Castle Learning Center: About Castles
© 1998-2005 Lise Hul
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What is a castle? A castle is a properly fortified military residence. Why were castles
built? Initially, they were designed and built to hold down conquered territory. They also
served to intimidate and strike fear into the local peoples, were places of shelter, and places
for the lords to live. They were also impressive symbols of the power and wealth of their
owners. When were castles built? English castles were built from the 11th to 13th
centuries.
Castles were brought to Britain by William the Conqueror, when he invaded England from
his homeland in France. William invaded England in 1066 and, due to his victory in the
Battle of Hastings, William was crowned the King of England.
One of the most powerful ways for William to take control of his new kingdom was to have
castles built throughout the land. At first, he ordered the construction of very simple castles,
called motte and bailey castles.
They consisted of an earthen mound, called a motte, topped by a tower (first built of wood,
and soon rebuilt in stone to make the towers more sturdy). The bailey was a large area of
land enclosed by a shorter mound, placed next to the motte. Inside the bailey were the
main activities of the castle (workshops, stables and livestock, household activities, etc.),
while the tower on the motte was used as the lord's residence and as an observation post.
These earth and wood castles were not very sturdy, because the wood would rot fairly
quickly and was easy for an enemy to burn. So, William the king ordered the construction of
stone castles. Stone castles were much more sturdy, did not rot like wood, and also were
much more able to withstand any attack by an invader. Over the centuries after William was
king, other kings ordered elaborate castles to be built.
Castles were not just used by the king. Most castles, in fact, were granted by a king to their
most loyal subjects, knights or barons who fought bravely in battle and supported their
king. The king, starting with William the Conqueror, gave his loyal knights enormous estates
and permission to build castles. In return, he expected these men (most of whom were
given the titles of earl or lord) to control their lands as the king's representative, to keep
the local population from rebelling, and to force them to work and pay rent to the lord (who
then passed it onto the king).
Stone castles were built for stability and to symbolize the power of the lords of the kingdom.
Even if the king did not order a particular castle to be built for his use, he still retained the
ability to seize any of his lords' castles if they displeased him or if the king had a special
reason to want to use it.
The features that made stone castles stable and able to withstand battle include the
following:
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The walls were very thick, anywhere between 8 and 20 feet in thickness, so they
could withstand bombardment or battering from a battering ram, or another siege
engine (like a trebuchet or catapult).
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
Over time, the shape of the towers changed as castle- builders experimented with
designs that were less likely to fall down in battle or from the instability of the
structure itself. Originally, towers were simple square-shapes, easy to build but also
easy to topple down.
The round tower was determined to be a more effective shape for withstanding the
impact of a battle. However, it was more difficult to build because the design was
more complex. Yet, many castles made use of round towers. Their shape caused
cannon balls and other types of missiles to bounce off the walls without doing
damage. They also gave an added bonus of providing more space on the interiors.
Some castles used what is known as a splayed plinth, which added support at the
base of the towers. The plinth had the effect of placing sturdy legs into the earth at
the base of the tower, so that it would not lean or be likely to fall down.
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The curtain wall (the wall which surrounded the main portion of the castle)
gradually became a more and more effective means to stabilize the castle. At first,
they were just simple walls, but with time, they became much thicker. The curtain
wall was intersected at various points (good for observing the activity outside the
castle, and to watch for invaders) by different types of towers, most of which were
used for observation, but also as living quarters, the chapel, for storage, or to house
the dungeon.
One of the most important modifications to the curtain wall was the development of
the gatehouse. At first, the gatehouse was just the way in and out of the castle,
and was usually a simple doorway. However, they soon became the strong point of
many castles, the place where an enemy was most likely to try to break through, so
the gatehouses were equipped with several defensive techniques to thwart an
enemy's attack. These included: the portcullis (a heavy iron grate that was lowered
to block the intruder's entrance); heavy wooden doors that could be barred shut;
strategically-placed arrowslits (slits in the stone wall that pointed outward, and
through which a soldier could shoot arrows at an enemy without being shot back at);
and murder holes (gaps in the ceiling above the entrance passage through which
boiling liquids or deadly missiles could be thrown down upon attackers).
Immediately outside the castle were other features which added to its stability. Most
were surrounded by some form of ditch (which we more commonly called the
moat). Ditches were deep, cut into the earth around the main part of the castle, and
also around a bailey. While many ditches were water-filled, others never had water.
They were every bit as difficult to cross as the water-filled moats, because they were
very deep and had very steep walls.
In order to gain entry to the castle, wooden drawbridges were built to span the
ditches. These bridges were cleverly designed and could be moved away from the
ditch to prevent unwanted visitors from gaining access to the castle.
Sometimes more than one ditch and drawbridge were constructed, to make
unwelcome access even harder. And many castles were built atop steep hillsides that
would make it difficult for an invader to climb (especially carrying heavy weapons).
These high locations also allowed the castle guards to see a long distance into the
countryside, which was useful for detecting an invasion.
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Castle Learning Center: Bathing and Washing During Medieval Times
© 2001-2005 by Marvin Hull
One of the modern myths about medieval times is that no one took baths. This is not true.
Baths were normally taken in wooden tubs. Often times some privacy was provided by a
canopy or tent. In warmer weather the tub was placed in the garden of the castle, and in
cold weather near a fire inside the castle. When traveling, the tub often accompanied the
lord, together with the bathman.
In some castles the bathrooms were built in. At Leeds Castle, in 1291, there was a chamber
23ft by 17ft, lined with stone, which could contain 4ft of water taken from the lake that
surrounded the castle. There was a ledge for accessories, a recess for the bath, and a
changing room located right above the bathroom. Some castle bathrooms had piped-in hot
and cold water. Some lords even had bath mats to protect their feet from the cold.
A lavabo, slop basin, or laver was a stone basin built into the wall. It was used as a wash
basin and sink for washing the hands before and after meals. Often, a refillable tank with
copper or bronze taps sat above the basin. Some lavabos were highly decorative and had
spouts in the form of animal heads.
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Castle Learning Center: Building a Castle
© 1995-2005 Lise Hull
Even today, centuries after they were active in British history, castles demonstrate the
majesty, power and wealth of their noble builders. By the end of the 12th century, stone
castles became more elaborate, the obsession of several powerful builders who felt pressure
to prove their own value by constructing these structures.
While Edward I used the stone fortress as an effective means of dominating a rebellious
population, and gave us several of the most impressive structures in the world, his
fortresses also reinforced his status as a wealthy and privileged ruler.
Kings Henry II, Richard I, John and Henry III, together spent tens of thousands of pounds
on their castles, in pursuit of reputations as men of incomparable authority, prosperity and
quality. It is incredible that the monarchy could afford such building projects, for the
financial funds were limited; the kings were not individuals of limitless wealth, as they
wanted their subjects to believe.
Organizing and erecting a stone castle was a daunting task which involved enormous
outlays of material, manpower, time, and money. Stone was quarried as close to the site as
possible, but decorative rock was often transported from special outcrops which were
located at some distance, increasing expenses considerably. In addition, although timber
took on a secondary role in castle construction (as framing, flooring, ceilings, and
scaffolding), it became very costly since it was still required in great quantities and had to
be brought to the site from far afield, due to the depletion of nearby forests.
Other expensive building materials included lead (for roofing), iron and tin, initially mined in
England and later taken from other sources.
Labor costs could be enormous, since skilled workers were essential to stone castle building.
Specialists were often brought in from all parts of the kingdom to work on a castle,
including: the master mason, quarrymen, woodcutters, smiths, miners, ditchers, carters,
and carpenters. At times, as many as 2000 men were conscripted or hired for a particular
project.
The following quote from Master James of St. George (Edward's clever master mason) gives
us a glimpse into the building requirements for the splendid Welsh castle at Beaumaris.
Addressing the king's Exchequer, Master James wrote:
In case you should wonder where so much money could go in a week, we would
have you know that we have needed - 400 masons, both cutters and layers, together
with 2000 less skilled workmen, 100 carts, 60 wagons and 30 boats bringing stone
and sea coal; 200 quarrymen; 30 smiths; and carpenters for putting in the joists and
floor boards and other necessary jobs. All this takes no account of the garrison
mentioned above, nor of the purchase of material, of which there will have to be a
great quantity... The men's pay has been and still is very much in arrears, and we
are having the greatest difficulty in keeping them because they simply have nothing
to live on (McNeill, 1992).
Weekly wages for these workers averaged from four shillings for a master mason to six
pence for a woman laborer. James of St. George earned two shillings a day, plus 100 marks
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while constable of Harlech Castle. By today's standards, these wages seem minimal, but at
the time they would have enabled Master James to live very comfortably.
Not surprisingly, a stone castle took a great deal longer to complete than any earth and
timber stronghold. Major construction work occurred only from April to November, and was
directly dependent on weather conditions.
The building process itself was burdensome. Henry II's castle at Orford, for example, took
eight years to build and the mighty Dover Castle required ten years. In contrast, Edward I's
fortresses in north Wales took an average of between five and seven years, with the
exception of Beaumaris (never finished) and Caernarfon (also never completed, even after
an incredible 45 years!).
With all the limitations mentioned above: the weather, the sheer mass of building material,
and the availability of skilled labor, funding and wages, it is truly amazing that these
architectural wonders were ever finished.
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Castle Learning Center: Castle Defenses
© 1999-2005 by Marvin Hull
The defenses for the castle consisted of many things, from the
moat to battlements. As castle design advanced, so too did the
defenses. An allure was the wall-walk along the top of a curtain
wall. They were accessed by a wooden or stone stair parallel to the
wall, or sometimes by a mural tower. Wall-walks were often paved
with stone slabs. A later 13th century innovation was an overhanging allure.
Arrow loops, also known as arrow slits or bow loops, allowed defenders to fire their arrows
undercover. There were several different styles, as illustrated below. Rare before 1190, they
were normally just a simple vertical slot, less than two inches wide at the outside, and
averaged between 3 to 12 feet in length.
During the 13th century, the ends of the slits often became rounded, and were known as
oillets. In addition, more than one cross-arm came into use. Some arrow loops were
massive (e.g., up to 17 feet long, with triple cross-arms).
The barbican was a exterior defense protecting the entrance of the castle. It confined an
approaching enemy to a narrow front, often leaving the attackers in the open, and offered
an easy target for the castle defenders. Barbicans also confused the attackers, as they
oftentimes found themselves in a hopeless maze of twists and turns. The most common
type is a walled passage projecting from the front of the gatehouse.
A small turret or lookout projecting out at an angle of a tower or on the surface of a wall
was called the bartizan. Also referred to as a crow's nest, the bartizan was almost always
located at one of the highest points of the castle. The bastion was an important ledge
meant to cover dead ground, flank curtains and provide crossfire. Dead ground means an
area where attackers could not be seen or fired upon, a blind spot.
A batter, plinth or spur is the angled footing of a wall or tower. It was used to counter
undermining or to cause dropped missiles to ricochet horizontally. This defensive invention
also acted as a deflecting surface for battering rams, thus making them less effective.
The battlements, or crenellations, provided a walk on the wall summit, a fighting platform
and a defense against escalade (scaling the walls). They are also the distinguishing feature
of a castle. An embrasure, or crenel, is a splayed opening in a wall used to provide a firing
point. They were usually from 2-3 feet wide, while the intervening merlons rose 3-7 feet
high and were about 5 feet wide. Often these crenels would have wooden shutters for
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greater protection. Sometimes battlements were used symbolically on unfortified structures
to give the impression that the buildings were true castles.
The level area or space between the castle curtain wall and the ditch or moat is called the
berm. The braie is an exterior defense of small height hindering an attacker's approach; it
was most commonly made of earth. A cross wall is an interior or exterior dividing wall.
Some went across the bailey and others divided the keep or other structures. The curtain
wall surrounded the bailey or castle buildings. It was often connected by flanking towers
and could be from 6-20 feet thick. Sometimes arrow slits were placed in the curtain wall so
that the castle defenders could safely shoot at the attackers.
A drawbridge was a moveable wooden bridge that gapped the castle ditch or moat. It
could be removed or raised to prevent easy entry into the castle. The gatehouse was the
entrance to the castle containing at least one portcullis that could be raised or lowered.
Vaulted ceilings could contain murder holes and arrow slits in the side walls. Hoarding, or
brattice, was developed to cover dead ground, or blind spots at the base, or foot, of the
curtain wall. A covered wooden gallery positioned in front of the battlements with holes in
the floor, the hoard allowed defenders to observe and fire upon attackers. In the later
Middle Ages, hoarding evolved into stone machicolations. Sometimes machicolations were
used symbolically to recreate a castellated effect on unfortified structures.
The keep, great tower, or donjon was a self-sufficient, last resort, place of refuge used
during a siege. Most keeps were square or rectangular in shape, although there were round
keeps. Some keeps were over 80 feet high and had walls over 17 feet thick.
Machicolations were openings in the floor of a projecting parapet or platform along the
wall or above an archway, through which defenders could drop or shoot missiles vertically
on attackers below.
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Merlons are the solid parts of a crenellated parapet. They were sometimes pierced with
arrow slits.
Moats were kept full by a nearby water supply: a spring, lake, stream, or river. The
builders would put a dam on the outlet side of the water supply, and control the water level
in the moat. Some moats had stone casings, but most were left with earthen banks. Most
castles, however, had dry moats, known simply as ditches.
The purpose of water defenses was to prevent the castle from being besieged. Sappers
found it difficult to tunnel under a moat; attackers could not wade across, for fear of
drowning in the deep waters; attackers would not dare swim across the moat, as it
presented too big of a target for the castle guards and made them very vulnerable.
Attackers were known to use portable bridges, or barges, to span the moat and besiege a
castle.
There is a myth that alligators or crocodiles were placed in the moats. This is not true.
Some moats did have eels and other kinds of fish in them for food. Sometimes, sharpened
sticks (bungy sticks) were placed in the moat to prevent attackers from safely entering it.
Burning liquids may also have been poured in the moats, but references to this are not
proven.
Some castles, like Caerphilly Castle in Wales, sit in the middle of artificial lakes, but most
had simple moats. Some moats only surrounded parts of the castle. Sometimes, water
defenses were used along with other natural defenses, such as a cliff or river. Moats often
ranged between 3 and 30 feet in depth, and were typically well over 12 feet in width. They
reached the peak of their development in the 13th century, and went out of fashion in the
late 16th century.
Murder holes are openings in a floor through which the castle defenders could drop missles
or liquids upon the attackers. Stones were the most often used missile. Boiling oil was not
used, as it was a precious commodity to waste. More than likely, if any boiling liquid was
used, it was water. Murder holes were most often located in the vaulting over the gate
passage. The parapet was an embattled wall shielding the castle defenders on the wallwalk.
Almost all stone castles had towers. Some were flanking towers in the curtain wall,
gatehouse towers, smaller stair, or mural towers. Towers provided access to the wall walks,
lookout points and sleeping quarters for the castle garrison. Towers could be square, Dshaped, or round. They were important defensive features, as were the other ones
mentioned above.
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Castle Learning Center: Decline of the Castle
© 1998-2005 Lise Hull
As military necessity changed in Great Britain there was less
emphasis placed on defense and more on comfort.
By the 15th century the majority of new buildings, while having
some defensive features, were primarily designed for comfortable
living conditions. Earlier strongholds were gradually modified, or abandoned outright and
replaced by great houses of a richer and more relaxed style. The construction of fortified
houses steadily declined during the 15th and 16th centuries, except for Scotland, where the
tower house was popular. In the 16th century, in general, the only new form of castle built
were coastal forts, themselves not true castles in the strict sense of the word.
The development of firearms and the increasing use of gunpowder ended the castles'
endurance. Even the ones outlasting the pounding of the cannon did not survive the
engineers, for it was the policy at the end of the English Civil War to slight all captured
castles. By 1650, almost all of the great castles had been rendered useless.
It is surprising how quickly many castles decayed, considering their massive solidity, but
records show how swiftly the castle could fall into a state of decay. When abandoned they
could quickly be reduced to rubble by local people using them as a source of dressed stone
and other building materials.
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Castle Learning Center: Castle Dungeons
© 1999-2005 by Lise Hull
The word "dungeon" is an altered form of the French term, "donjon." Interestingly, a
castle's donjon did not function as the prison. Rather, the donjon was the great tower, later
called the keep. Normally, the great keep was an independent tower housing the lord and
his family, which, at times, became a sturdy refuge capable of withstanding at least a brief
siege. Over the centuries, the keep changed to a storage tower, and then to a prison tower.
Certainly, prisons were not meant for an enjoyable stay, even though nobility under house
arrest were treated well and given plenty of freedom. Some, like Mary, Queen of Scots,
could often come and go freely, as long as they were accompanied by a guard. Other
political prisoners had the freedom to roam the passages of the castle, while some, like
Henry Marten and Eleanor, "the Beauty of Brittany", spent years confined inside a prison
tower.
Frequently, the castle's prison was located near or inside the main gatehouse to prevent the
enemy from gaining access to the interior. Then, the guards could also keep a close watch
over their captives.
The oubliette must have been an incredibly brutal prison, with or without the physical
tortures that may have accompanied imprisonment. Known throughout Europe and even in
the Middle East, these early castle prisons were usually shaped like slender cylinders. The
only entrance into the windowless chambers was through a trap door in the ceiling, which
opened into the floor of the guardroom above and was usually too high for the prisoners to
grasp in an escape attempt. The doomed prisoners were tied to a rope and then lowered
into the oubliette. They received food the same way. As indicated above, sometimes the
oubliette sat below ground level. On occasion, the pit filled with water that seeped up from
the earthen floor, making survival almost impossible.
The earliest known true oubliettes survive in France. The 11th/12th century Black Tower at
Rumeli Hisari, in modern Turkey, contains an unusual variation. Prisoners were forced along
a dark, lengthy passageway which ended above an opening in the floor through which the
unsuspecting prisoners tumbled, never again to see the light of day. The Scots, on the other
hand, fancied the bottle dungeon, a type of oubliette shaped like a bottle so that the
prisoner could never lie down.
Contrary to popular belief, relatively few people were thrown into the pit prisons, however,
many castles did function, at least for a time, as prisons. Of these, the Tower of London is
probably the best known, having confined some of history's most notable characters.
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Castle Learning Center: Entertainment in the Castle
© 2001-2005 by Marvin Hull
Entertainment was not just for the lord of the castle. Nearly all entertainment would take
place in the hall, castle grounds, or near the castle. Many entertainers, such as mimes,
players, and minstrels, often found that their services were not wanted in outlying towns
and villages, so the castle offered the perfect place to show off their skills.
There were musicians playing instruments, minstrels singing, jesters telling jokes and
making faces, acrobats balancing on blunted sword tips, contortionists entangling their body
joints, jugglers juggling daggers, and tumblers rolling and jumping.
Games were played, such as blind man's bluff. Story telling was popular, along with showing
off one's knightly skills. Hunting took place outside the castle walls, while inside would be
archery at the archery range, bear training, and hawking at the hawking accommodation.
Feasts were another popular form of entertainment. At some special feasts extra watchmen
would be posted to maintain order. There would be gift exchanges between the lord and
tenants, and between lords themselves. Music and dancing occurred as well.
Tournaments to test a knight's skill took place in the castle grounds or just outside the
castle walls. The action included mock battles with individual and team competitions.
Jousting came along in the 14th century, and remained popular throughout the rest of the
medieval period. Music and feasting were also the order of the day at these tournaments.
So you can see that not everything about medieval times was about waging war. The
medieval peoples fought hard, but they also enjoyed themselves to the fullest.
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Castle Learning Center: Medieval Food
© 2000-2005 by Lise Hull
Eating was one of the castle dweller's most popular pastimes, for not only did food provide
needed nourishment, it was a means of entertainment. In particular, the banquet was used
to impress a lord's guests with his generosity and his wealth. Robert Dudley's 19-day
festival of fun and feasting in honor of Queen Elizabeth is perhaps the most famous of all,
and the masses of food consumed are amazing by our modern, weight-conscious standard.
For Dudley's feasts in 1575, ten oxen were eaten each day! Many lords bankrupted
themselves in an effort to show their guests a good time. (It seems that Dudley's queen
must not have had a good enough time, for she never accepted his marriage proposal!)
Generally, meals were taken three times a day. A small breakfast of bread and cheese at
sunrise was followed between 10 AM and noon with the main meal, dinner. Then, towards
sunset a lighter supper would be served, consisting of bread, cheese and perhaps a small
dish like a stew. After supper, entertainment might be provided or games and song
enjoyed.
A lord's dinner usually had two to three courses, mainly meats and pastries, bread, wine or
beer (usually the drink of the lowest classes), fruits, cheeses, nuts, and the like. But a feast
was something so much more - even our modern day attempts at medieval banquets fall
way short of the mark. Beef, pork, mutton, venison, poultry, fish, eggs, bread, milk,
cheeses, vegetables (in lesser quantities, because they were considered "common"), and a
profusion of wine, beer, cider, and mead were in abundant supply.
For the 6000 or so guests, the following was readied: 300 quarters of wheat, 300 tons of
ale, 100 tons of wine, 104 oxen, 6 wild bulls, 1000 sheep, 304 calves, 304 "porkes", 400
swans, 2000 geese, 1000 capons, 2000 pigs, 104 peacocks, over 13,500 other birds, 500
stags, bucks and roes, 1500 venison pies, 12 porpoises and seals, 13,000 dishes of jelly,
cold baked tarts, custards, and spices, sugared delicacies and wafers!
During the spring and summer months, food stuffs were in ready supply, and included:
"vultures, gulls, herons, storks, swans, cranes, peacocks [often displayed in full feather
after cooking], and chickens... dogfish, porpoises, seals, whale, haddock, cod, salmon,
sardines, dolphins, and eels (Kenyon, 1995)", as well as sole, shad, flounder, ray, mackerel,
trout, crab, crayfish and oysters.
Fruits were also eaten, as were onions, garlic, peas, and beans. So what fruits were
available? Wild cherries, grapes, and plums. Apples and pears were usually cooked. Roasted
apples were popular. Citrus fruits began to be imported around 1290. Fresh and pickled
lemons, and also Sevelle oranges. Other imports for the wealthy included currants, raisins,
figs, dates and prunes. Roasts, stews and soups were the favored ways of preparing a meal.
Potatoes and corn was not used until the 16th century.
The winter months were a time of scarcity, and preparations were made during the rest of
the year to ensure the availability of meat. Wild animals were always hard to find during the
winter, so most of the cattle were eaten. Beef had to be dried, though, or would rot if kept
for any length of time. One imaginative, yet practical, addition to the winter meat supply
was the harvest of pigeons. Dovecotes were built to house and breed pigeons during the
year; when winter came, the birds were killed for the lord's table.
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Fish from the castle's pond were also gathered to supplement the winter's food stores, as
were others from nearby rivers or the sea. Like meat, fish were salted or smoked for longer
preservation.
The lower classes, on the other hand, had a tough time surviving, and not just in the winter.
Their main foodstuffs consisted of vegetables such as turnips or salad, dark breads (deemed
not fit for nobler individuals), porridges, an occasional fish, cheese curds, and beer. It is a
wonder they survived as well as they did, and were able to fend off disease. Ironically, the
rich, who should have had better methods of staying healthy, suffered from a variety of
ailments, such as scurvy, tooth decay, heart problems, skin eruptions, and infections caused
by rotting meat and lack of proper nutrition.
So, while the banquets offered diners respite from the harsher realities of the day and
provided excitement and full bellies for the attendants, there was a downside to the types of
food the rich enjoyed: their health suffered.
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Castle Learning Center: Life in a Medieval Castle
© 1997-2005 Lise Hull
Most of us fantasize about living in a castle. We dream about the ultimate lives of luxury,
having our every whim taken care of, swimming in jewels or swathed in silk. But, despite all
the glamor we see in movies and conjure up in our imaginations, medieval castle life was
not necessarily easy.
Hardships were plenty, and even the wealthiest individuals often found themselves living in
less than satisfactory quarters. There was no central heating, except for the central hearth
or fireplace, which had to be tended to be efficient. Of course, that heat was usually saved
for the lord and his family. Servants, soldiers, and others made due with tiny lamps and
shivered a lot in the cold medieval nights.
The lord, his family and guests had the added comfort of heavy blankets, feather
mattresses, fur covers, and tapestries hanging on the walls to block the damp and breezes,
while residents of lesser status usually slept in the towers and made due with lighter
bedclothes and the human body for warmth. The lord and lady's personal attendants were
fortunate to stay with their master or mistress in their separate sleeping quarters. However,
they slept on the floor wrapped in a blanket, but, at least on the floor, they could absorb
some of the warmth of the fireplace. Even during the warmest months of the year, the
castle retained a cool dampness and all residents spent as much time as possible enjoying
the outdoors.
Privacy was ensured with a tent or canopy. With stone or hard wood seats, using the toilet
would certainly have been an experience. No wonder the chamber pot remained close to the
bedside!
Life during the Middle Ages began at sunrise, when one of the guards trumpeted the day's
start. Servants had already begun to stir, ensuring the fires were lit in the kitchen and great
hall and getting the morning meal underway. Since dinner was not served until between
10AM and noon, they had at least a few hours to fulfill their other chores while the stews or
soups bubbled in the iron pots. All floors had to be swept, cleared of any debris, and basins
washed out.
A small breakfast of bread and drink was taken by all, and then the lord and his family
entered the chapel for morning mass. Once mass was complete, the lord tackled the day's
business. While relying on certain members of his household staff to manage the castle in
his absence or when he had other duties to handle, the lord was the castle's chief
administrator when he was in residence. Indeed, in many ways, the lord was king of his own
domain, which included his castle, the estates, and his subjects, both inside the castle and
in the surrounding peasant villages.
Often, the lord was granted possession of more than one lordship and had to divide his time
among all of his properties. His powers were political, judicial, economic, and also included
the policing of his territory. Like his king, he could give out punishments, collect rent from
his subjects, and even mint his own coins.
When the lord had obligations that took him away from the castle, as was frequently the
case, his main representative was the steward. The steward actually had substantial power
of his own, because he had to know virtually everything that went on at the castle and in
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the surrounding estates. So, he had to be skilled at accounting and legal matters, as well as
personnel management.
Other key members of the household staff included the chamberlain (in charge of the great
chamber/hall), the chaplain, the keeper of the wardrobe, the butler (also known as the
bottler, he ensured there was enough drink stored in the buttery), the cook, the chandler
(who made candles), and the marshal (who was in charge of the stables). Each of these
individuals had their own staff to manage.
The lady of the castle was served by ladies-in-waiting and chambermaids. She spent much
of the day overseeing their work, as well as supervising the activities in the kitchen staff.
The lady also kept an eye on her large group of spinners, weavers, and embroiderers who
had the enormous responsibility of keeping everyone clothed, and offering the lady
companionship. In addition, the ladies were responsible for educating the young pages who,
at the age of 7, came to the castle to learn religion, music, dance, hunting, reading, and
writing before moving into knight's service as squires.
Castles must have been noisy - and smelly - places. Livestock roamed inside the stables,
blacksmiths clanged out ironwork in the forges, the soldiers practiced their skills, and
children played when lessons were completed. Various craftsmen worked diligently in the
inner ward, including cobblers (making shoes), armorers, coopers (who made casks),
hoopers (who helped the coopers build the barrels), and billers (making axes).
At mid-morning, dinner was served. This was the main meal of the day, and often featured
three or four courses, as well as entertainment. After dinner, the day's activities would
resume, or the lord might lead his guests on a hunt through the grounds of his nearby deer
park. Recreation was never ignored!
The evening meal, supper, was generally eaten late in the day, sometimes just before
bedtime. While not as filling as dinner, this meal ensured residents would never be hungry
when they settled down to sleep off the day's work.
Though the people worked hard during the Middle Ages, they also compensated by playing
hard. Holidays were times for letting loose and forgetting the stresses of life. The peasants
as well as the castle's household found time for pleasure, and made up for their struggles as
best they could.
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Castle Learning Center: Castle Privy
© 1999-2005 by Marvin Hull
A privy is a medieval name for toilet. It was also called a necessarium, jakes, draught, and
gong. The people that cleaned and emptied the privy were called mudator latrinarum or
gong farmers.
Most castle privies were crude, some having just a simple stone seat over a shaft that
emptied into the moat or stream, via a latrine chute. These chutes are visible to the modern
visitor. Sometimes wooden seats were used. In fact, wooden seats still survive in some
ruined castles.
The privy sometimes had natural light, or were lit by torches. The more fancy privies were
even designed with wash basins. Later in the development of the privy, iron bars were put
over the latrine chutes. This was to prevent an invading army from gaining entry into the
castle through the privy chute.
Keeps had privies located in a chamber room called a "garderobe," with the seat jutting out
from the wall. Often, the chamber privies were "en suite," meaning in the sleeping area. A
chamber privy was also used for private reading. In the apartments of the castle, the privy
was supplemented with a chamber pot.
Some larger castles had special towers, called latrine towers. All the guard privies would be
grouped together in this tower, with a pit in the basement. There are even some privies
located in the town walls so the guards would not have to return to the castle to use the
privy.
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Castle Learning Center: Castle Undermining
© 1998-2005 by Marvin Hull
Undermining of a castle wall or tower was one of the most feared
events by the Lord of the castle, for it led to his defeat.
Undermining was carried out by "sappers" or miners. They would
dig an underground passage under the walls or tower of the castle
for the purpose of gaining access or to collapse the structure.
Mining was in response to the stone keeps, towers, and walls that could not be burned or
battered down. While digging the tunnel, the sappers would build wooden supports. After
completing the tunnel, brush mixed with hog fat, would be placed near the wooden
supports. Sometimes whole hogs would be placed in the tunnel.
After placing flammable material inside, all the sappers would be ordered to leave the
tunnel, with the exception of the torchman. He would set the tunnel on fire and run for the
tunnel opening.
As the wooden tunnel supports burned they would collapse, in turn the stone walls, or
towers would also collapse. At times, the tunnel would collapse pre-maturely and trap all
who were doing the tunnel work. Mining was a very risky type of work, and not for the faint
of heart.
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Castle Learning Center: Medieval Weaponry
© 1998-2005 by Lise Hull
Every culture's weaponry is based on the technology and raw materials available at the
time.
During the Bronze and Iron Ages, we see the development of metal tools and weapons
which persisted through the Middle Ages, although dramatically improved over time. Finally,
the appearance of gunpowder in Europe in the early 14th century brought about the end of
many weapons - and made the castle useless as well.
During the early Middle Ages, double-edged swords, axes and metal-headed spears
dominated. Short bows and arrows were also used. Interestingly, the Saxons considered the
value of a sword to be the equivalent of 120 oxen or 15 male slaves, and any man
possessing a sword had great status. Simple to construct and easy to wield, these weapons
remained popular throughout the Middle Ages.
The crossbow, a brutal device, is still used in modern times. So destructive was the
crossbow that the Church banned its use in 1139. But, the law did not prevent use of this
mighty weapon. Indeed, the most prized members of a castle's fort were those who carried
the crossbow.
The peasants, on the other hand, generally fought back with the only weapons in their
possession: the tools that they used to till their fields and tend their homes - hayforks,
flails, sickles, axes, clubs with spikes, and boar-spears. Interestingly, these same tools
eventually became an integral part of the weapons inventory of most armies.
From inside a castle's walls, soldiers had a somewhat limited selection of weapons to use to
defend their lord and his fortress. In addition to arrows, the defense force frequently threw
down stone missiles, crushing invaders. They also relied upon "Greek fire", a combination of
petroleum and oil and other natural products, which generated a highly flammable
substance that burned on water and was excruciatingly hot. Apparently, Greek fire was used
to make incendiary arrows, but could also be blown through tubes.
The 13th century saw the modification of swords, which could then go through a knight's
protective armor. Short stabbing daggers were also used, as were a variety of axes (some
of which were equipped with spikes), clubs, spears, crossbows, and the sling. The most
significant development of weapons technology during this century was the longbow. During
the early 14th century, weapons technology was forever changed with the introduction of
gunpowder, which made possible the development of cannons and guns. Initially, cannons
were designed as long metal cylinders and fired "gun-arrows", but they quickly evolved into
killing-machines which could launch balls weighing 200 pounds. Over the next 100 years,
these metal monsters became more mobile and more accurate. And, resembling miniature
cannons, small handguns also made their appearance at this time.
.
Clearly, the introduction of gunpowder had a permanent impact on the development of
weapons during history. The Middle Ages served as an era of transformation as primitive
technologies gave way to more creative ways to kill an enemy.
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