Castles

Author: Philip Steele

Consultant: Dr Jenny Benham
 Contents
Senior editor Satu Hämeenaho-Fox
Assistant editors Shambhavi Thatte, Andrew Korah
Senior art editors Ann Cannings, Nidhi Mehra
4 What is a castle?
Project art editors Nehal Verma, Emma Hobson
DTP designers Jagtar Singh, Sachin Gupta 6 Wooden castles
Picture researcher Sakshi Saluja
Jacket co-ordinator Francesca Young
Jacket designer Dheeraj Arora 8 Stone castles
Managing editors Laura Gilbert, Alka Thakur Hazarika
Managing art editors Diane Peyton Jones, 10 The Great Hall
Romi Chakraborty
Delhi team head Malavika Talukder
Pre-production producer Heather Blagden 12 Concentric castles
Producer John Casey
Creative director Helen Senior
Publishing director Sarah Larter
14 Castle defences
Educational consultant Jenny Lane-Smith 16 Besieged!
DIGITAL OPERATIONS, DELHI
Assistant editor Tooba Shafique
Production co-ordinator Manish Bhatt
18 Meet the expert
DK CREATIVE, DELHI 20 Dungeons
Editor Abhijit Dutta
Art editor Mohd Zishan
Managing editor Monica Saigal 22 Feudal society
Deputy managing art editor Ivy Sengupta
First published in Great Britain in 2019 by 24 Lords and ladies
Dorling Kindersley Limited
80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL
26 Working in a castle
Copyright © 2019 Dorling Kindersley Limited
A Penguin Random House Company

All rights reserved.

28 Peasant life
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
30 Animals
photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner.

A CIP catalogue record for this book

is available from the British Library.
eISBN: 9780241410127
e
Lut

A WORLD OF IDEAS:
SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW

www.dk.com
Heraldic
shield
Dagger

2
32 Dressing a knight 56 Myths and legends
34 Name your weapon! 58 Facts and figures Peregrine
falcon

36 Tournaments 60 Armour and helmets

38 Food and feasts 62 Timeline of the castle age
40 Entertainment 64 Glossary
42 Prayer and worship 66 Index
44 Castles in Europe 68 Acknowledgements
46 Moorish castles 69 Quiz
48 Crusader castles 70 Quiz answers
50 End of an age
52 Japanese castles
54 Fantasy castles

Farmer

isors
Château de G

3
What is a castle?
Rulers built castles between about 1,100 and
500 years ago, in Europe and parts of Asia.
Their massive stone towers loomed over places
from valleys to seashores. Castles were built for
defence but were also home to many people.

Bodiam
Castle, East
Sussex, UK
Regional power
A castle was a power base.
It could be used to guard
a route, to prevent an
invasion, or to keep control
over a rebellious region
of the country.

Administration
Castles could be used to
rule in ways that weren’t
military. Taxes were stored,
law cases were heard, and
meetings were held in
castles. Some were part
of a town.

4
 Imprisonment Residence
Castle dungeons were often A castle was a place to live.
used to lock up enemies of It might be the home of a
the king, such as traitors, king or a powerful lord.
rebels, or prisoners of war. Some rulers had many
It was hard for them to castles and travelled
escape or be rescued. between them.

Impress
Castles helped noble families
show off their wealth and
power. Some castles were
painted white, to look even
Defence more splendid.
The soldiers inside the castle
were called the garrison.
They were there to defend it
from attack. A well-designed
castle could be kept safe by
quite a small garrison.

5
Wooden castles
The Normans began building castles with Bailey
timber in the 9th century bce. This castle The bailey was
design is called “motte-and-bailey”. The first an enclosed flat
area with a hall, an
“keeps” or towers stood on top of a mound armoury, workshops,
called a motte. Below the motte was an open and stables and
area called a bailey. The whole site was sheds for animals.

protected by fences and ditches.

Palisade
Palisades are defensive fences
or walls made from wood.
They surrounded the motte,
the bailey, and the keep.

Moat
A ditch around the castle
could be filled with water
but was often dry and filled
with pointed stakes. This
made it harder for armies
to attack the outer wall.

Drawbridge
Bridges across the
ditches could be raised
when the castle was
under attack.

6
 Keep
The main fortification was
generally a square wooden
keep, or sometimes just a
hall or a watchtower.

Motte
The motte, or
mound, could be a
natural hill or else
made of heaped up
soil. This steep
approach to the
keep made it
difficult to attack.

Stairway
The keep could be
reached by a steep,
timber stairway. If
the bailey was taken,
the people could run
to the keep.

Advantages Disadvantages
• Wooden castles could
be built quite quickly.
• Wood and thatch could
be easily burned down
during a battle.
• Castle builders could
make use of whatever
materials were
• Wooden castles did not
have strong enough
available locally, such walls to resist a fierce
as trees and soil. attack.

• They were cheap to

build and maintain.
• Wood rots, while stone
walls can last for
hundreds of years.

7
Stone castles
From the 11th century, wooden castles were The keep at
replaced with stronger, stone defences. The Goodrich was a
square tower with
mound was now always topped with a stone keep, thick walls built
of sandstone.
a high tower which was very hard to attack. Over
the ages, more and more stone defences were
built around the keep.

! W O W!

Castle walls
could be up to
6m (20ft) thick
at the base.
Carpenters
Building a castle Woodworkers used
hammers, saws, chisels,
Hundreds, or even thousands, of labourers and and axes, to make beams,
joists, and floorboards.
craftspeople worked to build a castle. They had
no modern power tools or diggers, just muscle Chisel and
power. Stone had to be mined and transported hammer

to the site by boat or ox-cart. Axe

8
Goodrich Castle, Hertfordshire Château de Gisors
After the Normans conquered England The Norman rulers of England The eight-sided
in 1066, they built a wooden castle on built more than 25 castles to keep was built
this site. A century later it was replaced protect their original in 1123 by
by a stone keep, followed by outer homeland of Normandy King Henry I
walls and a gatehouse. against the French. A of England.
wooden castle in Gisors
was rebuilt in stone.
This castle was attacked
in 1646, during the English
Civil War. It was badly
damaged, but its ruins
still stand today.

Scarborough Castle, Yorkshire

This castle was rebuilt in stone for Henry II,
between 1157 and 1169. It guarded the
Yorkshire coast against attacks from
the Scots and the French.
The stone keep
was square and
three storeys tall.

Masonry
tools
Treadwheel crane Blacksmith’s furn
ace
Masons
Workers called masons shaped Blacksmiths
stones into walls and arches. Heavy Smiths hammered away on their
lifting was done by wooden cranes, anvils as they made and repaired
powered by treadwheels that Metal tools, chains, and nails.
people turned with their feet. tongs

9
The Great Hall
The largest room in the castle was called the
Great Hall. It was the centre of the household,
where meetings, war conferences, or sometimes
trials for criminals took place. It was a reception
hall for important guests and was where banquets
and entertainments were held.

Servants Salt vessel

Household servants The nef was an ornate
such as pantlers, table decoration
who took care of shaped like a ship. It
the food pantry, was used to hold salt
attended the feast or spices. People on
to serve the nobles. the less important
tables were said to be
“below the salt”.

High table
Royalty, nobles, or other
important visitors dined
here, while lesser ranks
ate at lower tables.

10
 W O W!
!
A seven-course
banquet held at
Carved beams Tours, France, in
The ornate beams and
roofs of the Great Hall 1457 entertained
were masterpieces 150 guests.
of carpentry and
woodwork.

Entertainers
Musicians might
play at a feast or
accompany a dance.

Tapestry
Wall hangings such
as rich tapestries
showed off the wealth
and good taste of the
lords and ladies.

Give the dog a bone!

Favourite hounds might
be treated to a scrap
during the meal.

11
12
Concentric castles Beaumaris Castle, Anglesey
Over time, castle builders added more and more defences. These King Edward I of England
made it harder for the enemy to swarm over walls, smash through defeated the Welsh in 1282.
He built a ring of castles
walls, or dig under them. By the 1300s the best castles were ringed around North Wales to
prevent rebellion. The last
by moats and outer walls, with high inner walls and towers. We call of these was Beaumaris.
these ring designs “concentric”.
Getting in
Inner wall This castle could be accessed
The second layer from the sea. It had a
of defences had drawbridge, an outer
huge towers and gate or barbican,
walls that were and a massive
higher than the inner
outer ones. gatehouse.

Inner bailey
The square inner bailey or
ward offered access to the
towers and walls, living
quarters, chapel, kitchens,
and water well.
 Keep Moat
The moat was filled
This stronghold was
with sea-water. It
the final defence for
made it hard for any
any attacker to
attacker to get close
overcome.
Curtain wall Outer bailey to the castle walls.
The outer or “curtain” The area between
wall was the first ring walls and the towers Crossbows
fired a short
of defence, topped with their archers
arrow called
by a walkway. was called the outer a quarrel.
W O W! bailey or ward.
!
Castles were Crossbowmen
A well-designed castle didn’t need
built with narrow many troops to defend it. Concentric
windows called castles were designed so that every
inch of ground could be covered by
loops for archers crossfire from crossbowmen. They
to fire through. could easily spot attackers from the
top of towers and walls.

13
Castle
defences
The power of a castle depended
on its physical strength and how
fierce it looked. The building
needed to be able to resist attack
or capture in times of war or
rebellion. Its whole structure was
designed to slow down or kill any
Portcullises
This heavy grid of wood and iron
enemies who dared to attack it. was used to seal off the gatehouse.
It was lowered if the castle was
under attack. Sometimes two
portcullises were used together, to
trap the enemy in between.

BATTLEMENTS
Upright merlons
provided cover.

Crenels were gaps Walls and towers were topped by walkways called
for firing arrows.
battlements, guarded by walls called parapets.
Archers stood behind the parapet
to fire at the enemy.

Parapet

This overhang had chutes

called machicolations, for
dropping stones or hot
sand onto the enemy.

14
MURDER HOLES
Holes in the ceiling of the gatehouse were Water stopped the enemy from
used for dropping nasty things such as getting too close to the walls. Moats
rocks on any enemies below. There were were large ditches, often filled with
slits in the sides for arrows or spears. water and sometimes the contents
of the toilets!

Drawbridges
Drawbridges across moats and ditches
could be raised to stop any unwelcome
guests getting into the castle.

TOWERS
Towers were good lookout points, and were
very strongly built. They were awkward for
invaders too – just try fighting your way up
these narrow, spiral stairs with a sword!

15
Besieged!
The best way to capture a
castle was to surround it
with troops and then cut
off its supplies of food and
water. This was called a
siege. Heavy weapons called
Hoardings
siege engines were used to These wooden
attack the castle’s walls and platforms were
used by defenders
the people inside. to drop rocks on
attackers’ heads.

Trebuchet
This gigantic catapult
Battering ram with a long arm hurled
A heavy wooden rocks and other missiles
beam tipped with at the castle.
iron was swung
against weak spots
such as doors.

16
 Combat
Attackers climbed
the walls using
ladders. They faced
fierce fighting at the
Arrow loops top – if they made it!
These slits allowed
defending archers to
fire down at the enemy
without becoming a
target themselves.

Belfry
This tower on wheels
made it easier for
attackers to climb
the walls.

Reaching the walls

Attackers filled in
sections of the moat
so that they could
get close to the walls.

Undermining the walls

Tunnels were dug under
the castle’s defences. The
roofs were held up with
wooden props. When
these were set on fire, the
tunnel – and the tower
above it – collapsed.
Pavises
Attackers fired longbows or
crossbows fom behind these
big ground shields.

17
 Meet the expert
Libby MacInnes is the Trebuchet Master at
Warwick Castle, Warwick, UK. She tells us
about what it takes to build a real-life war
machine, the mighty trebuchet.

Q: What exactly is a trebuchet? Q: How did you build the reconstructed

trebuchet at Warwick Castle?
A: A trebuchet is a type of siege engine
used in the medieval ages. It uses a lever A: Trebuchets were made from around
(the arm) to lift a heavy counterweight in 300 pieces of wood. These were made in
the middle. When the lever is released, carpentry (woodworking) workshops and
gravity causes the counterweight to fall transported using carts and boats, then
downwards, lifting the lever quickly and constructed at the castle. It took around
launching its load into the air. 15 people two weeks to build.
Q: How big was a trebuchet? Q: What is your favourite part of your job?
A: Trebuchets were made in many A: I would have to say it is pulling the
different sizes. The trebuchet at Warwick trigger for the trebuchet! We can have
Castle is the biggest in the world at hundreds of people watching at our daily
18 m (60 ft) tall and weighing 22 tonnes shows. I love to hear their sound of awe
(24 tons). This would have been a large as the rock is flung at 250 km an hour
trebuchet in the medieval period. (150 miles an hour).
Q: How do you know what a medieval Q: Do you have a favourite story from
trebuchet would have looked like or Trebuchet histor y?
how it worked? A: King Edward I built the largest
A: Weapons were of course top secret trebuchet in histor y, called “Warwolf”.
technology and so there is very little He planned to use it in 1304 when he
evidence of what they looked like. attacked the Scots at Stirling Castle.
However, we do have a few drawings and When his enemy surrendered, he refused
descriptions from histor y. The oldest to accept it. He destroyed the castle
known drawing dates from 1187. We gatehouse before letting them surrender.
were able to work out how trebuchets He then charged the Scots for rebuilding
looked and worked using these sources. the castle that now belonged to him!

18
 Libby preparing the
trebuchet to fire.

Arm
War machine Libby
watches the Warwick
Castle trebuchet,

!
called “Ursa”, fire
its missile.
W O W!

A trebuchet
could fire a rock
up to 300m
(1000 ft).

19
Dungeons
Many castles throughout history
have served as prisons. With their
thick walls and armed guards,
escape or rescue was difficult or
impossible. People who defied the
king or the Church were thrown
into damp, underground
dungeons, full of rats and
with very little light or food. Cold and dark
Dungeons were
usually in the
underground part
The dungeon of Château of the castle. There
de Chillon, Switzerland might be a window
This castle dungeon dates with bars on it but
back to 1005. In 1816 the otherwise very little
poet Lord Byron wrote a warming sunlight.
poem called “The Prisoner
of Chillon” about a monk
who was imprisoned
in its dungeons.

Prison castles
Some castles became
more famous as prisons
than as places for lords
and ladies to live. These
Dürnstein Castle, Traitors’ Gate
fearsome fortresses held
Austria
prisoners for the lords of Tower of London
other castles without a Dürnstein Castle The Tower of London was used as a
Richard I of England was prison up until the 20th century.
dungeon of their own. held captive at Dürnstein Prisoners who had rebelled against the
Castle and Trifels Castle, monarch were taken into the dungeons
Germany. His ransom was by boat through the Traitors’ Gate.
100,000 pounds of silver.
20
 ! REALLY?
A dungeon where
prisoners were forgotten
forever was called an
oubliette.

Chained up
Heavy chains
attached to an iron
ring could be used to
restrain the prisoner.
These manacles
could cause injuries
and make it difficult
to rest.

Princes in
Princes and the Tower
Edward V and his
princesses younger brother
Richard were
held in the Tower
Noble or royal prisoners of London. They
were often well treated. disappeared
Lady Jane Grey
in 1483.
Their families would pay
huge ransoms to get Would-be queen
Lady Jane Grey, at the
them back. However, age of only 16 or 17,
some unlucky royal was caught up in plots
Princes in the to be Queen of
prisoners died in prison. Tower England. She was
executed at the Tower
of London in 1554.
21
Feudal society Monarch
About 900 years ago, European society was A king or sometimes
organised in a strict order called the feudal a queen ruled. This
system. Land was granted to people in monarch granted castles
and land to nobles, in
return for services and loyalty to the return for loyalty and
person above you in society. The castles military support.
King
were power bases that helped to enforce
this social order. Bishop Bishop

Bishops were powerful and some

had their own castles, too. They
! W O W!
sometimes argued with kings
about powers held by the
If a knight Church.
didn’t want to
fight for the king, Clergy
he had to pay a Both nobles and poor people
hefty fine. took up a religious life and
became part of the clergy.
Some lived well, while others
Friar Nun
took vows of poverty. The
clergy had their own law courts.

Law and order Court

As the better kings improved bailiff
law and order, lawyers and court
officials such as bailiffs were kept
busy. A lot of laws were to do
Seamstress
with buying and selling goods,
made by craft workers.

Servants
Some poor people worked as
servants and maids at the
castle and in wealthier
people’s houses. Servants

22
 Serfs and villeins
Some peasants called serfs and villeins had very
limited rights. They could not leave the land they
worked on without permission from the lord of the
castle. Being a serf was like being a slave because
you did not get paid for your work.

Queen

Nobles Vassal lords

Even powerful lords
were vassals, which
meant that they
had to swear
loyalty to the Serfs harvesting under the eye of a supervisor
monarch.

Knight
Knights
Some knights became very powerful,
but others were less well off. Knights
fought in the service of their lord,
rather than for a national army.

Craft workers
Merchant’s Male merchants and craft workers were
wife organised into clubs called guilds,
which controlled the trade. Many
women also made trade goods but
weren’t allowed in the guilds.
Tradesman

Peasants
Almost all poor people worked
to make food. They paid their
taxes by sending the lord grain
or flour. Some peasants had
Farmers
their own land to work on,
but many were serfs.

23
24
Lords and ladies
The lord and lady were the most powerful people in the castle
but they did not have complete power over their lands. A lord’s
right to own a castle was only granted to him by the king on
condition of his loyalty and his military support. In turn, the
lord demanded loyalty from his own followers.
Ladies
A lady’s rights were limited
and she had to dress according
to strict laws and fashions.
Lords She did not get to choose who to
A lord’s power and rank marry. Marriages were arranged
was shown by the way he to increase a noble
Headdress
dressed. There were strict Hair was tucked
family’s power.
laws about who had the under a cloth
right to wear certain called a coif. A
linen strap called
materials, such as a barbette went
furs or silks. under the chin.

Tunics
Embroidered
tunics were
worn over
a linen
undershirt.
 Waist belts with
decorative buckles
Belts were worn
to hold in loose
tunics and tuck Keys of the castle
in extra fabric. A lady took care
of the castle while
her husband was
away at war. She
was then called
the châtelaine.

Pouch
A pouch hanging
from the belt
could be used
as a pocket.
Hose
Woollen leggings
called hose were
worn by both men
and women.

Long dresses
Leather shoes Full-length dresses
Nobles’ shoes would be were worn throughout

25
made of the finest leather. the Middle Ages.
Working in Nurse
A nurse fed and looked
after the children for
the lady of the castle.

a castle Children were

sometimes sent
to live with other
families when
they were older.
All sorts of people worked in a
castle, from people who made Child
Children wore
weapons, to cooks, maids, and small versions
of adult clothes.
cleaners. When the lord or king
was there, it was very busy. When
an enemy army came near, many
ordinary people hid within
the castle walls.

Cook
Cooks and their assistants toiled
away in the kitchens before a big
banquet. Boys called scullions
fetched water from the well
and did the washing up.
! W O W!

The smelliest
job in the castle
was cleaning out
the toilet shafts
and cesspits!
Cauldrons
Stews were
prepared in iron
cauldrons hung
from pot hooks.

Spit
Meat for roasting was
rotated on a metal
rod called a spit.

26
 gle
n an
ata
e t Arrowhead
s
Wooden war arrows
rs
the

were about 7.7 cm

Goose fea

(3 in) long and had

long, narrow points
made of iron.

Embroidery
Ladies often spent
many hours working on
beautiful embroidery.
They made rich wall
Fletcher hangings and
A fletcher’s job was coverings for
to fit feathers (called use in castles
fletchings) to the and churches.
arrows. These made
the arrow spin in
flight, which made
them more accurate.

Butler Stitching
A butler was in charge of Embroiderers
the buttery, where butts stitched dyed
(casks of wine or ale) were woollen thread
stored. He reported to the onto linen cloth.
lady of the castle before
a banquet.

Lady of the castle

A châtelaine’s duties
included giving orders to
the servants about what
food and wine to serve.

27
Peasant life ! W O W!

In 1381,
Life for poor people in medieval times was the mighty
hard, especially for serfs, the poorest kind Tower of London
of peasant who had very few rights. Ordinary was captured
men and women had to work hard in the by peasants!
fields to produce food for the nobles in the
castle, as well as for themselves. In the 14th
century, peasants across Europe rebelled
against the nobles.
Harvesting
Farming work followed
the seasons. The peasants
ploughed long strips of land
in April, sowed the seed in
May, made the hay in June,
and harvested crops in
August and September.

Animals
In November, cattle, pigs, and sheep
would be killed for their meat. The meat
was salted to make it last, as fridges had
not yet been invented. Geese provided
eggs and meat, and were cared for by
young peasant girls.

28
 Castle
The castle often controlled a huge
area of land, including all the peasants
who lived there. Nobles became rich by
selling the food grown by the peasants.

Windmill
From the 1180s, more and more
windmills were built in northern
Europe. Water and wind power were
used to grind grain to make bread.

Flail
A flail was used to beat
stalks of wheat until the
grains separated from the
inedible stems and husks.

Chapman
Merchants or pedlars, known
as chapmen, travelled from
village to village, selling small
items such as ribbons.

Taxes
Taxes were sums of money
or food that people had to
pay to the lord, the king,
or the Church. The king
might demand extra taxes
to pay for a war.

Medieval coins

29
Animals
Animals played an important part in Beekeeping
Beehives were
everyday castle life. Horses were used for kept so the castle
always had honey
riding into battle, as transport, and when and beeswax.
hunting. The king and nobles hunted
animals such as deer or wild boar in the
forests. Oxen hauled heavy loads and
ploughed the fields.

Dogs
Dogs were bred for
hunting, herding
Friesian horse
These heavy horses animals, and guard
are descended from duties. Small pet dogs
medieval warhorses. were also popular.

Horses
The best warhorses were
called destriers. Everyday
riding horses were known
as palfreys. Merchants
used baggage horses
called sumpters. Irish
wolfhound

30
 Bees Pe
Bees provided Falcons re
g
Falcons and hawks were

rin
honey, the only way to

ef
sweeten food at the time. trained to hunt rabbits

alc
and other small creatures.

on
Honey was also used
in making medicines. The birds were kept in a
Candles were made wooden building known
from beeswax. as “the mews”.

En
g li
Pigeons sh
lon
gho
rn c o w
Pigeons were kept
in huts called dovecotes
and bred for eating.
Carrier pigeon They were also trained to
carry messages over
long distances.

Stags
The male red deer, or
hart, was hunted by nobles Hunting party
for sport. Its meat, called In some places,
only the king
venison, was shared amongst was allowed to
them with higher-ranked hunt deer.
people getting more.

Cows and oxen

Cattle were raised on the
castle lands, providing meat,
milk for making cheese
or butter, and skin for
making leather.

31
Dressing a knight
Knights were soldiers who rode on horseback. From the
1000s they became valued as troops and also as high-ranking
members of society. They fought in suits of armour. At first
this was mail, a mesh made from interlinking iron rings.
By the 1400s the whole body was covered in close-fitting
plates of steel.

Coif
This hood protected
Protective layer the head inside the
helmet.
Padded shock absorbers
cushioned the body
against blows from
axes, maces,
lances, and
Helping hands
shields. A servant or
perhaps a squire
(a trainee knight)
might help the
knight get kitted
out before the
Padding coat battle or joust.
This quilted
undercoat was
called an aketon
or gambeson.
It was made of Chausses
linen or wool. Mail leggings
protected the legs
and thighs from
slashing swords.

32
 Sword
The sword was designed
for slashing. It had a flat, The great helm
double-edged blade, A typical European
with a central groove. helmet looked rather
like a bucket. Inside,
Mail gloves it was padded with
These were mittens made cloth and leather.
from fine mail, with the
four fingers together and
a separate thumb.

Armoured knight
Mail was tough and flexible,
Outer layer but it could be pierced. A
This knight wears a short heavy blow from a mace
mail jacket, or haubergeon
(how-bur-jon). A tunic, with could cause severe
a split for mounting a horse, bruising and injury.
was called a hauberk.

Battlefield ID
A knight’s coat-of-arms
Putting on was shown on the shield
and on the surcoat. It
the armour helped battlefield officials
Mail fabric was called heralds identify a
knight, even when his
made up of iron or face was hidden.
steel rings. Each ring was
linked to four others and Shield
hammered together. A shield could deflect
blows in battle, or be
used as a weapon itself.

Surcoat Scabbard
A loose robe called a This sheath held the
surcoat could be worn blade of a sword. It hung
over the mail shirt. from a belt or a shoulder
strap called a baldric.

33
 Match the objects with the descriptions.

1 4
Broad
stabbing blade

2
Made from
bendy yew 3
wood

A B C
Pole-axe Halberd Dagger
This small, powerful axe was A weapon with a wide blade A stabbing knife used
fitted to a wooden shaft. The used by footsoldiers against in close hand-to-hand
spike could pierce armour mounted knights. Soldiers combat. It could be easily
and the blade could be used used the hooked part to drag hidden for a secret attack.
to slice and slash. knights off their horses.

Name your weapon!

A medieval battle was brutal. Longbows could injure an enemy
soldier up to 200 m (660 ft) away. Mounted fighters, called the
cavalry, used lances, slashing swords, battle axes, and maces.
Footsoldiers used pole weapons to try to dismount the knights,
whose heavy armour made them slow on the ground.
34
 Long wooden Short blade
shaft so soldiers for stabbing
could attack from
arm’s length
5
A long, deadly
blade of steel

6
Heavy bulb
that could
crush skulls

D E F
Mace Longbow Sword
The mace was a kind of club Medieval archers used the Swords could be used
with a heavy, round head. longbow to fire deadly showers in close combat by both
It was used by both of arrows into the enemy lines footsoldiers and knights.
footsoldiers and knights. before the two sides closed in Some were designed for
battle. Welsh archers were thrusting and stabbing,
famous for their skills. others for slashing.

! W O W!
Battle of the bows
Genoese archers were the
At the Battle of masters of the crossbow.
Agincourt in 1415, They fought for the French
against the English at the
English archers fired Battle of Crécy. However,
1,000 arrows per crossbows were much slower
to reload than longbows, and
second. the English triumphed.
Battle of Crécy, 1346

35
Answers: 1B 2F 3E 4A 5C 6D
Tournaments
The medieval tournament was a display
of riding and fighting skills. Knights Jousting
The joust recreated a real
competed to be the winners. The first battle. Two mounted knights
tournaments were held at about the thundered towards each other in
full armour. Their long, blunt lance
time stone castles began to be built in the might break on the opponent’s
11th century. By the 1500s, they had shield, or a knight might be
become grand and colourful spectacles. knocked off his horse. It was
very dangerous.

Clashes of arms
Popular forms of combat
included fights between teams of
mounted knights, or mass brawls
on foot. Some were violent
free-for-alls in which every
man fought for himself.

36
Heraldic symbols
By the end of the Middle Ages
tournaments were places to show
off fancy armour, plumed helmets,
and flags. Heraldic symbols were a
noble family’s favourite images of
power, such as dragons and castles.
They appeared on surcoats, shields,
and horses’ coverings.
Heraldic designs

Lady’s favour
A lady might agree for a
particular knight to fight as
a champion of her honour,
wearing her scarf or ribbon in
the joust. This was part of the
knight’s code of honour,
known as chivalry.

37
Food and feasts Cutlery
In the Middle Ages, food was grown close to People took their own
knives or spoons to a meal.
where people lived. Country people would Forks became popular in
often pay their taxes “in kind”, which meant Italy in the 1300s and then
sending in food to the castle. If bad weather spread to the rest of
Europe.
or a marauding army destroyed the crops,
many people went hungry.

Food for the peasants

Everyday meals might be just a
crust of gritty bread with cheese, or
a bowl of thin porridge. Peasants also
caught fish and rabbits, and raised
geese to roast for special feasts.

Cheese Stew
Pottage
Pottages were thick
stews of vegetables
or meat.

Trenchers
Food was often
served on a trencher,
a round, flat piece of bread.

In the days before refrigeration, foods

were preserved by salting, smoking,
pickling, or drying.

Pickled herring Bacon

38
Food for the lords Spices
A special banquet would be held in the Great Spices were beginning
to be imported from
Hall for a visiting lord or bishop. It might
Asia, at great expense.
include wild boar, venison (deer meat), swan,
wild birds, fish, and fine white bread.

Peppercorns Nutmeg
Saffron
Boar’s head
with apples
Cinnamon Ginger

Elaborate
decorations
Food was served
in all sorts of
decorative ways
to make it look
as expensive as
possible.

Roasted almonds
Pheasant meat

Apple pie

Berry and rose petal

rice pudding
39
Entertainment
Medieval festivals such as May Day were celebrated
with music and dancing. Entertainers such as
acrobats and jugglers travelled from one castle to
another to perform. The surrounding towns put
on “mystery plays” in which local people acted
out stories from the Bible.

INSTRUMENTS
Medieval people had no recorded music!
The lute came
to Europe from
It was performed live on harps, lutes, the Middle East.
flutes, trumpets, drums, or bagpipes.
Many of these developed over the ages
into the instruments we know today.
A musical
Rebec pipe
called the
recorder
Woodwind became
instruments popular in
the 1200s.

Minstrels and
troubadours
Minstrels (musicians) might perform in
the Great Hall of the castle during a
feast. From the 1100s to the 1350s,
poets called troubadours toured the
castles of southern France, singing of
Bow Lute chivalry and courtly love.

40
 Court jester
The jester was a
MUMMERS
During winter festivals such as
bit like a modern Christmas, performers called mummers
stand-up comedian. would roam the streets or go from house
He was kept by the to house, making music. They wore
nobles to make fun devil masks or headdresses shaped like
of powerful people, animal heads.
tell jokes, and talk
entertaining nonsense.

Country people liked jolly dances with

a lot of spinning around, clapping, and
stamping. Villagers might dance in a
ring, holding hands. At the castle, the
nobles preferred stately dances, pacing,
pointing toes, skipping, and curtseying.

Indoor games
Chess was invented in India, but the
European board game developed between
about 1100 to 1475. Its pieces reflect
medieval life, with castles, knights,
kings and queens, and bishops.

Chess piece

41
 Prayer and
worship
During the Middle Ages, most of Europe,
apart from Muslim Spain, was known as
Christendom. Every part of daily life was
affected by religious beliefs. The centre
of religious life in a castle was the chapel,
where people went to pray and hear Hugues de Payens founded
readings from the Bible. the order of the Knights
Templar in 1119.

Warrior monks
Abbeys and monasteries Between 1096 and 1291,
Just as castles controlled people’s popes called for “Crusades”,
working lives, religious faith was holy wars usually fought
organized around buildings such against Muslims. Knights
as abbeys and monasteries. gathered together into
International orders of monks were religious groups such as
often more powerful and wealthy the Knights Templar and
than kings. The island abbey of went to fight abroad.
Mont-St-Michel in Normandy was
even fortified like a castle.

Mont-St-Michel,
Normandy, France

42
 Cross
Bible The name “Crusaders”
Bibles were came from the Latin word
written in crux, meaning “cross”.
Latin.
Chalice
Precious silver cups called
chalices were filled with wine
and used in the service.

The chapel
Most castles had their
own chapels, where lords
and ladies could pray and
worship God. Before a
squire became a knight,
he had to take part in
a “vigil”, where he spent
the whole night praying.

Priest
Religious services were
overseen by the castle’s priest.

Religious wars
As well as wars against
other religions, there
were many bitter conflicts
between Christians. From
1209 to 1229 the pope
waged a crusade against
the Cathars, a Christian
group in southern France.
Knights carried out
massacres (mass killings)
against the Cathars. Carcassonne, a Cathar stronghold Cathars are forced out of
Carcassonne in 1209.

43
Castles in Europe
The Middle Ages were a time of brutal warfare,
which meant that thousands of castles were built
across the kingdoms of Europe. Castles were crucial
during battles to be king, wars over land and religion,
and peasants’ revolts.

FACT FILE

Marksburg Castle » Built in: 1117

This famous castle towers » Location: Braubach,
Rhineland-Palatinate,
high above the River Germany
Rhine. It has seen many
conflicts, up to World
War II. It has been rebuilt
several times – but never
destroyed.

Château Gaillard
d I, “the
This castle was built by King Richar
204 a
Lionheart”. During a siege in 1203–1
castle
French soldier managed to enter the
by climbing in through a toilet chute!
FACT FILE
» Built in: 1196–98
» Location: Les Andelys,
Normandy, France

44
 Fénis Castle
With fancy battlements, Fénis looks more
luxurious than many castles. In the 1390s,
it had its own vineyard to provide wine.

FACT FILE

» Built in: 1242-1420

» Location: Aosta Valley,
Italy

FACT FILE
Będzin Castle » Built in: 1348
Before Będzin, there
was a wooden castle » Location: Silesian
Highlands, Poland
which was destroyed
when the Tatars invaded
in 1241. The stone
castle was built by
King Casimir “the
Great” of Poland.

FACT FILE
Manzanares el
» Built in: 1475 Real New Castle
» Location: Community of This fine castle replaced
Madrid, Spain
an older fortress (the “Old
Castle”). It was built when
the Middle Ages were
coming to an end, so it
came to be used more as
a luxurious palace than
for defence.

45
Moorish castles Salon de Embajadores
This square tower is
45 m (150ft) high. It
From the year 711, the Moors, a Muslim group contains a splendid
from northwest Africa, invaded Spain and Portugal. throne room, built
in 1334–54.
They founded a country called al-Andalus and
fought their way into France. They built many
castles. By 1492, these lands had been reconquered
by European Christian armies.

Alhambra, Spain
From 889 to the 1400s,
this fort became a castle
and a palace. It towers
over Granada, Spain.

Beautiful
defences
Many Moorish castles
have strong, square towers,
linked to city walls. Later,
they developed into
Arches Domes
palaces, with beautifully The Moors were skilled Domes and arched ceilings
decorated courtyards, architects and craft workers. with intricate designs created
Arches were built in curves wonderful spaces inside
fountains, and gardens. and keyhole shapes. council chambers, throne
rooms, and mosques.

46
 Palace of Charles V
The Alhambra was
Reddish bricks surrendered to the
The bricks of the Christian rulers of
castle have a reddish Castile in 1492. This
tinge, which is how it huge palace of King
got its name – Alhambra Charles V was built
means “red castle”. in 1527–68.

El Cid
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar
(c.1043–99) was a nobleman
of Castile and a great soldier.
He sometimes fought against
the Moors, but sometimes on
the same side. The Moors
called him “El Cid”, the Lord.

Windows Tiles
Criss-cross latticework filtered Inside walls were covered in
out the blazing Spanish sun colourful tiles, with complicated
or allowed in a gentle breeze. geometrical patterns to dazzle
Splashing fountains cooled the eye. Some walls displayed Statue of El Cid
the hot air. calligraphy (beautiful writing).

47
Crusader Castles
Many castles still stand in southwest Asia and the Krak des Chevaliers
This castle in Syria
Middle East from the time of the Crusades (1096–1291). was first built by the
These wars were fought between Western European Emir of Homs in
1031. It was captured
Christians and Muslim armies. They were about religion by Crusaders in 1099.

and control of trade and land. Both sides used castles,

which were often captured.

Big slope
These steep walls or “taluses”
shored up the towers against
earthquakes and made it hard
to undermine or climb.

Lands and knights Crusading orders

The Holy Land in the Middle East Religious orders of
knights included the
was sacred to Jews, Christians, and Knights Hospitaller,
Muslims. New kingdoms created by who held the Krak des
Chevaliers, and the
invading Crusaders were referred to Knights Templar, who
as Outremer(“overseas”). Crusaders had their base at the
called the Muslims “Saracens”, Temple Mount, a holy
place in Jersualem.
while the Muslims called the
Europeans “Franks”. Knight Templar

48
 ! REALLY?
Krak des Chevaliers
Inner ward
Within the inner ward could house a huge
were living quarters,
stores, a great hall,
garrison of about
and a chapel. 2,000 men.

Water supply
Strong outer walls Droughts were common
This outer wall was in Syria. An aqueduct
added in the 13th channelled water into
century, making it an inner moat, which
a concentric castle. also served as a reservoir
for drinking water.

Salah ad-Din Crusader king

This Kurdish sultan King Richard I of England was
of Egypt reigned known as the Coeur de Lion (“the
from 1174 to 1193. Lionheart”). He spent most of his
He was a military reign (1189–99) on the Third
commander who Crusade or in captivity. He
won the respect fought against Saladin in
of many Europeans the Third Crusade.
with his brilliance.
They called
him “Saladin”.
Saladin Richard the Lionheart

49
 End of an age
By the 1300s, the feudal system was breaking down
in Western Europe. Under the feudal system, power
had been based on how much land a person had rather
than on money. As trade became more important, a
banker could become richer than a king. During wars,
the mighty stone walls of castles couldn’t withstand
powerful new weapons.

Ruins of
End of feudalism
Corfe Castle, In 1215, English barons forced King John to
England give away many of his royal powers by putting his
seal on a document called the Magna Carta. This
began to break down the feudal system that was
so important in running castles.

King John and the

Magna Carta

What happened to the castles?

Some castles were “slighted” which means badly
damaged by the enemy so that they could not
be used. Some were abandoned. Few castles
were used after the 1650s and they fell into ruin.

50
 The plague
In 1347, a plague arrived in
Europe. The “Black Death”
killed about 50 million
people, so there weren’t
enough left to work on the
land. Peasants could now
demand high wages,
instead of working for
the lord for free.

People bringing
out their plague
dead for burial

Rise of palaces
In 1360, King Charles
V of France converted
the Louvre Castle, which
defended Paris, into a
grand palace. Many kings
now deserted their damp,
draughty castles and
moved into luxurious
city palaces.

Louvre Palace, France

Gunpowder
Simple cannon were Matchlock muskets, 1690s
being used in Europe in
the 1300s. By the 1460s,
they were powerful enough
to destroy stone walls.
Castles became useless, as
the people inside were no
longer safe from siege.
Mortar,
1400s

51
Japanese castles
Castles first developed in Japan during the
Middle Ages. From the 1400s to the 1600s,
powerful lords called the daimyo replaced
simple forts made of timber and mud with grand,
towering castles. These played an important part
in Japan’s history as rival clans battled for power.

“White Heron Castle”

This name was given to
Himeji castle
Himeji Castle because of
Japan‘s largest castle,
its elegant white towers.
Himeji, was built in 1581
by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
He was a famous warrior,
daimyo, and castle builder.

52
 Samurai warriors
The Samurai, or Bushi, were warriors
who served a lord. From the 1100s to the
1800s they were elite troops with a high
social status. They followed a strict code
Sumptuous of honour, known as bushido.
quarters
The upper level of
the castle contained Horned helmet
the lord‘s living
quarters. They
would have been
very luxurious. War mask

Armour
Samurai armour, called
yoroi, was made up of iron
scales and plates, coated
in shiny lacquer and tied
together with cords of silk.

Armoured
skirt

Wakizashi

Katana

Swords
Samurai carried
two very sharp swords,
a longer one called a
katana and a shorter
Shin guards one called a wakizashi.

53
Fantasy castles
In the 1400s, kings, queens, and nobles liked to imagine
that they were living in magical castles with turrets and
spires. Their minstrels and poets told stories about
legendary castles. In the 1800s, some people actually
built romantic fairy-tale castles.

de Saumur,
Present day Château
nce
by the Loire river, Fra

Neuschwanstein
Castle
King Ludwig II of Bavaria,
Germany, was a dreamer who
loved music and architecture.
His ultimate romantic fantasy
was this hilltop castle, which
was built in 1869–86.

54
Camelot Castle
It is said that the legendary King
Arthur gathered together the
greatest knights in the land
at his castle, called Camelot.
He seated them at a round
table, so that everyone would
be treated as equals.

Travelling to Camelot
Arthur’s knights came
to Camelot to sit at his
famous round table.

Château de Saumur
A painting from 1410 shows the
Château de Saumur, a real castle
with soaring white towers. This
is still the ideal castle seen in
modern fairy tales and films.

55
Myths and
legends
Every castle has its own amazing
real-life story, but people love to tell
fanciful tales about them too. Some of
these are about knights and heroines,
some about magical beasts and Robin Hood
supernatural beings. Over time, the This legendary outlaw from
true stories have become legends. England “robbed the rich to pay
the poor”. His greatest enemy
was the evil Sheriff who lived
in Nottingham Castle.

Statue of Robin
Vlad III Hood outside
the castle wall in
Nottingham,
Legend of Dracula England.
A cruel medieval prince called Vlad III
lived in the castles of Bran, Poenari, and
Hunyadi in 15th-century Romania. In the
1800s, a writer called Bram Stoker based
his vampire Dracula on Vlad.

56
 Dragon king
In Japanese folk tales, a
castle belonging to a dragon
called Ryujin lies under the
sea. One day spent in this
palace is the same as 100
years in the outside world.

The princess is
The dragon Ryujin rescued by
her brother.

! W O W!

Robin Hood Laidley Wyrm

A king was living at Bamburgh
has featured in at Castle when his wife died. He got
least 78 films and married again, to a witch. She
TV series. turned her new stepdaughter, the
princess, into a dragon called the
“Laidley Wyrm”.

King Arthur
If Arthur ever existed, he
was probably a war leader
who died in about 537 ce.
In the later Middle Ages,
storytellers reinvented
him as a great king. They
said that the wizard
Merlin was there when
Arthur was born at
Tintagel Castle.

all, England.
The ruins of Tintagel, Cornw

57
Facts and
Most people in the Middle Ages went
without breakfast. The main meal of
the day was around mid-morning,
at about 10 or 11 o’clock.

figures
Castles impressed and intimidated
the world for hundreds of years.
Even though many of them are now
in ruins, we still find them amazing. From the 1490s,
the medieval great
Read on to learn facts and figures sword reached
about castles. extreme lengths.
Some could be as
gigantic as 1.4 m
SUITS OF ARMOUR were given as top
(4.5 ft) long
prizes in tournaments. German armour
and weigh
was considered to be the finest and was
more than
stamped with armourer’s trademark.
2 kg (4.4 lb).

BEAUMARIS
CASTLE
in Wales cost about £15,000
to build, over seven centuries
ago. In today’s money that
would be about £15.8
million (20.3 million USD).
Beaumaris Castle

10,000
castles are recorded
to have been built in
Spain over the ages.
About 2,500 of them
still survive.

58
 The word DUNGEON comes
from the French word donjon,
meaning keep. In English it
came to mean a grim prison
in a castle.

n,
Rumelian Castle dungeo
Istanbul, Turkey

The medieval
longbow was up to
1.8 m (6 ft)
long and had a
range of over
315 m
(1033 ft).

The path to
knighthood
began with young boys who served
as pages, in the castle, then as squires
who assisted knights. When they learned
how to fight they finally became knights.

140 KG
boulders (310 lb) could be
YEARS
was how long it took
thrown by the Warwolf, the the Ottoman Turks
biggest trebuchet ever built. to win the Siege of
Philadelphia, in
modern Turkey.
It lasted from
1378–90.
59
 While the walls protected a knight’s castle from attack, metal armour
and helmets protected his body during a battle or a joust.

Armour-plated Visor: A plate with a

slit to see through.
It was lowered to
protect the face
By the 1400s a full suit (or in battle.
“harness“) of plate armour could
protect every part of the knight’s
body. Each piece had a name. 1 2

KEY
3
4
1 Gorgets One or two plates that
protected the throat and neck.
5
2 Pauldron Plates that protected
the shoulder and upper arm.

3 Besagew A disc that protected

the armpit.

4 Cuirass The main armour that

protected the knight’s upper body.

5 Vambrace The parts that protected

the forearm. 6
6 Gauntlet An armoured glove with
a cuff to protect the hand and 7
the wrist.

7 Greaves Leg armour that protected

the shin and the calf.

8 Spurs Metal points or spiked

wheels called rowels could be
fixed to the heel to prod the
horse forwards.

9 Sabaton Armour shaped like a 8

shoe, which protected the foot.

60
 o u r a n d h e l m e t s
Arm

Helmets
Helmets protected part or all of
the head and face in battle, and
sometimes the neck, too. They were SALLET
made in many different shapes A dish-like helmet was used in the 1450s. It had a
leather lining and was often worn with a bevor, a
over the ages.
metal plate protecting the lower face and throat.

MAIL COIF BARBUTE

The mail hood was fitted This one-piece helmet
with a flap called a ventail, looks rather like a helmet
which protected the chin. It from ancient Greece, but
was worn under a conical or it was worn from the 1350s
basin-type helmet. to the 1450s.

NASAL HELMET FROG-MOUTH

The conical helmet had
a bar called a “nasal” to
HELM
The “great helm” was a
protect the nose. It was
bucket-like helmet covering
worn by the Normans in
the whole head and neck.
the 1000s and 1100s.
This version with a front like
a frog’s mouth was popular
from the 1390s.

BASCINET CLOSE HELMET

This was a basic helmet This type of helmet from
with added neck protection the 15OOs included a
and a visor. Sometimes the protective bevor and visor,
visor was pointed like a and was often topped with
snout, to deflect a blow a feather plume.
from a weapon.

61
 Timeline of the
castle age
Follow the timeline to find out about
important events in the history of castles.

Walled city Stone castles

Huge walls are Motte-and-bailey castles are
built around rebuilt with stone keeps and
Constantinople. walls. These castles are built
The walls include all over Europe.
walkways, tower
Orford castle
forts, gatehouses, stone keep
and moats. Bigger
castles
Castles grow
Walls of Jericho bigger, with
A defensive stone wall is round towers
built around Jericho, in and multiple
what is now Palestine. defences.

270– 300– 1000– 1095–

8000 bce 2700 bce 900 1200
400 ce 400 1100 1291

First castles
Castle building
in northern Europe
begins. Early castles Motte
had mottes and
baileys, defended by
ditches and fences.

City of Uruk
Massive stone walls, Bailey
gatehouses, and
a moat surround
the ancient Iraqi
city of Uruk.

Early forts Wars of religion

Romans build stone forts “Crusades“ are fought The Siege of Acre,
to defend English Channel between Christians and in what is now
coasts. Later, some were Muslims across Western Israel, lasted
from 1189 to 1191.
made into castles. Asia and Europe.
Ruins of Roman
Burgh Castle
62
 Disrepair and ruins
Many European castles
see their last military
French manuscript action, and begin to fall Fantasy castles
showing building into ruins. Wealthy people
of a castle. build fairytale-style
castles as homes.
Scarborough
castle ruins

Concentric design
Stone castles are perfected, using a
concentric design with double walls.
Castle builder Master James of St
George builds them across Europe.

Artillery in wars
Bamburgh Castle in
England is partly
destroyed by cannons. Hohenzollern Castle, Germany

1640– 1667– 1900–

1290 1300 1464 1470 1800
1650 1707 2000

First cannons Bastion forts Restoration

Cannons are first used Special forts designed Many castles are
in Europe, often hurting for artillery warfare restored and repaired,
their own side more than replace castles. attracting historians,
the enemy. Marquis de Vauban archaeologists,
engineers such forts. and tourists.

The star-shaped
fort of Bourtange,
the Netherlands,
built in 1593.
Age of palaces
In Europe, the age of palaces
begins, as kings and nobles give up
their castles for luxurious homes.
Luxembourg
Palace, Paris,
France

63
 Glossary drawbridge Bridge that
could be pulled up to stop
attackers from entering
Here are the meanings of some words that
dungeon Castle prison,
are useful for you to know when learning all usually dark, damp, and cold
about medieval castles.
feudalism System where
people owed loyalty to those
armoury Place where chivalry Code of honour with more wealth and power
armour and weapons used by medieval European
were kept knights fletcher Craft worker who
made arrows
bailey Also known as a ward, coif Close-fitting cap made
this was an open space inside of cloth or mail garrison Group of soldiers
a castle’s walls living in a castle
concentric A type of castle
battlement Walkway at the with inner and outer walls halberd Type of long
top of a castle wall, designed weapon used for both
to help with defence crusade Religious war stabbing and cutting
agreed to by a Christian pope
Bushido Code of honour heraldry Symbols and
used by Samurai warriors Daimyo Japanese feudal colours worn by a knight
lords
butler Servant who took
care of wine and ale destrier
Warhorse of
carpenter Craft worker who a medieval
made things out of wood knight

chapman Merchant or Embroidery of

salesman who went between a medieval
villages selling small items invasion

châtelaine Woman who took

care of a castle where there
was no lord

crossbow Medieval bow

that could fire short bolts
a long way

64
invasion Large-scale attack murder hole Hole in a castle
by a foreign army gatehouse that let defenders
drop rocks on attackers
jester Court servant who
told jokes and silly stories nef Salt cellar shaped like
a ship
jousting Sport where
knights tried to knock each oubliette Tiny prison cell
other off horses using long where prisoners might be
poles called lances forgotten about

keep Most secure and palfrey Ordrinary horses

fortified part of a castle used for riding
Heraldic shield
knight Warrior who fought palisade Wooden wall built
on horseback to protect a motte-and-bailey Samurai Japanese warriors
castle
longbow Medieval bow that scabbard Sheath to carry
could fire arrows a long way pantler Servant who took a sword in
care of food stores and
lute Stringed musical the pantry serf Medieval peasant who
instrument was not paid for their work
parapet Wall along the top
mace Hand weapon with a of a battlement sumpter Horse that was
heavy or spiked head used by merchants to
pavise Large shield that carry goods
mail Links of metal defended archers on
connected together to the battlefield surcoat Tunic worn by a
make armour knight over his armour
pole-axe Weapon with a
motte Mound of earth that long pole and a stabbing and tapestry Woven decorative
made a good place to build cutting blade on the end cloth
a keep
portcullis Gate that could trebuchet Giant catapult
moat Ditch around a castle, be lowered to cut off a that could fire rocks
either dry or filled with water castle entrance hundreds of metres (feet)

mummer Performer who pottage Thick vegetable or trencher Piece of bread used
travelled around villages meat stew eaten by peasants as a plate in medieval times
playing music for money

65
 Index
A Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor embroidery 27
abbeys 42 47 entertainment 11, 40–41
Agincourt, Battle of 35 Château de Chillon 20–21 European castles 44–45
al-Andalus 46 Château de Gisors 9
Alhambra 46–47 Château de Saumur 54–55 F
animals 28, 30–31 Château Gaillard 44 falcons 31
archers 13, 17, 35 chess 41 fantasy castles 54–55
armour 32–33, 53, 58 children 26 farmers 23, 28–29
Arthur, King 55, 57 chivalry 37 favours 37
Christendom 42 Fénis Castle 45
B Church 22, 29, 42–43 feudal society 22–23, 50
baileys 6, 12–13 clergy 22 fletchers 27
bailiffs 22 clothing 24–25, 32–33 food 38–39, 58
banquets 10, 11, 39 coats-of-arms 37
battering rams 16 concentric castles 12–13 G
battlements 14 cooks 26 garrisons 5
Beaumaris Castle 12–13, 58 Corfe Castle 50 Goodrich Castle 8–9
Będzin Castle 45 craft workers 8–9, 23 Great Hall 10–11, 39
bees 30–31 Crécy, Battle of 35 Grey, Lady Jane 21
belfries 17 crossbows 13, 17, 35 guilds 23
bishops 22 Crusades 42, 43, 48–49 gunpowder 51
Black Death 51 curtain walls 13
blacksmiths 9 H
Bodiam Castle 4–5 D halberds 34
Bushido 53 daggers 34–35 harvesting 28
butlers 27 dancing 11, 41 helmets 33
defences 12–13, 14–15 heraldry 33, 37
C dogs 30 Hideyoshi, Toyotomi 52
Camelot 55 domes 46 Himeji Castle 52–53
cannons 51 Dracula 56 hoards 16
Carcassonne 43 dragons 57 Holy Land 48
carpenters 8 drawbridges 6, 12, 15 Hood, Robin 56
Cathars 43 dungeons 5, 20–21, 59 horses 30
cattle 28, 31 Dürnstein Castle 20 hunting 30, 31, 38
cavalry 34
chapels 43 E I
chapmen 29 Edward I of England 18, 59 instruments,
Charles V of France 51 El Cid 47 musical 40

66
J N siege engines 16, 18
Japanese castles 52–53 Neuschwanstein Castle 54 sieges 16–17, 59
Jerusalem 48 nobility 5, 10, 22, 23, 24–25, soldiers 5
jesters 41 28, 29 spices 39
John, King of England 50 Normans 6, 9 squires 32, 59
jousting 32, 36 nurses 26 stags 31
stone castles 8–9
K O surcoats 33
keeps 7, 8, 9, 13 oubliettes 21 swords 33, 34–35, 53, 58
knights 23, 32–33, 34, 36–37, oxen 30, 31
43, 59 T
Knights Hospitaller 48 P tapestries 11
Knights Templar 42, 48 pages 59 taxes 29, 38
Krak des Chevaliers 48–49 palaces 46–47, 51 tiles 47
palisades 6 Tintagel Castle 57
L pavises 16 toilets 26
ladies 24–25, 27, 37 peasants 28–29, 38, 51 tournaments 36–37
Laidley Wyrm 57 peasants’ revolts 28, 44 Tower of London 20–21, 28
land ownership 22, 24 pigeons 31 towers 15
longbows 17, 34–35, 59 plague 51 trebuchet 16, 18–19, 59
lords 24–25, 29, 39 poleaxes 34–35 trenchers 38
Louvre Palace 51 portcullises 14 troubadours 40
power bases 4, 5 tunnels 17
M Princes in the Tower 21
Magna Carta 50 prisoners 5, 20–21 V
mail 32–33 vassal lords 23
Manzanares el Real 45 R villeins 23
Marksburg Castle 44 religion 42–43
marriage 24 religious wars 43 W
masons 9 Richard I (the Lionheart) of Warwick Castle 18–19
military support 23, 24 England 49 water supply 12, 49
minstrels 40 Rumelian Castle 59 weapons 13, 16–17, 18–19, 27,
moats 6, 13, 15, 17 Ryujin 57 33, 34–35, 51, 53, 58–59
monarchs 22–23, 24, 29 windmills 29
monasteries 42 S windows 13, 17, 47
Mont St. Michel 42 Salah ad-Din (Saladin) 49
motte-and-bailey castles 6–7 Samurai warriors 53
mummers 41 scabbards 33
murder holes 15 Scarborough Castle 9
musicians 11, 40 serfs 23
Muslims 46, 48 servants 10, 22, 26–27
myths and legends 56–57 shields 17, 33

67
 Acknowledgements
The publishers would like to thank: Helen Peters for the index; Richard Leeney for photography; Dan
Crisp for illustrations; Jolyon Goddard, Sally Beets, Abi Luscombe, and Lori Hand for editorial help;
and The Household for modelling: Ben Phillips, Andy Everett, Edward Tyson, Sophie Tyson, Tom
Chadwick, Boyd Chester-Freeman, Martin Howell, Graham Wellard, Karl Perry, Jay Holland, Mark
Graves, Rebecca Tyson, Peter Farmer, Isobel Sheldon, and especially Rebecca Tyson. Additional
thanks to Tom Chadwick for historical consultation.

The publisher would like to thank the Gianni Dagli Orti (tr). 31 Alamy Stock Photo: Dreamstime.com: Rostislav Ageev (cl).
following for their kind permission to F1online digitale Bildagentur GmbH (cla). 52-53 Alamy Stock Photo: Ian Macpherson
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Stock Photo: Arterra Picture Library (clb); Paul Alamy Stock Photo: North Wind Picture (clb). iStockphoto.com: thyme (br). 59
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(bc). Dreamstime.com: Svlumagraphica (bl). Gary Smith (clb). 41 Alamy Stock Photo: Collection, London tr, cra; Dreamstime.com:
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Kindersley: Weald and Downland Open Air Image Partnership Ltd (tr). Dreamstime.com: David bc, Granger Historical Picture Archive tc,
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Photo: Granger Historical Picture Archive (cra). Alamy Stock Photo: Granger Historical
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Salih Külcü (tr). 30 Rex by Shutterstock: Military Services Museum (CMSM) (crb).

68
Quiz
Test your knowledge about castles
and find out even more fun facts!

2
1
What was a destrier?

What would you

do with a trencher?
4
3 Who did Richard I fight
in the Third Crusade?

Who was a chatelaine?

5 6What was a mace?

What would you
do with a lute?

7 8
Where is the What was a
White Heron castle? murder hole?

9 10
What was a fletcher?
What was a palise?

to d is c o v e r th e a n s w e rs
Turn ove r 69
 Quiz answers
1 Eat out of it. Find out more about medieval
food on pages 38–39.

2 A warhorse. Find out more about

medieval animals on pages 30–31.

3 A woman who ruled a castle. Find out

more about noble ladies on pages 24–25.

4 Saladin. Find out about Saladin on page 49.

5 Strum it – a lute is a stringed musical instrument.

Find out more about medieval music on page 40.

6 A heavy weapon. Find out more about medieval

weapons on pages 34–35.

7 This is a nickname for Himeji Castle in Japan.

Find out more about Himeji on pages 52–53.

8
A hole that castle defenders dropped rocks
through. Find out more about defences on
pages 14–15.

9 A huge shield that protected archers. Find out

more about medieval battles on pages 16–17.

10 A person who made arrows. Find out more

about jobs in the castle on pages 26–27.

70
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