What is the purpose of a tower on a castle?
What is the purpose of a tower on a castle? The tower is a circular or square building, which was used as a lookout and for defence. The central tower in a motte and bailey castle was known as the keep. The height of the keep depends on how big the castle is, or how wealthy its owner is!
What is a balcony on a castle called?
In medieval fortification, a bret?che or brattice is a small balcony with machicolations, usually built over a gate and sometimes in the corners of the fortress' wall, with the purpose of enabling defenders to shoot or throw objects at the attackers huddled under the wall.
Where do guards sleep in a castle?
In the early Middle Ages, when few castles had large permanent garrisons, not only servants but military and administrative personnel slept in towers or in basements, or in the hall, or in lean-to structures; knights performing castle guard slept near their assigned posts.
What is the living room of a castle called?
In the Middle Ages the great chamber was an all-purpose reception and living room. The family might take some meals in it, though the great hall was the main eating room.
What is the front door of a castle called?
A portcullis is a heavy castle door or gate made of metal strips that form a grid. A castle guardian might lower the portcullis to protect the people inside from an invading army. It was common during medieval times for castles to be protected by a portcullis or two.
What is a moat in a castle?
moat, a depression surrounding a castle, city wall, or other fortification, usually but not always filled with water. The existence of a moat was a natural result of early methods of fortification by earthworks, for the ditch produced by the removal of earth to form a rampart made a valuable part of the defense system.
What are the pointy bits on a castle called?
The spires are essentially just big spikes atop the turrets; they may have lighting rods, weather vanes, radio antennae, flags or other decorative features attached. Or they can be just big spikes - what makes them spires is that they are above the roof of the turrets and pointy.
What is a bailey in a castle?
A bailey is the sturdy wall around a castle that keeps invaders out. The bailey of a medieval castle was usually built of stone. You might see a bailey — or the remains of one — if you tour a castle in England or France.
Why were castle walls sloped?
Often, these walls sloped away at the base to redirect objects dropped from the top of the castle wall, ricocheting them out at soldiers on the ground. Because they had walls to protect them, castle defenders would sometimes hunker down and try to wait out their attackers.
Where did servants sleep in 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 was the weakest point 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 attacked castle?
Over the centuries around 23 different siege attempts were made on Edinburgh Castle – making it the most besieged place in Europe.
Can you still live in a castle?
In most castles of a modest size you can use and live in all the rooms, with plenty of room for guests too. However, some larger estates might open up parts of the castle to day visitors or tours, either to help with finances or for the sheer love of sharing history.
What was the worst job in a castle?
When it comes to horrible jobs in a castle, gong farmer has to win the prize. Gong farmers, also known as nightmen, were responsible for cleaning out human excrement from the cesspits within the castle walls.
What are the three types of castles?
The three main types of castles are the motte and bailey castle, the stone keep castle, and the concentric castle.
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 are the small towers on a castle called?
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle.
Why did castles fall into ruin?
Castles, in particular, were instruments of war and occupying or levelling them was the goal of invading armies. In many cases, the castles were then taken over by the victors and re-purposed, but many were dismantled, particularly when the structure could no longer repel attacks by cannon.