119-584: Dalhousie Castle is a castle in Cockpen , Midlothian , Scotland . Dalhousie Castle is situated near the town of Bonnyrigg , 8 miles (13 km) south of Edinburgh . The castle was the seat of the Earls of Dalhousie , the chieftains of Clan Ramsay . The patriarch of the clan was Simundus de Ramesie (Simon of Ramsey), an English knight of Norman descent from the Huntingdonshire village of Ramsey . Simundus,
238-486: A castro is a fortified pre- Roman Iron Age village, usually located on a hill or some naturally easy defendable place. The larger hillforts are also called citanias , cividades or cidás (English: cities ). They were located on hilltops, which allowed tactical control over the surrounding countryside and provided natural defences. They usually had access to a spring or small creek to provide water; some even had large reservoirs to use during sieges . Typically,
357-595: A drawbridge , although these were often replaced by stone bridges. The site of the 13th-century Caerphilly Castle in Wales covers over 30 acres (12 ha) and the water defences, created by flooding the valley to the south of the castle, are some of the largest in Western Europe. Battlements were most often found surmounting curtain walls and the tops of gatehouses, and comprised several elements: crenellations , hoardings , machicolations , and loopholes . Crenellation
476-596: A vassal of David, Earl of Huntingdon , followed his lord to Scotland in about 1140, when David inherited the Scottish crown . He is considered the founder of the Ramsay clan and the first to have lands at Dalwolsey. The first castle at Dalhousie was constructed by him. The red stone castle is situated in a strategic spot overlooking the River Esk . The drum tower, the oldest part of the current structure, an L Plan Castle , dates to
595-466: A Roman fort or Byzantine tetrapyrgia which were square in plan and had square towers at each corner that did not project much beyond the curtain wall. The keep of these Crusader castles would have had a square plan and generally be undecorated. While castles were used to hold a site and control movement of armies, in the Holy Land some key strategic positions were left unfortified. Castle architecture in
714-462: A barbican was not just to provide another line of defence but also to dictate the only approach to the gate. A moat was a ditch surrounding a castle – or dividing one part of a castle from another – and could be either dry or filled with water. Its purpose often had a defensive purpose, preventing siege towers from reaching walls making mining harder, but could also be ornamental. Water moats were found in low-lying areas and were usually crossed by
833-453: A castro had one to five stone and earth walls, which complemented the natural defences of the hill. The buildings inside, most of them circular in shape, some rectangular, were about 3.5–15 m (11–49 ft) long; they were made out of stone with thatch roofs resting on a wood column in the centre of the building. In the major oppida there were regular streets, suggesting some form of central organization. Castros vary in area from less than
952-438: A central keep . In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire . Many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castle's firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to
1071-447: A common list of castles, fortresses, forts, an hillforts. The Latvian word for hillfort is pilskalns (plural: pilskalni ), from pils (castle) and kalns (hill). Hillforts in Latvia offered not only military and administrative functions but they were also cultural and economic centres of some regions. Latvian hillforts generally were a part of a complex consisting of
1190-570: A common origin, dealt with a particular mode of warfare, and exchanged influences. In different areas of the world, analogous structures shared features of fortification and other defining characteristics associated with the concept of a castle, though they originated in different periods and circumstances and experienced differing evolutions and influences. For example, shiro in Japan, described as castles by historian Stephen Turnbull , underwent "a completely different developmental history, were built in
1309-476: A completely different way and were designed to withstand attacks of a completely different nature". While European castles built from the late 12th and early 13th century onwards were generally stone, shiro were predominantly timber buildings into the 16th century. By the 16th century, when Japanese and European cultures met, fortification in Europe had moved beyond castles and relied on innovations such as
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#17328814600181428-641: A confined space and unable to retaliate. It is a popular myth that murder holes – openings in the ceiling of the gateway passage – were used to pour boiling oil or molten lead on attackers; the price of oil and lead and the distance of the gatehouse from fires meant that this was impractical. This method was, however, a common practice in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean castles and fortifications, where such resources were abundant. They were most likely used to drop objects on attackers, or to allow water to be poured on fires to extinguish them. Provision
1547-413: A fortification such as a city wall . The great hall was a large, decorated room where a lord received his guests. The hall represented the prestige, authority, and richness of the lord. Events such as feasts, banquets, social or ceremonial gatherings, meetings of the military council, and judicial trials were held in the great hall. Sometimes the great hall existed as a separate building, in that case, it
1666-889: A hectare to some 50 hectare ones, and most were abandoned after the Roman conquest of the territory. Many castros were already established during the Atlantic Bronze Age period, pre-dating the Hallstatt culture . Many of the megaliths from the Bronze Age such as menhirs and dolmens , which are frequently located near the castros, also pre-date the Celts in Portugal, Asturias and Galicia as well as in Atlantic France, Britain and Ireland. These megaliths were probably reused in syncretic rituals by
1785-605: A long time in a constant state of alert"; elsewhere the lord's wife presided over a separate residence ( domus , aula or mansio in Latin) close to the keep, and the donjon was a barracks and headquarters. Gradually, the two functions merged into the same building, and the highest residential storeys had large windows; as a result for many structures, it is difficult to find an appropriate term. The massive internal spaces seen in many surviving donjons can be misleading; they would have been divided into several rooms by light partitions, as in
1904-435: A lord's home or hall was fire as it was usually a wooden structure. To protect against this, and keep other threats at bay, there were several courses of action available: create encircling earthworks to keep an enemy at a distance; build the hall in stone; or raise it up on an artificial mound, known as a motte, to present an obstacle to attackers. While the concept of ditches , ramparts , and stone walls as defensive measures
2023-538: A massive scale, utilising stone, wood, iron and earth in their construction. The Romans encountered fortified settlements such as hill forts and oppida when expanding their territory into northern Europe. Their defences were often effective, and were only overcome by the extensive use of siege engines and other siege warfare techniques, such as at the Battle of Alesia . The Romans' own fortifications ( castra ) varied from simple temporary earthworks thrown up by armies on
2142-498: A military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view, since the 1960s, has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were located in different places to the tin and copper ore necessary to make bronze and, as a result, trading patterns shifted and the old elites lost their economic and social status. Power passed into
2261-489: A mixture of castle technology from the Crusades , such as concentric fortification , and inspiration from earlier defences, such as Roman forts . Not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, so that devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape. Although gunpowder
2380-642: A modern office building. Even in some large castles the great hall was separated only by a partition from the lord's chamber, his bedroom and to some extent his office. Curtain walls were defensive walls enclosing a bailey. They had to be high enough to make scaling the walls with ladders difficult and thick enough to withstand bombardment from siege engines which, from the 15th century onwards, included gunpowder artillery . A typical wall could be 3 m (10 ft) thick and 12 m (39 ft) tall, although sizes varied greatly between castles. To protect them from undermining , curtain walls were sometimes given
2499-532: A number of words in other languages also derive from castellum . The word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest of 1066 to denote this type of building, which was then new to England. In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is "a private fortified residence". This contrasts with earlier fortifications, such as Anglo-Saxon burhs and walled cities such as Constantinople and Antioch in
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#17328814600182618-449: A range of purposes and were variously tribal centres, defended places, foci of ritual activity, and places of production. Hillforts were frequently occupied by conquering armies, but on other occasions the forts were destroyed, the local people forcibly evicted, and the forts left derelict. For example, Solsbury Hill was sacked and deserted during the Belgic invasions of southern Britain in
2737-493: A range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, and domestic. As well as defensive structures, castles were also offensive tools which could be used as a base of operations in enemy territory. Castles were established by Norman invaders of England for both defensive purposes and to pacify the country's inhabitants. As William the Conqueror advanced through England, he fortified key positions to secure
2856-917: A refuge against attacking enemies. Ijang were first described by the English freebooter Captain William Dampier when he visited the island of Ivuhos in 1687. During the Spanish colonial era , ijang were abandoned during the Reducciones as the Ivatan population were moved into centralized towns in the lowlands. Among the Māori people , villages called pā were often built on raised ground, like volcanic hills, headlands, and small islands (including artificial islands ). The slopes were terraced into defensive ramparts that were usually further protected by palisades . Traditional pā took
2975-619: A result there were 4,000 in the country. There are very few castles dated with certainty from the mid-9th century. Converted into a donjon around 950, Château de Doué-la-Fontaine in France is the oldest standing castle in Europe . From 1000 onwards, references to castles in texts such as charters increased greatly. Historians have interpreted this as evidence of a sudden increase in the number of castles in Europe around this time; this has been supported by archaeological investigation which has dated
3094-470: A scientific design. An example of this approach is Kerak . Although there were no scientific elements to its design, it was almost impregnable, and in 1187 Saladin chose to lay siege to the castle and starve out its garrison rather than risk an assault. During the late 11th and 12th centuries in what is now south-central Turkey the Hospitallers , Teutonic Knights and Templars established themselves in
3213-519: A six-month siege at Dalhousie by English forces led by King Henry IV . Oliver Cromwell used the castle as a base for his invasion of Scotland. Many Earls of Dalhousie have taken an active part in British political and military leadership. Around 1800, Walter Nicol designed the new layout of the walled garden. At the turn of the 20th century, the seat of Clan Ramsay was moved to Brechin Castle , although
3332-420: A stone skirt around their bases. Walkways along the tops of the curtain walls allowed defenders to rain missiles on enemies below, and battlements gave them further protection. Curtain walls were studded with towers to allow enfilading fire along the wall. Arrowslits in the walls did not become common in Europe until the 13th century, for fear that they might compromise the wall's strength. The entrance
3451-473: A stone wall or earthen rampart or both. These would have been important tribal centres where the chief or king of the area would live with his extended family and support themselves by farming and renting cattle to their underlings. There are around 40 known hillforts in Ireland. About 12 are multivallate as distinguished by multiple ramparts, or a large counterscarp (outer bank). The imposing example at Mooghaun
3570-497: A stronghold and prison but was also a place where a knight or lord could entertain his peers. Over time the aesthetics of the design became more important, as the castle's appearance and size began to reflect the prestige and power of its occupant. Comfortable homes were often fashioned within their fortified walls. Although castles still provided protection from low levels of violence in later periods, eventually they were succeeded by country houses as high-status residences. Castle
3689-424: A wall with openings that allowed objects to be dropped on an enemy at the base of the wall in a similar fashion to hoardings. Arrowslits , also commonly called loopholes, were narrow vertical openings in defensive walls which allowed arrows or crossbow bolts to be fired on attackers. The narrow slits were intended to protect the defender by providing a very small target, but the size of the opening could also impede
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3808-400: A wooden door. This led to the elevation of windows to the second storey – to make it harder to throw objects in – and to move the entrance from ground level to the second storey. These features are seen in many surviving castle keeps, which were the more sophisticated version of halls. Castles were not just defensive sites but also enhanced a lord's control over his lands. They allowed
3927-905: Is linnamägi (plural linnamäed ), meaning hillfort or hillburgh . There are several hundred hillforts or presumed ancient hillfort sites all over Estonia. Some of them, like Toompea in Tallinn or Toomemägi in Tartu, are governance centres used since ancient times up until today. Some others, like Varbola are historical sites nowadays. Most likely the Estonian hillforts were in pre-Christian times administrative, economic and military centres of Estonian tribes . Although some of them were probably used only during times of crisis and stood empty in peacetime (for example Soontagana in Koonga parish, Pärnu county ). List of Estonian fortresses [ et ] contains
4046-531: Is a corrupted form of "donjon" and means a dark, unwelcoming prison. Although often the strongest part of a castle and a last place of refuge if the outer defences fell, the keep was not left empty in case of attack but was used as a residence by the lord who owned the castle, or his guests or representatives. At first, this was usual only in England, when after the Norman Conquest of 1066 the "conquerors lived for
4165-446: Is a type of fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late European Bronze Age and Iron Age . Some were used in the post- Roman period. The fortification usually follows the contours of a hill and consists of one or more lines of earthworks or stone ramparts , with stockades or defensive walls , and external ditches. If enemies were approaching,
4284-456: Is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders . Scholars usually consider a castle to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a mansion , palace , and villa , whose main purpose was exclusively for pleasance and are not primarily fortresses but may be fortified. Use of
4403-433: Is ancient, raising a motte is a medieval innovation. A bank and ditch enclosure was a simple form of defence, and when found without an associated motte is called a ringwork; when the site was in use for a prolonged period, it was sometimes replaced by a more complex structure or enhanced by the addition of a stone curtain wall. Building the hall in stone did not necessarily make it immune to fire as it still had windows and
4522-402: Is defended by multiple stone walls. One must be careful to not confuse a hill-fort with a ' ringfort '—a medieval settlement—a common archaeological feature across the whole island of Ireland, of which over 40,000 examples are known; one source claims there may be 10,000 undiscovered ringforts. In Galicia , Asturias , Cantabria , Basque Country , province of Ávila and Northern Portugal
4641-572: Is sometimes used as a catch-all term for all kinds of fortifications , and as a result has been misapplied in the technical sense. An example of this is Maiden Castle which, despite the name, is an Iron Age hill fort which had a very different origin and purpose. Although castle has not become a generic term for a manor house (like château in French and Schloss in German), many manor houses contain castle in their name while having few if any of
4760-407: Is the collective name for alternating crenels and merlons : gaps and solid blocks on top of a wall. Hoardings were wooden constructs that projected beyond the wall, allowing defenders to shoot at, or drop objects on, attackers at the base of the wall without having to lean perilously over the crenellations, thereby exposing themselves to retaliatory fire. Machicolations were stone projections on top of
4879-478: Is the largest amongst forts reoccupied following the end of Roman rule , to defend against pirate raids, and the Anglo-Saxon invasions. The cemetery outside Poundbury Hill contains east-facing Christian burials of the 4th century CE. In Wales, the hillfort at Dinas Powys was a late Iron Age hillfort reoccupied from the 5th-6th centuries CE; similarly at Castell Dinas Brân a hillfort of c. 600 BCE
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4998-891: The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , where they discovered an extensive network of sophisticated fortifications which had a profound impact on the architecture of Crusader castles . Most of the Armenian military sites in Cilicia are characterized by: multiple bailey walls laid with irregular plans to follow the sinuosities of the outcrops; rounded and especially horseshoe-shaped towers; finely-cut often rusticated ashlar facing stones with intricate poured cores; concealed postern gates and complex bent entrances with slot machicolations; embrasured loopholes for archers; barrel, pointed or groined vaults over undercrofts, gates and chapels; and cisterns with elaborate scarped drains. Civilian settlement are often found in
5117-485: The Bayeux Tapestry 's depiction of Château de Dinan . Sometimes a motte covered an older castle or hall, whose rooms became underground storage areas and prisons beneath a new keep. A bailey, also called a ward, was a fortified enclosure. It was a common feature of castles, and most had at least one. The keep on top of the motte was the domicile of the lord in charge of the castle and a bastion of last defence, while
5236-606: The Bronze Age in the 1st millennium BC. The earliest examples in present-day Lithuania are found in the east of the country. Most of these forts were built or expanded between the fifth and fifteenth centuries, when they were used in the Dukes' Wars, and against the invasion of Teutonic Knights from the west. Most forts were located on the banks of a river, or a confluence where two rivers met. These fortifications were typically wooden, although some had additional stone or brick walls. The hill
5355-674: The Hill Forts of Rajasthan . In the Philippines , the Ivatan people of the Batanes Islands built ijang —fortified villages on top of natural hills and raised landforms near the coastlines. These were terraced into defensive ramparts with limited access points. Artifacts recovered from an ijang on the town of Savidug in Sabtang has been dated to around 1200 CE. These high rocky formations served as
5474-452: The Iron Age . Hillforts in Britain typically used earthworks rather than stone as a building material. Many earthworks survive today, along with evidence of palisades to accompany the ditches. In central and western Europe, oppida emerged in the 2nd century BC; these were densely inhabited fortified settlements, such as the oppidum of Manching . Some oppida walls were built on
5593-874: The Neman River (against the Teutonic Order) and another along the border with Livonia . Two other lines started to form, but did not fully develop. One was to protect Vilnius , the capital, and the other line in Samogitia , was a major target for both orders. This territory separated the two Orders and prevented joint action between them and Pagan Lithuania. As of 2017 , according to the Atlas of Lithuanian Hillforts , there were 921 objects in Lithuania identified as piliakalniai . Most piliakalniai are located near rivers and are endangered by erosion: many have partly collapsed as
5712-476: The Romans . The gatehouse contained a series of defences to make a direct assault more difficult than battering down a simple gate. Typically, there were one or more portcullises – a wooden grille reinforced with metal to block a passage – and arrowslits to allow defenders to harry the enemy. The passage through the gatehouse was lengthened to increase the amount of time an assailant had to spend under fire in
5831-604: The Von Essen Hotels company for a reported price of £ 10 million. On 26 June 2004, a major fire erupted in the castle's roof area. The building was evacuated and the Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade were called to extinguish the blaze. The damage was significant but limited to a relatively small area of the building, and no major structural damage occurred. The damage was repaired and the hotel resumed normal operations. In April 2011, Von Essen Hotels fell into administration, and
5950-534: The 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of mock castles, part of a Romantic revival of Gothic architecture , but they had no military purpose. The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum , which is a diminutive of the word castrum , meaning "fortified place". The Old English castel , Occitan castel or chastel , French château , Spanish castillo , Portuguese castelo , Italian castello , and
6069-588: The 1st century BC. Abandoned forts were sometimes reoccupied and refortified under renewed threat of foreign invasion, such as the Dukes' Wars in Lithuania , and the successive invasions of Britain by Romans , Saxons and Vikings . Celtic hillforts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC , and were used in many Celtic areas of central and western Europe until
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#17328814600186188-479: The 5th–8th centuries AD, when many new hillforts appeared, in most cases, along the main trades routes—rivers. During the 10th–11th centuries, some of the hillforts became military fortresses with strong fortifications (like hillforts in Tērvete , Talsi , Mežotne ). Some of them are considered important political centres of the local peoples, who in this period were subjects of serious social political changes. That period
6307-525: The 9th and 10th centuries after the fall of the Carolingian Empire , which resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them and they were both offensive and defensive structures: they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as offered protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies,
6426-533: The Celtic Druids . The Celtiberian people occupied an inland region in central northern Spain, straddling the upper valleys of the Ebro , Douro and Tajo . They built hillforts, fortified hilltop towns and oppida , including Numantia . During the period of Late Antiquity or Migration Period a large number of hilltop settlements were established both on the Roman imperial territory and on Germanic soil. However,
6545-596: The Christians were victorious in the First Crusade (1096–1099), rather than nearly 100 years later. Remains of Roman structures in Western Europe were still standing in many places, some of which had flanking round-towers and entrances between two flanking towers. The castle builders of Western Europe were aware of and influenced by Roman design; late Roman coastal forts on the English " Saxon Shore " were reused and in Spain
6664-612: The East became more complex around the late 12th and early 13th centuries after the stalemate of the Third Crusade (1189–1192). Both Christians and Muslims created fortifications, and the character of each was different. Saphadin , the 13th-century ruler of the Saracens, created structures with large rectangular towers that influenced Muslim architecture and were copied again and again, however they had little influence on Crusader castles. In
6783-704: The Finnish hillforts that while most of them are located these days within some distance from the sea, but earlier many of the forts were located by the sea, due to post-glacial rebound . Finland has around 100 hillforts verified by excavations, and about 200 more suspected sites. The largest hillfort in Finland is the Rapola Castle , other notable are the Old Castle of Lieto and the Sulkava hillfort. The Estonian word for hillfort
6902-515: The Iberian Peninsula was the use of detached towers, called Albarrana towers , around the perimeter as can be seen at the Alcazaba of Badajoz . Probably developed in the 12th century, the towers provided flanking fire. They were connected to the castle by removable wooden bridges, so if the towers were captured the rest of the castle was not accessible. When seeking to explain this change in
7021-551: The Iron Age were small, with perhaps no more than 50 inhabitants. Hillforts were the exception, and were the home of up to 1,000 people. With the emergence of oppida in the Late Iron Age, settlements could reach as large as 10,000 inhabitants. As the population increased so did the complexity of prehistoric societies. Around 1100 BC hillforts emerged and in the following centuries spread through Europe. They served
7140-440: The Iron Age were sometimes used for corralling animals in later periods. For example, see Coney's Castle , Dolebury Warren and Pilsdon Pen . However, it is difficult to prove that people definitely did not dwell there, as lack of evidence is not proof of absence. Bronze Age and Iron Age hillforts are widely found in Ireland. They are large circular structures between 1 and 40 acres (most commonly 5–10 acres) in size, enclosed by
7259-443: The Iron Age which may have had several functions. They are usually located on the crests of hills and mountains making use of precipices and marshes which worked as natural defences. The crests' more accessible parts were defended with walls of stone and outer walls in the slopes beneath are common. Round and closed, so-called ring forts are common even on flat ground. The walls often have remaining parts of stone, which were probably
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#17328814600187378-470: The Italian trace italienne and star forts . A motte was an earthen mound with a flat top. It was often artificial, although sometimes it incorporated a pre-existing feature of the landscape. The excavation of earth to make the mound left a ditch around the motte, called a moat (which could be either wet or dry). Although the motte is commonly associated with the bailey to form a motte-and-bailey castle, this
7497-467: The Middle East; castles were not communal defences but were built and owned by the local feudal lords, either for themselves or for their monarch. Feudalism was the link between a lord and his vassal where, in return for military service and the expectation of loyalty, the lord would grant the vassal land. In the late 20th century, there was a trend to refine the definition of a castle by including
7616-460: The Ramsay family continued to retain ownership of the castle until 1977. At the time of the sale, Dalhousie had been in the same family for more than eight centuries, longer than any other castle in Scotland. Throughout the 20th century, the castle was leased out to a series of tenants, including a boarding school. In 1972, the castle was converted into a hotel. In 2003, Dalhousie Castle was purchased by
7735-552: The Roman conquest. They are most common during later periods: The Hallstatt culture and La Tène culture originated in what is now southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The predominant form of rampart construction was pfostenschlitzmauer , or Kelheim-style . During the Hallstatt ;C period, hillforts became the dominant settlement type in the west of Hungary. Julius Caesar described
7854-404: The architectural characteristics, usually as their owners liked to maintain a link to the past and felt the term castle was a masculine expression of their power. In scholarship the castle, as defined above, is generally accepted as a coherent concept, originating in Europe and later spreading to parts of the Middle East, where they were introduced by European Crusaders. This coherent group shared
7973-426: The bailey was the home of the rest of the lord's household and gave them protection. The barracks for the garrison, stables, workshops, and storage facilities were often found in the bailey. Water was supplied by a well or cistern . Over time the focus of high status accommodation shifted from the keep to the bailey; this resulted in the creation of another bailey that separated the high status buildings – such as
8092-460: The civilians would spot them from a distance. Prehistoric Europe saw a growing population. It has been estimated that in about 5000 BC during the Neolithic between 2 million and 5 million lived in Europe; in the Late Iron Age it had an estimated population of around 15 to 30 million. Outside Greece and Italy , which were more densely populated, the vast majority of settlements in
8211-563: The complexity and style of castles, antiquarians found their answer in the Crusades. It seemed that the Crusaders had learned much about fortification from their conflicts with the Saracens and exposure to Byzantine architecture . There were legends such as that of Lalys – an architect from Palestine who reputedly went to Wales after the Crusades and greatly enhanced the castles in the south of
8330-402: The construction of castle sites through the examination of ceramics. The increase in Italy began in the 950s, with numbers of castles increasing by a factor of three to five every 50 years, whereas in other parts of Europe such as France and Spain the growth was slower. In 950, Provence was home to 12 castles; by 1000, this figure had risen to 30, and by 1030 it was over 100. Although
8449-474: The country – and it was assumed that great architects such as James of Saint George originated in the East. In the mid-20th century this view was cast into doubt. Legends were discredited, and in the case of James of Saint George it was proven that he came from Saint-Georges-d'Espéranche , in France. If the innovations in fortification had derived from the East, it would have been expected for their influence to be seen from 1100 onwards, immediately after
8568-458: The criterion of feudal ownership, thus tying castles to the medieval period; however, this does not necessarily reflect the terminology used in the medieval period. During the First Crusade (1096–1099), the Frankish armies encountered walled settlements and forts that they indiscriminately referred to as castles, but which would not be considered as such under the modern definition. Castles served
8687-427: The defender if it was too small. A smaller horizontal opening could be added to give an archer a better view for aiming. Sometimes a sally port was included; this could allow the garrison to leave the castle and engage besieging forces. It was usual for the latrines to empty down the external walls of a castle and into the surrounding ditch. A postern is a secondary door or gate in a concealed location, usually in
8806-552: The dominant form of castle in England, Wales, and Ireland well into the 12th century. At the same time, castle architecture in mainland Europe became more sophisticated. The donjon was at the centre of this change in castle architecture in the 12th century. Central towers proliferated, and typically had a square plan, with walls 3 to 4 m (9.8 to 13.1 ft) thick. Their decoration emulated Romanesque architecture , and sometimes incorporated double windows similar to those found in church bell towers. Donjons, which were
8925-525: The early 13th century, Crusader castles were mostly built by Military Orders including the Knights Hospitaller , Knights Templar , and Teutonic Knights . The orders were responsible for the foundation of sites such as Krak des Chevaliers , Margat , and Belvoir . Design varied not just between orders, but between individual castles, though it was common for those founded in this period to have concentric defences. Hill fort A hillfort
9044-413: The economy and justice. However, while castles proliferated in the 9th and 10th centuries the link between periods of insecurity and building fortifications is not always straightforward. Some high concentrations of castles occur in secure places, while some border regions had relatively few castles. It is likely that the castle evolved from the practice of fortifying a lordly home. The greatest threat to
9163-701: The element sten / stein were usually hillforts. In Sweden, there are 1,100 known hillforts with a strong concentration on the northern west coast and in eastern Svealand . In Södermanland there are 300, in Uppland 150, Östergötland 130, and 90 to 100 in each of Bohuslän and Gotland . Norway has about 400 hillforts. Denmark has 26 hillforts. The Finnish word for hillfort is linnavuori (plural linnavuoret ), meaning fort hill or castle hill , or alternatively muinaislinna meaning ancient fort , as opposed to bare linna which refers to medieval or later fortifications. One special feature about
9282-536: The excavator to implicate the Cadbury population in a revolt in the 70's AD (roughly contemporary with that of Boudicca in the East of England), although this has been questioned by subsequent researchers. However, the presence of barracks on the hilltop in the decades following the conquest suggest an ongoing struggle to suppress local dissent. Maiden Castle in Dorset is the largest hillfort in England. Where Roman influence
9401-400: The flooded river has washed out the base of the hill. Now around 80 percent of piliakalniai are covered by forests and are hardly accessible to visitors. In Russia , Belarus and Poland Iron Age and Early Medieval hillforts are called gords . They were the residence of local rulers, and provided for refuge in times of war. Similar structures can be found elsewhere in the world, such as
9520-584: The garrison to control the surrounding area, and formed a centre of administration, providing the lord with a place to hold court . Building a castle sometimes required the permission of the king or other high authority. In 864 the King of West Francia, Charles the Bald , prohibited the construction of castella without his permission and ordered them all to be destroyed. This is perhaps the earliest reference to castles, though military historian R. Allen Brown points out that
9639-511: The hands of a new group of people. Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe believes that population increase still played a role and has stated "[the forts] provided defensive possibilities for the community at those times when the stress [of an increasing population] burst out into open warfare. But I wouldn't see them as having been built because there was a state of war. They would be functional as defensive strongholds when there were tensions and undoubtedly some of them were attacked and destroyed, but this
9758-462: The hotel was available with a guide price of £ 7.5 million. In March 2012, it was announced that Robert Parker, owner of Doxford House , Eshott Hall and Guyzance Hall in Northumberland, had purchased Dalhousie Castle for an undisclosed sum. 55°51′37.89″N 3°4′55.85″W / 55.8605250°N 3.0821806°W / 55.8605250; -3.0821806 Castle A castle
9877-676: The immediate proximity of these fortifications. After the First Crusade, Crusaders who did not return to their homes in Europe helped found the Crusader states of the Principality of Antioch , the County of Edessa , the Kingdom of Jerusalem , and the County of Tripoli . The castles they founded to secure their acquisitions were designed mostly by Syrian master-masons. Their design was very similar to that of
9996-428: The increase was slower in Spain, the 1020s saw a particular growth in the number of castles in the region, particularly in contested border areas between Christian and Muslim lands. Despite the common period in which castles rose to prominence in Europe, their form and design varied from region to region. In the early 11th century, the motte and keep – an artificial mound with a palisade and tower on top –
10115-557: The land he had taken. Between 1066 and 1087, he established 36 castles such as Warwick Castle , which he used to guard against rebellion in the English Midlands . Towards the end of the Middle Ages, castles tended to lose their military significance due to the advent of powerful cannons and permanent artillery fortifications; as a result, castles became more important as residences and statements of power. A castle could act as
10234-507: The large late Iron Age hillforts he encountered during his campaigns in Gaul as oppida . By this time the larger ones had become more like cities than fortresses and many were assimilated as Roman towns. The reason for the emergence of hillforts in Britain, and their purpose, has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or
10353-414: The lay of the land (the result was often irregular or curvilinear structures). The design of castles was not uniform, but these were features that could be found in a typical castle in the mid-12th century. By the end of the 12th century or the early 13th century, a newly constructed castle could be expected to be polygonal in shape, with towers at the corners to provide enfilading fire for
10472-499: The lord's chambers and the chapel – from the everyday structures such as the workshops and barracks. From the late 12th century there was a trend for knights to move out of the small houses they had previously occupied within the bailey to live in fortified houses in the countryside. Although often associated with the motte-and-bailey type of castle, baileys could also be found as independent defensive structures. These simple fortifications were called ringworks . The enceinte
10591-420: The loss of the donjon. Where keeps did exist, they were no longer square but polygonal or cylindrical. Gateways were more strongly defended, with the entrance to the castle usually between two half-round towers which were connected by a passage above the gateway – although there was great variety in the styles of gateway and entrances – and one or more portcullis. A peculiar feature of Muslim castles in
10710-582: The main fortress, the settlement around it, one or more burial fields and nearby ritual sites. The first hillforts in Latvia, such as Daugmale hillfort, appeared during the Bronze Age . Some were continuously inhabited until the late Iron Age . During the Roman Iron Age, some of the Latvian hillforts (like Ķivutkalns ) were abandoned or became sparsely populated. A new period in hillfort development started during
10829-463: The main living quarters of the castle and usually the most strongly defended point of a castle before the introduction of concentric defence . "Keep" was not a term used in the medieval period – the term was applied from the 16th century onwards – instead " donjon " was used to refer to great towers, or turris in Latin. In motte-and-bailey castles, the keep was on top of the motte. "Dungeon"
10948-421: The mid 15th century. The majority of the current castle dates to the 17th century. There was originally a dry moat surrounding the castle. The moat was later filled in but partially excavated in the late 20th century. Dalhousie Castle has seen much history. King Edward I (Longshanks) stayed at the castle on his way to meet Sir William Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk . In 1400, Sir Alexander Ramsay withstood
11067-444: The move, to elaborate permanent stone constructions, notably the milecastles of Hadrian's Wall . Roman forts were generally rectangular with rounded corners – a "playing-card shape". In the medieval period, castles were influenced by earlier forms of elite architecture, contributing to regional variations. Importantly, while castles had military aspects, they contained a recognisable household structure within their walls, reflecting
11186-438: The multi-functional use of these buildings. The subject of the emergence of castles in Europe is a complex matter which has led to considerable debate. Discussions have typically attributed the rise of the castle to a reaction to attacks by Magyars , Muslims , and Vikings and a need for private defence. The breakdown of the Carolingian Empire led to the privatisation of government, and local lords assumed responsibility for
11305-573: The number of castles being built went into decline. This has been partly attributed to the higher cost of stone-built fortifications, and the obsolescence of timber and earthwork sites, which meant it was preferable to build in more durable stone. Although superseded by their stone successors, timber and earthwork castles were by no means useless. This is evidenced by the continual maintenance of timber castles over long periods, sometimes several centuries; Owain Glyndŵr 's 11th-century timber castle at Sycharth
11424-424: The residence of the lord of the castle, evolved to become more spacious. The design emphasis of donjons changed to reflect a shift from functional to decorative requirements, imposing a symbol of lordly power upon the landscape. This sometimes led to compromising defence for the sake of display. Until the 12th century, stone-built and earth and timber castles were contemporary, but by the late 12th century
11543-542: The structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills, fertile land, or a water source. Many northern European castles were originally built from earth and timber but had their defences replaced later by stone . Early castles often exploited natural defences, lacking features such as towers and arrowslits and relying on
11662-489: The support of pales. They often have well delineated gateways, the gates of which were probably of wood. Hillforts with strong walls are often located beside old trade routes and have an offensive character, whereas others are reclusive and were weakly fortified, probably only for hiding during raids. Many forts, located centrally in densely populated areas, were permanently settled strongholds and can show traces of settlements both inside and outside. Older place names containing
11781-732: The term embraces a wide range of very different settlements in high locations. At least a few of the Germanic settlements were protected by fortifications. Unlike the Romans, however, the Germanii did not use mortar at that time for their construction. Among the best known hill settlements in Germany are the Runder Berg near Bad Urach and the Gelbe Bürg near Dittenheim. In Sweden, hillforts are fortifications from
11900-410: The term has varied over time and, sometimes, has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th- and 20th-century homes built to resemble castles. Over the Middle Ages, when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls , arrowslits , and portcullises , were commonplace. European-style castles originated in
12019-562: The wall around the city of Ávila imitated Roman architecture when it was built in 1091. Historian Smail in Crusading warfare argued that the case for the influence of Eastern fortification on the West has been overstated, and that Crusaders of the 12th century in fact learned very little about scientific design from Byzantine and Saracen defences. A well-sited castle that made use of natural defences and had strong ditches and walls had no need for
12138-413: The walls. The towers would have protruded from the walls and featured arrowslits on each level to allow archers to target anyone nearing or at the curtain wall. These later castles did not always have a keep, but this may have been because the more complex design of the castle as a whole drove up costs and the keep was sacrificed to save money. The larger towers provided space for habitation to make up for
12257-460: The word castella may have applied to any fortification at the time. In some countries the monarch had little control over lords, or required the construction of new castles to aid in securing the land so was unconcerned about granting permission – as was the case in England in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest and the Holy Land during the Crusades . Switzerland is an extreme case of there being no state control over who built castles, and as
12376-969: Was a new linear earthwork connected to the existing hillfort at Maes Knoll , which defined the Celtic-Saxon border in south-west England during the period 577–652 CE. Some hillforts were re-occupied by the Anglo-Saxons during the period of Viking raids. King Alfred established a network of coastal hillforts and lookout posts in Wessex , linked by a Herepath , or military road, which enabled his armies to cover Viking movements at sea. For example, see Daw's Castle and Battle of Cynwit . It has been suggested on reasonable evidence that many so-called hillforts were just used to pen in cattle, horses, or other domesticated animals. The large sprawling examples at Bindon Hill and Bathampton Down are more than 50 acres (20 ha ). Even those that were defensive settlements in
12495-553: Was called a hall-house. Historian Charles Coulson states that the accumulation of wealth and resources, such as food, led to the need for defensive structures. The earliest fortifications originated in the Fertile Crescent , the Indus Valley , Europe, Egypt, and China where settlements were protected by large walls. In Northern Europe , hill forts were first developed in the Bronze Age , which then proliferated across Europe in
12614-472: Was common, and usually between local lords. Castles were introduced into England shortly before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Before the 12th century castles were as uncommon in Denmark as they had been in England before the Norman Conquest. The introduction of castles to Denmark was a reaction to attacks from Wendish pirates, and they were usually intended as coastal defences. The motte and bailey remained
12733-430: Was in short supply. Although stone construction would later become common elsewhere, from the 11th century onwards it was the primary building material for Christian castles in Spain, while at the same time timber was still the dominant building material in north-west Europe. Historians have interpreted the widespread presence of castles across Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries as evidence that warfare
12852-556: Was introduced to Europe in the 14th century, it did not significantly affect castle building until the 15th century, when artillery became powerful enough to break through stone walls. While castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery star forts with no role in civil administration, and château or country houses that were indefensible. From
12971-557: Was known for unrest and military activities, as well as power struggles between local aristocracy. Most of the Latvian hillforts were destroyed or abandoned during the Livonian Crusade in the 13th century, but some were still used in the 14th century. In total, there are about 470 hillforts in Latvia. The Lithuanian word for hillfort is piliakalnis (plural piliakalniai ), from pilis (=castle) and kalnas (=mountain, hill). Lithuania has hillforts dating from
13090-449: Was less strong, such as uninvaded Ireland and unsubdued northern Scotland, hillforts were still built and used for several more centuries. There are over 2,000 Iron Age hillforts known in Britain of which nearly 600 are in Wales. Danebury in Hampshire , is the most thoroughly investigated Iron Age hillfort in Britain, as well as the most extensively published. Cadbury Castle, Somerset
13209-420: Was made in the upper storey of the gatehouse for accommodation so the gate was never left undefended, although this arrangement later evolved to become more comfortable at the expense of defence. During the 13th and 14th centuries the barbican was developed. This consisted of a rampart , ditch, and possibly a tower, in front of the gatehouse which could be used to further protect the entrance. The purpose of
13328-419: Was not always the case and there are instances where a motte existed on its own. "Motte" refers to the mound alone, but it was often surmounted by a fortified structure, such as a keep, and the flat top would be surrounded by a palisade . It was common for the motte to be reached over a flying bridge (a bridge over the ditch from the counterscarp of the ditch to the edge of the top of the mound), as shown in
13447-640: Was not the only, or even the most significant, factor in their construction". Hillforts in Britain are known from the Bronze Age , but the great period of hillfort construction was during the Celtic Iron Age, between 700 BC and the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD. The Romans occupied some forts, such as the military garrison at Hod Hill , and the temple at Brean Down , but others were destroyed and abandoned. Partially articulated remains of between 28 and 40 men, women and children at Cadbury Castle were thought by
13566-417: Was often the weakest part in a circuit of defences. To overcome this, the gatehouse was developed, allowing those inside the castle to control the flow of traffic. In earth and timber castles, the gateway was usually the first feature to be rebuilt in stone. The front of the gateway was a blind spot and to overcome this, projecting towers were added on each side of the gate in a style similar to that developed by
13685-443: Was reused in the Middle Ages, with a stone castle built there in the 13th century CE. Some Iron Age hillforts were also incorporated into medieval frontier earthworks. For example Offa's Dyke , a linear earthwork generally dated to the 9th century CE, makes use of the west and south-west ramparts of Llanymynech hillfort. Similarly the hillfort at Old Oswestry was incorporated into the early medieval Wat's Dyke . The Wansdyke
13804-422: Was still in use by the start of the 15th century, its structure having been maintained for four centuries. At the same time there was a change in castle architecture. Until the late 12th century castles generally had few towers; a gateway with few defensive features such as arrowslits or a portcullis; a great keep or donjon, usually square and without arrowslits; and the shape would have been dictated by
13923-425: Was the castle's main defensive enclosure, and the terms "bailey" and "enceinte" are linked. A castle could have several baileys but only one enceinte. Castles with no keep, which relied on their outer defences for protection, are sometimes called enceinte castles; these were the earliest form of castles, before the keep was introduced in the 10th century. A keep was a great tower or other building that served as
14042-510: Was the most common form of castle in Europe, everywhere except Scandinavia. While Britain, France, and Italy shared a tradition of timber construction that was continued in castle architecture, Spain more commonly used stone or mud-brick as the main building material. The Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century introduced a style of building developed in North Africa reliant on tapial , pebbles in cement, where timber
14161-553: Was usually sculpted for defensive purposes, with the top flattened and the natural slopes made steeper for defence. During the early years of Grand Duchy of Lithuania piliakalniai played a major role in conflicts with the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Knights . During this period the number of piliakalniai in use decreased, but those that remained had stronger fortifications. Two main defence lines developed: one along
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