Castles

Castles

What Is a Castle? During the Middle Ages, many great castles were built across Europe. The castles were made to protect people from their enemies. They had thick, tall walls and watchtowers where guards stood watch over the castle. The people who lived in the castles were the nobility, or nobles. However, they were not the only people living in the castles. The people who served and protected the nobility also lived within the castle walls. The nobles not only owned and lived in the castle, they also owned much of the land stretching beyond the castle. They were loyal to the king. Their loyalty helped the king control even more land.

Living outside the castle was another class of people called commoners. They were the craftsmen and farmers who lived in small towns and villages and on farms not far from the castle. The commoners were loyal to the nobles. They paid taxes, which allowed the nobles to live privileged lives.

The First Castles The first type of castle was called a mott and bailey. The mott was a high mound of dirt with a wooden tower built upon it. A wooden fence, called a palisade, was built out from the mott. The palisade formed a wall surrounding the bailey, or the yard, that held the kitchen, hall, stables, and other buildings belonging to the noble.

Later, castles had stone motts or towers. Many of these castles also featured moats. Moats were ditches, often filled with water, that surrounded the castle. As time passed, castles were built with bigger towers and walls. They became larger, with more rooms and passages. They came to look more and more like the large castles we see today. These castles were well built and have withstood the test of time.

Outside the Castle Newly built castles were painted with a mixture of lime and water. This mixture gave the castle walls a fresh, clean coat of white. For this reason, the mixture was called whitewash. Every castle's design was different. Still, had towers or turrets, and many castles had an inner and an outer wall. Many also had a very strong building in the center of the castle. This building was called a keep.