There are few things in the world more interesting than the knightly castles of the Middle Ages: these majestic fortresses breathe evidence of distant eras with grandiose battles, they saw both the most perfect nobility and the meanest betrayal. And not only historians and military experts are trying to unravel the secrets of ancient fortifications. The knight's castle is interesting for everyone - a writer and a layman, an avid tourist and a simple housewife. This is, so to speak, a massive artistic image.
How the idea was born
Very turbulent time - the Middle Ages: in addition to big wars, the feudal lords constantly fought with each other. In a neighborly way, so as not to be bored. Aristocrats fortified their dwellings from invasion: at first they would only dig a moat in front of the entrance and put up a wooden palisade. With the acquisition of siege experience, the fortifications became more and more powerful - so that the ram could withstand and not be afraid of stone cores. In antiquity, this is how the Romans surrounded the army with a palisade on vacation. Stone structures began to be built by the Normans, and only in the 12th century did they appearclassic European knightly castles of the Middle Ages.
Transforming into a fortress
Gradually the castle turned into a fortress, it was surrounded by a stone wall into which high towers were built. The main goal is to make the knight's castle inaccessible to attackers. At the same time to be able to monitor the entire district. The castle must have its own source of drinking water - suddenly a long siege is ahead.
Towers were built in such a way as to keep any number of enemies as long as possible, even alone. For example, spiral staircases are narrow and so steep that a warrior walking second cannot help the first in any way - neither with a sword nor with a spear. And it was necessary to climb them counterclockwise, so as not to hide behind the shield.
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Imagine a mountain slope on which a knight's castle has been erected. Photo attached. Such structures were always built at a height, and if there was no suitable natural landscape, they made an artificial hill.
The knight's castle in the Middle Ages is not only knights and feudal lords. Near and around the castle there were always small settlements, where all kinds of artisans settled and, of course, warriors guarding the perimeter.
Those who walk along the road always turn their right side to the fortress, the one that cannot be covered by a shield. There is no high vegetation - no hiding. The first obstacle is the moat. It can be around the castle or across between the castle wall and the plateau, even crescent-shaped, if it allows.area.
Dividing ditches are even within the castle: if suddenly the enemy managed to break through, the movement will be very difficult. If the soil rocks are rocky - a moat is not needed, digging under the wall is impossible. The earthen rampart right in front of the moat was often stocked.
The bridge to the outer wall is made in such a way that the defense of the knight's castle in the Middle Ages could last for years. He's uplifting. Either the whole or its extreme segment. In the raised position - vertically - this is an additional protection for the gate. If a part of the bridge was raised, the other part automatically fell into the ditch, where a "wolf pit" was arranged - a surprise for the most hasty attackers. The knight's castle in the Middle Ages was not hospitable to everyone.
Gate and gate tower
Knight's castles of the Middle Ages were most vulnerable just in the gate area. Latecomers could enter the castle through the side gate on the lifting ladder, if the bridge was already raised. The gates themselves were most often not built into the wall, but were arranged in gate towers. Usually double-leaf, from several layers of boards, sheathed with iron to protect against arson.
Locks, bolts, transverse beams, moving across the opposite wall - all this helped to hold out in the siege for quite a long time. Behind the gate, in addition, a powerful iron or wooden grate usually fell. This is how knightly castles of the Middle Ages were equipped!
The gate tower was arranged so that the guards guarding it could find out from the guests the purpose of the visit andthe need to treat with an arrow from a vertical loophole. For a real siege, holes for boiling resin were also built in.
Defense of the knight's castle in the Middle Ages
The outer wall is the most important defensive element. It should be high, thick and better if on a plinth at an angle. The foundation under it is as deep as possible - in case of a dig.
Sometimes there is a double wall. Next to the first high - the inner one is small, but impregnable without devices (ladders and poles that were left outside). The space between the walls - the so-called zwinger - is shot through.
The outer wall at the top is equipped for the defenders of the fortress, sometimes even with a canopy from the weather. The teeth on it existed not only for beauty - it was convenient to hide behind them at full height in order to reload, for example, a crossbow.
The loopholes in the wall were adapted for both archers and crossbowmen: narrow and long - for a bow, with an extension - for a crossbow. Ball loopholes - a fixed but rotating ball with a slot for shooting. Balconies were built mostly decorative, but if the wall was narrow, then they were used, retreating and letting the others pass.
Medieval knight towers were almost always built with bulging towers at the corners. They came out to shoot along the walls in both directions. The inner side was open so that the enemy who penetrated the walls would not gain a foothold inside the tower.
What's inside?
In addition to the zwingers, outside the gates, uninvited guests could also be expectedother surprises. For example, a small enclosed courtyard with loopholes in the walls. Sometimes castles were built from several autonomous sections with strong internal walls.
There was definitely a courtyard with a household inside the castle - a well, a bakery, a bathhouse, a kitchen and a donjon - the central tower. Much depended on the location of the well: not only the he alth, but also the life of the besieged. It happened that the arrangement of the well (remember that the castle, if not just on a hill, then on the rocks) was more expensive than all the other buildings of the castle. The Thuringian castle Kuffhäuser, for example, has a well over one hundred and forty meters deep. In the rock!
Central tower
Donjon - the tallest structure of the castle. From there, the surroundings were monitored. And it is the central tower - the last refuge of the besieged. The most reliable! The walls are very thick. The entrance is extremely narrow and located at a great height. The stairs leading to the door could be pulled in or destroyed. Then the knight's castle can keep the siege for quite a long time.
At the base of the donjon there was a cellar, a kitchen, a pantry. Next came the floors with stone or wooden ceilings. The stairs were wooden, with stone ceilings they could be burned to stop the enemy on their way.
The main hall was located on the whole floor. Heated by a fireplace. Above were usually the rooms of the family of the owner of the castle. There were small stoves decorated with tiles.
At the very top of the tower, most often open,a platform for a catapult and, most importantly, a banner! Medieval knightly castles were distinguished not only by chivalry. There were cases when a knight and his family did not use the donjon for housing, having built a stone palace (palace) not far from it. Then the donjon served as a warehouse, even a prison.
And, of course, every knight's castle must have had a temple. The obligatory inhabitant of the castle is the chaplain. Often he is both a clerk and a teacher, in addition to his main job. In rich castles, temples were two-story, so that the gentlemen would not pray next to the mob. The family tomb of the owner was also equipped within the temple.
