How were castles used for defense?

How were castles used for defense? Some castles were surrounded by deep ditches called moats to stop attackers getting in. Some moats were filled with water, like Caerlaverock Castle near Dumfries (above). Attackers would have to swim or row across the moats to get to the castle.

What makes a strong castle?

Build thick walls and battlements The castle also has high 'curtain walls' which protect the castle's inner and outer 'wards' or 'baileys'. These are the courtyard areas inside the walls where important buildings like the keep, or perhaps stables and storehouses would have been built.

Why did Europeans built castles?

Castles were common in Europe during the Middle Ages and were often the homes of royal families or other powerful people. The main purpose of castles was to protect the people who lived there from invasions. They were also a status symbol to show other people how important a family was.

Were castles built for protection?

They were designed to be difficult to attack and easy to defend. Castles protected owners from rivals and invaders; however, castles were also used to protect the local citizens. Early castles were built in the 9th and 10th centuries and were constructed of earth and wood; usually constructed on higher ground.

Which part of the castle was heavily defended?

The Keep or Donjon A keep was the big tower and usually the most strongly defended point of a castle before the introduction of concentric defence. Keep was not a term used in the medieval period – the term was applied from the 16th century onwards – instead donjon was used to refer to central towers.

What were the main 2 reasons castles helped control England?

Castles were not just bases, they were part of the feudal system created to control or suppress the English. The local lord and his knights living in the castle could control the rebellious English through physical force but castles were also symbolic of Norman power and so could psychologically control the locals.

What is the safest part of a castle?

What other rooms were there in a Medieval castle? At the time of Chr tien de Troyes, the rooms where the lord of a castle, his family and his knights lived and ate and slept were in the Keep (called the Donjon), the rectangular tower inside the walls of a castle. This was meant to be the strongest and safest place.

What were the 4 main reasons that castles were built?

Medieval Castle s were built from the 11th century CE for rulers to demonstrate their wealth and power to the local populace, to provide a place of defence and safe retreat in the case of attack, defend strategically important sites like river crossings, passages through hills, mountains, and frontiers, and as a place ...