Castle Presentation

Presenter: Art Wright

CastlesA

Brief Introduction

Introduction

Popular interest in castle ruins began with the age of romanticism, and has remained an intriguing subject throughout history.

•Terminology

•History

•Construction

•Examples

•Resources

•Locations in Arizona

•Summary

Note: Due to time limitations, please keep questions to a minimum during the presentation.

Definition

Castle - (Latin - castellum,”small fortified place”)

A fortified residence of a lord or monarch. Derived from the walled cities of ancient Rome and the fortified palaces of Byzantium, the castle became virtually ubiquitous in western Europe during the wars of the late Middle Ages.

Example Wall

Castle Terms

•Bailey or Ward: courtyard within the walls of the castle.

•Concentric: having two sets of walls, one inside the other

•Crenel: notched battlement made up of alternating openings in a square, saw-teeth pattern.

•Donjon: the inner stronghold (keep) of a castle.

•Drum Tower: a round tower built into a wall

•Merlon: part of a battlement, the square "saw tooth" between crenels

•Moat (Motte): The name moat, properly meaning, bank or mound, was transferred to the ditch surrounding a castle. The trench around the rampart of a castle or other fortified place was often filled with water.

•Palisade: a sturdy wooden fence built to enclose a site until a permanent stone wall could be constructed

•Sapping: undermining, as of a castle wall

•Turret: a small tower rising above and resting on one of the main towers, usually used as a look out point

•Wall Walk: the area along the tops of the walls from which soldiers could defend the castle

All Castles Had Similar Parts

History • Time Frame

– 6th Century - 10th Century (medieval)

– 11th Century – 15th Century (post-medieval)

• Construction Influences

– Residential Castles

• Status Symbol

– Military Castles

• Castle walls were increasingly thicker and stronger in response to the development of artillery.

• The main function of all castles was defense.

• Types

– Simple Wooden Structures (Ring Works)

• Set on mounds of dirt

• Surrounded by a ditch

– Stone Walls (Palisades)

• Better Protection

• Motte (Moat) – earth mound

• Bailey – court yard

History…….

• Keeps (Donjon) – 40 to 50 feet high– Norman Influence

– Located within the Bailey

– Moats with Drawbridges

– Square vs. Round

– Final Defensive Position

• End of Castles– Around 1500 AD (Gothic Period)

– Invention of Gunpowder

– Imposing Residence (Churches)

Construction• Considerations

– Castle License - Under Norman rule, noble men could not build castles without the monarch's permission.

– Manpower (2000 tradesmen)– Weather– Time

• 10 Feet of Elevation Per Year• 5 – 45 years

– Cost (“Tens of Thousands of Pounds”)• Material• Manpower• $170.00 per sq. ft. in today's market + overhead

• Built On Cliffs or a Bend In a River• Style

– Ring-work - enclosure surrounded by a ditch with an earth rampart inside it, and a wooden fence around the rampart

– Motte-and-Bailey – mounds of dirt – wooden tower

Construction ……

• Style (cont.)– Stone Castles – Began in 1067

– Stone Enclosure Castles – Began in 1088

– Concentric Castles – enclosure with additional curtain wall

– Tower Houses – similar to a rectangular Keep

– Fortified Manors – were not true castles

– Pele Towers – poor mans castle

Wall Construction

Walls Today

Pele Tower

Windsor Castle (13 Acres)Built by William the Conqueror

•Gothic Architecture originated in northern France in the twelfth century.

•Located in Sussex, England, Bodiam marks the beginning of a great departure from the Middle Ages.

•Gothic architecture became prevalent in Western Europe around 1400.

•The Church was the most prolific Gothic builder of the Middle Ages.

Bodiam Castle

l5th century characteristic of English Gothic, York Minster stretches out over the city rooftops, a great horizontal structure almost 500 feet long. The cathedral massing is varied, the transepts project strongly, and there is a second set of transepts near the east end.

YORK MINSTER

King Ludwig’sNeuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Begun in 1869

Construction

• Tradesmen

– Master Mason - Supervisor

– Hewers – Quarried the stone

– Freemasons – Cut stone and carved decorative moldings

– Rough-masons and Layers - built the walls

– Carpenters, Well-diggers, metal-smiths, quarrymen, cooks

• Materials (granite weights ~ 170 lbs/cf)– Stone – Chalk, Limestone, granite, and Flint

– Mortar – Water, Sand, Lime, Oxblood, Cockleshells, Chalk

– Wood

– Lead ( plumbing & roofing), Brass, Pewter, Gold, Iron

– Brick – was not used much.

– At 1476 feet up, Castell Dinas is the highest castle site in Britain. It is located in Wales.

Resources

• Books (Amazon.com)– Castles and Fortresses by Robin S. Oggins

– Castles : Their Construction and History by Sidney Toy

• Web http://www.castlesontheweb.com/ http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle6.htm http://www.reutte.com/ludwig/index.html http://www.columbia.edu/~eer1/branner.html– http://homepage.mac.com/mfeinberg/castles/– http://dupontcastle.com/castles/– http://www.castles.org/– http://www.castles.org/books/castles/castle_books.htm

Locations In Arizona

• COPENHAVER CASTLE - Phoenix

• TOVREA CASTLE - Phoenix

• SIBLEY CASTLE - Copper Creek

• MYSTERY CASTLE - Phoenix

• BRADY CASTLE - Tucson

• LAMANCHA CASTLE -Lake Havasu City

• UNKNOWN CASTLE - Chandler

• PRESCOTT CASTLE - Prescott

Summary

Special thanks to Prof. Hattenhauer

Nations rise and fall, but castles are forever in our hearts and our dreams. Good luck with your castle quest.

TheEnd