What is the most important feature of a medieval castle?

What is the most important feature of a medieval castle? Walls and towers Thick stone walls and tall towers kept the castle's inhabitants safe from attack, even when an enemy army besieged (surrounded) the castle.

What was the greatest castle ever built?

1. Prague Castle- Largest Ancient Castle. Built in the area of 66,761 square meters, Prague Castle which is one of the biggest castles in the world has a history of over a thousand years. This UNESCO World Heritage Site was built in 880 AD by the Czech Monarchs.

What are the 4 types of medieval castles?

Four primary castle designs mark the period; Motte and Bailey, Shell keep, Stone keep, and Concentric; however, sub-types, such as Square Stone keep and Round Stone keep emerged over the years.

What are common features of a castle?

What was the most desired quality expected of a good castle?

Safety, not style or comfort, was the most desired quality. The castle had to be able to withstand an attack or a siege.

What are the 3 types of castles?

The three main types of castles are the motte and bailey castle, the stone keep castle, and the concentric castle.

What were the main features of a medieval castle?

Features of a Medieval Castle Barbican - a fortification to protect a gate. Curtain Walls & Towers - the perimeter defensive wall. Fortified Gatehouse - the main castle entrance. Keep (aka Donjon or Great Tower) - the largest tower and best stronghold of the castle.

What is the most iconic feature of a castle?

Walls. One of the most important features in a castle was its walls. Whether made of wood, stone or brick, they provided a barrier to enemy attackers. They typically included wall walks, which were used by the defenders to resist attempts to scale the walls or to shoot missiles at the besiegers.

What was the most critical part of a medieval castle?

The castle gatehouse was one of the most defensive parts of any medieval fortress. It was a strong, fortified building positioned to defend the entrance to a castle. Gatehouses usually contained multiple traps and obstacles to foil any intruder. These traps included vast metal portcullises, and infamous murder holes.

Where did servants sleep in medieval castles?

Most domestic servants would have slept in shared chambers in either the cellars or attics of the castle buildings. There might also be simple buildings outside the castle for herdsmen, mill workers, wood-cutters, and craftspeople such as rope-makers, candle-makers, potters, basket-weavers, and spinners.

What is the weakest part of a castle?

The entrance to the castle was always its weakest point. Drawbridges could be pulled up, preventing access across moats. Tall gate towers meant that defenders could shoot down in safety at attacks below. The main gate or door to the castle was usually a thick, iron-studded wooden door, that was hard to break through.

What is the most important part of a castle?

The drawbridge is one of the most important parts of a castle and one you've probably heard of before! A drawbridge was a type of bridge between the gatehouse and the opposite side of the moat. During raids, the drawbridge would be raised to keep invaders out.

What replaced castles?

As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible.

Which was 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.

Which castle has been attacked the most?

Over the centuries around 23 different siege attempts were made on Edinburgh Castle – making it the most besieged place in Europe.