Krak des Chevaliers seen from the north-west of the castle
A–Z OF MAJOR CASTLES
Abinger, Aigle, Alhambra, Amboise, Arques, Arundel, Beaufort, Beaumaris, Bled, Bodiam, Bodrum, Bonaguil, Bouillon, Burghausen, Burwell, Caernarvon, Carisbrooke, Castel del Monte, Castello Sforzesco, Castel Sant’Angelo, Châteaudun, Château-Gaillard, Chepstow, Chillon, Chinon, Cochem, Colchester, Conway, Corfe, Domfront, Doué-la-Fontaine, Dover, Drachenfels, Falaise, Gisors, Grandson, Habsburg, Hälsingborg, Harlech, Hastings, Haut Koenigsbourg, Herstmonceux, Hochosterwitz, Hüsterknupp, Karlštejn, Kerak, Kirby Muxloe, Krak des Chevaliers, Langeais, Lewes, Linz, Loches, London, Louvre, Málaga, Mantua, Margat, Marienburg, Montréal, Montreuil-Bellay, Montségur, Muiderslot, Niort, Nuremburg, Nyborg, Orford, Plessis-Bourré, Plessis-Grimoult, Rhodes, Rhuddlan, Riga, Roche-Guyon, Rochester, Salzburg, San Gimignano, Saumur, Segovia, Silifke, Sirmione, Stirling, Stokesay, Tarascon, Thun, Trifels, Trim, Valladolid, Vincennes, Visborg, Wartburg, Werlar, Windsor, York.
A–Z OF TERMS
Adulterine castles, archères, artillery, ashlar, bailey, balearic sling, balista, barbican, bastide, bastion, belfry, bergfried, berm, bore, brattice, brigola, cannon, castellan, castle-guard, cat, catapult, combustibles, concentric castles, counter castles, crakkis, crenellation, curtain, donjon, drawbridge, en bec, fonevol, forebuilding, funda, Greek Fire, hoarding, keep, machicolation, mangonel, mantlet, merlon, meutrières, mining, moat, motte, parapet, paterell, pavise, pele, petrary, portcullis, postern, ram, rampart, ravelin, rendability, ribaudequin, scaling, scorpion, sow, spur, talus, testudo, trebuchet, ward.
Castle warfare is a phase in the history of siege warfare. Fortification existed from early times, as evidence of earthwork sites proves. Settlements have often been defended, by earth ramparts or timber stockades, by wet and dry moats, or by walls. European medieval siege warfare descended from Roman methods. Fortified towns and camps existed in the earliest medieval period. Equally ancient were methods of attacking and taking fortified places – by agreement, trick, blockade, storm and various methods of breaking in. Many siege weapons came from the Romans, including rams, bores and throwing engines.
A major medieval development was the emergence of the castle, a residence as much as a fortification, representing an exclusive element in society. Castles were built for kings and lords and were relatively small. They appeared from about the 10th century, probably modelled on town citadels. The first known European castles were noble residences turned into fortifications in the Loire valley at Doué-la-Fontaine and Langeais. Fulk Nerra of Anjou was an early castle builder. Over the next century such stone fortifications became more common as residences and strongholds of kings and nobles.
A more basic type of castle emerged, of earthwork and timber – the motte and bailey. It appeared first during the wars between the Carolingian Franks and the Vikings. Such castles could be built relatively quickly and cheaply and during a campaign, as in the Norman Conquest of England, or the English Conquest of Ireland.
By the 12th century the typical castle was a fortification with stone walls and a stone keep. Earlier earthwork castles were often transformed into stone. The Crusades influenced western castle architecture, from familiarity with Byzantine fortifications. Great stone castles were built in the Holy Land. Castle defence brought changes in methods of attack with powerful throwing engines and methods of breaking walls, including boring, ramming, mining, belfries and Greek Fire.
The history of castle warfare is a tit-for-tat affair: improve the defences; improve the weapons of attack. A major change in the 13th century was the introduction of round towers along with improvements to gatehouses and moats. The result was the concentric castle, with more than one surrounding wall. Edward I’s castles in North Wales are excellent examples of concentric castles.
Then came an improvement in weapons of attack. Most throwing engines of the period – catapults, mangonels, balistas and so on – were adapted from ancient weapons. An original medieval machine was the trebuchet, using counterweights rather than torsion or tension. Trebuchets could hurl enormous stones and demolish walls. An even more powerful late medieval weapon was the cannon. Some cannons used in sieges were very large. Defenders improved walls and widened moats against cannons, while making platforms and loopholes to use cannons for defence.
Social change in Europe made the castle less desirable. Houses that were warmer, brighter and drier became preferred residences for the great and powerful. In England the castle is medieval, the country house later. In France the term château, which had meant castle, came to mean country house.
ABINGER, SURREY, ENGLAND
A Norman motte and bailey castle, excavated in 1949. On the flat top of the motte was found a rectangle of postholes, remains of a timber keep. The castle dated from c.1100 though the keep was rebuilt in the 12th century. Other postholes showed that a timber palisade surrounded the edge of the motte platform. The keep was on four main corner posts like stilts, as at Dinan on the Bayeux Tapestry. A horizontal wooden bridge connected the bailey to the motte.
AIGLE, SWITZERLAND
Fairytale castle with conical roofed towers set against the snow-capped Alps southeast of Lausanne. The castle dates from the 11th century and was extended in the 13th century. It was captured by Berne in 1475 and rebuilt in its present form. The curtain wall is massive with round corner towers, one of which is the keep. There is a large rectangular building in the courtyard. There is brattice-work above the entrance.
ALHAMBRA (THE RED FORT), GRANADA, SPAIN
A Moorish fort, part of the Alcazaba citadel of Granada. The citadel dates from the 9th century, the Alhambra from the 13th. It is seen as a gem of European architecture. The Justice Gate was built in 1348 with a vaulted passage. The Alhambra, held by the Nasrid Sultan Boabdil (Muhammed XII), surrendered to the Christians in 1492, the climax of the Reconquista. The Alhambra became a palace for Ferdinand and Isabella.
AMBOISE, FRANCE
Near the Loire, between Tours and Blois. A Frankish fortress stood here. Fulk Nerra captured it from Blois in the late 10th century. He passed it to his treasurer Sulpice who built a new tower. Charles VIII of France was born here and rebuilt the castle in its present form in the 15th century. It is more a Renaissance château than a medieval castle. It became a prison and then the residence of the comte de Paris.
ARQUES-LA-BATAILLE, FRANCE
On a rocky coastal headland in northern Normandy, south of Dieppe, built by William count of Arques from 1038. He rebelled against William the Conqueror, who besieged Arques in 1052–3, accepting its surrender and suppressing the rebellion. From 1123 it was rebuilt in its present form by Henry I, who added a rectangular keep with flat buttresses. It was the last castle to resist Geoffrey V of Anjou’s conquest of Normandy, 1135–45, falling in 1145. Philip Augustus captured Arques in 1204 during his conquest of Normandy after two sieges. It was taken by Henry V in 1419 and recovered by the French in 1449. The northwest barbican was added in the 16th century. The castle was damaged in the Second World War.
ARUNDEL, WEST SUSSEX, ENGLAND
By the River Arun, built by Roger of Montgomery earl of Shrewsbury soon after Hastings, the stronghold for a Sussex Rape. He built a motte and bailey castle, with a bailey on either side of the motte. It passed to the crown in 1101 after a siege by Henry I. The motte was crowned by a 12th-century shell keep. It was the first base for the Empress Matilda on her arrival in England. It was held by the Aubigny earls of Sussex, the Fitz Alan earls of Arundel, and the Howard dukes of Norfolk. It underwent frequent additions and alterations. The 19th-century work has left little of the original.
BEAUFORT, LEBANON
Crusader castle at Qalaat es-Shaqif south of Kefer Tibnit. The fortified site was captured by King Fulk in 1139. He passed it to the Lord of Sidon who built a castle on the precipice over the River Litani. The approach was protected by a ditch cut through the rock. The keep is rectangular, incorporated in the western section of the curtain wall. Saladin besieged it from 1189, starving it into submission by 1190. The Christians recovered Beaufort in 1240 and it was sold to the Knights Templar in 1260. It surrendered to the Muslims in 1268.
BEAUMARIS, ANGLESEY, WALES
The last castle Edward I built during his conquest of Wales. It stands on the island of Anglesey. Beaumaris was designed by Master James of St George and built from 1295 after Madoc’s rising in 1294. There is a rectangular inner bailey. The outer bailey was added later. The inner bailey wall has massive mural drum towers and two double-towered gatehouses. The outer bailey has an enclosing wall with towers, making Beaumaris a concentric castle – though it was never completed. Beaumaris was never attacked though royalists held it during the English Civil War, surrendering in 1646.
BLED, SLOVENIA
North of Ljubljana, on a cliff over Lake Bled. A fortification existed here from the 11th century. Henry II (HRE) gave the castle to the bishop of Blixen. It remained an episcopal castle until the 19th century. It has an upper and lower bailey and a curtain wall.
BODIAM, EAST SUSSEX, ENGLAND
A late medieval castle. Richard II granted a licence of crenellation to Sir Edward Dalyngrigge in 1385 ‘for resistance against our enemies’. The coast was under threat from French invasion – Bodiam is 15 miles inland but by the River Rother. It stands on a rectangular platform surrounded by a wide moat. There are drum towers at each corner of the ashlar curtain wall. Three sides have a central rectangular tower. On the fourth side the central gatehouse has two rectangular towers, initially fronted by a barbican. The gatehouse is machicolated with gunports in the walls. A 14th-century wrought iron cannon was found in the moat and taken to Woolwich.
BODRUM, TURKEY
Sited on the Turkish coast opposite Kos. The site was given to the Templars in 1415 in return for Smyrna. On the peninsula by Bodrum Bay they built two rectangular towers (of France and Italy) and a high curtain wall. Heraldic Templar shields were carved on the walls. A bastion for guns was added in the 16th century. The Templars abandoned Bodrum for Malta in 1523.
BONAGUIL, FRANCE
In southern France west of Cahors, built in the 13th century with a thick wall and rounded corner towers. The pentagonal keep makes a spur to the north. In the 15th century was added machicolation, a buttressed artillery terrace, and towers with low-level loopholes.
BOUILLON, BELGIUM
South of Dinant on the River Semois. The 11th-century castle was held by Godfrey I of Bouillon before he went on the First Crusade. The entrance was protected by a ditch. Two 13th-century halls survive. The present building is largely late medieval with 17th-century modifications.
BURGHAUSEN, GERMANY
In Bavaria north of Salzburg, consisting of six ditched enclosures. The early 12th-century castle belonged to the counts of Burghausen and passed to the dukes of Bavaria. Some interior buildings are 13th-century. The surviving exterior dates largely from the late Middle Ages, when the region was threatened by the Turks.
BURWELL, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, ENGLAND
Built to a rectangular plan by King Stephen in 1143 as a base against Geoffrey de Mandeville. Excavation revealed a curtain wall and square tower gatehouse of stone. A 30-foot-wide moat surrounded the castle but was never filled. There were foundations for a keep in the courtyard. In 1144 Geoffrey attacked Burwell. He was hit by a crossbow bolt and later died. The king abandoned the unfinished castle.
CAERNARVON, CAERNARVONSHIRE, WALES
One of Edward I’s Welsh castles, built as his major base by James of St George from 1283 on a peninsula between the River Seiont and the Menai Strait. It replaced Hugh of Chester’s 11th-century motte and bailey castle. A moat separated the castle from the town. The castle formed a rough figure of eight. Building continued for 40 years and was not completed. Facing the town, the main entrance is the King’s Gate. A second entrance, the Queen’s Gate, faces east. Caernarvon reflected the imperial magnificence of Constantinople, with a banded stone wall and polygonal towers. In Madoc’s 1294 rising Caernarvon was taken and damaged though soon retaken. Edward’s son Edward II was born there and known as Edward of Caernarvon and Prince of Wales. Owen Glendower besieged Caernarvon 1401–3 but failed to take it.
CARISBROOKE, ISLE OF WIGHT, ENGLAND
On a Roman site, the 11th-century motte and bailey castle was built by William fitz Osbern. The crown took it over in 1077. In 1082 Odo of Bayeux was arrested here. It has two baileys. It was strengthened in stone in the 12th century, the motte topped by a shell keep. Baldwin de Redvers took refuge here against Stephen in 1136 but submitted when the water supply ran dry. (The deep well using donkeys to draw the water is of later date.) The French tried to take Carisbrooke in 1377 but failed. Charles I was imprisoned here.
CASTEL DEL MONTE, ITALY
On a hill south of Bari (Andria) in Apulia, built by Frederick II (HRE) to an unusual octagonal plan with octagonal corner towers. The residential rooms are highly decorated with coloured stone and marble. It reflected Frederick’s artistic and architectural interests. It was called ‘the crown of Apulia’. A later lord was Charles of Anjou king of Sicily.
CASTELLO SFORZESCO, MILAN, ITALY
A castle around three courtyards built by Galeazzo II Visconti from 1368, known as Castello di Porta Gloria. The revolutionary Repubblica Ambrogiana attacked and destroyed the castle. It was rebuilt by Francesco Sforza from 1450 and work continued after his death in 1466. Leonardo and Bramante were among the artists to decorate this Renaissance castle, and works by them survive. It has square towers to the north and round towers facing south into the city, with an impressive brick gate tower designed by Filarete and rebuilt in the 19th century.
CASTEL SANT’ANGELO, ITALY
Papal castle on the right bank of the Tiber in Rome, an urban citadel. It guards a bridge to the left bank. At its heart is the massive Mausoleum of Hadrian, a round tower on square foundations. Fortifications were added by the 6th century. In the loggia is a statue of the angel that appeared to Pope Gregory I (the Great) in 590, to give the castle its name. Pope Leo IV used it as a fortress in the 9th century. Italian families held it through much of the Middle Ages. Cencius Stephani built a new tower in the 11th century. Pope Gregory VII took refuge there from Henry IV (HRE) in 1084. It returned to papal control in the 14th century. Nicholas V in the mid-15th century added round towers to the corners of the tomb. Alexander VI added polygonal towers at the end of the Middle Ages. Further building in the 16th century turned it into an early modern fortress with angled bastions.
CHÂTEAUDUN, FRANCE
The site is north-west of Orléans on a plateau over the River Loire. Theobald le Tricheur count of Blois is said to have built it in the late 10th century. The surviving 12th-century castle, with its round keep, was built by Philip Augustus. It was from Châteaudun in 1194 that Philip marched against John at Le Vaudreuil. In the 15th century the Bastard of Orléans made it more comfortable for residence, adding the Sainte-Chapelle. The state took it over in 1939 and carried out restoration.
CHÂTEAU-GAILLARD, FRANCE
At Les Andelys in Normandy, south-east of Rouen, by the Seine. It stands on a cliff over the river. Richard the Lionheart built the castle on the frontier against Philip Augustus. Its name, ‘cheeky castle’, reflects its object of provoking France. It was also called Richard’s ‘beautiful daughter’. He poured in massive resources to complete the castle in two years, 1196–8. Ditches were dug to defend the only approach. It was an impressive and innovative structure, triangular in shape to fit the plateau. The inner defences command the outer by height, as concentric castles would later do. Philip Augustus besieged it against John’s garrison from 1203, taking it in 1204, after which Normandy fell to him. It has a magnificent en bec round keep. The inner bailey is defended by large semicircular bastions, almost touching each other. The outer bailey forms a separate triangular enclosure, the point towards the direction of approach, cut off from the rest of the castle by a gully. Because approach was from one direction the outer bailey, middle bailey and inner bailey form consecutive obstacles to be breached in turn. A bridge of natural rock led to the inner bailey. Henry IV of France ordered it dismantled in 1603 but the ruins remain imposing.
CHEPSTOW (CASGWENT/STRIGUIL), MONMOUTHSHIRE, WALES
Beside the Wye, with a deep ravine (the Dingle) protecting the other side. A motte and bailey castle was built by William fitz Osbern (Earl of Hereford) from 1067, known as Casgwent or Striguil (from the Welsh for narrow vale), in the Norman invasion of Wales. A rectangular stone keep was built soon afterwards. From 1120 the defences were rebuilt in stone. Its famous lords included Richard de Clare (Strongbow) in the 12th century. In the 13th century, under William the Marshal and Hugh Bigod, the barbican, middle bailey, lower bailey and Marten’s Tower were added, and the keep enlarged. Some damage occurred in the 17th century, when demolition was ordered though not fully enforced. The Department of the Environment took it over in 1953.
CHILLON, SWITZERLAND
The most famous Swiss castle, on a small island in Lake Geneva (Leman) south of Montreux. The fortification is probably 10th-century in origin. The earliest remaining part is the Alinge Tower. The Duke’s Tower was added in the 11th century. The surviving castle was built by Pierre Mainier for Peter II of Savoy. It has some magnificent wall paintings commencing from this period. The outer walls and towers have machicolation. Byron’s poem ‘The Prisoner of Chillon’ concerns François Bonnivard, imprisoned here in the 16th century.
CHINON, FRANCE
Extended fortifications over a Roman site on a ridge over the River Vienne, consisting west to east of the Château du Coudray, the Château du Milieu and Fort St-Georges. The three enclosures are separated by moats. Coudray was built by the Count of Blois in the 10th century. Geoffrey Martel of Anjou took it in 1044. His descendant Henry II of England added Fort St-Georges and died there in 1189. Philip Augustus took Chinon in 1205 after a siege, adding a new keep in Coudray. The Valois kings added the Tour de l’Horloge. Here Joan of Arc met Charles VII in 1429.
COCHEM, GERMANY
On a rise beside the Moselle, south-west of Koblenz, controlling the passage of the river, begun in c.1020 with further work in the 12th century. The bishop of Trier enlarged it in the 14th century. It possesses a cluster of conical-topped towers. The castle was razed by the French in 1689.
One of the only two stone castles begun by William the Conqueror in England. Colchester was built over a Roman temple. It is similar in plan to the Tower of London, with apsidal-ended chapels inside a rectangular keep. Some Caen stone was used. Under Henry II a bailey was added. Demolition in the 17th century reduced the height of the towers. It was held for Prince Louis of France during the Magna Carta rebellion and recovered by John in 1216.
CONWAY (CONWY), CAERNARVONSHIRE, WALES
The most expensive of Edward I’s Welsh castles, built by Master James of St George, 1283–7, beside the Menai Strait on the foremost point between the rivers Conway and Gyffin. It was incorporated into the walls of the town built at the same time, separated from it by a moat, making the castle virtually an island. It has two major wards divided by a thick wall, with barbican extensions to east and west. The curtain wall incorporates eight drum towers. Conway was besieged by the Welsh under Madoc in 1294 but resisted successfully. Restoration was carried out in 1346. Richard II met Henry Percy here on his return from Ireland in 1399, when betrayed and captured. The castle was taken briefly for Owen Glendower in 1401. It decayed, passing into state hands in 1953, since when restoration work has been accomplished.
CORFE, DORSET, ENGLAND
A magnificent site on a hill. Here Edward the Martyr was murdered in 978. The castle was begun by William the Conqueror. Parts of the original curtain wall and hall survive. The rectangular keep was built by Henry I. Baldwin de Redvers, who came to England for Matilda against Stephen in 1139, shut himself in Corfe. Stephen besieged it but abandoned the attempt because of other problems. Further works costing £1,400 were added by King John, including La
Gloriette. The outer bailey with an outer gate was built in the 13th century. It was slighted by parliamentarians after the Civil War.
DOMFRONT, FRANCE
In southern Normandy, east of Avranches, over the River Varenne, begun by William de Bellême in 1011. A ditch protected the only approach. William the Conqueror besieged and captured it from the Count of Anjou. Henry I of England turned Domfront into a major border castle. The surviving ruins date chiefly from this period, including the rectangular keep. Geoffrey V of Anjou was handed the castle by its lord and it became a base for his conquest of Normandy. Henry II of England met the papal nuncio here to settle the Becket dispute.
DOUÉ-LA-FONTAINE, FRANCE
The site, La Motte, is south-east of Angers in the Loire valley. Excavation in 1967–70 revealed the earliest known stone castle, a keep, fortified by Theobald count of Blois in c.950. A residential stone hall was erected in c.900. It caught fire and was altered, the ground floor entrance sealed. An upper storey and forebuilding were added, protecting first floor entry. A motte was built around the foot of the tower. It was captured by Fulk Nerra of Anjou in 1025.
DOVER, KENT, ENGLAND
The coastal site was an Iron Age fort, a Roman lighthouse and an Anglo-Saxon burh, protecting an area vulnerable to continental attack. Harold Godwinson promised William the Conqueror to build a defence here but what he contributed is unknown. William built the castle after Hastings. Henry II’s mason, Maurice the Engineer, added an inner curtain wall, the beginnings of the outer curtain, and the rectangular keep. King John continued the outer curtain. Hubert de Burgh successfully defended the castle against Prince Louis of France in 1216 during his invasion. Under Henry III the outer curtain was completed, the walls strengthened and the Constable’s Gate (gatehouse) built.
DRACHENFELS, GERMANY
On a rocky crag over the Rhine, south of Bonn. Drachenfels means ‘dragon’s rock’ and features in the legend of the Nibelungs, when Siegfried slays a dragon there. A fortification existed there in 1117 when it opposed Henry V (HRE). A tower was built by Arnold bishop of Köln in c.1147 and was passed to the monastery of Boon, then to the Count of Drachenfels, who rebuilt the castle. It was enlarged with a new curtain wall and round towers in the 15th century but abandoned after the Thirty Years’ War and robbed in the 19th century. The ruins remain impressive.
FALAISE, FRANCE
In Normandy, south of Caen, over the Ante valley. The beginnings of the castle are obscure but it existed under Duke Robert I and was the birthplace of his son William the Conqueror in 1028. Henry I of England built the rectangular keep. Philip Augustus after the conquest of Normandy added the circular keep known later as the Talbot Tower, after the English commander who repaired it in the Hundred Years’ War. Restoration was carried out in the 19th century though the castle suffered damage in the Second World War.
GISORS, FRANCE
In the Norman Vexin, south-west of Beauvais, built on the frontier against the Capetians in the 11th century. Robert of Bellême for William II of England built the motte in 1096. An octagonal shell keep and stone walls were added by Henry I of England. Philip Augustus captured Gisors in 1193, when it surrendered without a fight. He strengthened the defences, adding the circular keep known as the Prisoners’ Tower.
GRANDSON, SWITZERLAND
On Lake Neuchâtel, built by the Lord of Grandson in the 11th century. The surviving castle dates chiefly from the 13th century. It passed to the Châlon-Orange family who rebuilt it in the later Middle Ages. The curtain wall is very high with five circular or semicircular corner and mural towers having conical caps. Outside Grandson Charles the Bold was defeated by the Swiss in 1476. The castle passed to Berne and Fribourg.
HABSBURG, SWITZERLAND
Built on the height of the Wülpelsberg, north-west of Zurich. The castle with its rectangular Bergfried (watchtower) probably dates from the 11th century though first recorded in 1108. In the 12th and 13th centuries a palace and outer wall were added. It was the original seat of the Habsburgs, who ceased to reside there from the 13th century. The castle passed to Berne in 1529 and later to the canton of Aargau. Alterations in the 16th century left a building that emphasised residence rather than defence.
HÄLSINGBORG, SWEDEN
On the south-west coast over the Ore Sund, controlling Baltic traffic. The fortifications at Hälsingborg and at Helsingør (Elsinore) on the opposite shore were built by the Danes in the 12th century. The Kärnan (keep) survives. Waldmar IV rebuilt the tower in brick in c.1370 to a height of 113 feet.
HARLECH, MERIONETH, WALES
On the estuary of the River Dwyryd, on the site of a former Welsh fort, built by Master James of St George for Edward I, 1283–90, costing £9,500. The sea was closer then to the castle. It had a concentric plan with a wide moat on two sides. A massive twin-towered gatehouse faces east. The inner curtain has round corner towers. The curtain to the narrow outer bailey is low, dominated by the inner bailey. Master James became constable of Harlech 1290–3. It was besieged by Welsh rebels in 1294 but relieved. Repairs were made in the 14th century. Harlech was besieged and taken in 1404 by Owen Glendower with French allies, to become his base, and recovered by Lord Talbot in 1408. In the Wars of the Roses Harlech was taken over in 1468 by Dafydd ap Ieuan, whose men were the original ‘Men of Harlech’. The castle was besieged and taken by Yorkists under the Earl of Pembroke. It was held for the royalists in the English Civil War.
HASTINGS, SUSSEX, ENGLAND
Partly lost through demolition and erosion of the cliff on which the castle stands. The cliff stands above the modern town. It was an Iron Age fort. William the Conqueror built a motte and bailey castle after his landing and before Hastings. The building of the motte with a wooden keep is shown on the Bayeux Tapestry. There is dispute over whether this is the correct site, but Norman pottery has been found, and we accept it. It was held by Robert count of Eu from 1069 to 1088 as the centre of a Sussex Rape. Additions were made in the 12th century, including a stone keep. John ordered the slighting of the castle in 1216. Repairs were made by Henry III. There was an inner bailey and two outer baileys. The gatehouse had two semicircular towers. Damage from erosion occurred in the 14th century. In 1951 it was bought by Hastings Corporation.
HAUT KOENIGSBOURG (HOHKÖNIGSBURG), FRANCE
South of Strasbourg in Alsace, built by the Hohenstaufen emperors in the 12th century. Haut Koenigsbourg was burnt down in the Thirty Years’ War and rebuilt for Kaiser Wilhelm II in the 20th century.
HERSTMONCEUX, SUSSEX, ENGLAND
Late medieval castle on a rectangular plan with octagonal towers at each corner and flanking the gatehouse, which is machicolated. Semi-octagonal towers stand at regular intervals on each wall. The whole is surrounded by a wide moat. Sir Roger Fiennes received a licence to crenellate in 1441. The name comes from earlier De Monceux holders of the estate. The castle is designed more for comfort than was normal earlier, with more windows and brick rather than stone walls. It remained a residence until the 18th century. Herstmonceux was restored in the 20th century. It was for some years the home of the Royal Observatory.
HOCHOSTERWITZ, AUSTRIA
A hilltop castle in Carinthia, replacing a 10th-century fortification. The main castle is rectangular. In order to enter, one has to pass through 14 towers and cross three ditches. It was held in turn by the bishops of Salzburg and the lords of Osterwitz. Most of the surviving structure is 16th-century.
HÜSTERKNUPP, GERMANY
Near Frimmersdorf, a motte and bailey castle that developed from a 10th-century farmhouse. Excavation showed a farmhouse fortified in an enclosure. A mound was added at its heart and it became a motte and bailey, with a keep on the mound.
KARLŠTEJN, CZECH REPUBLIC
On a rocky hilltop by the River Morina, south-west of Prague, built 1348–57 by Charles IV (HRE) for his treasure and holy relics. The keep is large, with a chapel above containing medieval wall paintings including portraits of Charles and his wife. It had wooden hoarding, restored with the castle as a whole in the 19th century. Emperor Sigismund resisted sieges there in the Hussite Wars.
KERAK-IN-MOAB (EL KERAK), JORDAN
On a rocky spur south of Amman, built of volcanic stone on the far side of the Jordan by Pagan the Butler from 1142. It defended the approach to crusader lands from the plain of Moab. There were inner and outer baileys and rectangular towers. It was used by Rainald de Châtillon as a base to attack Muslim caravans. He was besieged there by Saladin in 1183 and 1184. It was finally taken by the Muslims in 1188 after Rainald’s death following Hattin. There were later additions and repairs.
KIRBY MUXLOE, LEICESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND
A late medieval castle, begun in 1480 by William Lord Hastings, a Yorkist. When Hastings was executed by Richard III for treachery in 1483, work on the castle stopped. The west corner tower and the gatehouse were finished. It was planned as a rectangular platform in a moat fed from the nearby stream. During building there were worries about flooding. Kirby Muxloe has gunports for defence but stresses residential comfort, with brick rather than stone walls. It had a rectangular enclosure with square corner towers and a gatehouse surrounded by four octagonal towers to the north-west. The Hastings family held the castle until the 17th century. It came under state control in the 20th century and was repaired.
KRAK (KERAK/CRAC) DES CHEVALIERS, SYRIA
Crusader castle built on the mountain spur of Gebel Alawi, where an Arab fortress guarded a mountain pass. The Hospitallers received the castle from the Count of Tripoli in 1142. It had a rectangular plan with square towers. It was damaged by intermittent earthquakes and needed repairs. It was developed as a concentric castle with rectangular and round towers in the outer curtain, which has machicolation. It was besieged several times but resisted until 1271, when captured by Baybars.
LANGEAIS, FRANCE
Once thought the oldest castle in western Europe, and now the second oldest known. It is in Touraine in the Loire valley, on a spur between the Loire and the Roumer. It was built by Fulk Nerra of Anjou before 995, when Odo I of Blois besieged it. It has a rectangular tower keep on a mound, now in ruins. Work by Pierre de Brosse in the 13th century has now gone. The English captured Langeais in 1427 and returned it on condition that only the ancient tower was left standing. From 1465 a Renaissance château was built on adjacent land by Jean Bourré for Louis XI, only two wings being completed. Here Charles VIII of France married Anne of Brittany in 1491. Rabelais lived nearby.
LEWES, SUSSEX, ENGLAND
Castle with two mottes, built by William de Warenne earl of Surrey soon after the Norman Conquest as the castle for a Sussex Rape. It appears in Domesday Book. It stands above the Ouse. The mounds were increased in size with chalk blocks. The smaller eastern motte, Brack’s Mount, is oldest. A stone shell keep was added in the 12th century. In the 14th century a barbican and gatehouse with round towers and machicolation were built. In 1347 it passed to the Fitz Alans. In the 17th century the ruins provided material for local buildings. It was taken over by the Sussex Archaeological Society in 1850.
LINZ, AUSTRIA
On the south bank of the Danube, fortified by 799 and throughout the Middle Ages. In the 15th century Frederick III (HRE) built a new Renaissance castle. There were subsequent additions.
LOCHES, FRANCE
On a rocky plateau by the Loire near Tours. Gregory of Tours mentioned an early fortress here. Fulk Nerra built the first castle, including the rectangular keep. It was rebuilt by the 12th century. Philip Augustus took Loches in 1194 but Richard I recovered it. After Philip captured Loches from John in 1204, he added towers en bec. In the 15th century the round tower in the Martelet was built. The castle contains the white marble tomb of Agnès Sorel, mistress of Charles VII of France (d.1450). Ludovico Sforza was a prisoner here in the 16th century, when he painted geometrically patterned frescoes.
There was a fortification in London called an arx in 899 – but its site is unknown. When Cnut besieged London in 1016 a garrison held out in the citadel. The castle was begun by William the Conqueror after London’s surrender in 1066, built by the Thames in the south-east corner of the city walls as a keep and bailey castle. The rectangular keep is the White Tower. Like Colchester it has an extension for the apsidal end of a chapel. A new curtain wall was built in 1097. Bishop Ranulf Flambard was imprisoned in the White Tower under Henry I. He escaped on a rope that was too short and fell on his fat bottom, hands burned by the rope, groaning with pain. The fortification was extended west by Richard I and Henry III. Under Edward I it became a concentric castle with a new outer ward, outer curtain wall, moat (filled from the Thames but now dry) and water-gate. A royal menagerie was kept here. War engines were constructed here by Master Bertram in 1276. The Tower was an arms store, as under Edward III (when 100 cannons were kept) and Henry V. The princes in the Tower died here under Richard III, in the Bloody Tower. In Tudor times it was used as a prison for major figures, including Princess Elizabeth and Walter Ralegh. Several executions occurred either in the castle on Tower Green (including Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey and Essex) or outside on Tower Hill. Rudolf Hess was imprisoned here in the Second World War. It now houses the crown jewels and a collection of arms and armour.
LOUVRE, PARIS, FRANCE
Built 1190–1202 by Philip Augustus with a round tower keep, the Tour Neuve. The castle was incorporated into the new defensive wall of Paris built by Philip. The round tower was surrounded by a quadrangular wall with round corner towers. Leading prisoners from Bouvines in 1214 were imprisoned here. Charles V turned it into a palace in the 14th century. Today it houses a great art collection.
MÁLAGA, THE ALCAZABA AND GIBRALFARO, SPAIN
On a rise at the foot of mountains over the harbour are two linked fortifications. The Alcazaba was a Moorish fortress built between the 8th and 11th centuries with a rectangular enclosure and citadel. The Gibralfaro (on the site of an ancient Phoenician lighthouse) has two further enclosures surrounded by a wall and towers. A double wall surrounds the whole. The fortifications surrendered to Ferdinand and Isabella in 1487, at the conclusion of the Reconquista.
MANTUA, CASTELLO DI SAN GIORGIO, ITALY
South of Lake Garda, a rectangular castle with square corner towers built from 1395 by Bartolino da Novara for Francesco Gonzaga. It has a moat and a drawbridge. It was turned into a Renaissance palace by Ludovico II. It contains frescoes by Mantegna.
MARGAT (MARQAB), SYRIA
On a hill at Qalaat Marqab near Baniyas on the coast. An 11th-century Muslim fortress was captured by the crusaders in 1118. It became a castle for the principality of Antioch, built by the Mazoir family in a triangular enclosure. Little of the original work survives. In 1186 it was bought by the Hospitallers who built new fortifications, a hall, a chapel and a massive two-storey round keep. The entrance tower is machicolated. Margat was besieged in 1204–5 by men of the Sultan of Aleppo but successfully resisted. A traveller in 1212 thought it ‘the strongest [castle] in the whole of this country’. Qalawun besieged Margat in 1285 – the last major castle siege in the crusader kingdom. When Qalawun brought down the Tower of the Spur by mining, the castle surrendered on terms, the garrison allowed to go to Tripoli or Tortosa.
MARIENBURG (MALBORK), POLAND
At Malbork, south-east of Gdansk, by the River Nogat, begun by the Teutonic Knights in 1280, becoming their base in 1309. The moat was filled from Lake Dabrowka. It is a brick-built rectangular castle with three main sections, the Hochschloss, the Mittelschloss, and the later Unterschloss. The inner gate has a magnificent portcullis. Marienburg was besieged in 1410 and taken after two months when the Knights were defeated at Tannenberg. In 1457 it was taken over by the Poles. It was used as Stalag XXB by the Germans in the Second World War, suffering damage in 1945. It has since been restored.
MONTRÉAL, JORDAN
On a hill over a valley at Shaubak, south of Amman and east of the Dead Sea. It was built by Baldwin I king of Jerusalem in 1115 as an outpost. It dominated the area, protecting the trade route between Syria and Egypt. Part of the curtain wall and two chapels survive. Water was supplied through a tunnel cut in the rock to cisterns fed by springs. After Hattin, Montréal was besieged by the Mamlukes and starved into surrender when the garrison went blind through lack of salt. The main fortification as it stands was added later.
MONTREUIL-BELLAY, FRANCE
By the River Thouet south of Saumur, built by Fulk Nerra of Anjou in the 10th century on a rocky rise protected by a natural chasm, the Valley of the Jews. It was handed to the Berlai family. It had double walls and a keep ‘rising to the stars’. After rebellion by Gerard Berlai, Geoffrey V of Anjou besieged Montreuil-Bellay for three years from 1148. He brought people from the fair at Saumur to drop rocks and rubbish in the ditch so he could cross. Reading Vegetius, the Roman writer on warfare, Geoffrey had a new idea. He made the first known use of Greek Fire in the west, hurling it in pots from a throwing engine. The ploy worked and the castle was taken and demolished. The surviving white stone building is late medieval with rounded turrets and an interesting kitchen building.
MONTSÉGUR, FRANCE
On a Pyrenean peak east of Foix, the last stronghold of the Albigensian heretics. It was built in 1204 to a pentagonal plan with a square keep and a massive curtain wall. Unusual features were two unfortified gates and windows rather than loops. In 1241 it was besieged by Count Raymond VII of Toulouse, but he abandoned the attempt. It was besieged with more energy by the Albigensian crusaders in 1243–4. The bishop of Albi commanded the attackers’ trebuchets. Women operated engines from the castle walls. The garrison (not heretics) was betrayed. Some Basques climbed inside and knifed the guards. The garrison surrendered and was allowed to depart. In 1244 over 200 heretics, who refused to recant, were burned alive at the foot of the mountain. The castle was demolished and left in ruins.
MUIDERSLOT (MUIDER), NETHERLANDS
At Muiden, east of Amsterdam, on an island in the River Vecht. The site was fortified in c.1000. A castle was erected from c.1280 by Count Floris IV, who was assassinated here in 1296, after which the castle was demolished. It was rebuilt from 1370 by Albert of Bavaria count of Holland, constructed in brick to a square plan with a moat. The round corner towers have conical caps. There is machicolation on the sunken entrance and a covered wall-walk on the curtain. It was captured by the Duke of Gelderland in 1508, and the Earl of Leicester in 1586.
NIORT, FRANCE
In Poitou on the bank of the Sèvre Niortaise near Poitiers, built by Henry II of England from c.1160 to an unusual plan with twin square keeps having rounded corner turrets. The later curtain had 16 round towers. The twin keeps, separated by a courtyard, were linked by a building in the 15th century. The southern keep has early machicolation. The French captured Niort in 1436. It was damaged in the 16th-century religious wars. The northern keep was rebuilt in the 18th century.
NUREMBURG, THE KAISERBURG, GERMANY
In Bavaria on a hill in the north-east corner of the city wall, with two main enclosures. The Kaiserburg is the imperial castle of Nuremburg. It was begun by Henry III (HRE) in c.1040 and controlled the trade route to the River Main. Additions were made by Conrad III and Frederick Barbarossa, including a round tower and a two-storey chapel. The palace building and the Kaiserstallung date from the 15th century under the Hohenzollern. It has been restored since the Second World War.
NYBORG, DENMARK
On the Baltic island of Fyn, south-east of Odense, believed to be the oldest royal castle in Scandinavia though little of the early building survives. It was the assembly-point for parliaments, the base of government in Denmark until 1416 and afterwards a royal residence. It was damaged in the 17th century but has since been restored.
ORFORD, SUFFOLK, ENGLAND
East of Ipswich, built by Henry II between 1165 and 1173 to protect the port that then existed. It countered baronial castles at Framlingham and Walton. Orford was built on a rectangular plan with a ditch, and a curtain wall with rectangular towers. The surviving keep is polygonal, with a circular interior. It had three rectangular buttress towers, with a forebuilding at the entrance containing a chapel. Orford was a base for Henry II during his suppression of Hugh Bigod’s rebellion. In 1217 it was captured by the invading Prince Louis of France but returned to royal control when the invasion failed. Edward III passed it to the Earl of Suffolk in 1336. It came under state control in 1962.
PLESSIS-BOURRÉ, LE, FRANCE
At Écuillé north of Angers, built in the late 14th century. It was acquired in 1462 by Louis XI’s minister, Jean Bourré, who rebuilt it. It was adapted for artillery warfare, with a wide moat, thick walls and gun platforms inside the moat. The castle is virtually a rectangular island. There are interesting interior decorations from the 16th century in what had become a Renaissance château.
PLESSIS-GRIMOULT, LE, FRANCE
An early earthwork castle in Normandy, examined by excavation. A circular rampart was built by the early 11th century. It was improved with stone walls, a stone gatehouse and at least one mural tower. The gatehouse was a rectangular tower with an entrance passage. It was held by the Du Plessis family until 1047 when its lord, Grimoult, rebelled against William the Conqueror. The castle was then abandoned.
RHODES, GREECE
On its island, Rhodes Town is a fortification with an internal stronghold known as the Grand Master’s Palace. It was a crusader castle, constructed by the Hospitallers after the loss of the Holy Land and their move to Rhodes in 1309. It protected the best harbour on the island. Forward towers were built on projecting moles at Fort St Nicholas, the Tower of Naillac and the Tower of St Angelo. It was built to accommodate artillery. Egyptian attempts against Rhodes in 1440 and 1444 failed. After an earthquake in 1481 it was rebuilt with thick walls and towers. Rhodes resisted a siege by the Turks in 1480–1 but surrendered to an attack by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522. It has been restored in modern times.
RHUDDLAN, FLINTSHIRE, WALES
South of Rhyl, possibly fortified from the 8th century. A Welsh stronghold here was taken by Harold Godwinson in 1063. By 1073 Robert of Rhuddlan built a motte (Twthill) and bailey castle. Master James of St George rebuilt it from 1277 as a concentric castle for Edward I. The inner bailey is square with double towers to east and west, and single towers north and south. There is a lower outer bailey, protected by a surrounding rampart and a moat fed by the River Clwyd. It was attacked by Welsh rebels in 1282 but resisted successfully. It was besieged in the English Civil War and taken by Parliament under Mytton in 1646, after which it was dismantled. It was taken over by the state in 1944 and restored.
RIGA, LATVIA
Built from 1330 by the Teutonic Knights in the Baltic crusades. It was built on a rectangular plan with corner towers. The Pulvera or Gunpowder Tower, part of the first castle, was rebuilt in the 17th century. It was taken over by the Knights of the Sword. Riga was damaged in the Second World War and has since been restored.
ROCHE-GUYON, LA, FRANCE
Built from c.1190 north-west of Mantes on a cliff over the Seine near its confluence with the Epte. Roche-Guyon stands on an isthmus, the neck cut by a ditch. The keep is en bec.
ROCHESTER, KENT, ENGLAND
By the Medway, controlling a crossing point, probably the site of an early Norman motte and bailey castle. Odo of Bayeux was besieged here by William Rufus in 1088. The garrison surrendered and Odo was exiled. The first stone castle was built from c.1088 by Bishop Gundulf within the Roman walls. In c.1126, when held by the archbishop of Canterbury, a massive rectangular keep was erected with a forebuilding. In 1141 Robert earl of Gloucester was imprisoned here. In 1215 in a third siege by King John against rebel barons the south-eastern corner of the keep was brought down by mining. The keep had an internal dividing wall and resistance continued for a time but eventually the garrison surrendered. This corner tower was rebuilt with a round tower, whereas the other corner towers are rectangular. At the same time a circular mural tower was added. Prince Louis of France held Rochester during his invasion from 1216. It survived a siege in 1264 by rebels in the Barons’ Wars. Further towers and a bastion were added by Edward III and Richard II. It was taken briefly by rebels in the Peasants’ Revolt. The castle remains an impressive ruin, the keep without ceilings and floors.
SALZBURG, FESTUNG HOHENSALZBURG, AUSTRIA
Above Salzburg on the Mönschsberg Ridge, fortified by archbishop Gerhard from 1077 when the central Altes Schloss was built. The castle was enlarged and strengthened in the 15th century. Round towers were added in the outer curtain wall. The Golden Room was decorated from 1501. Further work was done in the early modern period.
SAN GIMIGNANO, ITALY
In Tuscany, 14 high rectangular towers, mostly 13th-century. It is an extreme example of a group of between 50 and 80 competing towers. The town walls were built from 1251.
SAUMUR, FRANCE
Perhaps the best-known pictorial example of a fairytale castle with conically capped towers, as depicted to represent September in the illuminated manuscript the Très Riches Heures. It was fortified by Fulk Nerra of Anjou in the 10th century. The surviving castle was rebuilt by the duc de Berry in the 14th century, lavishly decorated with Gothic tracery, flying turrets and golden weathercocks – though the gilding has weathered. The castle was abandoned in the 17th century when the west wing collapsed. It became a prison and a barracks and has been restored in modern times.
The citadel of Segovia, built on a height between rivers, fortified by the Moors in the early Middle Ages. The castle was built in the 11th century by Alfonso VI of León. It became part of the 15th-century royal palace, when the Torre del Homenaje was added by Juan II. It retains a Moorish appearance with conically capped towers, probably influenced by the Alhambra. It is a Gran Buque (Great Ship) castle, the whole shaped in outline like a ship with a pointed prow. Fire damage occurred in 1862, since restored.
SILIFKE (CAMARDESIUM), TURKEY
On the south coast by the River Saleph. The Byzantines built a fortification in 1111 though little remains. Frederick Barbarossa (HRE) died in the river in 1190 en route to the Third Crusade. In 1210 Byzantine emperor Leo II gave it to the Hospitallers, who constructed a castle modelled on Krak des Chevaliers. Silifke had an oval enclosure with a curtain, a keep, spaced horseshoe-shaped towers, all protected by a ditch. Cisterns were dug for water supply. The entrance up a ramp is protected by an outwork with a round tower. The wall-walk could only be reached through a tower. The Armenians took it in 1225 and Hethum I added to the defences.
SIRMIONE, ITALY
On a peninsula south of Lake Garda. A moat, fed by the lake, separates the castle from the mainland. The castle was built in brick by the Scaligeri in c.1300. It has a harbour protected by the outer walls and is best approached by boat. It has rectangular corner towers and two gatehouses. The keep is similar to family towers in Italian cities. The square tower overlooking the harbour has machicolation. The castle controlled traffic on the lake.
STIRLING, STIRLINGSHIRE, SCOTLAND
North-west of Glasgow on a rock above the town, controlling a ford over the Forth. The castle was built in c.1100. In 1304 it fell to Edward I. After Bannockburn the Scots dismantled it. Stirling was rebuilt in the 15th century with a gatehouse having flanking towers. The surviving Prince’s Tower may be a reconstruction of the early Norman castle. It became a barracks in the 18th century and has been restored in modern times.
STOKESAY, SHROPSHIRE, ENGLAND
Built south of Shrewsbury by the De Say family, dating from c.1200, including the stone North Tower. Further buildings were added in c.1240. The surviving fortified manor house was built from c.1285 by the wool merchant Lawrence of Ludlow (d.1296), who bought the site. It has a deep ditch and a crenellated though weak curtain wall. It marks a move to more residential comfort. The interior buildings include a great hall and chambers with a tower at either end. The southern tower is larger, representing a keep. A timber gatehouse was added in the 17th century. In 1645 the parliamentarians captured Stokesay and slighted its defences.
TARASCON, FRANCE
On a rocky site by the Rhône south of Avignon. Louis II king of Naples rebuilt the castle from c.1400. After it passed to the French crown King René made additions from 1481. The curtain wall was raised to the level of the towers, allowing a continuous wall-walk, the type of the bastille, influenced by the Bastille in Paris. Machicolation was added and a postern gave access to the river. It was later used as a prison. Modern restoration work has been executed.
THUN, SWITZERLAND
South-east of Berne. The keep was built by the Duke of Zahringen in the late 12th century. It passed to the counts of Kyburg. It has a rectangular plan with corner towers. The large hall is now a museum.
On a height near Annweiler, controlling the route between Speyer and the River Saar, linking the Rhineland to France. It was built on a roughly triangular plan. It is unusual for the region, with a western-style keep. It was taken over by Frederick Barbarossa who enlarged it from 1153. Richard the Lionheart was moved here from Dürnstein as a prisoner by Henry VI (HRE) in 1193 after his capture returning from the Third Crusade. He was released in 1194.
TRIM, MEATH, IRELAND
On the River Boyne north-west of Dublin, the largest castle in Ireland, built by Hugh de Lacy in 1173. In his absence the keep was burned down in 1174. It was rebuilt in stone as a triangular walled enclosure with towers and an interior square keep (the Great Tower), which was later increased in height. The north wall has rectangular mural towers, the south wall semicircular ones. A gatehouse was built to the east with a round tower. Here Henry IV stayed before his accession in 1399. It was heavily involved in Anglo-Irish wars.
VALLADOLID, LA MOTA, SPAIN
At Medina del Campo to the east of Valladolid, previously a Moorish fortification. It was rebuilt in the 12th century and again in the 15th. Only lower parts of the walls remain from the 12th century. The surviving castle is largely of brick in a roughly rectangular walled enclosure with corner towers. It became in effect a concentric castle. The later additions, the work of Fernando Carreño and then Alonso Nieto, included the Torre del Homenaje (the keep) in a corner of the inner bailey. The curtain wall has a vaulted chemin de ronde with stairs inside round towers. The castle was a model for others. In 1475 it passed to the Christian kings. Cesare Borgia was imprisoned here. It was restored in the 20th century.
VINCENNES, FRANCE
In the Île-de-France, east of Paris, originally a royal hunting lodge for the forest outside Paris. Louis IX added a keep but the surviving keep dates from the 14th century, with six storeys and circular corner turrets. The rectangular enclosing wall incorporates the keep and nine other towers. There are ditches protecting the keep and the curtain. It became a royal palace. Louis X, Charles IV and Charles IX died here, as did Henry V of England. Henry VI used it as a residence. The French recovered Vincennes in 1432. It became a prison, its residents including Diderot, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mirabeau. In 1944 the Germans shot 30 men here.
VISBORG, SWEDEN
At Visby on the island of Gotland, in the south-west corner of the town wall. It was built in the 15th century, planned by the Teutonic Knights and built under King Erik from 1411. Erik sheltered here for ten years. The castle was demolished in 1679 but the town wall survives. (Note: not to be confused with Viborg at Jutland in Denmark, or Vyborg in Finland.)
WARTBURG, GERMANY
On a height at Eisenach, built by Ludwig von der Schauenburg in the 11th century – unusual as a baronial rather than an imperial castle in this region. It had two wooden towers. It was rebuilt by the Landgrave of Thuringia in the 12th century. It became a noted centre of patronage for the arts and has been restored in modern times.
WERLAR, GERMANY
Near Goslar in Saxony, built by Henry the Fowler in c.950. It had two long parallel outer enclosures and two nearly circular adjoining inner enclosures. All the enclosures were surrounded by stone walls, while stone towers defended the gateways.
WINDSOR, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND
By the Thames near London, a royal castle begun by William the Conqueror. An Anglo-Saxon royal residence stood nearby. William constructed a motte and bailey castle but with two baileys. It was strengthened with stone walls and a shell keep by Henry II. Prince Louis besieged Windsor in 1216 but failed to take it. The three drum towers were built by Henry III. The buildings in the upper bailey and the Round Tower were added by Edward III, who was born here. Windsor became a fortified palace. St George’s Chapel dates from the 15th century. Henry VIII rebuilt the gatehouse in the Lower Ward. There has been much restoration work as under George IV and since the 1992 fire.
YORK, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND
William the Conqueror built two motte and bailey castles in York in 1068–9 for his conquest of the north. There were originally timber towers on both mottes. The two castles were built either side of the River Ouse – the Old Baile to the south, and the surviving York Castle with Clifford’s Tower as its keep to the north. The Old Baile was probably built in 1068 and York Castle in 1069. They were both attacked and destroyed in the 1069 rebellion. After William’s harrying of the north, York’s castles were rebuilt. The Old Baile was still in use under Edward III, when repairs were carried out, but was later abandoned. York Castle, the surviving Clifford’s Tower, was rebuilt in stone by Henry III in the 13th century with four circular turrets in close proximity. The curtain wall had five towers, a main gatehouse to the south and a lesser one in the north to the town. Damage was done during the Civil War by attacking parliamentarians. Clifford’s Tower was damaged by fire in 1684.
A–Z OF TERMS
ADULTERINE CASTLES
Built without official permission when kings and princes sought to control castle building. They claimed rendability – that castles in their area must be handed over if demanded. Many baronial castles were built in the civil war under Stephen without permission and are called adulterine. Henry II claimed the right to destroy them. Later licences were issued for crenellation or fortifying buildings.
ARCHÈRES
Arrow loops, slits in fortified buildings for archers to shoot through, often made by leaving a narrow space between adjacent stones. They allowed the defending archer a good range and protected him. The shapes varied to accommodate various weapons, including crossbows. Usually they were narrow on the outside, sloping to give space to the archer inside.
ARTILLERY
Various engines used to hurl, shoot or fire missiles. Medieval artillery consisted of a range of engines, including balistas, catapults, mangonels, trebuchets and cannons. Artillery could be used in battle and sieges, for attack and defence. The two main medieval developments were the invention of trebuchets using counterweights and cannons using gunpowder.
ASHLAR
Prepared stone for building – usually cut, squared or shaped, and smoothed. Ashlar is a sign of more carefully constructed buildings. It is thought the term meant being like a prepared timber or beam.
BAILEY
A castle enclosure, courtyard or ward. In a motte and bailey castle the bailey was the larger and lower enclosure. Castles often had two enclosures. Some had a motte with two baileys, some had inner and outer baileys, some had more than two, perhaps inner, central and outer.
BALEARIC SLING
A weapon noted for its speed. Richard the Lionheart was said to move more swiftly than one. The nature of it is uncertain, and it is not clear whether the speed refers to quickness in use or speed of missile through the air. It was presumably operated by a sling, probably an engine rather than a simple sling. Since the trebuchet worked by a sling it is possible that these were early trebuchets. It is thought they originated in the Balearic islands, and the term was certainly used with this sense, but this is possibly a mistake with the term originating from Greek ballo via Latin baleare (to throw). ‘Balearic’ in the Middle Ages was also used to mean satanic.
BALISTA (BALLISTA)
A shooting or throwing engine, otherwise a catapult. The name came from Greek ballo, Latin baleare – to throw. The Latin term balista could be either a crossbow or a catapult. The catapult operated like a crossbow, with a mechanism to wind back a string that, when released, shot a missile placed in its groove. Medieval chroniclers were often imprecise over names for engines. They often used this term for stone-throwing engines in general.
BARBICAN
Outwork of a castle or town defences, usually protecting the gate or sometimes a bridge over a moat. Its main purpose was to make entrance more difficult. It was often a carefully fortified walled passage to the entrance, commonly open to the air to allow defenders to attack from above those entering. Barbicana was a medieval Latin word, its origin unknown.
BASTIDE
In origin a new town, but mostly seen as a small, strongly fortified settlement. The medieval Latin term was bastida, our form being from French (from which bastille also derives). In modern French bastide means a country house or shooting lodge. The medieval bastide was a concept from 13th-century France. Edward I built over 50 bastides in English-held Gascony. Bastides were usually rectangular with a central square.
BASTION
A projecting mural tower, earthwork or structure from which the curtain wall can be defended. In early modern forts the bastion was commonly angled. The term is from Latin bastire, to build.
BELFRY
A siege tower on wheels used against town or castle walls, constructed to the height of the wall or greater. It was pushed close to the wall so men on it could use weapons against the defenders. A bridge could be lowered from the belfry to the wall so that the castle or town could be entered. The belfry could protect men mining the foot of a wall. Belfries were usually made from wood in several storeys. Wet matting or skins might cover the wood against fire. Belfries date from ancient times and were common in medieval sieges, as at Lisbon, Mallorca or against Constantinople.
BERGFRIED
A high slender tower, like a keep, found in some German castles. It translates as ‘peace tower’ but probably derives from the same base as belfry. It probably originated with the Roman watchtower and stood in isolation. Later it was often incorporated into a castle.
BERM
The space at the foot of the castle wall, a platform in front of the ditch or moat. It could offer a space for attackers to use for mining. Late castles used it as a gun platform for defence. The term probably means brim.
BORE
A device for demolishing walls, similar to a battering ram but with a pointed end (usually of metal) to pierce gaps between stones.
BRATTICE (BRETÈCHE)
The same as hoarding, work in wood overhanging the top of a wall – a breastwork or gallery – allowing defenders to deal with attackers below. Machicolation was stonework with the same function. ‘Brattice’ was sometimes applied to any wooden work in the defences.
BRIGOLA (BRIGOLE)
A Saracen engine mentioned by Jaime I of Aragón. It had a beam, cords and a box and was probably a trebuchet.
CANNON
A medieval invention that revolutionised warfare. Cannons appeared in the west in the 14th century though gunpowder was known in the previous century. The 1326 Milemete Manuscript shows a cannon shaped like a vase, shooting a bolt rather than a ball. Cannons became more efficient and by the late Middle Ages were essential in battle and siege. The Bureau brothers in France improved cannons during the Hundred Years’ War. They were produced in a variety of types and sizes, for example, bombards, serpentines, crapaudins, mortars and ribaudequins. By the end of the Middle Ages large cannons were produced, as by the Turks at Constantinople. The word comes from Greek kanun via Latin canna, meaning a tube.
CASTELLAN
The holder of a castle, generally holding it on behalf of a king or prince. In the 10th and 11th centuries central authority was less dominant and some castellans were virtually independent.
CASTLE-GUARD
A feudal obligation to defend a castle for a specified period as service to a lord – a means by which lords could garrison their own castles. The service was often performed on a rota system.
CAT (WELSH CAT)
A covered roof on wheels to shelter men so they could approach walls, as for mining. It was sometimes attached to the wall by iron nails. Other names for the same device were mouse, sow and tortoise. One at Lisbon in the Second Crusade had a roof of osiers; a group of youths from Ipswich moved it in the wake of a siege tower. One at Toulouse in 1218 had an interior platform and housed 400 knights plus 150 archers.
CATAPULT
An engine used from ancient times, shooting missiles by a string drawn by mechanical means, otherwise a balista. The missile was normally a large bolt placed in the groove of the machine.
COMBUSTIBLES
Fire was much used in siege warfare, especially against wooden structures. Hurling fire in one form or another was common practice, whether as fire-arrows, Greek Fire in jars, or bundles of flaming material such as tow. Fire-wheels were used in the Baltic crusade and in Malta against the Turks: a wheel or hoop covered with pitch or other combustible material and bowled against the enemy.
CONCENTRIC CASTLES
Castles with more than one surrounding curtain wall. The development towards this was gradual through the 12th century in France, England and the Holy Land. The concept reached its height with Master James of St George for Edward I on his Welsh castles, such as Beaumaris. The inner walls were higher than the outer so that attackers gaining the intervening ward could be dealt with from above.
COUNTER CASTLES (SIEGE CASTLES)
Structures to shelter besiegers against sorties and relief attempts, including temporary castles. Sometimes two or more were built against one target. William the Conqueror built counter castles against Brionne in the mid-11th century – William of Poitiers calls them castella. The counter castle at Faringdon in 1145 had a rampart and stockade. That from the same period excavated at Bentley in Hampshire was similar to a motte and bailey castle.
CRAKKIS
Probably cannons, used by Edward III against the Scots in the 14th century, referred to as ‘crakkis of war’.
CRENELLATION
The parapet on top of a castle or town wall, the battlements. The term comes from the French for embrasure. The familiar shape is of rectangular stone pieces (merlons) alternating with rectangular gaps (embrasures or crenels), thus giving a toothed effect. Defenders could shelter behind the stone pieces and shoot through the gaps. In England crenellation became the symbol of fortification, and a royal licence was required to crenellate a building.
CURTAIN
It has two senses, either the outer enclosing wall of a castle, or the wall joining two towers. The curtain was often strengthened with corner and mural towers.
DONJON
The stronghold of a castle, in England usually called the keep. Its meaning is the tower of a lord. It is the origin of the term dungeon but did not originally mean a prison.
DRAWBRIDGE
A bridge crossing a ditch or moat that could be lowered or raised. Its function was to make entrance difficult by rapidly raising it against undesired entrants. Drawbridges were usually of wood and commonly used.
EN BEC
A beak or projection of a rounded tower. It was a method of strengthening the base of a tower, especially against mining.
FONEVOL
A throwing engine. The name was used of engines used by Raymond of Toulouse in 1190 and by Jaime I of Aragón in the 13th century. The word probably derives from funda meaning sling and was probably a trebuchet.
FOREBUILDING
A structure before the entrance of a keep making the entrance more secure. It acted as a guardhouse. Attackers could not enter the keep without forcing the forebuilding. Entrance to the keep was often at first floor level by external steps enclosed within the forebuilding.
FUNDA
Latin for a siege engine, meaning ‘sling’, suggesting a trebuchet. The term was however used in 800 at Barcelona and 885 at Paris. Either a type of trebuchet appeared earlier than is thought, or the early term meant a hand sling or another engine.
GREEK FIRE
A combustible material. It could not easily be removed and, on impact, exploded into flames. It was invented for the Byzantines by Kallinikos in the 7th century and used at sea, especially in defence of Constantinople, as in 941 against the Rus. The Greeks shot it from a siphon or from catapults. Later its use was extended to land warfare and to other peoples. The Turks used it during the Crusades. Its first recorded use in western Europe was by Geoffrey V of Anjou at Montreuil-Bellay in 1151. He placed it in jars and hurled it from throwing engines. The recipe for Greek Fire was a secret and there were variant formulae in its manufacture, some of which have been preserved. The major constituent was naphtha.
HOARDING
Wooden defences attached to a defended wall, the same as brattice-work. Hoarding made a gallery projecting over the wall with gaps through its floor. It protected defenders on top of the wall and allowed missiles, oil etc to be dropped on attackers. Machicolation produced the same effect in stone. It was also a way to heighten walls against belfries.
KEEP
The stronghold of a castle, otherwise the donjon, normally a free-standing tower. Early castles usually had a keep on the motte or mound, surrounded by ditch and palisade. It might be wooden but there were early stone keeps. It was normally the residence of the lord of the castle. Early keeps were usually rectangular and on several storeys, with residential quarters and storage space. It was often built over a well to guarantee water supply. The top might have battlements. The entrance was often at first floor level, protected by a forebuilding. Later keeps were round or polygonal and sometimes were incorporated into the castle wall. Keep is an English term first used in the 16th century.
MACHICOLATION
Stone defence for the top of a wall, with the same function as wooden hoarding. It provided a gallery at the top of the wall, projecting over it and with gaps through the floor for defenders to hurl missiles or drop stones, oil etc. It became common in the later Middle Ages. It derives from French machicoulis, referring to the gaps in the floor.
MANGONEL
A type of throwing engine, from manga or mangana, meaning such an engine, probably from Greek mangano meaning crush or squeeze, i.e. ‘a crusher’. Mangonels were usually relatively small. They worked by torsion from twisted ropes, with a spoon-like arm that revolved on release. The arm hit a cross bar causing the stone or object in the cup of the arm to be released. Mangonels date from ancient times and were used throughout the Middle Ages. Medieval chroniclers used terms in a confusing manner and could call any type of engine a mangonel.
MANTLET
A roofed protection for besiegers. The cat was a type of mantlet. The mantlet could be on wheels or it could be a portable roof. It protected those under it performing operations like mining. A mantlet could cover a smaller weapon, like a ram or bore, while it operated. (A mantlet wall was a defensive wall, generally low, around a tower.)
MERLON
Merlons were the stone teeth in battlements or crenellation. The term comes from merlo meaning battlement.
MEUTRIÈRES
‘Murder holes’, gaps in the floor of a chamber over a gatehouse or passage through which missiles or oil etc. could be dropped on attackers.
MINING
A common way to attack a wall or tower, usually by tunnelling under it, using wooden posts to replace the material removed. The posts would be fired and hopefully the structure would collapse. Counter mines might be built by defenders, allowing an attack on the miners in situ. Bores were useful for picking the initial hole in the wall to be mined. It was common to begin a tunnel at a distance to hide the intention. If the base of the wall was mined directly the operation could be covered, perhaps by a mantlet. At Caen in 1417 bowls of water were placed on the walls so that mining activity would disturb the water and warn the defenders.
MOAT
Defensive ditch around a tower, enclosure or castle, either wet or dry, though we normally mean a ditch filled with water. A moat made it more difficult to attack or climb the castle wall. In the late Middle Ages moats were made broader to keep cannons at a distance.
The main defensive mound of an earthwork castle, as in a motte and bailey castle, from French for a mound. Often a natural hill or height was used, sometimes shaped. Otherwise the motte could be constructed by hand, as at Hastings by William the Conqueror, illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry. A keep of wood or stone was often built on the motte. Sometimes the motte was built around a tower. The origin of mottes is obscure. Possibly they were developed in the wars between Franks and Vikings, combining the existing fortification techniques of both sides.
PARAPET
A low wall at breast height, a breastwork. In the Middle Ages it was used for the top section added to a defensive wall. It usually projected outside the wall and protected a wall-walk. Crenellation could form a parapet.
PATERELL
A small throwing engine. Henry of Livonia refers to their use in the Baltic crusade. The probable derivation is from patera, meaning dish or cup, suggesting a form of mangonel.
PAVISE
A cover, shelter or screen for soldiers, especially archers. Pavises were often made of interwoven branches. A pavise could be like a shield set up on the ground before the man, supported by a prop. One chronicle describes pavises like doors that could be folded up with loopholes to shoot through.
PELE (PEEL)
A defensive and residential stone tower, sometimes with additional buildings, on the Scottish border. They compare to small keeps and were usually rectangular.
PETRARY (PETRARIA)
Literal general term for a stone-throwing engine, petraria in Latin. One hears of cords used for them but this would be true of almost any type of engine.
PORTCULLIS
Movable gate to block an entrance, from French, meaning ‘sliding gate’, commonly a grille of wood or metal lowered by chains or ropes in a groove. The lower struts were often pointed. Usually a chamber over the gate held winches to raise and lower it. It allowed a castle entrance to be shut rapidly against attack and was difficult to break through. Some gatehouses had two portcullises to trap those who entered first.
POSTERN
A lesser entrance or exit, rather like a back door. It might escape observation and allow secret or unexpected movement in and out.
RAM
A siege weapon for demolishing walls or gates, generally a log with a reinforced metal end. It was carried on a wheeled platform and swung from a beam on ropes or chains. It might have a protective roof. The ram was used in ancient times. During the Crusades ships’ masts were used as rams.
RAMPART
Defensive earthwork wall, normally dug with a ditch before it and possibly topped by a stockade or stone wall.
RAVELIN
Forward construction, an outwork, triangular in shape with the point facing outwards, a common feature in early modern forts.
RENDABILITY
The duty to surrender one’s castle to the feudal lord, an outcome of lords seeking to control castles in their region. They demanded that the castle should be rendered to them on request. It became a part of feudal agreements.
An early cannon, sometimes meaning simply ‘gun’. They were tube-shaped with touch-holes. Ribaudequins were sometimes fixed together in a line and fired as one. The word appears often in the 14th century. At Bruges there were ‘new engines called ribaulde’.
SCALING
The most common way to enter a castle or town, by climbing over the wall. All the obvious means were used, including ladders and ropes. Folding ladders and ladders of wood and leather were used. Ladders sometimes had hooks to grip on the wall. In 1453 the Turks brought 2,000 long ladders against Constantinople.
SCORPION
A small throwing engine, known from ancient times, scorpio in Latin, meaning a stinging insect, normally a form of balista to shoot bolts.
SOW (SCROPHA/PORCUS)
Term for a cat, a shelter for siege operations such as mining, apparently deriving from comparing men under the shelter to piglets suckling under their mother.
SPUR
Stone extension at the base of a tower, pointing outwards, to strengthen the tower against attack.
TALUS
A sloping extension at the foot of a tower or wall, otherwise a batter. The term originates from Latin for ‘ankle’.
TESTUDO
Device to protect attackers, from Latin for tortoise, referring to its protective shell. The Romans used the term for a group of men covering their backs with shields. In the Middle Ages a testudo was a roof to protect men under it, with a similar function to a mantlet or cat.
TREBUCHET
Counterweight throwing engine, a major medieval invention. A container for heavy materials was placed on one end of a whippy pole, a sling to hold the stone or other missile at the other end. The pole was on a pivot. The loaded end was winched down and released. The weight made the loaded end rise rapidly and eject its contents, the sling whipping over at the last minute to give added impetus. The trebuchet had considerable range and impact. The date of origin is unclear. An engine called a traction trebuchet confuses the picture but was not a trebuchet proper, lacking a counterweight and operating by traction. The counterweight trebuchet probably first appeared in the 12th century, became important in the 13th century and remained the major siege engine until the development of effective cannons. The word may mean a three-legged stool and derive from the usual appearance of trebuchets on triangular frames. Another explanation is that it means three-armed, a reference to the common practice of making the counterweight arm in three sections to strengthen it.
WARD
Walled enclosure within a castle, a bailey, meaning a guarded place.