What were the two main purposes of a castle?
What were the two main purposes of a castle? 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.
What was the most important thing for a castle to have?
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 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 defines a castle?
And now the Oxford English Dictionary defines a castle as 'a large building, typically of the medieval period, fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and often a moat'. So here's our first answer: a castle can be defined as being architecturally prepared for battle.
Who lived in castles?
Once upon a time castles were full of life, bustle and noise and crowded with lords, knights, servants, soldiers and entertainers. In times of war and siege they were exciting and dangerous places, but they were homes as well as fortresses.
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.
Why did castles stop being useful?
Castles were great defences against the enemy. However, when gunpowder was invented the castles stopped being an effective form of defence. By the end of the 1300s gunpowder was widely in use. The medieval castle with its high vertical walls was no longer the invincible fortification it had been.
What is the largest castle in the world?
The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork (Polish: Zamek w Malborku; German: Ordensburg Marienburg) is a 13th-century Teutonic castle and fortress located in the town of Malbork, Poland. It is the largest castle in the world measured by land area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.