Castles
Concentric castles
A concentric castle is kind of like a castle with in a castle, with lots of walls. The main feature of concentric castles are the walls; the walls were built to protect territories from invaders. Concentric castles were developed in the 12th and 13th century, and they offered the best protection.
Motte and Bailey castles
Motte and bailey castles were built on high ground. The Motte varied from 50-120 feet tall and 50-100 feet in diameter. Baileys helped to protect the castle it looked like a wall around the castle and the land below it. The Motte was a high mound on earth, like a fenced tower made of wood. The Motte and Bailey castle was the earliest castle built. The first Motte and Bailey castle was built in England. The palisade is the wooden fence surrounding the castle. The bailey is separated from the Motte by a wooden bridge that can be controlled by inside the castle.
Castle History
A lot of castles had murder holes. They were holes in castles that you could throw things out of like hot water or fire that could stop, hurt or even kill the enemy. A crenel is the space in between the two bricks at the top of the tower that you could throw things between. A merlon was the bricks on the outside of the crenel that you could hide behind.
Extra information
There were also moats built around castles. They were like lakes built around castles so invaders couldn’t dig under them. Often they would have animals like alligators in the moats so you couldn’t swim over. The first castle was built in England. It was a Motte and Bailey castle. In the middle of the castle there was something called a manor where the lord and his family lived.
Life in a Castle
In medieval times, residents of the castle were often grouped based on their status and occupation. The experience for each member of the group was quite different. For example, in most castles, residents were divided into two main groups; knights and servants. As a knight, your day would include enhancing your skills with weapons, horsemanship and tactics of warfare. Knights were typically sons of nobles that had been placed in the service of lords to learn how to be a knight. Knights generally worked their way up from knight to squire. Being a servant in a castle was quite different. Servants performed all kinds of jobs needed to make daily life easier in the castles. These jobs included baking, acrobatics for entertainment, dentistry, medical care, gardening, banking and construction of armor. The typical day for the servant was long and challenging. Their status ranked below that of a knight. Castles benefitted society because they provided protection against invaders. If we didn't have castles we would not be as protected and not come up with bigger and better structures later in life. They influenced modern day castles and houses in todays history.
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