Guide to Reading 1 – Castles in Context
My name is: ___________________________________________________________ Group:_____________
Overview: Castles in Context
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
Watch the following video on YouTube: Medieval Europe: Design of Castle
Highlight the words mentioned in the clip:
MOAT
TOWERS
DEFENCE
STRONGHOLD
PISTOLS
ARROW-SLIDS
DRAWBRIDGE
MURDER HOLES
COURTYARD
BOWS
OUTER WALL
NAILS
AXES
WOODEN DOORS
WEALTH
BOILING LIQUIDS
THE GREAT HALL
LAND
WINDING STAIRCASES
SPOONS
FIELDS
LARGE ROCKS
 Now watch the clip again. How different were castles to modern households?
 Watch: Horrible Histories – Castle Defence. What difficulties did knights encounter when invading a
castle? **Shaft: duct, hole
Guide to Reading
Main ideas:
Key Terms:
Characters to identify:
Parts of a castle
 There is a modern
 St. George
idealization about castles
 Moat
 Charlemagne
and knights.
 Drawbridge
 Carolingians
 Not having a central
 Portcullis
authority usually leads to
 Surveillance points
people fortifying their
 Murder Holes
Pre-reading questions:
dwellings.
Medieval society
1. What led to the
 Women played key roles
 Feud
development of the
in castle defence.
 Chivalry
system of feudalism?
 Castles were political,
 Burghers
2. What was the role of
defence and economic
Specific vocabulary
aristocratic women in
headquarters.
 Castrum
the castle?
 Palaces were the places
 Manor
where the aristocracy
 Invest (lay siege to)
Reading strategy:
lived.
Building material
Summarising information. Create
 Castle architecture
a diagram like the one below a list
 Timber
evolved though time.
the role played by castles in the
 Stone and mortar
Middle Ages. Add as many
branches as needed.
Role of castles
Medieval Castles Timeline:
Pre-Medieval (Walls, square fortifications, timber watch towers)
1000 A. D. (Earth and Timber; central defence points (“keeps”), moat and palisade
1140 A. D. (Stronger keeps, round towers, moats and stone)
1270 A. D. (Concentric castles, outer walls, near the sea)