What were some of the basic characteristics of a castle?
What were some of the basic characteristics of a castle? Features of a Medieval Castle 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. Bailey or Inner Ward (courtyard) - the area within a curtain wall.
What did castles look like inside?
Castle owners always had private 'apartments', or at least a bedroom with an en-suite loo and a chamber where they welcomed visitors. There was often a private chapel too. These were usually in the safest part of the castle, and only trusted servants or honoured guests were allowed in.
What are the most important parts of a castle?
The keep was the most essential part of a castle and could be defended even after castle walls had been breached. Keeps were originally called donjons, the French term for stronghold. The basement was sometimes used as a prison or dungeon, which became too easily confused with donjon, so the term keep was adopted.
What is a short description of a castle?
noun. 1. a large building or group of buildings fortified with thick walls, battlements, and often a moat; castles were the strongholds of noblemen in the Middle Ages.
What were the parts of a castle?
In some castles, there is an inner bailey that is an enclosed area closer to the tower or keep, and an outer bailey which is an area further out from the tower but that is still protected by the curtain wall. Windsor Castle is an example of a castle with a motte and a bailey.
What were 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 makes a castle a castle and not a house?
However, it's universally accepted that a real castle had to fulfil two major functions: it had to be a splendid home for the lord or the king, and it had to have defences to withstand an attack and protect a garrison in times of war.
What is the most important feature 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 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.