Castles: The Importance Of Castle During The Middle Ages

During the middle ages the castle was a very prominent structure. Castles were used as towns but primarily as fortresses. They were very defensive buildings and there were hundreds of them across Europe. Many castles fell and many have stood through time. The castle was an important and very influential part of Medieval Europe’s culture and protection.

The first castles built in England were constructed by the Normans during their in invasion in 1066. The only castles built in England before the Norman invasion were for Norman and French lords (Brown 16). The castle quickly became an important piece of European warfare as it provided very strong defenses and could not be breached easily with technology of the time period. The basic design

Many castles became well known and were highly populated due to their popularity and were typically not attacked much. One of the most famous castles that was primarily a military castle was Caernavon castle. It was built by Edward I and his men during his conquest of Northern Wales. It was one of the largest Welsh castles of its time and it was a stone castle with hexagonal towers. It was used for an advanced outpost and an administration building. Despite the fact that it was primarily a military castle and its large size it was poorly defended and became a store house over time (Hindley 13). While castles such as Caernarvon were known for their military use Chateau-Gaillard was heavily defended and one of the finest looking castles to be constructed. Located on the border of Normandy Chateau-Gaillard had an initial cost of 11,500 pounds and was a three year building project. An experienced military commander and expenses not being a problem allowed Chateau-Gaillard to become extremely powerful (Brown 78). Potentially the most famous castle of the period was Windsor castle. After its initial construction it had continued expansion throughout its life span. Edward III spent around 51,000 pounds to expand Windsor castle which is the highest known amount of money spent on one project of the time period (Brown 91). Famous castles are probably the largest reason that castles have stayed relevant even after they were no longer