For many centuries castles provided both protection and living quarters for kings, nobility, and sometimes townspeople. Many were built in Europe between the 9th and the 15th century, during the period known as the Middle Ages. Some of these castles still stand today and are popular tourist attractions. The fortifications, or military defenses, built into a castle set it apart from a palace, which is usually a grand house for a king or noble. Although castles are most often associated with Europe, they existed elsewhere as well. Castles built by the Byzantine Empire in western Asia and North Africa beginning in the 6th century had a strong influence on later European castle design. Castles were also built in medieval India and Japan. The castle developed rapidly in Western Europe beginning in the 9th century. The earliest European castles were probably built in France. Motte and bailey castlesEuropean castles were built in many forms. One early type, dating from the 10th century, was the motte and bailey castle. The motte was a high mound of earth, either natural or built up by workers. A fenced-in tower, usually made of wood, stood upon the motte. The tower was used as a lookout and often as the lord's residence. Next to the motte was a lower, larger walled area called the bailey. The castle's other buildings—such as workshops and stables—stood within the bailey. A ditch called a moat protected the motte and sometimes the bailey also. Later castlesThe earliest castles were built on open plains. Later castles were built in places that were easy to defend, such as hillsides or riverbanks. In addition, because wooden structures rotted or could be burned or chopped down, builders increasingly used stone in the 12th century. The motte was eventually replaced by a stone structure called the keep, and the walls surrounding the bailey were rebuilt in stone as well. Over time castles became stronger, with several lines of defense. Attackers who could not take a castle by storm often laid siege to it, camping outside and preventing anyone from entering or leaving. Defensive measuresA typical stone castle was surrounded by a moat. This was a deep ditch that was sometimes filled with water. A wall or fence could be built outside the moat. The main walls of most castles were very thick—sometimes more than 15 feet (4.6 meters). The walls stretched between high towers stocked with food and supplies. When an attack was expected, covered wooden balconies were hung over the outer edges of the wall. From these balconies defenders threw large stones or poured boiling oil onto anyone trying to climb the wall. Defenders could also shoot arrows through narrow openings in the wall and the towers. Special defenses were designed to keep unwelcome visitors from the castle's entrance. A hinged drawbridge across the moat could be pulled up to prevent intruders from crossing. The raised drawbridge would cover the gateway, which was often further protected by a low-lying fortification called a barbican. In front of the gateway hung the portcullis, a heavy grate made of wood and iron that slid up and down in stone grooves. The portcullis could be dropped into place quickly to bar the way. Farther inside was the gate itself. Some gates were so large that they were rarely opened. The people who lived in the castle used a smaller, guarded door built into the gate. Within the walls was a central structure called the keep, or donjon. The keep replaced the motte of the old motte and bailey castles. It was the strongest and most secure part of the castle. European castles had two types of keeps: the shell keep and the tower keep. The shell keep took the form of a high ring wall with buildings in the center while the tower keep was a rectangular building usually two to four stories high. It had its own walls and sometimes its own moat. In early stone castles, the keep had everything needed to withstand a siege of weeks or months. It contained the living quarters for the master and servants, service rooms, a gathering place called the great hall, and a well to provide water. In castles built later, however, living and dining quarters were shifted to other buildings. The keep became a place of refuge after all other defenses had failed. Also in later castles, the rectangular tower keeps became rounded, which made them harder to build but easier to defend. Round towers had no corners for attackers to chip away. The curved surface also made the tower harder to hit solidly with hurled objects. Living arrangementsAs a place to live, a castle was self-contained. Food was grown and cattle were grazed outside the walls. The bailey contained a kitchen, workshops, storehouses, stables, chapel, and other buildings to serve the castle's residents. People came together in the great hall for meals and ceremonies. But castle life was not comfortable. Halls were cold and damp. Ground floors consisted only of trampled earth. For bathrooms people used structures called garderobes that were built into the castle walls so that waste fell into a moat or river. Decline of the castleCastles offered good protection against attack by digging, by battering, or by hurling of objects. But they could not withstand the large firearms that were developed in the late Middle Ages. Attackers used cannons effectively against many European castles in the 15th and 16th centuries, signaling the end of the castle as a stronghold. In later centuries, military defenses were concentrated in compact forts, while rulers lived in palaces or mansions. |