Castles

Kings, nobles and lesser lords built castles to house and protect themselves, their families, staff, soldiers, livestock and horses. Within the castle, in addition to the lord's residence, there were storehouses, stables, bakery, kitchens, and houses and quarters for the staff and solders.

The Normans built the first real castles after winning the Battle of Hastings in 1066. They needed to house and protect themselves and control their new kingdom. They quickly set about building wooden Motte and Bailey castles. These were later replaced with stone castles because there was less risk of fire and they offered better protection from attack. Though built primarily for protection and defense in holding down a conquered territory, castles also became an effective way to intimidate local people into servitude or forced labor.

The 'great age of castles' began approximately 1,000 years ago and lasted for nearly 500 years. Medieval castles continued to be built from the time of the Norman Conquest (1066) to the start of the Tudor era (1485). Though Kings, nobles, and lesser lords, originally built castles for protection, over time comfortable homes evolved within those fortified walls. Castles became a strong symbol of wealth, power and control.

To view the difference between an initial motte-and-bailey wooden castle and an early stone castle, see Sources and Related Links further down this page.
For the protection and safety of the rich and the central point for local medieval governments.
well one of the ways that kings built castles is to threat the enemy or authorities it shows power and shows that you have good subjects.people also built castles to protect themselves from other people and also to give other people the sense that they are in power and ability to show off.

1.Castles were built because they were a safe place/base for the knights and lords

2.But the motte which is safe place/base for the villigers or for the poor

3.The Castles were a good way of reminding the english who was in control

4.Castleshelped the landlords protect their new lands and made it hard for the attackers to fight back

5.Castles were a base for attacking areas nearby

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Somewhere near but point (2) is wrong. The motte (or "moat", with or without water) was part of the castle's outer defences, not accommodation for anyone.

• The first real castles were built in England by the invading Normans to remind the English that the Normans were now in control.
• Castles were built to provide safety and protection. They were also built to show the owners rank and wealth.
• A castle was built for protection but it was also built to make the villagers afraid of who lived there.
• Medieval lords built castles for themselves, families, staff and to provide a secure haven in a time of need such as a siege or attack from an enemy. They eventually became large enough to hold an entire small community during an attack.
• Castles were built because they were a safe place/base for the knights and lords.
• Castles helped the landlords protect their new lands and made it hard for the attackers to fight back.
• Castles were a base for attacking areas nearby.

The strengths and advantages of concentric castles were numerous!

What were the Weaknesses and Disadvantages of Concentric Castles?

The weaknesses and disadvantages of concentric castles were as follows:

• Concentric Castles were extremely expensive to build
• The loss of a Concentric castle would have been disastrous for the owner
• They required vast man power and labour resources
• A huge variety of skills were required to build Concentric castles
• A Concentric Castle could take several years to complete
• Siege Warfare was applied when trying to take a concentric castle - Castle walls could fall due to bombardment from Siege Engines such as the ballista, the mangonel, and the trebuchet
• The Welsh Castles of Edward I were built with direct access to the sea fresh supplies could be delivered to the castle and the defenders could not be starved into submission
• Concentric Castles built inland ran the risk of being starved into submission

here is the story!:

Life in Norman England

The tall, frowning keep and solid walls of the great stone castles in which the Norman

barons lived betokened an age of violence and suspicion. Beauty gave way to the needs

of safety. In a Norman castle, forbidding stone buildings, ringed with parapets pierced

along the top with shot holes, stood like hostilesoldiers behind high, thick walls. At the

bottom of the walls lay green, slimy ditch: a sign to all foes to keep their distance.

Yet if an enemy did manage to cross the moat and force the gateway, in spite of a portcullis

crashing down from above and melted lead pouring in burning streams from the perforated

top of the rounded arch, little of his work was yet done. To reach the baron, the enemy had

to enter the keep: a huge tower of stone in the inner courtyard. But from the narrow slits in

the keep's ten-foot walls, archers rained a sharp and endless shower of arrows, sweeping

all approaches to the high and narrow stair that led to the single door that was the only

entrance, and the only path to victory.