Castles

Castles
//**What was the significance of this topic during the Middle Ages?**//

For many, living in a castle during Medieval times wasn't easy. Heat was limited because most was saved for the lord, or the person who owned the estate. Most workers would sleep in damp, cold corridors. To sleep on the floor was the best sleeping luxury you could get. Mornings were early, and breakfast was only bread and water while the lord was served his "morning mass". The lord could even own the surrounding villages of his estate if he wished. The most important people who served in the castle was the butler, Chaplin, wardrobe keeper, and the steward who would take care of the lord's legal matters. Each of those people owned their own staff. The lady, or the lord's wife would patrol the castle to watch over her workers and make sure they were on task. The lady would also teach younger squires of music, hunting, reading and dance. After the squires were finished with all of their training, they would become official knights. I think the purpose of having castles during Medieval times was over all a place to educate squires in training. If the lord owned more land than just his castle, he could have hunting grounds for demonstration of the squires. I think it was an overall place to educate the youth so they could graduate officially as squires. I think castles were also a place to defend the locals and keep the peace of the community.

Works Cited
 * Hull, Lise. “Castle Learning Center: Life in a Medieval Castle.” www.castles-of-britain.com. Castles Unlimited, 1995-2008. Web. 5 May 2010.

//**Include a picture that relates to this topic. Explain what the picture is showing.**//

This picture is showing how one of the castles looked in the middle ages, it relates to my topic because the castles protected the nobles and mad them secure and independent.

Work Cited
 * Coda-Nunziante, Paola. “File: Montalto Exterior1.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons. Wkikmedia Foundation, 15 Sept. 2009. Web. 5 May 2010. .

//**How did this topic influence life and events of the time period?**//

In the Middle Ages, castles were important because they protected people within them. They protected the ruler, people, and rich items. In the early Middle Ages they were built of timber. It was easy to get and they had plenty of it, it often caught on fire. It took about 100 men to build a castle for 8 hours a day and 20 days total, which is fairly fast. A lot of castles were surrounded by a ditch that was approximately 50 ft deep and wide. Later on they were built of stones because the weapons were being reinforced and there wasn't a whole lot of wood around. They were also made taller and thicker to keep out cannon balls and to keep the castle safe and in one piece. This is how castles took part in peoples lives back then. VO

Works Cited
 * “Castles.” Gale Encyclopedia of World History: War. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht and Dwayne D Hayes. Detroit: Gale, 2008. N. pag. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 May 2010.
 * “Castles and Fortifications.” The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 152-157. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 May 2010.

// **Connect this topic to something we studied earlier or to the world today.** //

Works Cited

//**Describe, define or explain this topic.**//

Castles in the middle ages were very important for many different things. Early castles in the middle ages were mainly used for military reasons and war, but were used for a place for a ruler to live. The castles were made from mostly timber, which was cheap, durable, and "good to work with". France and England were the biggest castle-builders in Europe, but Flanders(a neighbor of France) was also big in the business. The Europians were not the first castle makers, but did their best work in the Near East. One castle, Krak de Chavaleirs, was a huge castle that modeled future castles to come. The only thing that became a weakness for castles were the cost of garrisons, or soldiers in the building. Although the Hundred Year's War was what ended castles for good, this played a big part. Now you can see why castles in the Middle Ages were built and used for many different reasons. CCM

Works Cited
 * “Castles.” Gale Encyclopedia of World History. Detroit: Gale, 2008. N. pag. Student Resource Center Junior. Web. 3 May 2010.

//**What was the impact of this topic on today's society?**//

Works Cited
 * “Castles and Fortifications.” The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 1. NewYork: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 152-157. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 May 2010.

This page was created during the Month of April 2010 This page was last updated during the Month of May 2010