What were the problems with the stone keep castles?
What are the key features of a stone keep Castle?
- Outer defenses.
- Moat.
- Walls (inner and outer)
- Towers (inner and outer)
- Gatehouses, drawbridges and barbicans.
- Inner defenses.
- Baileys or wards.
- Living quarters and support buildings.
What are the weaknesses of a stone keep castle?
This had a number of advantages:
- The height of these towers meant they could be seen by people from miles away, this demonstrated the power of Normans. ...
- The lord could live in much greater luxury in a stone keep. ...
- The keep was the first part of the castle built and was expected to be the last part to fall to the enemy. ...
What were the main features of the stone keep castle?
- They were expensive to build and to maintain and so only the wealthiest lords could afford to build very secure stone castles.
- Stone castles were built on a square or rectangular plan. ...
- Siege weapons like the trebuchet could fire heavy rocks, if these missiles hit a flat surface there would be major damage to the castle.
What was inside a stone keep castle?
Stone Keep Castle Facts
- They were first built in France during the 10th and 11th centuries, and the idea was brought to England. ...
- Most stone keep castles had kitchens on the ground floor and living quarters on the top floors. ...
- The stone keep, or tower, was the heart of the castle. ...
What does the keep in a castle do?
Traditionally keeps were built as a type of fortified tower built by European nobility. Keep's were built within castles during the Middle Ages and they were used as a refuge or last resort should the rest of the castle fall to enemies.
What is a keep around a castle?
keep, English term corresponding to the French donjon for the strongest portion of the fortification of a castle, the place of last resort in case of siege or attack.
What was inside a keep?
With its extra thick walls and protected entrance, the keep was generally the safest place in a castle during the siege warfare of the 11th and 12th century CE. Inside the largest building a person in the Middle Ages likely ever saw in their lives was the Great Hall, castle chapel, and residential quarters.
What is a keep in a castle for kids?
The keep was a big building inside the castle walls, usually a tower. If anyone attacked the castle, people could hide in the keep and stay safe. If this is your mental image of a castle, you are thinking of the keep.
Why is a keep called a keep?
The word originates from around 1375 to 1376, coming from the Middle English term kype, meaning basket or cask, and was a term applied to the shell keep at Guînes, said to resemble a barrel. The term came to be used for other shell keeps by the 15th century.
Where is the keep on a castle?
Keeps are tall towers. They're typically located on the opposite side of the bailey to the gatehouse, or in the centre of the castle. Early keeps, like the castles they stood in, were designed to intimidate the locals. They were also called donjons, from the Latin dominus – lord, or master.
What was the point of a keep?
Purpose of a Medieval Castle Keep Serve The most obvious purpose was to act as the residence of the lord of the castle. For this, the top portion of the keep was reserved. The bottom part of the keep was generally reserved for storage while the middle one was the great hall.
What is the weakest part of a castle?
The entrance to the castle was always its weakest point. Drawbridges could be pulled up, preventing access across moats. Tall gate towers meant that defenders could shoot down in safety at attacks below. The main gate or door to the castle was usually a thick, iron-studded wooden door, that was hard to break through.
How big were medieval keeps?
Approximate dimensions of the largest keeps: 100 feet by 100 feet (30.5 m by 30.5 m). Volume of stone contained in the keep of the Château de Langeais in France: 1,556 cubic yards (1,190 cubic m).
What is a stone keep?
A stone keep was the central feature, with thick walls and few windows. Entrance to the keep was by stone steps leading to the first floor. The kitchens were situated on the ground floor while living quarters were on the upper floors. The first keeps were rectangular in shape but later ones were often circular.
What is a Don John in a castle?
Definition of donjon : a massive inner tower in a medieval castle — see castle illustration.
What is a bailey on a castle?
A bailey or ward in a fortification is a courtyard enclosed by a curtain wall. In particular, an early type of European castle was known as a motte-and-bailey. Castles can have more than one bailey.
What is the advantage of stone keep castles?
This new height means stone keep castles had the significant advantage of visibility - allowing the castle to be seen by potential rebels and allowing the castle’s defenders to spot enemies at a distance. Rochester Castle, for example, has views across the Medway estuary, making it easy to spot any enemies attempting to attack from the river.
Why did William the Conqueror build a stone castle?
Following rebellion in the north of England, and the subsequent “Harrying of the North” in response, William the Conqueror decided to build stone keep castles as the ultimate display of his power. The most famous of these castles was the White Tower at the Tower of London and Rochester Castle in Kent. By using stone, William was able ...
What castles were easy to set on fire?
Motte and bailey castles were renowned for being easy to set on fire, making it difficult to defend them against armies aware of this weakness. However, it was significantly harder to do the same with a stone keep castle, which had stone walls instead of wood.
How thick is the walls of the Castle of Canterbury?
The walls of this castle are between 11 and 13 feet thick. The castle was constructed by the same architect as the White Tower, Gundulf, who built it along the same geographic lines as a Roman Fort that had been built in the city. It was originally given to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
What is the difference between a motte and bailey castle?
The main difference between the two was that motte and bailey castles were designed to be temporary (although lots survive to this day) while stone keep castles were designed to last as long as possible. Following rebellion in the north of England, and the subsequent “Harrying of the North” in response, William the Conqueror decided ...
Why are stone keep castles important?
Thanks to their very great cost and imposing appearance, stone keep castles expressed the power of a lord to his feudal subjects, as well as reminding other local rulers of his influence, wealth and importance. However, there were also several problems with stone keep castles.
What is a stone castle?
Stone Keep Castles. Stone keep castles are quintessential medieval castles, the image that is conjured up in our minds when we think of the word ‘castle’. Primarily, these castles took the form of a free-standing stone tower or ‘keep’, which could vary greatly in size and appearance. Stone keep castles would typically have additional fortifications ...
How long did it take to build a stone castle?
It was typical for stone keep castles to take around 10 years to build. Norwich Castle is a great example of Stone Keep Castle. Another kind of stone keep castle that developed in the 12th century was the shell keep castle or donjon annulaire as they were known in French.
What shape are Norman castles?
Initially, stone keeps were built with a rectangular or square shape – Norman castles always had four sides, with keeps in England tending to be square and those in Normandy and France being built in the barlongue style, with their length being twice their width.
What is the name of the tower in medieval times?
In reality, medieval writers themselves used a variety of terms to refer to the free-standing stone towers that we now call keeps. Often they used Latin: turris (‘tower’), turris castri (‘castle tower’), or magna turris (‘great tower’). The Latin dominarium, meaning ‘lordship’, formed the origin for the French term donjon, ...
Why did castle builders build a stone wall around the edge of the Motte?
Many mottes were simply not strong enough to support the weight of a free-standing stone keep, so as a solution, castle builders constructed a thinner stone wall around the edge of the motte – as the wall was thinner it was much lighter.
Why did the feudal system spread?
By the 11th century the feudal system, based around land ownership and labour obligations, had spread across northern Europe, and castles too had spread as they were an excellent way for a lord to secure control over his land, and make a statement of political power.
Stone Keep Castles
Imagine living in a castle. What do you think would be the best part? Maybe sleeping in a tower, or looking out over the walls and getting a really great view.
Styles and Parts of Stone Keeps
The first stone keeps were square. Later, people started building round keeps and those with different shapes. For example, some keeps were shaped more like long halls instead of towers. Most people put the keep in the middle of the castle, but others put it right at the doorway for more security.
