Did you know facts about castles?

Did you know facts about castles?

What are castles? Castles are a type of home that was built to protect the people inside. People who lived in the castle included lords, who were in charge, as well as soldiers to defend it from enemy invaders, and even cooks and cleaners to keep everyone fed and tidy up. They could be very crowded places to live.

What are fun facts about castles?

11 FACTS ABOUT CASTLES YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW

• The oldest inhabited castle in Europe, is also one of the most famous castles in the world, our very own Windsor Castle.
• The average time it would have taken to build a castle is 10 years.
• In the 10th century the average cost for building a castle was around £100.

Who lived in castles?

During the late Middle Ages, from the 10th to the 16th centuries, kings and lords lived in castles. As well as the lord, the lady (his wife), and their family there were lots of staff. Some were important officials, such as the constable who took care of the castle when the lord was away.

What are the main features of a castle?

Castle Features

• 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 was castle life like?

Once upon a time castles were full of life, bustle and noise and crowded with lords, knights, servants, soldiers and entertainers. In times of war and siege they were exciting and dangerous places, but they were homes as well as fortresses.

Where are castles built?

Castles were often built at the top of hills or where they could use some natural features of the land to help with their defense.

Did castles smell bad?

Castles were dark inside with little natural light. There were also other problems with living in a medieval castle, the main one being that there were no sewers or flushing toilets. Often the moat surrounding the castle was used as a sewer. Both the moat and the castle quickly became smelly and dirty.

Do castles have toilets?

The toilets of a castle were usually built into the walls so that they projected out on corbels and any waste fell below and into the castle moat. Even better, waste went directly into a river as is the case of the latrines of one of the large stone halls at Chepstow Castle in Wales, built from the 11th century CE.

What do all castles have in common?

The typical features of a medieval castle were: Moat – a perimeter ditch with or without water. Barbican – a fortification to protect a gate. Curtain Walls & Towers – the perimeter defensive wall.

What do castles usually have?

Until the late 12th century castles generally had few towers; a gateway with few defensive features such as arrowslits or a portcullis; a great keep or donjon, usually square and without arrowslits; and the shape would have been dictated by the lay of the land (the result was often irregular or curvilinear structures).

How is a castle built?

Workers use horse-drawn wagons to haul the stones from the quarry to the building site. Stone masons then chisel the raw stone into blocks. Workers use man-powered cranes to lift the finished stones to the scaffolding on the castle wall. Other workers make mortar on the site from lime, soil and water.

What are facts about castles?

Average time of castle construction was 10 years.

What are facts about medieval castles?

10 Uncommon Facts about Medieval Castles It Didn’t Take as Many People as You’d Think to Defend a Castle. Believe it or not, it didn’t take that many people to properly defend a castle. Starving Out a Castle Was the Best Way to Take It. Movie Castles Can’t Hold a Candle to the Real Things. Yes, Castles Had Secret Doors and Entrances. As a General Rule, Castle’s Didn’t Have Large Windows.

What is in a castle?

Castles are medieval buildings which were defensive homes for powerful people. They could be made from wood, stone, or brick, and some were used for hundreds of years. Thousands of castles were built across Europe, the Middle East and Japan with different styles of design. Today, most castles are ruins and many are popular tourist attractions.

What is castle history?

Castle History. Castle, a strongly fortified residence. Castles developed in western Europe in the late 10th century as the private strongholds of kings and noblemen and played an important role in the feudal system.