Name: ________________________
Date: _______________ Period: ___
Medieval Castles- 20 Questions
I. Beyond the Castle Walls
1. What is a barbican and what is its purpose?
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2. What is a portcullis?
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3. In each castle no two entrances were behind each other? Why?
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4. What are the mews?
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5. Where is the strongest part of the castle? What obstacles make this part difficult for an attacker?
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6. Why does the castle have a wall around the top with slits in it?
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II. Inside the keep
7. What was the job of the steward?
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8. How did people of the Middle Ages preserve meat?
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9. What was a garderobe?
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10. What did Lady Alice think was the best doctor?
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11. What did people believe about parsley during the Middle Ages?
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12. Where did the people hang their clothes to dry?
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13. TRUE or FALSE Lady Alice took care of her own children.
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III. Dawn at the Castle
14. At dawn, servants prepare breakfast, what did they have?
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15. Who slept in the baron’s bedroom?
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16. What was used as a mattress?
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17. What type of clothing did people wear?
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18. What were clogs?
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19. Why was taking a bath only a custom of the noble class?
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20. What was soap made of?
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Attacking a Castle!
As you read in your textbook, nobles built imposing stone castles to protect against
enemy attacks. The diagram on the previous page shows one type of castle. Its
designers assumed that the enemy attack would come from one direction and would
proceed from the upper bailey to the lower bailey. The “bailey” was a courtyard
surrounded by stone walls. Attackers would be funneled along this route, with the result
that retreat would be difficult and advance brought an avalanche of defense from the
castle’s inhabitants. Both ends of the castle were guarded by gatehouses; the upper
gatehouse led to a barbican, or walled enclosure. The living quarters were situated in the
lower bailey. There, the great hall provided a place for dining, and, behind a screen at one end, sleeping
quarters for the lord and the lady. At the other end of the hall lay rooms for preparing food and the lavatory,
called the garde-robe. As you examine the diagram on the previous page, think about the castle’s function as
both a home and a fortress. Then answer the questions below.
1. What elements of the castle shown on the previous page are related to the castle’s role as a fortress against
attacking enemies?
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2. What reasons can you give for situating the Great Hall (Keep) in the lower bailey?
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3. Castle staircases usually wound to the left. Why?
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4. Does this castle have any weak points or places that are vulnerable to attack?
Important to note the North side of the castle is built into a very steep cliff and at the
bottom is a river. Be specific and explain.
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5. Compare and contrast your home to a castle. How are they similar? How are they different?
Be specific and explain.
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