed if they fell into the locations of wolf pits. And they were waiting for the victim on the approaches to the castle, and at its walls, and at the gates of the barbican and the fortress itself, and even on the approaches to the donjon.
Medieval castle - main gate
The gate, the most vulnerable part of the castle, was installed in the gate towers. Most often, the gates were double-leaf, and the doors were knocked together from two layers of boards. To prevent them from being set on fire from the outside, they were lined with iron. In one of the gate wings there was a small narrow door through which one could only go through by bending over. An additional strengthening of the gate was a transverse beam, which was inserted into hook-shaped slots on the walls.
Behind the gate was a lowering grate. Most often it was made of wood, with lower ends bound in iron. But there were also iron gratings made from steel tetrahedral rods.
The grate hung on ropes or chains, which in case of danger could be cut off so that it would quickly fall down, blocking the path of the invaders. From the point of view of defense and protection of the castle, the gate was of great importance. Therefore, the medieval castle was built for a long time, painstakingly, taking into account all the features of the enemy’s military operations.
Drawbridge
The drawbridge, thrown over the moat, in case of danger rose and, like a door, closed the entrance, disconnecting the lock from outside world. The bridge was driven by mechanisms hidden in the building. From the bridge to the lifting machines, ropes or chains wound around the gates went into the wall holes. The ropes were sometimes equipped with heavy counterweights, taking part of the weight of this structure on themselves. Another way to lift the bridge is with a lever. Both designs facilitated the rapid lifting of the bridge.
The craftsmen who built the bridge, which worked on the principle of a swing, were especially skilled. One of them lay on the ground under the gate, and the other stretched across the ditch. When the inner part rose, covering the entrance to the castle, the outer part (which the attackers sometimes already managed to run into) sank down into the moat, into the “wolf pit”, invisible from the side while the bridge was lowered.
In the middle of the century, the defensive value of drawbridges was very great, but later lost its importance due to the advent of new siege weapons.
In order to understand the role played by the material on the research topic collected, processed and prepared by us in the form of an illustrated book-guide, we invited all those who participated in our survey at the end of 2017 to get acquainted with it and solve the crossword puzzle “Medieval castle” , compiled taking into account the need to know the terms and concepts on the topic. The positive results obtained are presented in diagrams (indicators are indicated in percentages) in the Appendix and give a clear idea of the role and significance of our research in the learning process.
2.2. conclusions
As a result of processing and analyzing the results obtained, we received evidence of the effectiveness of using our research materials in the educational process.
Level of knowledge and understanding educational material students of class 6B "ANO "SCHOOL "PRESIDENT" who participated in the testing of research materials increased significantly, as can be seen from a comparison of the diagrams. (See also Appendix).
CONCLUSION
The work we did turned out to be very interesting. We were able to answer all the questions that interested us and tried to examine in detail not so much the history of the emergence of knightly castles, but rather the fortification secrets laid down by the architects during their construction.
To touch the Middle Ages, a model of the castle was made. It can be used in lessons about the surrounding world and history. But the most important result of our work was, of course, the illustrated book “The Medieval Castle: Secrets of Fortification”, for the writing of which we collected and systematized material over the course of six months, using available literature and the capabilities of the Internet.
Unraveling the mystery of the fortification of Medieval castles, we reasonably assumed that the research product could be used in Medieval history lessons, MHC and in extracurricular activities. Consequently, the book written by us will contribute to the development of students’ cognitive activity, the formation of their life position, and the development of interest in History.
Thus, we believe that the goals and objectives set before us in the study have been realized, the hypothesis has been confirmed, and the answer to the educational (problematic) question has been received.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ionina N.I. “100 Great Castles”, Veche, Moscow, 2004.
Lavisse E. and Rambo A. “The Age of the Crusades”, Polygon, St. Petersburg 2003.
Razin E.A. “History of Military Art”, Polygon, St. Petersburg 1999.
Taylor Barbara “Knights”, Series “Learn and Make!”, Publisher: Moscow OLMA Media Group 2014, 64 p.
Philippe Simon, Marie Laure Bouet, “Knights and Castles” Series “Your First Encyclopedia”, Publisher: Moscow “Makhaon” 2013, 128 p.
Funken L. and Funken F. “Encyclopedia of weapons and military costume of the MIDDLE AGES”, Astrel, Moscow 2002.
Shpakovsky Vyacheslav Olegovich, “Knights” Series “Discover the World”, Publisher: LLC “Baltic Book” 2014, 96 p.
Internet materials
Architecture of castles. goo.gl/RQiawf
- How castles were built in the Middle Ages. goo.gl/Auno84
- Main elements of a medieval castle. goo.gl/cMLuwn
Knightly traditions. Who are the knights? goo.gl/FXvDFn
Medieval castle: structure and siege. goo.gl/5F57rS
Medieval castle. goo.gl/LSPsrU
There are many medieval castles scattered across Europe, which many centuries ago were intended to house and protect the families of feudal lords. Today, castles are silent witnesses to royal dramas, the fall of great houses and historical events.
Now tourists visit ancient fortresses in winter and summer to see their splendor with their own eyes. We have collected in this list incredibly beautiful castles that are worth visiting!
1 Tintagel Castle, England
Tintagel is a medieval fort on the headland of the island of the same name. The castle borders the village of Tintagel in Cornwall. It was built by Richard, a member of the Plantagenet dynasty, in 1233. However, Tintagel is often associated with another famous character - King Arthur. Here he was conceived, born and taken away by the wizard Merlin in infancy.
The castle has been a tourist attraction since the 19th century and is under the ownership of Prince Charles. It is managed by English Heritage, the British government commission for historic buildings.
2 Corvin Castle, Romania
This Gothic-style castle with Renaissance elements is located in Transylvania, a Romanian town called Hunedoara, on a cliff near the Zlašte River. The castle was built in the mid-15th century by the father of the Hungarian king Matthew Corvinus and was inherited until 1508.
Since then, Korvinov has had 22 owners and has been open to the public as a museum. The castle is still one of the wonders of Romania. By the way, according to rumors, Vlad the Impaler himself, known as Count Dracula, spent seven years in captivity here.
3 Alcazar de Segovia, Spain
This fortress of the Spanish kings is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castle is located in an incredibly beautiful location - a rock at the confluence of two rivers. Thanks to its location, it is one of the most recognizable castles in Spain.
In 1120, the Alcazar was used as an Arab fortress. Then there was a royal residence, an artillery academy and even a prison. Currently it houses a military archive and museum.
4 Eltz Castle, Germany
Eltz Castle is considered one of two medieval buildings in the Eifel highlands that have never been destroyed or captured. The castle has withstood all wars and shocks since its construction in the 12th century.
It is surprising that the castle has been owned by the same family for 33 generations - Eltz, whose descendants still take care of it to this day, keeping it in its original form. The owner opened it to tourists, who are especially attracted by the Eltz treasury with jewelry exhibits and other works of art from different centuries.
5 Windsor Castle, England
This castle has been closely associated with the monarchs of Great Britain for more than 900 years and is their symbol. The current ruling royal dynasty of Windsor is named in his honor. The castle was built in the 11th century by William the Conqueror, and has been used as a royal residence since the reign of Henry I. Over so many centuries, it has been rebuilt and expanded several times in accordance with the requests of the reigning monarchs.
Interestingly, during the Second World War the castle served as a refuge for royal family. Today, the castle is used for state receptions, tourist visits, and for Queen Elizabeth II's vacation in the spring of each year.
6 Himeji Castle, Japan
This castle near the city of Himeji is one of the most ancient in Japan. Its construction as a fortress began in 1333, and in 1346 the fort was reconstructed into a castle. For a long time he wandered from one samurai clan to another and only found an owner in the 1600s. Then the main part of the 83 wooden buildings of the castle was built.
Movies are often filmed on the grounds of Himeji, as the castle is well preserved in its original form. In addition, the structure is a National Treasure of Japan and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
7 Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
This ancient castle is located on Castle Rock in the center of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. About 300-odd million years ago there was an active volcano here! The first mention of this building dates back to 1139, when the nobility and church ministers gathered in the royal castle. This continued until 1633, but from then on the castle began to be considered the heart of Scotland.
It is worth noting that this fortress survived 26 sieges, making it the most attacked on Earth. Edinburgh Castle has been frequently restored over the past 150 years and is now Edinburgh's main tourist attraction.
8 Hever Castle, England
The castle was built in the 13th century in the southeast of England in Kent, as an ordinary Vacation home. It became famous because the Boleyn family lived here from 1462 to 1539. In 1505, it was inherited by Thomas Boleyn, the father of Anne, the wife of King Henry VIII, whose wedding caused the break between England and Rome. True, after the king got bored new wife, he executed her in the Tower.
Since then, Hever has passed from one owner to another, but has retained its unique Tudor interiors. The castle is now used as a conference venue, but is also open to the public.
9 Bojnice Castle, Slovakia
It is considered one of the most romantic castles in Europe. Its first mention dates back to 1113 - an ordinary wooden castle in Bojnice, which was gradually strengthened. The fortress was officially handed over to the ruler of Slovakia, Matus Csak, by King Wenceslas III of Hungary in 1302.
Since then, each new owner has reconstructed the castle, and the result is the most visited place in Slovakia. Many science fiction and fairy tale films were filmed here. The castle also houses the Slovak Folk Museum.
10 Bran Castle, Romania
Bran Fortress is a national landmark of Romania. Initially, it was a wooden structure, which was founded in 1212 by the knights of the Teutonic Order, and later was completed by local residents at their own expense. In those days, the building served as a defensive fortress.
Bran has had many owners, but most often it is called "Dracula's Castle." According to legend, Prince Vlad Chepesh, nicknamed Count Dracula, often stayed here and hunted near the castle. In the 20th century, the castle was donated by local residents to Queen Maria of Romania, whose grandson currently owns it. The castle now houses a museum of furniture and art from Queen Mary's collection.
11 Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland
This beautiful castle, which is recognized as one of the most romantic in Scotland, is located on the Isle of Donan - at the meeting point of three lakes. In the 7th century, a hermit monk lived on the island, after whom the castle was named. In the 13th century, the first fortress was built, and Eilean Donan itself was handed over by the king to the ancestor of the Scottish Mackenzie clan.
The structure was destroyed in 1719, and only at the beginning of the 20th century the MacRae clan acquired the castle and began its restoration. By the way, this fortress can be seen in the TV series “Outlander”.
12 Bodiam Castle, England
The lands on which the castle is now located went to Edward Dalingridge after his marriage. In 1385, during the 100 Years' War, he fortified the estate to protect the surrounding area from the French. For several decades the castle was passed down from generation to generation. When the family died at the end of the 15th century, the castle came into the possession of the Leuknor family.
Bodiam later had several owners, each of whom contributed to its restoration, for example after the siege during the Wars of the Roses. In 1925, after the death of the then owner, the castle was donated to the national trust, which maintains it today. Now anyone can visit this fortress near the village of Robertsbridge.
13 Hohensalzburg Castle, Austria
This structure is considered one of the largest of all surviving medieval castles in Europe and is located at an altitude of 120 meters on the top of Mount Festung near the Austrian city of Salzburg. The castle was built in 1077 under the leadership of the Archbishop of Salzburg, but now only the foundation remains from that building.
Hohensalzburg was fortified, rebuilt and reconstructed many times. Only in the 16th century did it acquire the appearance it has now. The fortress was used as a warehouse, barracks, fort and even a prison during the First World War. Now this castle is a favorite tourist attraction, accessible by cable car or on foot.
14 Arundell Castle, England
This castle was founded at Christmas 1067 by Roger de Montgomery (Earl of Arundel), one of William the Conqueror's subjects. It later became the main residence of the Howard Dukes of Norfolk, who have owned it for over 400 years.
The castle was rebuilt after damage during the English Civil War in the 17th century, and was also updated with the return of fashion for medieval interiors. Although Arundel is privately owned, much of the castle is open to tourists.
15 Mont Saint Michel, France
It is not for nothing that this castle is called an architectural miracle of France. It is a rocky island in northwestern France that was converted into an island fortress in the 8th century. Monks lived here for a long time, and even an abbey was built.
During the 100 Years' War, the British unsuccessfully tried to conquer this island, and during the French Revolution, when there were no monks on the island, a prison was built here. It was closed in 1863, and in 1874 the island was recognized as a historical monument. About 3 million tourists come here every year, while there are only a few dozen local residents!
These amazing historical monuments have reached our descendants in almost their original form. They keep a centuries-old history different nations, which cannot always be read on the pages of textbooks.
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Many people always associate the Middle Ages with the era of knights, tournaments and castles. But we will try to find out what the knight’s castle actually was like in today’s article. First, you should remember who a knight is.
A knight is essentially a feudal lord. He was of noble birth and gathered his own army. He bought military ammunition at his own expense; he always had an accompanying person from among his servants. They helped him with everything. A knight's castle is, in fact, a large fortified estate, where there is the feudal lord's large house, as well as many outbuildings. Europe was experiencing a stage of feudal fragmentation. The feudal lord created the castle as a means of protection against nomadic peoples. It was a large fortification that could hold a long defense.
Where were knights' castles built?
The knight's castle, as already mentioned, is the fortress of the feudal lord. During the period of fragmentation, it was necessary to somehow defend ourselves. To do this, first you had to choose a place to build a castle. An excellent place for construction was a small hill or hill. Having built a castle there, the feudal lord could see his enemies approaching the castle in advance.
Another construction site could be the river area. The river could secure the castle from one, and sometimes even from both sides. Also, during construction, the river made it possible to build an artificial ditch. This was a very common occurrence. Sometimes crocodiles were released into such ditches, this is also for safety.
It was very important for the feudal lord to be close to trade. So that's why knights built their castles near trade routes, or better yet, at their intersections. This is, firstly, involvement in trade, and secondly, it was possible to collect duties from traders. And also the roads on the land of the feudal lord were used by merchants. There was an unspoken rule here: “What falls from the cart belongs to the owner of the land.” This was also a plus.
But, of course, let’s not forget that the main thing was, of course, to ensure the safety of our knight’s castle. Most attention was paid to external attributes. Fortress structures and defenses were built of stone. Previously, wood was used, but it is not very durable, and could, of course, burn very quickly in the event of a fire.
Initially, the castle was protected with a moat and a drawbridge. Then they began to install a metal grate, which they called "gers". She rose and fell. Tactically, the lattice could be used intelligently. Enemies could not penetrate there, but from the castle it was possible to shoot from a bow through it. Even later, they began to build a special tower in front of the fortress - "barbican". She defended the castle even better.
Inside the knight's castle
It has already been said that they paid more attention to the security of the castle. And here interior decoration it wasn't that important. There were practically no windows. And those that were available were very narrow. No glass was used, only the intestines of cows and bulls. This did not make the room brighter; it was always gloomy. But what the builders did not skimp on were the stairs and corridors. There were a lot of them there. It was easy to get confused. Stairs and corridors created drafts. This had a very bad effect on the health of the castle's inhabitants.
There was not enough warmth. There were fireplaces, but since the walls were stone, it was difficult to heat such a room. People felt cold all the time. The floors were also stone; straw was placed on top of them. The furniture was wooden: tables, chairs, beds. The walls were usually decorated with hunting trophies or hung with swords and shields. This was the decoration of the home of the average family.
Somewhere from the 14th century. bricks began to be used in construction. It was much warmer in such houses than in stone ones. The windows were expanded and glass was inserted. During meals they began to use porcelain dishes. Carpets were laid on the floors. Basements and cellars were used to store food. Oil lamps were used for lighting.
Ordinary people settled near the houses of feudal lords. Their interior decoration was much more modest, without luxury. When enemies attacked, commoners took refuge behind the walls of knightly castles. Over time, peasant settlements arose near the castles. And from these villages cities grew. There were fairs and markets, and the feudal lord received taxes from the population. He was very much not against people settling near his lands.
Knight's castle video
The Middle Ages in Europe were a turbulent time. The feudal lords, for any reason, organized small wars among themselves - or rather, not even wars, but, to put it modern language, armed “showdowns”. If a neighbor had money, it had to be taken away.
Lots of land and peasants? This is simply indecent, because God ordered sharing. And if knightly honor was affected, then it was simply impossible to do without a small victorious war.
Initially, these fortifications were made of wood and did not resemble the castles we know in any way - except that a ditch was dug in front of the entrance and a wooden palisade was placed around the house.
The manorial courts of Hasterknaup and Elmendorv are the ancestors of the castles.
However, progress did not stand still - with the development of military affairs, the feudal lords had to modernize their fortifications so that they could withstand a massive assault using stone cannonballs and rams.
The besieged castle of Mortan (withstood the siege for 6 months).
Beaumarie Castle, owned by Edward I.
Welcome
We are heading to the castle, which stands on a ledge of a mountain slope, at the edge of a fertile valley. The road goes through a small settlement - one of those that usually grew up near the fortress wall. Simple people live here - mostly artisans, and warriors guarding the outer perimeter of defense (in particular, guarding our road). These are the so-called “castle people”.
Scheme of castle structures. Note that there are two gate towers, the largest one standing separately.
The first obstacle is a deep ditch, and in front of it is a shaft of excavated earth. The moat can be transverse (separates the castle wall from the plateau) or crescent-shaped, curved forward. If the landscape allows, a moat encircles the entire castle in a circle.
The bottom shape of ditches could be V-shaped or U-shaped (the latter is the most common). If the soil under the castle is rocky, then ditches were either not made at all, or they were cut down to a shallow depth, preventing only the advance of infantry (it is almost impossible to dig under the castle wall in the rock - therefore the depth of the ditch was not of decisive importance).
The crest of the earthen rampart lying directly in front of the ditch (which makes it seem even deeper) often carried a palisade - a fence made of wooden stakes dug into the ground, pointed and tightly fitted to each other.
A bridge spanning a moat leads to the outer wall of the castle. Depending on the size of the ditch and bridge, the latter is supported by one or more supports (huge logs). The outer part of the bridge is fixed, but the last section (right next to the wall) is movable.
Scheme of the entrance to the castle: 2 - gallery on the wall, 3 - drawbridge, 4 - grate.
Counterweights on the gate lift.
This drawbridge is designed so that in a vertical position it covers the gate. The bridge is powered by mechanisms hidden in the building above them. From the bridge to the lifting machines, ropes or chains go into the wall openings. To facilitate the work of people servicing the bridge mechanism, the ropes were sometimes equipped with heavy counterweights, taking part of the weight of this structure on themselves.
Of particular interest is the bridge, which worked on the principle of a swing (it is called “tipping” or “swinging”). One half of it was inside - lying on the ground under the gate, and the other stretched across the ditch. When the inner part rose, covering the entrance to the castle, the outer part (which the attackers sometimes already managed to run into) sank down into the ditch, where the so-called “wolf pit” was built (sharp stakes dug into the ground), invisible from the outside until the bridge is down.
To enter the castle when the gates were closed, there was a side gate next to them, to which a separate lift ladder was usually laid.
The gate is the most vulnerable part of the castle; it was usually not made directly into its wall, but was located in the so-called “gate towers”. Most often, the gates were double-leaf, and the doors were knocked together from two layers of boards. To protect against arson, they were lined with iron on the outside. At the same time, in one of the doors there was a small narrow door that could only be passed through by bending over. In addition to locks and iron bolts, the gate was closed by a transverse beam lying in the wall channel and sliding into the opposite wall. The cross beam could also be inserted into hook-shaped slots on the walls. Its main purpose was to protect the goal from being attacked by attackers.
Behind the gate there was usually a lowering grate. Most often it was made of wood, with lower ends bound in iron. But there were also iron gratings made from steel tetrahedral rods. The lattice could be lowered from a crack in the arch of the gate portal, or located behind them (with inside gate tower), descending along the grooves in the walls.
The grate hung on ropes or chains, which in case of danger could be cut off so that it would quickly fall down, blocking the path of the invaders.
Inside the gate tower there were rooms for guards. They kept watch on the upper platform of the tower, learned from the guests the purpose of their visit, opened the gates, and, if necessary, could shoot with a bow all those who passed under them. For this purpose, in the arch of the gate portal there were vertical loopholes, as well as “resin noses” - holes for pouring hot resin onto the attackers.
All on the wall!
Zwinger at Lanek Castle.
At the top of the wall there was a gallery for defense soldiers. On the outside of the castle they were protected by a strong parapet of half human height, on which stone battlements were regularly located. You could stand behind them full height and, for example, loading a crossbow. The shape of the teeth was extremely varied - rectangular, round, swallowtail-shaped, decoratively decorated. In some castles, the galleries were covered (wooden canopy) to protect the soldiers from the weather.
A special type of loophole is a ball loophole. It was a freely rotating wooden ball fixed to the wall with a slot for firing.
Pedestrian gallery on the wall.
Balconies (the so-called “machiculi”) were installed in the walls very rarely - for example, in the case when the wall was too narrow for the free passage of several soldiers, and, as a rule, performed only decorative functions.
At the corners of the castle, small towers were built on the walls, most often flanking (that is, protruding outward), which allowed the defenders to fire along the walls in two directions. In the late Middle Ages, they began to be adapted for storage. The inner sides of such towers (facing the castle courtyard) were usually left open so that an enemy who broke into the wall could not gain a foothold inside them.
Flanking corner tower.
Castle from the inside
The internal structure of the locks was varied. In addition to the mentioned zwingers, behind the main gate there could be a small rectangular courtyard with loopholes in the walls - a kind of “trap” for attackers. Sometimes castles consisted of several “sections” separated by internal walls. But an indispensable attribute of the castle was a large courtyard (outbuildings, a well, rooms for servants) and a central tower, also known as the “donjon”.
Donjon at Vincennes Castle.
The location of the water source depended primarily on natural causes. But if there was a choice, then the well was dug not in the square, but in a fortified room, in order to provide it with water in case of shelter during a siege. If, due to the nature of the occurrence of groundwater, a well was dug behind the castle wall, then a stone tower was built above it (if possible, with wooden passages into the castle).
When there was no way to dig a well, a cistern was built in the castle to collect rainwater from the roofs. Such water needed purification - it was filtered through gravel.
The military garrison of castles in peacetime was minimal. So in 1425, two co-owners of the castle of Reichelsberg in the Lower Franconian Aube entered into an agreement that each of them would provide one armed servant, and pay two gatekeepers and two guards together.
Kitchen at Marksburg Castle.
Inside the tower there was sometimes a very high shaft going from top to bottom. It served either as a prison or a warehouse. Entry into it was possible only through a hole in the vault of the upper floor - “Angstloch” (German - terrifying hole). Depending on the purpose of the mine, the winch lowered prisoners or provisions into it.
If there were no prison premises in the castle, then the prisoners were placed in large wooden boxes made of thick boards, too small to stand up to their full height. These boxes could be installed in any room of the castle.
Of course, they were taken prisoner, first of all, to obtain a ransom or to use the prisoner in a political game. Therefore, VIPs were provided with the highest class - guarded chambers in the tower were allocated for their maintenance. This is exactly how Frederick the Handsome “spent his time” at the castle of Trausnitz on Pfeimde and Richard the Lionheart in Trifels.
Chamber at Marksburg Castle.
Abenberg Castle tower (12th century) in section.
At the base of the tower there was a basement, which could also be used as a dungeon, and a kitchen with a pantry. The main hall (dining room, common room) occupied an entire floor and was heated by a huge fireplace (it distributed heat only a few meters, so iron baskets with coals were placed further along the hall). Above were the chambers of the feudal lord's family, heated by small stoves.
Sometimes the donjon did not serve as a living space. It could well have been used only for military-economic purposes (observation posts on the tower, dungeon, food storage). In such cases, the feudal lord’s family lived in the “palace” - the living quarters of the castle, standing apart from the tower. The palaces were built of stone and had several floors in height.
It should be noted that the living conditions in the castles were far from the most pleasant. Only the largest palaces had a large knightly hall for celebrations. It was very cold in the dungeons and palaces. Fireplace heating helped, but the walls were still covered with thick tapestries and carpets - not for decoration, but to preserve heat.
The windows let in very little sunlight (this was due to the fortification nature of the castle architecture); not all of them were glazed. Toilets were arranged in the form of a bay window in the wall. They were unheated, so visiting the outhouse in winter left people with a unique feeling.
Large temples had two floors. Commoners prayed below, and gentlemen gathered in a warm (sometimes glassed-in) choir on the second tier. The decoration of such rooms was quite modest - an altar, benches and wall paintings. Sometimes the temple served as a tomb for the family living in the castle. Less often it was used as a refuge (along with the donjon).
War on earth and underground
To take the castle, it was necessary to isolate it - that is, to block all food supply routes. That is why the attacking armies were much larger than the defending ones - about 150 people (this is true for a war of mediocre feudal lords).
The issue of provisions was the most painful. A person can live without water for several days, without food - about a month (one should take into account his low combat effectiveness during a hunger strike). Therefore, the owners of a castle preparing for a siege often took extreme measures - they drove out all the commoners who could not benefit the defense. As mentioned above, the garrison of the castles was small - it was impossible to feed an entire army under siege conditions.
The attackers had no less problems. The siege of castles sometimes lasted for years (for example, the German Turant defended from 1245 to 1248), so the question of logistics for an army of several hundred people arose especially acutely.
In the case of the siege of Turant, chroniclers claim that during all this time the soldiers of the attacking army drank 300 fuders of wine (a fuder is a huge barrel). This amounts to about 2.8 million liters. Either the census taker made a mistake, or the constant number of besiegers was more than 1000 people.
View of Eltz Castle from Trutz-Eltz Counter-Castle.
The war against castles had its own specifics. After all, any more or less high stone fortification presented a serious obstacle to conventional armies. Direct infantry attacks on the fortress could well be crowned with success, which, however, came at the cost of great casualties.
That is why, in order to successfully capture the castle, a whole complex of military measures was necessary (the siege and starvation have already been mentioned above). Among the most labor-intensive, but at the same time extremely successful ways overcoming the castle's defenses involved undermining.
Undermining was done for two purposes - to provide troops with direct access to the castle's courtyard or to destroy a section of its wall.
So, during the siege of the Altwindstein castle in Northern Alsace in 1332, a brigade of sappers of 80 (!) people took advantage of the diversionary maneuvers of their troops (periodic short attacks on the castle) and within 10 weeks made a long passage in solid rock to the south-eastern part fortresses
If the castle wall was not too large and had an unreliable wall, then a tunnel was dug under its base, the walls of which were strengthened with wooden struts. Next, the spacers were set on fire - just under the wall. The tunnel was collapsing, the base of the foundation was sagging, and the wall above this place was falling apart.
Curious devices were used to detect tunnels. For example, large copper bowls with balls inside were placed throughout the castle. If a ball in any bowl began to tremble, this was a sure sign that a tunnel was being mined nearby.
But the main argument in attacking the castle were siege engines - catapults and rams.
Storming of the castle (14th century miniature).
A type of catapult is a trebuchet.
Sometimes the catapults were loaded with barrels filled with flammable materials. To give the castle defenders a couple of pleasant minutes, catapults threw the severed heads of prisoners to them (especially powerful machines could even throw whole corpses over the wall).
Storming a castle using a mobile tower.
In addition to the usual ram, pendulum ones were also used. They were mounted on high mobile frames with a canopy and looked like a log suspended on a chain. The besiegers hid inside the tower and swung the chain, causing the log to hit the wall.
In response, the besieged lowered a rope from the wall, at the end of which steel hooks were attached. With this rope they caught the ram and tried to lift it up, depriving it of mobility. Sometimes an unwary soldier could get caught on such hooks.
Having overcome the rampart, broken the palisades and filled in the ditch, the attackers either stormed the castle using ladders or used tall wooden towers, the upper platform of which was flush with the wall (or even higher than it). These gigantic structures were doused with water to prevent the defenders from setting them on fire and were rolled up to the castle along a plank flooring. A heavy platform was thrown over the wall. The assault group climbed up the internal stairs, went out onto the platform and fought into the gallery of the fortress wall. Usually this meant that in a couple of minutes the castle would be taken.
Silent Sapa
Sapa (from the French sape, literally - hoe, saper - to dig) is a method of digging a ditch, trench or tunnel to approach its fortifications, used in the 16th-19th centuries. The switchback (quiet, secretive) and flying glanders are known. Work with a shift gland was carried out from the bottom of the original ditch without workers going to the surface, and with a flying gland - from the surface of the earth under the cover of a previously prepared protective embankment of barrels and bags of earth. In the 2nd half of the 17th century, specialists - sappers - appeared in the armies of a number of countries to perform such work.
The expression to act “on the sly” means: to sneak, slowly, unnoticed, to penetrate somewhere.
Fights on the castle stairs
From one floor of the tower it was possible to get to another only by a narrow and steep spiral staircase. The ascent along it was carried out only one after another - it was so narrow. At the same time, the warrior who went first could rely only on his own ability to fight, because the steepness of the turn of the turn was chosen in such a way that it was impossible to use a spear or long sword. Therefore, the battles on the stairs were reduced to single combat between the defenders of the castle and one of the attackers. Namely the defenders, because they could easily replace each other, since there was a special extended area behind them.
Samurai castles
We know the least about exotic castles - for example, Japanese ones.
Stone castles began to be built at the end of the 16th century, taking into account European achievements in fortification. An indispensable feature of a Japanese castle are wide and deep artificial ditches with steep slopes that surrounded it on all sides. Usually they were filled with water, but sometimes this function was performed by a natural water barrier - a river, lake, swamp.
Inside the castle was complex system protective structures, consisting of several rows of walls with courtyards and gates, underground corridors and labyrinths. All these structures were located around the central square of Honmaru, on which the feudal lord's palace and the high central tenshukaku tower were erected. The latter consisted of several gradually decreasing rectangular tiers with protruding tiled roofs and pediments.
Japanese castles, as a rule, were small - about 200 meters long and 500 wide. But among them there were also real giants. Thus, Odawara Castle occupied an area of 170 hectares, and the total length of its fortress walls reached 5 kilometers, which is double more length walls of the Moscow Kremlin.
Ancient charm
French castle of Saumur (14th century miniature).
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Since the seas and rivers provided great visibility for tracking down and attacking foreign invaders.
The water supply made it possible to preserve ditches and ditches, which were an indispensable part of the castle’s defense system. Castles also functioned as administrative centers, and bodies of water helped facilitate the collection of taxes, since the rivers and seas were important trade waterways.
Castles were also built on high hills or in rocky cliffs, which were difficult to attack.
Castle construction stages
At the beginning of the construction of the castle, ditches were dug in the ground around the location of the future building. Their contents were folded inside. The result was an embankment or hill called a “mott.” A castle was later built on it.
Then the castle walls were built. Often two rows of walls were erected. The outer wall was lower than the inner one. It contained towers for the castle defenders, a drawbridge and a lock. Towers were built on the inner wall of the castle, which were used for. The basement rooms were intended to store food in the event of a siege. The area, which was surrounded by an internal wall, was called a “bailey”. On the site there was a tower where the feudal lord lived. Castles could be supplemented with extensions.
What were castles made of?
The material from which the castles were made depended on the geology of the area. The first castles were built from wood, but later stone became the building material. Sand, limestone, and granite were used in construction.
All construction was done by hand.
Castle walls rarely consisted entirely of solid stone. The outside of the wall was faced with processed stones, and on the inside it was laid out in uneven shapes and different sizes. These two layers were connected using lime mortar. The solution was prepared right on the site of the future structure, and the stones were also whitened with its help.
Wooden scaffolding was erected at the construction site. In this case, horizontal beams were stuck into holes made in the walls. Boards were placed across them on top. On the walls of medieval castles you can see square recesses. These are the marks from the scaffolding. At the end of construction, the building niches were filled with limestone, but over time it fell off.
The windows in the castles were narrow openings. Small openings were made on the castle tower so that the defenders could shoot arrows.
How much did the locks cost?
If we were talking about a royal residence, then specialists from all over the world were hired for construction. This is how the king of medieval Wales, Edward the First, built his ring castles. Masons cut stones into blocks of the correct shape and size using a hammer, chisel and measuring tools. This work required high skill.
There were stone castles expensive pleasure. King Edward almost bankrupted the state treasury by spending £100,000 on their construction. About 3,000 workers were involved in the construction of one castle.
The construction of castles took from three to ten years. Some of them were built in a war zone and took longer to complete. Most of the castles built by Edward the First still stand.