Page 21 - All About History - Issue 19-14

Kings & Queens

astles were fortified mansions for kings, strategically built on high ground or next to a
nobility and feudal lords and were natural defensive barrier like water. The castles
first built in Britain after the Norman were designed to be able to withstand attacks
conquest of 1066. The first castles built andsieges,whichmeanthighandstrongwalls,
Bailey
This is a narrow slit Cwere of a type called Motte and Bailey, andbeing largeenoughtokeepgoodsupplies
placed on the wall where whichconsistedofawoodenfortontopof offoodandwater.Theruralcommunityof
sentinels are allowed a man-made mound (the motte) with an thefeudwouldalsotakerefugeinthemwhen
to guard. If the outer enclosed surrounding area (the bailey) where a under attack. As weaponry advanced and
curtain wall is breached smallcommunitywouldlive. cannons and other artillery developed, castles
the defenders group
together here. ManystonecastleswerebuiltinBritain lost their usefulness for the
duringthe12thcentury.Justlike monarchy. However, new
with the Motte and Bailey version, castleswerestillbuiltasa
location was everything – they were sign of power and status.

Recreation
A king’s home is his
castle so while there he
regularly partakes in
leisurely pursuits. These
include hunting outside,
hosting banquets and Weapons courtyard
bird hunting with their The central space of the castle, from where
tame hawks. access to every other room is granted. The
courtyard is where the chapel, the barn
and the armoury are located and is often
the castle’s busiest part.

Wall
This castle has a ‘curtain wall’ – a wall
that goes around the castle, meaning the
structure has two walls. These can be very
thick – the curtain wall of Caerphilly Castle
in Wales was more than 2m (6.6ft) thick. The
Bread oven wall has holes through which the defenders
can fire arrows or throw other projectiles at
This is located inside the castle to ensure
any attackers.
the supply of bread in the event of an
attack – if the enemy can’t enter by force
they often surround the castle and attempt
to starve those inside. The longest siege
in recorded history occurred in 1644 in
Candia (now Heraklion) in Crete; it lasted
for 21 years.

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