Alannah McGarry
Medieval Studies
April 8, 2013
Castle Paper
MY CASTLE
My Castle is a later medieval castle (the time period 1400-1500) because it’s fancier
than castles from previous time periods. My castle has two guard towers with arrow slits, a keep
with two towers that have little windows, and church with a pointed stone top and stained
glass windows. It also has a well, outer walls made of stone, and a moat and drawbridge.
The moat and drawbridge is a method of defense, as are crenellations, and the
outer walls. The moat is a deep trench of water circling the castle, while the drawbridge is how
you cross it. If intruders came the drawbridge would be pulled up. The outer wall was a tall wall
across from the drawbridge, protecting the people inside the castle. It’s usually made out of
big pieces of rock fitted together. Crenellations were offset rocks at the top of guard towers so
when intruders approached, archers could shoot arrows through the open spaces, then duck
behind the offset stone.
A part of the castle was towers, which were used for many things, including, storage
and office space, and lookouts. Towers were often attached to the keep. The keep was the
building where people met, ate, and slept. Church was also a big part of all medieval lives;
everyone was very religious so a church was part of the castle.
Some people who lived in and around the castle were, a priest who ran the church
and was the leader of mass. He usually lived in a little room off the side of the church. The
peasants were the people who worked in the fields outside the castle, living in straw/dirt houses
and were usually treated cruelly by their masters, the Lord and Lady. The Lord was technically
in charge of the castle and its soldiers, but his wife oversaw the servants, washing, cleaning,
and maids.
The whole reason that castles are so impressive, is because they had great defense
and were built so strongly that you can still go see them today, see how they evolved, and all
the history wrapped up in them.
Bibliography
Brown, Allen. "Castle." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
Castle. Lucerne Films, 1985. DVD.
"Castles.org "Castles of the World"" Castles.org "Castles of the World" N.p., 08 Apr. 2013.
Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
"THE MIDDLE AGES: THE MEDIEVAL CASTLE'S TOWERS." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, 08
May 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.