Well, let us tell you that it is no doubt a bit different back then than it would be today. When it came to constructing a Medieval Castle, a suitable location needed to be selected before construction works began. Most Medieval Castles were strategically built on top of an area with an incredible landscape or a communication link, like a ford, bridge, or pass.
Following this, the person intending to build the castle would meet with a master mason. After this, the master mason would gather the workforce and construct the site. What happened here was a medieval castle would have a low stone wall or timber fortification to secure the area to build. Back then, this was an essential part of the construction to prevent the castle from being attacked. The next step, landscaping -this implemented moving tons of soil for obtaining a perfect area where workers will lay the foundation.
Remember back then; there was no machinery to do this! Construction workers would then lay the foundations using ropes and pegs then dig trenches to prepare for the structure. Workers would then fortify a castle, typically using oak or timber, but it would have a stone at the odd time.
The fortification was an essential part of the castle construction process to later serve as a protective element of the inhabitants of the castle. The reason why a lot of castle makers used oak or timber is that it hardened with age, serving as an extra line of defence.
Another part of building a medieval castle was incorporating water and maintaining the sewage. To make sure the court had a suitable water supply, it would have wells in the kitchen or stables. Finally, decoration would be involved, which would consist of painting and having lavish furniture to suit those living in them. In addition to this, gardens would be built and maintained by workers. If you were alive in medieval times, you would typically come across three castles types.
They are Motte-and-bailey, stone keep, and concentric castles. We understand you might just be looking at these names and not have the slightest clue about them.
This type of castle has wood and stone on top of a raised ground known as a motte. It would have a courtyard or a bailey with a ditch and palisade alongside this. If you try to visualize a typical medieval castle, it will most likely be a stone-keep-castle that appears in your mind. A Stone-Keep Castle has additional fortifications like moats , walls, earthworks. Typically, a concentric castle will have two walls, a high inner wall, and one outside.
Other workers make mortar on the site from lime, soil and water. The masons on the wall fit the stones together and use the mortar to hold the blocks together. Workers use traditional tools to measure and lay out castle pieces. For example, craftsmen use a long rope with knots placed every meter to measure wood beams and layout pieces.
They also use wooden right angles and calipers for measurements. They use a wooden triangle with a line and plumb bob suspended from one angle as a level when placing stones. As the castle wall gets higher, new scaffolding must be placed in the wall and the old ones removed, leaving square holes in the walls.
As of , Castle Guedelon is about a third complete. Once a castle was completed, it was ready for defense. Let's look at medieval siege techniques and the strategies used by both sides. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Did some people find them intimidating?
Did a king view a castle in the same way as a peasant? Did a queen think about a castle in the same way as a builder? The questions provided with each source act as prompts for students to answer the overarching question: What was the purpose and significance of castles? The records used cover a range of material including royal grants, extracts from pipe rolls and the Calendar of Patent Rolls, royal orders, licences and pardons. We hope that these documents will offer students a chance to develop their powers of evaluation and analysis.
All sources have been provided with a transcript and, as the language may prove challenging, we have also provided a simplified version with more difficult words defined within the text. Each source is captioned and dated to provide a sense of what the document is about. Alternatively, teachers may wish to use the sources to develop their own lesson in a different way or combine with other sources.
Images of historic sites. Framlingham Castle was the first named site for the Historic Environment module, this is now Kenilworth Castle from The set site will be reviewed after three years and may be subject to change.
This website uses cookies We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. Set cookie preferences. Skip to Main Content. Search our website Search Discovery, our catalogue. View lesson as PDF. View full image. Lesson at a glance. Download: Lesson pack. What was their purpose and significance?
Clue: think about what a castle might represent: an intimidating fortress? An impressive building? An important centre of government?
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