Medieval castle with signatures. Main elements of a medieval castle

We have indicated before how the churches adapted themselves to the needs of defense, and also what obstacles were created on bridges and roads against the advance of the enemy army; According to the most important monument of military architecture are city fortifications and castles.

The fortifications of the city consist of a wall and a citadel, or castle, which at the same time serves as a defense against the enemy and as a means to keep the population in obedience.

The fence of the city is reduced to curtains, towers and gates, the location of which depends on the terrain and the details of which we have already described. Let's proceed to the review of the lock device. The castle was almost always located closer to the city wall: in this way, the lord better protected himself from rebellion. Sometimes they chose a place even outside the city fortifications - such was the location of the Louvre near Paris.

Just as the fortifications of the city consist of a fence and a castle, so the castle, in turn, is divided into a fortified courtyard and the main tower (donjon), which served as the last stronghold for the defenders when the enemy had already captured the rest of the fortress.

In the beginning, living quarters played no role in defense. They were grouped at the foot of the main tower, scattered in the fence of the courtyard, like pavilions in the fence of a villa.

Choisy's opinion that at first the feudal lord's dwelling was outside the donjon tower, at its foot, is wrong. In the early Middle Ages, in particular in the 10th and 11th centuries, the donjon combined the functions of defense and housing for the feudal lord, while the donjon housed outbuildings. See Michel, Histore de l "art, vol. 1, p. 483.

Choisy refers the castle of Loches to the 11th century, while this castle has an exact date: it was built by Count Fulque Nerra in 995 and is considered the earliest surviving castle (stone) in France. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

In the castles of the 11th century, like Lanzhe, Beaugency, Loches, the entire defense force was concentrated in the main tower, not to mention some secondary structures.

Only by the XII century. extensions are combined with the main tower to form a defensive ensemble. Since then, all structures are located around the courtyard or at the entrances to the courtyard, opposing their walls to the attack. The new plan finds application for the first time in the Palestinian constructions of the crusaders; here we see a courtyard surrounded by fortified buildings with the main tower - a donjon. The same plan was used in the castles of Krak, Mergeb, Tortoz, Ajlun and others, built during the 70 years of Frankish rule in Palestine and representing the most important buildings of the military architecture of the Middle Ages.

Also in the fortresses of Syria, the Franks for the first time used the device of defensive structures, in which the main fortress wall was surrounded by a lower line of fortifications, representing the second fence.

In France, these various improvements appear only in the last years of the XII century. in the castles of Richard the Lionheart, especially in the fortress of Andeli.

At the end of the XII century. in the West, the formation of military architecture is coming to an end. Its most daring manifestations date back to the first quarter of the 13th century; these are the castles of Coucy and Chateau Thierry, erected by major vassals during the period of civil strife, in the infancy of St. Louis.

From the beginning of the XIV century, the era of disasters for France, there are very few monuments of military architecture, as well as religious architecture.

The last castles that can be compared with castles of the 12th and 13th centuries are those that protect the royal power under Charles V (Vincennes, Bastille), and those that the feudal lords oppose to it under Charles VI (Pierrefonds, Ferte Milon, Villers Coterray).

On fig. 370 and 371 are shown in general terms the castles of the two main eras of feudal claims: Cusi (Fig. 370) - the period of infancy of St. Louis, Pierrefonds (Fig. 371) - during the reign of Charles VI.

Consider the main parts of the building.

Main tower (donjon). - The main tower, which sometimes constitutes a whole castle by itself, is arranged in all its parts in such a way that it can be defended independently of the rest of the fortifications. So, in the Louvre and in Coucy, the main tower is isolated from the rest of the fortress by a moat dug in the courtyard itself; the main tower in Kusi was supplied with a special supply of provisions, had its own well, its own bakery. Communication with the castle buildings was maintained by means of removable gangways.

In the XI and XII centuries. the main tower was often located in the center of a fortified fence, on top of a hillock; in the thirteenth century she is deprived of this central position and placed closer to the wall so that she can be helped from outside.

The idea of ​​changing the position of the donjon tower in the castle of the XII and XIII centuries. due to military-defense considerations, it is not substantiated by Choisy. The central position of the donjon tower in the castle, more precisely inside the fence-wall of the castle, in the 11th-12th centuries, as well as the change in this position in the 13th century, can be explained not only by defense considerations, but also by architectural, artistic order. In such. the position of the donjon in the XI and XII centuries. one can see the presence of compositional features of the monuments of Romanesque art (architecture, painting, etc.), where we often see the coincidence of semantic and compositional centers with geometric ones. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

Square towers are found in all eras, and from the XI and XII centuries. there are no others left (Loches, Falaise, Chambois, Dover, Rochester). The round tower appears in the 13th century. Since that time, round and square towers have been built on a par, with or without corner turrets.

It is believed that round donjons begin to appear only in the 13th century. and that from the 11th and 12th centuries. only square towers survived - wrong. From the 11th and 12th centuries. kept donjons both square and oblong shape - rectangular. Usually, vertically arranged flat and wide buttresses (or blades) went along the outer walls; a square turret with a staircase adjoined the walls. In the earlier towers, the stairs were attached, leading directly to the second floor, from where it was already possible to get through the internal stairs to the upper and lower floors. In case of danger, the ladders were removed.

By the XI-XII centuries. French castles include: Falaise, Arc, Beaugency, Brou, Salon, La Roche Crozet, Cross, Domfront, Montbaron, Saint Susan, Moret. The later ones (XII century) include: Att Castle in Belgium (1150) and French castles: Chambois, Chauvigny, Conflans, Saint-Emillion, Montbrun (c. 1180), Montcontour, Montelimar and others.

At the end of the XI century. there is a polygonal tower: by 1097, the hexagonal donjon of the Gizor castle (Héré department) belongs; it is possible that this tower was rebuilt. This also includes the polygonal donjon of the 12th century. v. Carentane (now in ruins), as well as a slightly newer donjon - in Chatillon. The donjon of the Saint Sauveur castle has the shape of an ellipse. Round donjon towers have castles of the 12th century. Chateaudin and Laval. By the middle of the XII century. includes the donjon of the castle in Etampes (the so-called Ginette tower), which is a group of four round, as if fused towers; The donjon of Houdan Castle, built between 1105 and 1137, is a cylinder with four round turrets adjoining it. Chateau Provins has an octagonal keep with four round turrets adjoining it. Some castles have two donjons (Nior, Blank, Verno). Of the donjons of the second half of the 12th century, which retained a rectangular shape, we note Niort, Chauvigny, Chatelier, Chateaumur. Finally, in the XII century. appear in the enclosure of the keep of the turret. See Michel, op. cit., vol. 1, p. 484; Enlart, Manuel d "archeologie francaisi, vol. II. Architecture monastique, civile, militaire et navale, 1903, p. 215 ff.; Viollet le Duc, Dictionnaire raisonne de l" architecture francaise, 1875. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

The main round tower - Kusi; square shape - Vincennes and Pierrefonds. The main towers at Etampes and Andely have a scalloped shape (Fig. 361, K).

In the XIII century. the main tower serves exclusively as a shelter (Kusi), in the XIV century. it is adapted for habitation (Pierrefonds).

The evolution of the purpose of individual structures of the castle went from the combination in the donjon of the functions of housing, defense and household (more precisely, the functions of storage, storerooms) - in the period of Romanesque architecture, to the differentiation of these functions - in the Gothic era. Later, towards the end of the Gothic-beginning of the Renaissance (from the end of the 14th century), due to a shift in all areas of culture, in particular in connection with the advent of artillery, a new redistribution of functions takes place. The donjon and other fundamental buildings of the castle are given over to housing, that is, the castle begins to turn into a palace, and the defense is transferred to the approaches to the castle - walls, ditches and bastions. Finally, in the era of absolutism, the castle is completely (or with the smallest exceptions) deprived of defensive functions, ceases to be a fortress and finally turns into a palace or a manor house; along with this, the fortress gains its independence as a military-defense structure, which is part of a single system of offensive and defense of the noble and noble-bourgeois state. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

Rice. 372 shows a section of the main tower at Kusi. For defense, they serve: a ring-shaped fence around the tower, encircling a wide ditch and including a gallery for counter mines, at the top - stocks of projectiles for mounted firing, laid on the upper platform. The walls are not cut through with loopholes, like the walls of ordinary towers, and the halls, located inside the floors, are barely lit; this tower is not suitable for permanent habitation, nor for defense with light weapons: it is a redoubt, where, obviously, small means of defense were neglected and everything was prepared for the last defensive effort.

Castle buildings. - The buildings located in the fence are the barracks for the garrison, a large gallery that serves as a place for court and meetings, a hall for festivities and gala dinners, a chapel and, finally, a prison.

The gallery, the "great hall", is the main room. The vaults make it ice-cold vaults, the thrust of which throughout is perceived only by vertical walls, would be fragile when digging with glanders; the large hall is covered only with a wooden roof (Kushi, Pierrefonds).

When the hall is two-story, then for the same reasons that we spoke about the towers, vaults are allowed only on the lower floor.

To make the expansion of the vaults the least dangerous, it is reduced by the introduction of intermediate abutments; these abutments never have supporting elements in the form of buttresses protruding outward, which could facilitate access for the enemy. If there are buttresses, they are placed from the side of the courtyard. From the outside, a blank wall serves as a support.

The chapel is located in the courtyard of the castle: this location reduces the inconvenience resulting from its vaults. In the castle of Coucy and in the palace in the ancient part of Paris (Palais de la Cite), the chapels were two-story, with one floor being on the same level as the living quarters.

Prisons are usually placed in cellars; in most cases, these are dark and unhealthy rooms.

With regard to the halls and wells for torture, only in a few cases can this purpose be established with accuracy: usually, torture rooms are mixed with kitchen buildings, and simple cesspools are mistaken for rooms for imprisoned.

In residential premises, as well as in fortifications, the architect strove primarily for the independence of individual parts: as far as possible, each room has a separate staircase, which completely isolates it. This independence, combined with a certain complexity of the plan, which is easy to confuse, served as a guarantee against plots and surprise attacks; all complex transitions were made intentionally.

Rice. 370.

Rice. 371.

Rice. 372.

The convenience of housing has long been sacrificed for defense. The living quarters were cramped, had no external windows, except for small openings that looked out into the courtyard, gloomy from the high walls.

Finally, in the last years of the XIV century. the need for comfort takes precedence over the precautions of defense: the lord’s dwelling begins to be illuminated from the outside.

The lighting of the lord's dwelling (castle) with windows pierced in the outer fortress wall is explained not only by the fact that the feudal lords' need for comfort received in the 14th century. superiority over the precautions of defense, and a change in the defense system - when earthen fortifications begin to be erected in front of the castle, etc., to which the main functions of defense are transferred when artillery is put into action. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

In the castle of Coucy, both large halls were redone under Louis d'Orleans: windows were made in them to the outside. The same lord who built the castle of Pierrefonds gave the living rooms located in the main tower a convenient location.

The Louvre, built under Charles V by the architect Raymond du Temple, was one of the first castles - with a library and a monumental staircase.

The plan of the Château de Vincennes seems to be mainly for defensive purposes. Castles Chateaudun, Montargis - at the same time I am comfortable dwellings and fortresses. Such are the palace in the ancient part of Paris, built under Philip the Handsome, the palaces-residences of the Dukes of Burgundy in Dijon and Paris, and the palace of the Comtes de Poitiers.

Krak des Chevaliers Castle (French Crac des Chevaliers - "Castle of the Knights"). Syria

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEFENSE SYSTEM IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Let us return to the review of fortresses in the proper sense of the word. We have already considered them from the point of view of the defense system; let us try to establish precisely the origin of this system and the changes that it undergoes as we approach the new time, when firearms also begin to take part in the attack.

Origin. - The most ancient fortresses, which sharply differ in their appearance from the monuments of the Byzantine Empire, are located in Normandy or in areas subject to its influence: Falaise, Le Pen, Donfront, Loches, Chauvigny, Dover, Rochester, Newcastle.

There are reports of the existence of wooden fortifications-castles in the territory of France and Germany in the 9th and 10th centuries, i.e., in the so-called Carolingian time, but we have no reason to consider them a product of the influence of Byzantium and talk about their similarity with the corresponding structures of Byzantium IX-X centuries, especially all. Choisy wants to establish three stages in the development of Western European fortifications, taking as a basis a very shaky and methodologically incorrect criterion for borrowing.

Linking the appearance of early castles in Western Europe with the influence of Byzantine culture, Choisy reflects the theory that existed in Western European science, which recognized the influence of Byzantine culture and art as the main or essential factor in the formation of Romanesque art. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

These castles are from the 11th and 12th centuries. consist of only one square tower (donjon), surrounded by walls. It is the embodiment in durable materials of those palisadeed blockhouses which Norman pirates erected as shelters and strongholds on the coasts where they made their pirate raids.

Although the Norman fortresses impress with their size, at the same time they testify that the military defense art was at that time in its infancy. Only towards the end of the XII century. in the fortresses built by Richard the Lionheart, skilful designs first appear.

Andely Castle creates an era in Western military architecture. It implements a skillfully designed plan of the tower without "dead corners"; in it we find the earliest application of the machicolation idea, which took another two centuries or so to become widespread.

The time of the construction of Andeli Castle coincides with the return of Western European chivalry from the Third Crusade, that is, with the era of the formation of defensive art in Syria.

Krak and Margat even earlier than Andeli Castle had fences with double lines of fortifications, methodically coordinated, walls with machicolations and an impeccable system of flank cover. The fence of the castle of the Counts of Ghent, built in 1180, as Dieulafoy noted, is reminiscent of Iranian art with its architectural details. Dieulafoy sees in these rapprochements proof of Eastern influences; and everything seems to confirm this continuity.

Choisy is a supporter of the theory of borrowings and influences, which, in the field of medieval culture and art, stood, in the person of its largest representatives, on orientalist positions: these researchers were looking for the sources of the emergence and development of medieval culture in the East. From the point of view of the conclusions of this theory, they are trying to resolve the issue of the origin and formation of the medieval castles of Dieulafoy, and after it Choisy. Both the first and the second completely circumvent the theory of origin medieval castle from late Roman turres or burgi i.e. towers (see note 1), which had various shapes: square, round, elliptical, octagonal and complex - semicircular on the outside, but tetrahedral on the inside. Some of these towers, or rather their foundations, were used in the construction of feudal castles, some were turned into church towers, some were preserved in ruins (see Otte, Geischen. Baukunst in Deutschland, Leipzig 1874, p. 16).

The theory of the origin of the medieval castle from burgi, operating on a number of valuable facts and interesting considerations, nevertheless suffers from schematism and does not take into account the cultural interactions with which the development of a medieval castle is associated. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

We have already given a description of a fortified front with two lines of defense. It applies equally to the French fortifications of Andeli and Karkassoya, to the Syrian castles of Krak and Tortosa, and to the Byzantine fortifications of Constantinople, or, going back to antiquity, to the fortified places of Iran and Chaldea. All data suggests that. these building techniques - as ancient as Asiatic civilization itself - were carried over by the crusaders.

local options. - However different countries, inspired by the traditional principles of the East, managed to give military architecture its own special character: just as cult art has its schools and successively changing hearths, fortress architecture also has its centers.

In the 11th century, in the era of William the Conqueror, fortification was awakening, apparently, in Normandy. From there it is transferred to Touraine, Poitou and England.

In the 12th century, when the "holy land" was conquered by the crusaders, Palestine was the classical country of fortification. Here, in the most colossal fortresses that the Middle Ages left us, the system, the principles of which were brought to France by Richard the Lionheart, apparently took shape.

Then, during the 13th century, the center moved to Ile de France, from where cult art was already spreading. Here the type of medieval castle finally takes shape, and here we find its fullest application; it was in central France that it was built in the 13th century. Kusi castle, at the end of the 14th century - Pierrefonds and Ferte Milon. The fortifications of Carcassonne and Aigues Mortes, built under the administration of the royal seneschals, belong to the same school.

Choisy establishes three stages, three stages in the development of a medieval castle: the first, as indicated, is the period of influence of Byzantium, the second is the period of spread throughout Europe of the type of castle that developed in Normandy, and finally, the third is the time of the influence of the fortifications of Syria and Palestine, even Iran; local options include the castles of Ile de France (XIII century), the type of which spreads throughout France in the XIII-XIV centuries. Thus, following Choisy, here we can talk about the fourth stage - the period of influence of Ile de France. On the continuity between the indicated structures of the XII-XIII centuries. and buildings of the 11th century. and earlier Choisy is silent, as this would contradict the theory he adopted.

The question of the origin of a medieval castle is one of the particulars of the problem of the formation of medieval architecture and should be resolved in the same plane as questions relating to the formation of other architectural types, in particular religious buildings - Western European basilicas. Mastering the ancient heritage and the heritage of various "new" peoples (in particular, the Normans) who conquered Europe, the new class - the feudal lords - adapted the remaining burgi to the needs of housing and to the tasks of defense and attack in a feudal war. Among the typological diversity of burgi or turres, the square tower begins to displace other forms, but at the same time, it itself changes its shape: the type of rectangular tower with its own characteristics becomes predominant. In this essentially new type, medieval castles began to be built in the 9th-10th centuries; at first these were predominantly wooden structures, then stone ones, which, during their development, could not but master a number of features of similar structures in other countries (cf. the change of the T-shaped basilica, the so-called early Christian, into a cruciform basilica of the Romanesque style). The successive connection (but not borrowing) of the medieval castle and the late Roman castella and burg is emphasized in the names of the castle: in Germany "Burg", in England - "Castle". approx. ON THE. Kozhin

Fortifications closest to the French type are found in the German countries: in Landeck, Trifels and Nuremberg. Flanking covers are more rare here; with this exception, the general system remains the same.

In England, the castle at first adhered to the form of a tower (donjon) of a Norman fortress. But, as the feudal regime gives way to the authority of the central government, the castle turns into a villa, the buildings of which are located in a barely fenced area and which, since the XIV century. retains only the decorative side of the defense structures.

In Italy, the fortress has a simpler appearance: the towers are usually square or octagonal, the plans are correct, as in the castle of Frederick III, known as Castel del Monte; in the latter, all buildings are inscribed in an octagonal plan, with towers at eight corners.

The Neapolitan castle was a square fort with adjoining towers. In Milan, where the dukes were related to the great builder of fortresses, Louis of Orleans, there was a castle, the plan of which, on the whole, was close to the French type. In general, Italy from the 15th century. is an agglomeration of small republics. The monuments of its military architecture are predominantly city walls and fortified municipal town halls, rather than castles.

The Milan castle, whose plan is close to a square (rectangular), is equipped with towers both in the corners and in terms of flank defense. When establishing the distance between the towers and in other features, the instructions of Vitruvius were apparently used, but taking into account the new conditions of defense in connection with the introduction of firearms. Vitruvius in "De Architectura", book 1, chapter V. says:

"2. Further, the towers must be taken out of the outer part of the wall, so that during the attack of the enemies it was possible to hit their sides facing the towers with projectiles from the right and left. why encircle it along the edge of the steep in such a way that the roads to the gates do not lead directly, but on the left. For if this is done, the attackers will find themselves facing the wall with their right tank, an uncovered shield. The outline of the city should not be rectangular and not with protruding corners, but rounded so that the enemy can be observed from several places at once.Cities with protruding corners are difficult to defend, since the corners serve more as a cover for enemies than for citizens.

3. The thickness of the walls, in my opinion, should be made such that two armed men walking along them towards each other could disperse without hindrance. Then, through the entire thickness of the walls, beams of burnt olive wood should be laid as often as possible, so that the wall, connected on both sides by these beams, like staples, forever retains its strength: for such a forest can not be damaged by either rot, or bad weather, or time, but it is both buried in the ground and immersed in water, it is preserved without any damage and remains always fit. So, this applies not only to city walls, but also to retaining structures, and all those walls of them, which should be built in the thickness of city walls, being fastened in this way, will not soon be destroyed.

4. The distances between the towers should be made in such a way that they are separated from one another no further than the flight of an arrow, in order to be able to repulse an enemy attack on any of them with scorpions and other projectile weapons, shooting from the towers both from the right and from left side. And the wall adjoining the inner parts of the towers must be divided by intervals equal to the width of the towers, and the transitions in the inner parts of the towers should be made of stone blocks and without iron fasteners. For if the enemy occupies any part of the wall, then the besieged will break such a platform and, if they manage quickly, will not allow the enemy to penetrate the remaining parts of the towers and the wall without the risk of headlong flying down.

5. Towers should be made round or polygonal, because square ones are more likely to be destroyed by siege weapons, because the blows of rams break off their corners, while when rounded, they, as if driving wedges to the center, cannot cause damage. At the same time, the fortifications of the wall and towers turn out to be the most reliable in connections with earthen ramparts, since neither rams, nor tunnels, nor other military weapons are able to damage them.

For an illustration of the Milan Castle, see the book by S.P. Bartenev, Moscow Kremlin, 1912, v. 1, pp. 35 and 36. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

The Italian school seems to have had a fairly strong influence on southern France: the connection between the two countries was established by the Angevin dynasty. The castle of King Rene at Tarascon was built according to the same plan as the Neapolitan castle; the papal palace at Avignon, with its large square towers, is in many ways reminiscent of an Italian fortress.

Influence of firearms. - The defense system we have described, designed almost exclusively for assault, for undermining with grapples or for a frontal attack with ladders, seemed to have to be abandoned. From the moment when firearms made it possible to attack from a distance. But this did not happen. The cannon appears on the battlefields from 1346; but for a whole century the defense system did not take this new force into account, which may be explained by the slow development of siege artillery. The most skilful application of the medieval defense system belongs precisely to this transitional age; the great era of defensive art based on battlements coincides with the period of internal unrest in the reign of Charles VI. Pierrefond dates back to around 1400.

In the castle of Pierrefonds, as can be seen in the illustration in the book of Choisy, there are not only corner towers, but there are also towers in the walls, in the middle of each side of the fortress. These intermediate towers are essential for flank defense and give some reason to believe that Vitruvius' instructions were taken into account not only in Italy, but also in Northern Europe. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

The only innovation brought about by the new means of attack was the small earth mounds that covered the guns and were placed in front of the walls with towers and machicules.

At first glance, one method of defense seems to exclude the other, but the engineers of the 15th century. judged differently.

In those days, the cannon was still too imperfect a weapon to destroy walls from afar, despite the enormous size of the shells it threw out. To make a breach, separate blows are not enough, it is necessary to concentrate accurate shooting on a certain point; but the sight was not accurate, and the shooting only caused a concussion, which could destroy the parapet, but not make a breach. They fired only "bombs", and their impact on the wall was of little danger. The high walls were able to withstand the action of this rudimentary artillery for a long time. The means used at Pierrefonds were sufficient: batteries installed in front of the walls kept the attacker at a distance. If the enemy crossed the line of fire of the forward batteries, then he had to put his artillery under fire from the fortress or to dig; in the first case, the advantage of the defenders was given by mounted shooting from the crest of the fortress walls, in the other, the Gothic fortification completely retained its significance.

The resulting combination of the two systems continues until such time as the firearms acquire sufficient aiming fidelity to make holes at a distance.

Among the first fortresses with platforms or casemates for firing guns, it is necessary to name: in France - Langres; in Germany, Lübeck and Nuremberg; in Switzerland, Basel; in Italy, the Milanese castle, in which the bastions with casemates covered the curtains, still equipped with massive towers with machicolations.

In the XVI century. earthen fortifications are considered almost the only serious defense; they no longer count on the towers, and the further they go, the more and more wide windows are cut through in their walls. However, they continue to be preserved - especially in those countries where the feudal system left its deep imprint - the external forms of the defense system, which, in essence, have already been abandoned: the castle of Amboise with massive towers was built under Charles VII, Chaumont - under Louis XII, Chambord - under Francis I.

The traditional parts of the castle are adapted, as far as possible, for another purpose: in the Chaumont castle, inside the round towers, there are more or less well-fitted square rooms; in the castle of Chambord, the towers serve as offices or stairwells; machicules turned into a deaf arcature. These are completely free decorative options based on the motifs of ancient fortress architecture.

A new society has been created, the needs of which are no longer satisfied by medieval art - it needs a new architecture. The general foundations of this new architecture will be created in accordance with the new requirements, and the forms will be borrowed from Italy. It will be the Renaissance.

August Choisy. History of architecture. August Choisy. Histoire De L "Architecture

Led to a boom in castle building, but the process of building a fortress from scratch is far from easy.

Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, founded 1385

1) Carefully choose a place to build

It is extremely important to build your castle on a hill and in a strategically important point.

Castles were usually built on natural elevations, and were usually equipped with a link to the external environment, such as a ford, bridge or passage.

Historians have rarely been able to find evidence of contemporaries regarding the choice of a site for the construction of the castle, but they still exist. On September 30, 1223, 15-year-old King Henry III arrived in Montgomery with his army. The king, who had successfully led a military campaign against the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, was going to build a new castle in this area to ensure security on the border of his possessions. The English carpenters had been given the task of preparing the timber a month earlier, but the king's advisers had only just now determined the site for the construction of the castle.



Montgomery Castle, when it began to be built in 1223, was located on a hill

After a careful survey of the area, they chose a point on the very edge of the ledge above the valley of the River Severn. According to the chronicler Roger of Wendover, this position "looked unassailable to anyone". He also noted that the castle was created "for the security of the region from the frequent attacks of the Welsh."

Advice: identify places where the topography rises above traffic routes: these are natural places for castles. Keep in mind that the design of the castle is determined by the place of construction. For example, a castle on a ledge of exposed rocks will have a dry moat.

2) Develop a workable plan

You will need a master mason who can draw plans. An engineer knowledgeable in weapons will also come in handy.

Experienced soldiers may have their own ideas about the design of the castle, in terms of the shape of its buildings and their location. But it is unlikely that they will have the knowledge of the level of specialists in design and construction.

To implement the idea, a master bricklayer was required - an experienced builder, whose hallmark was the ability to draw a plan. With a grasp of practical geometry, he used simple tools such as straightedge, square, and compasses to create architectural plans. Master masons submitted a drawing with a building plan for approval, and during construction supervised its construction.

When Edward II ordered the construction of a tower at Knarsborough, he personally approved the plans and demanded construction reports.

When Edward II in 1307 began building a huge residential tower at Naresborough Castle in Yorkshire for his favorite Piers Gaveston, he not only personally approved the plans drawn up by the London master mason Hugh of Titchmarsh - probably made in the form of a drawing - but also demanded regular reports on the construction . From the middle of the 16th century, a new group of professionals called engineers increasingly began to take on a role in planning and building fortifications. They had technical knowledge of the use and power of cannons, both for defense and for attacking castles.

Advice: Plan slits to provide a wide angle of attack. Shape them according to the weapon you are using: longbow archers need large slopes, crossbowmen need smaller ones.

3) Hire a large group of experienced workers

You will need thousands of people. And not all of them will come of their own free will.

It took a lot of effort to build the castle. We do not have documentary evidence of the construction of the first castles in England since 1066, but from the scale of many castles of that period it becomes clear why some chronicles claim that the English were under the yoke of building castles for their Norman conquerors. But from the later time of the Middle Ages, some estimates with detailed information have come down to us.

During the invasion of Wales in 1277, King Edward I began building a castle in Flint, northeast Wales. It was erected quickly, thanks to the rich resources of the crown. A month after the start of work, in August, 2300 people were involved in the construction, including 1270 diggers, 320 lumberjacks, 330 carpenters, 200 masons, 12 blacksmiths and 10 charcoal burners. All of them were driven from the surrounding lands under an armed escort who watched so that they did not desert from the construction.

From time to time, foreign specialists could be involved in the construction. For example, millions of bricks for the rebuilding of Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire in the 1440s were supplied by a certain Baldwin "Docheman", or Dutchman, that is, "Dutchman" - obviously a foreigner.

Advice: Depending on the size of the workforce and the distance they had to travel, it may be necessary to provide accommodation for them at the construction site.

4) Ensure the safety of the construction site

An unfinished castle in enemy territory is very vulnerable to attacks.

To build a castle in enemy territory, you need to protect the construction site from attacks. For example, you can enclose the construction site with wooden fortifications or a low stone wall. Such medieval defense systems sometimes remained after the construction of the building as an additional wall - as, for example, in the castle of Beaumaris, the construction of which was started in 1295.

Beaumaris (Wall. Biwmares) is a city on the island of Anglesey, Wales.

Also important is secure communication with the outside world for the delivery of building materials and provisions. In 1277, Edward I dug a canal to the river Kluid directly from the sea and to the location of his new castle in Rydlane. The outer wall, built to protect the construction site, extended to the piers on the banks of the river.

Rudlan Castle

Security problems can also arise with a radical restructuring of an existing castle. When Henry II rebuilt Dover Castle in the 1180s, all work was carefully planned so that the fortifications provided protection for the duration of the renovation. According to surviving decrees, work on the inner wall of the castle began only when the tower was already sufficiently repaired so that guards could be on duty in it.

Advice: building materials for the construction of the castle are large and voluminous. If possible, it's best to transport them by water, even if that means building a dock or canal.

5) Prepare the landscape

When building a castle, you may have to move an impressive amount of land, which is not cheap.

It is often forgotten that the fortifications of the castle were built not only through architectural techniques, but also through landscape design. Enormous resources were allocated for the movement of land. The scale of land works of the Normans can be recognized as outstanding. For example, according to some estimates, the embankment erected in 1100 around Pleshy Castle in Essex required 24,000 man-days.

Some aspects of landscaping required serious skills, especially the creation of water ditches. When Edward I rebuilt the Tower of London in the 1270s, he hired a foreign specialist, Walter of Flanders, to create a huge tidal moat. Digging the ditch under his direction cost £4,000, a staggering amount, almost a quarter of the cost of the entire project.

18th century engraving with a plan Tower of London 1597 shows how much land had to be moved to build ditches and ramparts.

With the rise of cannons in the art of siege, the earth began to play an even more important role as an absorber of cannon shots. Interestingly, experience in moving large amounts of land has led some of the fortification engineers to find work as garden designers.

Advice: Reduce time and cost by digging out masonry for castle walls from the moats around it.

6) Lay the Foundation

Carry out the mason's plan carefully.

Using ropes of the required length and pegs, it was possible to mark the foundation of the building on the ground in full size. After the foundation ditches were dug, work began on the masonry. To save money, the responsibility for construction was assigned to the senior mason instead of the master mason. Masonry in the Middle Ages was usually measured in rods, one English rod = 5.03 m. At Warkworth in Northumberland, one of the complex towers stands on a lattice of rods, possibly for the purpose of calculating construction costs.

Warkworth Castle

Often the construction of medieval castles was accompanied by detailed documentation. In 1441-42 the tower of Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire was demolished and a plan for its successor was drawn up on the ground. But the Prince of Stafford, for some reason, was not pleased. The king's master stonemason, Robert of Westerley, was sent to Tutbury, where he held a conference with two senior masons to design a new tower at the new site. Westerley then left, and over the next eight years a small group of workers, including four junior masons, built the new tower.

Senior masons could be called in to confirm the quality of work, as was the case at Cooling Castle in Kent, when the royal stonemason Heinrich Javel assessed work carried out from 1381 to 1384. He criticized the deviations from the original plan and rounded the estimate down.

Advice: Don't let the master mason fool you. Make him make a plan so that it is easy to make an estimate for it.

7) Fortify your castle

Finish building with elaborate fortifications and specialized timber structures.

Until the 12th century, the fortifications of most castles consisted of earth and logs. And although stone buildings were subsequently given preference, wood remained a very important material in medieval wars and fortifications.

Stone castles prepared for attacks by adding special battle galleries along the walls, as well as shutters that could close the gaps between battlements to protect the defenders of the castle. All this was made of wood. Heavy weapons used to defend the castle, catapults and heavy crossbows, springalds, were also built of wood. Artillery was usually designed by a highly paid professional carpenter, sometimes with the title of engineer, from the Latin "ingeniator".

Storming of the castle, drawing of the 15th century

Such experts were not cheap, but could eventually be worth their weight in gold. This, for example, happened in 1266, when Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire resisted Henry III for almost six months with catapults and water defenses.

There are records of camp castles made entirely of wood - they could be transported with you and erected as needed. One such was built for the French invasion of England in 1386, but the Calais garrison captured it along with the ship. It was described as consisting of a wall of logs 20 feet high and 3,000 paces long. There was a 30-foot tower every 12 paces, capable of housing up to 10 soldiers, and the castle also had an unspecified defense for archers.

Advice: Oak wood becomes stronger over the years, and it is easiest to work with it when it is green. The top branches of trees are easy to transport and shape.

8) Provide water and sanitation

Don't forget the amenities. You will appreciate them in case of a siege.

The most important aspect for the castle was efficient access to water. These could be wells that supply water to certain buildings, such as a kitchen or a stable. Without a detailed acquaintance with the medieval well shafts, it is difficult to do justice to them. For example, in Beeston Castle in Cheshire there is a well 100 m deep, the upper 60 m of which are lined with hewn stone.

There is some evidence of elaborate plumbing that brought water to the apartments. The tower of Dover Castle has a system of lead pipes that delivers water throughout the rooms. She was fed from a well with a winch, and possibly from a rainwater harvesting system.

Efficient disposal of human waste was another challenge for lock designers. The latrines were assembled in one place in the buildings so that their shafts were emptied in one place. They were located in short corridors that trap unpleasant odors, and were often equipped with wooden seats and removable covers.

Thought Room at Chipchase Castle

Today it is widely believed that latrines used to be called "cloakrooms". In fact, the lexicon for toilets was extensive and colorful. They were called gongs or gangs (from the Anglo-Saxon word for "a place to go"), nooks and jakes (the French version of "john").

Advice: Ask a master mason to plan comfortable and private latrines outside the bedroom, following the example of Henry II and Dover Castle.

9) Decorate as needed

The castle not only had to be well-guarded - its inhabitants, having a high status, demanded a certain glamor.

During the war, the castle must be defended - but it also serves as a luxurious home. The noble gentlemen of the Middle Ages expected their dwelling to be both comfortable and richly furnished. In the Middle Ages, these citizens traveled with servants, things and furniture from one residence to another. But home interiors often had fixed decorative features, such as stained-glass windows.

The tastes of Henry III in the setting are recorded very carefully, with interesting and attractive details. In 1235-36, for example, he ordered that his hall at Winchester Castle be decorated with images of a map of the world and a wheel of fortune. Since then, these decorations have not survived, but the well-known round table of King Arthur, possibly created between 1250 and 1280, remains in the interior.

Winchester Castle with King Arthur's Round Table hanging on the wall

The large area of ​​the castles played an important role in the luxurious life. Parks were created for hunting, a jealously guarded privilege of aristocrats; gardens were also in demand. The extant description of the construction of the castle of Kirby Maxloe in Leicestershire says that its owner, Lord Hastings, began laying out gardens at the very beginning of the construction of the castle in 1480.

In the Middle Ages, rooms with beautiful views were also loved. One of the 13th-century groups of rooms at the castles of Leeds in Kent, Corfe in Dorset and Chepstow in Monmouthshire were called gloriettes (from the French gloriette, a diminutive of glory) for their splendor.

Advice: The interior of the castle should be luxurious enough to attract visitors and friends. Entertainment can win battles without having to expose itself to the dangers of combat.

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INTRODUCTION

Topic selection "Medieval Castle: Fortification Secrets" was not random.

The Middle Ages is a majestic mystery, largely unsolved by medieval scholars. One of the components of the Mystery is medieval castles: magnificent monuments of architecture and fortification art.

These citadels, which arose as a refuge for the feudal lord, his family and at the same time indicators of the wealth and strength of the owner, which became widespread from the first half of the era, gradually turned into fortresses and were mostly destroyed during numerous wars.

We really wanted to learn more about these impregnable structures than what is written in textbooks, and answer the question: what allowed the defenders of castles to withstand a long siege and what secrets of castle architecture helped them in this.

Relevance: from Today, medieval castles and their fortification architecture are becoming objects of close attention not only for scientists and tourists, but also for authors of computer games, strategies, books and films in the fantasy style, where events take place in ancient fortified palaces-fortresses. This develops our interest and curiosity, the desire to find out more than what is written in the educational literature about the castles of the Middle Ages surrounded by mystery.

At the same time, the castle becomes for us not only a place of exciting adventures and battles along with the heroes of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Warmachine, Kings of War, Confrontation, Game of Thrones, Robin Hood, Lord of the Rings and other fantasy novels, films and wargames, but also that hallmark of the Middle Ages, which helps to comprehend its content, opening one of the most interesting pages of history.

This judgment is justified, since the Middle Ages went down in history as a period of endless wars, not only interstate, but also internecine, feudal. Under these conditions, a knight's (feudal) castle became a reliable fortification, and the features of its fortification structure helped the owner and the garrison to withstand a long siege by the enemy.

As you can see, from the point of view of relevance, the study acquires a special meaning. And if before, researchers and project authors talked mainly about the castle - a masterpiece of medieval architecture, today - about the secrets of architecture for a special, military purpose, turning a dwelling, the center of civilization of a single feudal estate into a citadel.

Object of study

Medieval castle as a dwelling, refuge and palace of a feudal lord.

Subject of study

Elements of castle fortification architecture and the secrets embedded in them.

Purpose of the study

Find out the structure of the most important parts of a medieval castle-fortress and their special purpose in defense against the enemy.

To achieve this goal, the following tasks:

To study the literature containing information about medieval castles, the history of their construction, purpose.

Find out the features of the fortification purpose of the elements of the knight's castle.

Training (problem) question

1. What fortification secrets allowed the defenders of castles to withstand a long siege?

Research methods: collection and study of information; generalization and description of the fortification features of a medieval castle.

Research products

1. Model of a medieval castle.

2. Book - manual "Medieval castle: the secrets of fortification."

3. Medieval castle (crossword "vice versa").

The work consists of an Introduction, three sections, a Conclusion, a list of references and an Appendix.

In the Introduction, the relevance of the study is substantiated, the goal, objectives, object and subject of the study are defined.

Section 1 "The Knight's Castle of the Middle Ages: a bit of history" considers a general idea of ​​the time and the need for the appearance of knight's castles in Europe, the general principles of location on the ground and arrangement.

Section 2 "The most important elements of the castle and "traps" for the enemy" considers fortification details, tricks and their purpose.

Section 3 "Approbation of research materials and conclusions" presents diagrams illustrating the indicators of students' knowledge before and after acquaintance with the research materials prepared by us (Manual book "Medieval Castle: Secrets of Fortification").

The “Conclusion” summed up the general results of the work, outlined the conclusions, substantiated the practical application and significance of the work.

The "References" reflects the sources that we used in our research.

The "Appendix" contains testing materials, separately - a manual "Medieval Castle: Secrets of Fortification", diagrams reflecting the level of knowledge of students BEFORE and AFTER acquaintance with our work, as well as a "crossword puzzle in reverse" as a material for reflection.

SECTION 1. Medieval knight's castle: secrets of fortification

Medieval castle: a bit of history

Our history teacher often repeats that the causes of phenomena and events must be sought not only in the era contemporary with the event, but in what preceded it, even if such a connection is hidden behind the curtain of many years ...

Indeed, slavery and Antiquity were born out of primitiveness, which outgrew itself, and the distant Middle Ages - from Greco-Roman civilization, when it had exhausted its possibilities ...

But it would seem that it is either impossible or very difficult to find similarities between Roman times and the European Middle Ages in particulars, details. What if you take a closer look?

And if you look closely, the theme of our work "The medieval castle and its fortification features" in the main detail - "the purpose of the castle" - returns us to the structure of the Roman camp, the direct purpose of which is the protection of its inhabitants.

Judge for yourself, the camp of the Roman legionnaires is a fenced area, inside of which there is a tent camp. A medieval fortification is a complicated version of such a shelter.

Based on the experience of fortifications of the past, realizing the danger of the Norman invasion, a man of the beginning of the 12th century begins to build shelters that can protect him from external intrusion. At first, he encloses a fortress house on a hill with a palisade, digs a moat around it and brings water to it, and then, realizing that wood and limestone are unreliable materials, he begins to build a stone fortress and enclose it not just with a fence - with a wall, the height and thickness of which now measured in meters.

With each new castle on the map of Europe, a new design of its structure appears, the main purpose of which is not only to prevent enemy plans, but also to stop the enemy, to defeat, if not on the outskirts of the citadel, then inside it, using the tricks of fortification architecture.

Today, playing computer games, empathizing with the heroes of fantasy films, collecting puzzles, we partially delve into the meaning of building huge defensive structures, analyze the internal structure and system of fortifications, often asking ourselves: what is there, behind the stone barrier that stands in the way of the conquerors, why did the knights build not just beautiful and solid houses, but shelters, fortresses?

The conclusion suggests itself: they were motivated by the wars! With whom? With everyone! In particular, and among themselves for land, peasants, wealth, prestige, honor ...

The 12th century came to Europe as a time of disasters and great bloodshed and made you think about whether a rival superior in strength, who would like your home, forest, river, fields, would come down?

And then, like mushrooms after a good warm rain, such castles appear that even today inspire awe, respect, and sometimes serious fear: will a ghost in armor emerge from the wall with a rusty sword in his hands? ..

The owner of the citadel clearly knew what he wanted: the castle should be inaccessible to the enemy, provide observation of the area (including the nearest villages belonging to the owner of the castle), have its own source of water (in case of a siege) and show the power and wealth of the feudal lord.

The place was chosen based on these requirements: a mountain, a high rock, in extreme cases, a hillock, it would be nice not far from the water. The construction of the main dwelling - the donjon began. It's hard work, slow, carefully planned. While the builders erected walls and dug a well (a source of water, and therefore life!), the local people (from the master's artisans, warriors, peasants) guarded the approaches to the future fortification and paved roads to it. The road necessarily contained numerous obstacles that only a knowledgeable person could overcome (disguised pits, false crossings across rivers and large streams, ambushes with cleared sectors for shelling the enemy ...). A prerequisite is that the road should twist so that the horseman or foot warrior will certainly turn out to be right, unprotected, sideways to the citadel.

Having completed the construction of the donjon, they began to build defensive walls. The richer owners built several obstacle walls, the poorer ones managed one, but always powerful, high, with towers and loopholes, strong gates, a barbican protruding forward, a drawbridge across a moat filled with water.

It also happened vice versa: they started with a moat and walls, and ended with a donjon. But, most importantly, the outcome was always the same: another fortress appeared, an impregnable citadel, striking in power, beauty or architectural fiction. Take a look at these European castles.

Amazing, isn't it?

SECTION 2. "The most important elements of the castle and" traps "for the enemy"

Loopholes, their types and purpose

The castle of the Middle Ages with its fortifications, which have a certain defensive purpose, is not today's rich "antique" house. A medieval castle is a formidable, often gloomy fortress with towers and sentries warily looking around from their eye sockets.

The towers were built hollow, inside they were divided into floors by ceilings made of wooden boards with a hole in the center or side. A rope passed through them to raise shells to the upper platform in case of defending the castle.

The stairs were hidden behind partitions in the wall. Take a look: each floor is a separate room in which the soldiers were located. For heating, a fireplace was often arranged in the thickness of the wall, in which, by the way, it was possible to cook game on a spit ...

The only openings in the tower that connected with the outside world were loopholes for archery. Long and narrow openings, they expanded into the room. Usually the height of such loopholes is 1 meter, and the width is 30 cm outside and 1 meter and 30 centimeters inside. This design prevented enemy arrows from getting inside, and the defenders were able to shoot in different directions.

For archers, loopholes were long narrow slots in the wall, and for the crossbowman, short loopholes were intended, expanding to the sides. They were often called keyholes.

There were also loopholes of a special form - spherical. They were wall-mounted, freely rotating slotted wooden balls. They provided the shooter with maximum protection.

The number of loopholes was supposed to frighten the enemy, who understood that the more loopholes, the more defenders, the stronger the defense, of course.

As contemporaries of the events of the Middle Ages, historians and even tourists write, the presence of loopholes became especially relevant during a war or siege, since it was not visible in a narrow vertical hole whether the shooter was behind it or not. The height of some loopholes was even calculated taking into account this circumstance.

What is interesting for us is the fact that loopholes in the walls were not common in Europe until the 13th century, since it was believed that they could weaken their strength. But, regardless of their purpose, loopholes have become an obligatory attribute of medieval castles since the 13th century.

Secrets of the spiral staircase. Knight's swords*.

Secrets of the spiral staircase.

The time of appearance, and then the heyday of the technique of constructing a spiral staircase is considered to be the Middle Ages. Trying in every possible way to complicate the life of their enemies, the knights adapted spiral staircases to all structures, and the screw always twisted clockwise.

When attacking to the top of the tower along such a ladder, a large number of troubles awaited: steps turning around their axis, a narrow passage, no place to swing a sword, an open space for an attack from above, repeated at every bend. Under such conditions, even a very modest garrison is able to hold their positions without loss, which would be impossible on an ordinary staircase. You can’t shoot a bow from a crossbow, you can’t break through a ladder with a spear, a sword, and the holes in the steps made it possible to assess the situation, watch the besieging enemies making their way upstairs, and finally break their legs.

However, there is a castle in Europe in which the stairs are twisted counterclockwise. This is the ancestral home of Count Wallenstein in Bohemia. The fact is that this ancient and warlike family became famous not only for resounding victories and generals, but also for its left-handed warriors...

In the Middle Ages, only privileged guilds of craftsmen had the right to build a spiral staircase. Drawings, sketches of stairs and even indirect indications of who and where built the "cunning" structure were kept by artisans in the strictest confidence.

*Knight's swords (for the most inquisitive). From the 12th century girdling with a sword and blessing this weapon became an obligatory part of the knighting rite. Like a king, a knight was charged with protecting the world from foreign invaders, protecting the church from pagans and enemies of the Christian faith. It is no coincidence that sacred inscriptions and religious symbols appeared on the blades of medieval swords, reminiscent of the high service of a Christian warrior, his duty to God and civilians, and the sword hilt often became an ark for relics and relics. Throughout almost the entire Middle Ages, the general shape of the sword changed little: it invariably resembled one of the main symbols of Christianity - the cross. Very important in its essence was the question of the geometry, profile of the blade and its balancing: swords are adapted for stabbing or chopping combat techniques. The cross-sectional shape of the blade also depended on the use of this sword in battle.

Donjon. Secret passages and chambers in medieval castles

Donjon. Despite the external diversity, all the castles were built according to the same plan. Most often they are encircled by a strong wall with massive square towers at each corner. Well, inside there is a tower - donjon. Initially, these towers had a quadrangular shape, but over time, polygonal or round structures began to appear in order to increase their stability. After all, one of the few ways to take an impregnable fortress was to dig with the subsequent undermining of the foundation at the corner of the building. Some towers had a dividing wall in the middle.

An additional level of protection was bars, powerful doors and strong locks. The donjons were very carefully thought out.

These towers were built of stone. Wooden fortresses could no longer provide adequate protection from fire, throwing and siege weapons. In addition, the stone structure suited the nobility much better: it became possible to make large and safe rooms that were well protected from the weather and the enemy.

Architects have always taken into account the terrain during construction and chose the most advantageous places for defense for future castles. The donjons, in turn, rose high even above the level of the fortress, which not only improved visibility and gave archers an advantage, but made them practically inaccessible to siege ladders.

There was only one entrance to the tower. It was raised above ground level and arranged with a ladder or even a ditch with a drawbridge so that attackers could not use a ram. The room immediately after entering was sometimes used to disarm visitors. This is where the guards were stationed. Food was stored in the basement of the tower, and it was also one of the safest places to store the treasures of the nobility.

On the second floor there was a room for meetings and feasts.

There could have been more floors, but this always depended on the wealth of the owner of the castle and on the possibility of separating one floor from another in such a way as to make it long and by no means safe for unwanted guests to move up. In addition, some owners of the citadel ordered the construction of entire underground passages leading far beyond the castle ... And then the formidable and impregnable structures were overgrown with new creepy stories that chilled the blood ...

Secret passages in medieval castles. Medieval castles were ingeniously designed fortifications that used many ingenious and creative ways to protect the inhabitants of the castle from attack by enemies. Literally everything - from the outer walls to the shape and location of the stairs - was very carefully planned to provide maximum protection to the inhabitants of the castle.

Almost every castle had secret passages that only the owners knew about. Some of them were made so that the inhabitants of the castle could flee in case of defeat, and some so that during the siege the defenders would not be cut off from food supplies. Secret passages also led to secret chambers where people could hide or food was stored, and an additional well was dug for water.

One of the clearest examples of a castle with many secret rooms and moves is Benrath Castle in Germany. As many as seven invisible passages are hidden in the walls of the building!

Yes, a medieval castle was much more than just a large, glamorous palace with massive stone walls around it. It was a structure designed down to the smallest detail to protect the inhabitants. And each castle was full of its own little secrets.

Ditch and zwinger

Ditch. The first barrier guarding the castle is a deep moat. It was often connected to a river to be filled with water. The moat made it difficult to access the fortress walls and siege weapons. It could be transverse (separate the castle wall from the plateau) or sickle-shaped (curved forward). Could encircle the entire castle in a circle. Very rarely, ditches were dug inside the castle to make it difficult for the enemy to move through its territory. If the soil under the castle was rocky, then the ditch was not made at all. The only way to cross the moat was to use a drawbridge that hung on iron chains.

Zwinger. Often the castle was surrounded by double walls - a high outer and a small inner one. An empty space appeared between them, which received the German name zwinger. The attackers, overcoming the outer wall, could not take additional assault devices with them. And, once in the zwinger, they became an easy target for shooters (there were small loopholes for archers in the walls of the zwinger). In the walls of the zwinger, which was also the inner wall of the moat, semicircular towers or bastions were often built to facilitate the observation of the moat.

The main defensive wall of the castle

... In the previous blessed times, when neighbors at the same table peacefully drank wine, hunted and competed in strength and dexterity, everything was simpler: a small house surrounded by a palisade. Then a bigger house and a wall of clay and lime blocks. And then, when the war of everyone against everyone knocked on our door, the houses turned into fortresses, and the fences into stone walls!

Both the castle and the wall were now built in such a way as to withstand a long siege, save them from captivity and shame, and stop the enemy! And each element played its important role. This also applied to the main wall of the fortress.

It should be of such height that the attackers could not climb it by ladders or with the help of siege towers, and, of course, very wide, thick. Then you can stop trying to quickly make a hole in it - the time will not be spent in vain, but a lot without an obvious result. Powerful trebuchet can, of course, bring down the roof of the towers or break the battlements. Most likely, the enemy uses soldiers with pickaxes, but then the castle defenders will be helped by loopholes, in which the arrows hid, and machicols, from which boiling water and red-hot resin will pour on the enemy ...

On top of the wall laid combat move. All possible weapons will be used here by the defenders of the fortress, hiding behind the battlements of the wall, in order to prevent the enemy from setting up assault ladders, making a dig, and breaking through a niche for an explosion.

The builders strongly recommended that protruding forwards be inserted into the wall towers with loopholes and walkways. The towers also served to strengthen the corners - the weakest point of the wall, since it is in the corners of the fortress that the most enemy forces and the least defense forces can be concentrated.

Barbican and wolf pits

Barbican. No matter how strong the castle gates were, they still remained a weak link. Therefore, the builders of the glorious Middle Ages figured out how to protect the entrance to the citadel. And this building, guarding the gate, was the barbican - the outer fortification of the city or fortress.

What is the secret of the barbican? The fact that it cannot be bypassed, if you are going to break open the gates of the citadel, you must go through it!

And here was the trick of the barbican - the gate tower: this most powerful stone structure had a platform at the top, on which throwing guns were placed. Moreover, the barbican had two floors. On the first - a through passage with a width slightly larger than the dimensions of the wagon. A small detachment, having got here, turned out to be cut off from the main one by an iron grate falling from above, from the outside, and by strong gates, locked with a powerful bolt, from the inside!

The guards serving on the second floor, having opened the hatches in the floor, could pour (and poured!) Hot tar or boiling water on the enemies rushing to the main gate.

In fact, the barbican was the only way to the castle and, of course, perfectly guarded.

Wolf holes. Another terrible obstacle on the way to the castle was the wolf pits - cunning and cruel structures that were invented by the ancient Romans. The pit was arranged in such a way that, firstly, it had inclined (inwards) walls. Therefore, getting out of it was not so easy. Secondly, short pointed stakes were driven into its bottom in several rows. Having fallen into this disguised trap, a person almost always lost the opportunity to stay alive, and his soul flew off to God after severe torment of the body.

Enemy infantry was doomed if they fell into the locations of the wolf pits. And they were waiting for the victim on the approaches to the castle, and at its walls, and at the gates of the barbican and the fortress itself, and even on the approaches to the donjon.

Medieval castle - main gate

Gates - the most vulnerable part of the castle, were installed in the gate towers. Most often, the gates were double-leaf, and the wings were knocked together from two layers of boards. In order to prevent them from being set on fire from the outside, they were upholstered with iron. In one of the doors of the gate there was a small narrow door, which could only be entered by bending over. An additional reinforcement of the gate was a transverse beam, which wound into hook-shaped slots on the walls.

Behind the gate was a drop-down portcullis. Most often it was wooden, with iron-bound lower ends. But there were also iron gratings made of steel tetrahedral rods.

The grate hung on ropes or chains, which, in case of danger, could be cut off so that it quickly fell down, blocking the way for the invaders. From the point of view of defense and protection of the castle, the gate was of great importance. Therefore, the medieval castle was built for a long time, painstakingly, taking into account all the features of the hostilities of the enemy.

Drawbridge

The drawbridge, thrown over the moat, rose in case of danger and, like a door, closed the entrance, disconnecting the castle from the outside world. The bridge was driven by mechanisms hidden in the building. From the bridge to the lifting machines, ropes or chains wound around the gate went into the wall openings. The ropes were sometimes supplied with heavy counterweights, which took part of the weight of this structure. Another way to raise the bridge is with a lever. Both designs facilitated the rapid lifting of the bridge.

Especially skillful were the craftsmen who built the bridge, which worked on the principle of a swing. One lay on the ground under the gate, and the other stretched across the moat. When the inner part rose, closing the entrance to the castle, the outer part (to which the attackers sometimes managed to run) fell down into the moat, into the “wolf pit”, invisible from the side while the bridge was lowered.

In the middle of the century, the defensive value of drawbridges was very high, but later lost its importance due to the advent of new siege weapons.

In order to understand the role played by the material collected, processed and prepared by us in the form of an illustrated manual book on the topic of the study, we invited all those who participated in our survey at the end of 2017 to get acquainted with it and solve the “Medieval Castle” crossword puzzle , compiled taking into account the need for knowledge of terms and concepts on the topic. The obtained positive results are presented in diagrams (indicators are indicated as a percentage) in the Appendix and give a clear idea of ​​the role and significance of our research in the learning process.

2.2. conclusions

As a result of the processing and analysis of the results obtained, we obtained evidence of the effectiveness of using the materials of our study in the educational process.

The level of knowledge and understanding of the educational material by the students of grade 6B "ANO" SCHOOL "PRESIDENT" who participated in the testing of the research materials has increased significantly, as can be seen from the comparison of the diagrams. (See also Appendix).

CONCLUSION

The work we did was very interesting. We were able to answer all the questions that interested us and tried to consider in detail not so much the history of the emergence of knightly castles as the fortification secrets laid down by the architects during their construction.

To touch the Middle Ages, a model of the castle was made. It can be used in the lessons of the world around, history. But the most important result of our work was, of course, the illustrated book "Medieval Castle: Secrets of Fortification", for which we collected and systematized material for six months using available literature and the possibilities of the Internet.

Unraveling the mystery of the fortification of Medieval castles, we reasonably assumed that the research product can be used in the lessons of the history of the Middle Ages, the Moscow Art Theater and in extracurricular activities. Consequently, the book written by us will contribute to the development of students' cognitive activity, the formation of their life position, and the development of interest in History.

Thus, we believe that the goals and objectives set before us in the study have been realized, the hypothesis has been confirmed, and the answer to the educational (problem) question has been received.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ionina N.I. "100 Great Castles", Veche, Moscow, 2004.

Lavisse E. and Rambo A. "The Age of the Crusades", Polygon, St. Petersburg 2003.

Razin E.A. "History of military art", Polygon, St. Petersburg 1999.

Taylor Barbara "Knights", Series "Learn and Make!", Publisher: Moscow OLMA Media Group 2014, 64 p.

Philip Simon, Marie Laure Bue, "Knights and Castles" Series "Your First Encyclopedia", Publisher: Moscow "Makhaon" 2013, 128 p.

Funken L. and Funken F. "Encyclopedia of weapons and military costume MIDDLE AGES", Astrel, Moscow 2002.

Shpakovsky Vyacheslav Olegovich, "Knights" Series "Know the World", Publisher: LLC "Baltic Book" 2014, 96 p.

Internet materials

Castle architecture. goo.gl/RQiawf

How castles were built in the Middle Ages. goo.gl/Auno84

Basic elements of a medieval castle. goo.gl/cMLuwn

Knightly traditions. Who are the knights. goo.gl/FXvDFn

Medieval castle: device and siege. goo.gl/5F57rS

Medieval castle. goo.gl/LSPsrU

Medieval castles were actually not just large fortresses with massive stone walls. These were ingeniously designed fortifications that used many ingenious and creative ways to protect the inhabitants of the castle from attack by enemies. Literally everything - from the outer walls to the shape and location of the stairs - was very carefully planned to provide maximum protection to the inhabitants of the castle. In this review about the little-known secrets hidden in the construction of medieval castles.

Almost every castle was surrounded by a moat filled with water. It is generally accepted that this was an obstacle to the storming troops, however, in fact, this was not the main function of the moat.

Vischering Castle in Germany. The castle consists of an outer defensive courtyard, protective locks, a drawbridge thrown over a moat, the main building and a chapel.

One of the biggest problems for the inhabitants of a medieval castle or fortress was that the invading army could dig tunnels under the fortifications. Not only could the enemy get inside the castle underground, but the tunnels could also lead to the collapse of the castle walls. The ditch prevented this, since the tunnel dug under the ditch inevitably flooded with water and collapsed.

Nesvizh Castle. Belarus.

This was a very effective deterrent against tunneling. Often the moat was laid not around the outer wall of the castle, but between the outer and inner walls.

Concentric circles of defense

It was an extremely effective method of defense for the inhabitants of a medieval castle, and looked like a series of obstacles surrounding the castle.

Hochosterwitz Castle. Austria.

As a rule, such obstacles were (in proportion to the distance from the castle) a scorched and dug field, an outer wall, a moat, an inner wall, a donjon tower. The attacking army had to overcome each of these obstacles in turn. And it took a lot of time and effort.

main gate

The main gate of the castle was often the most dangerous place the entire structure, since, if necessary, they could turn into a deadly trap.

Eltz Castle in Germany.

They often led to a small courtyard, at the other end of which there was also another gate, equipped with an iron descending grate. If the attackers broke through the first gate and found themselves in the yard, then the grate fell, after which the aggressors found themselves in a trap.

Svirzh castle in the village of Svirzh, Lviv region. Main gate.

At the same time, there were small holes in the walls of the courtyard through which the defenders could shoot from bows and crossbows at the enemy soldiers who were trapped.

Hidden secrets of stairs

Staircases in medieval castles were actually very elaborate. First, they were almost always helical, very narrow and built clockwise.

Spiral staircase in Mir Castle. Belarus.

This meant that it was very difficult for attacking opponents who climbed up the stairs (and one at a time, because the stairs were narrow), because they had a sword in their right hand. And since there was always a wall on the right hand, they had no opportunity to swing. The defenders, on the other hand, had the wall of the spiral staircase on their left hand, so they had more opportunities to swing.

Staircase with reverse twist and uneven steps in the Wallenstein castle in Germany.

Another original feature of the stairs was that they had uneven steps: some were very high and others were low. The defenders of the castle, being familiar with the local stairs, could quickly climb up and down them, and the attackers often stumbled and fell, exposing themselves to a blow.

secret passages

Many castles had secret passages that served various purposes. Some of them were made so that the inhabitants of the castle could flee in case of defeat, and also so that during the siege the defenders would not be cut off from food supplies.

Koretsky castle in Ukraine.

Secret passages also led to secret chambers where people could hide, food was stored and (which was quite common) an additional well was dug for water.

Predjama Castle in Slovenia.

Therefore, the medieval castle was much more than just a large glamorous palace with massive stone walls around it. It was a structure designed down to the smallest detail to protect the inhabitants. And each castle was full of its own little secrets.

Led to a boom in castle building, but the process of building a fortress from scratch is far from easy.

Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, founded 1385

1) Carefully choose a place to build

It is extremely important to build your castle on a hill and in a strategically important point.

Castles were usually built on natural elevations, and were usually equipped with a link to the external environment, such as a ford, bridge or passage.

Historians have rarely been able to find evidence of contemporaries regarding the choice of a site for the construction of the castle, but they still exist. On September 30, 1223, 15-year-old King Henry III arrived in Montgomery with his army. The king, who had successfully led a military campaign against the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, was going to build a new castle in this area to ensure security on the border of his possessions. The English carpenters had been given the task of preparing the timber a month earlier, but the king's advisers had only just now determined the site for the construction of the castle.



Montgomery Castle, when it began to be built in 1223, was located on a hill

After a careful survey of the area, they chose a point on the very edge of the ledge above the valley of the River Severn. According to the chronicler Roger of Wendover, this position "looked unassailable to anyone". He also noted that the castle was created "for the security of the region from the frequent attacks of the Welsh."

Advice: identify places where the topography rises above traffic routes: these are natural places for castles. Keep in mind that the design of the castle is determined by the place of construction. For example, a castle on a ledge of exposed rocks will have a dry moat.

2) Develop a workable plan

You will need a master mason who can draw plans. An engineer knowledgeable in weapons will also come in handy.

Experienced soldiers may have their own ideas about the design of the castle, in terms of the shape of its buildings and their location. But it is unlikely that they will have the knowledge of the level of specialists in design and construction.

To implement the idea, a master bricklayer was required - an experienced builder, whose hallmark was the ability to draw a plan. With a grasp of practical geometry, he used simple tools such as straightedge, square, and compasses to create architectural plans. Master masons submitted a drawing with a building plan for approval, and during construction supervised its construction.

When Edward II ordered the construction of a tower at Knarsborough, he personally approved the plans and demanded construction reports.

When Edward II in 1307 began building a huge residential tower at Naresborough Castle in Yorkshire for his favorite Piers Gaveston, he not only personally approved the plans drawn up by the London master mason Hugh of Titchmarsh - probably made in the form of a drawing - but also demanded regular reports on the construction . From the middle of the 16th century, a new group of professionals called engineers increasingly began to take on a role in planning and building fortifications. They had technical knowledge of the use and power of cannons, both for defense and for attacking castles.

Advice: Plan slits to provide a wide angle of attack. Shape them according to the weapon you are using: longbow archers need large slopes, crossbowmen need smaller ones.

3) Hire a large group of experienced workers

You will need thousands of people. And not all of them will come of their own free will.

It took a lot of effort to build the castle. We do not have documentary evidence of the construction of the first castles in England since 1066, but from the scale of many castles of that period it becomes clear why some chronicles claim that the English were under the yoke of building castles for their Norman conquerors. But from the later time of the Middle Ages, some estimates with detailed information have come down to us.

During the invasion of Wales in 1277, King Edward I began building a castle in Flint, northeast Wales. It was erected quickly, thanks to the rich resources of the crown. A month after the start of work, in August, 2300 people were involved in the construction, including 1270 diggers, 320 lumberjacks, 330 carpenters, 200 masons, 12 blacksmiths and 10 charcoal burners. All of them were driven from the surrounding lands under an armed escort who watched so that they did not desert from the construction.

From time to time, foreign specialists could be involved in the construction. For example, millions of bricks for the rebuilding of Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire in the 1440s were supplied by a certain Baldwin "Docheman", or Dutchman, that is, "Dutchman" - obviously a foreigner.

Advice: Depending on the size of the workforce and the distance they had to travel, it may be necessary to provide accommodation for them at the construction site.

4) Ensure the safety of the construction site

An unfinished castle in enemy territory is very vulnerable to attacks.

To build a castle in enemy territory, you need to protect the construction site from attacks. For example, you can enclose the construction site with wooden fortifications or a low stone wall. Such medieval defense systems sometimes remained after the construction of the building as an additional wall - as, for example, in the castle of Beaumaris, the construction of which was started in 1295.

Beaumaris (Wall. Biwmares) is a city on the island of Anglesey, Wales.

Also important is secure communication with the outside world for the delivery of building materials and provisions. In 1277, Edward I dug a canal to the river Kluid directly from the sea and to the location of his new castle in Rydlane. The outer wall, built to protect the construction site, extended to the piers on the banks of the river.

Rudlan Castle

Security problems can also arise with a radical restructuring of an existing castle. When Henry II rebuilt Dover Castle in the 1180s, all work was carefully planned so that the fortifications provided protection for the duration of the renovation. According to surviving decrees, work on the inner wall of the castle began only when the tower was already sufficiently repaired so that guards could be on duty in it.

Advice: building materials for the construction of the castle are large and voluminous. If possible, it's best to transport them by water, even if that means building a dock or canal.

5) Prepare the landscape

When building a castle, you may have to move an impressive amount of land, which is not cheap.

It is often forgotten that the fortifications of the castle were built not only through architectural techniques, but also through landscape design. Enormous resources were allocated for the movement of land. The scale of land works of the Normans can be recognized as outstanding. For example, according to some estimates, the embankment erected in 1100 around Pleshy Castle in Essex required 24,000 man-days.

Some aspects of landscaping required serious skills, especially the creation of water ditches. When Edward I rebuilt the Tower of London in the 1270s, he hired a foreign specialist, Walter of Flanders, to create a huge tidal moat. Digging the ditch under his direction cost £4,000, a staggering amount, almost a quarter of the cost of the entire project.

An 18th-century engraving of a 1597 plan for the Tower of London shows how much land had to be moved to build moats and ramparts.

With the rise of cannons in the art of siege, the earth began to play an even more important role as an absorber of cannon shots. Interestingly, experience in moving large amounts of land has led some of the fortification engineers to find work as garden designers.

Advice: Reduce time and cost by digging out masonry for castle walls from the moats around it.

6) Lay the Foundation

Carry out the mason's plan carefully.

Using ropes of the required length and pegs, it was possible to mark the foundation of the building on the ground in full size. After the foundation ditches were dug, work began on the masonry. To save money, the responsibility for construction was assigned to the senior mason instead of the master mason. Masonry in the Middle Ages was usually measured in rods, one English rod = 5.03 m. At Warkworth in Northumberland, one of the complex towers stands on a lattice of rods, possibly for the purpose of calculating construction costs.

Warkworth Castle

Often the construction of medieval castles was accompanied by detailed documentation. In 1441-42 the tower of Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire was demolished and a plan for its successor was drawn up on the ground. But the Prince of Stafford, for some reason, was not pleased. The king's master stonemason, Robert of Westerley, was sent to Tutbury, where he held a conference with two senior masons to design a new tower at the new site. Westerley then left, and over the next eight years a small group of workers, including four junior masons, built the new tower.

Senior masons could be called in to confirm the quality of work, as was the case at Cooling Castle in Kent, when the royal stonemason Heinrich Javel assessed work carried out from 1381 to 1384. He criticized the deviations from the original plan and rounded the estimate down.

Advice: Don't let the master mason fool you. Make him make a plan so that it is easy to make an estimate for it.

7) Fortify your castle

Finish building with elaborate fortifications and specialized timber structures.

Until the 12th century, the fortifications of most castles consisted of earth and logs. And although stone buildings were subsequently given preference, wood remained a very important material in medieval wars and fortifications.

Stone castles prepared for attacks by adding special battle galleries along the walls, as well as shutters that could close the gaps between battlements to protect the defenders of the castle. All this was made of wood. Heavy weapons used to defend the castle, catapults and heavy crossbows, springalds, were also built of wood. Artillery was usually designed by a highly paid professional carpenter, sometimes with the title of engineer, from the Latin "ingeniator".

Storming of the castle, drawing of the 15th century

Such experts were not cheap, but could eventually be worth their weight in gold. This, for example, happened in 1266, when Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire resisted Henry III for almost six months with catapults and water defenses.

There are records of camp castles made entirely of wood - they could be transported with you and erected as needed. One such was built for the French invasion of England in 1386, but the Calais garrison captured it along with the ship. It was described as consisting of a wall of logs 20 feet high and 3,000 paces long. There was a 30-foot tower every 12 paces, capable of housing up to 10 soldiers, and the castle also had an unspecified defense for archers.

Advice: Oak wood becomes stronger over the years, and it is easiest to work with it when it is green. The top branches of trees are easy to transport and shape.

8) Provide water and sanitation

Don't forget the amenities. You will appreciate them in case of a siege.

The most important aspect for the castle was efficient access to water. These could be wells that supply water to certain buildings, such as a kitchen or a stable. Without a detailed acquaintance with the medieval well shafts, it is difficult to do justice to them. For example, in Beeston Castle in Cheshire there is a well 100 m deep, the upper 60 m of which are lined with hewn stone.

There is some evidence of elaborate plumbing that brought water to the apartments. The tower of Dover Castle has a system of lead pipes that delivers water throughout the rooms. She was fed from a well with a winch, and possibly from a rainwater harvesting system.

Efficient disposal of human waste was another challenge for lock designers. The latrines were assembled in one place in the buildings so that their shafts were emptied in one place. They were located in short corridors that trap unpleasant odors, and were often equipped with wooden seats and removable covers.

Thought Room at Chipchase Castle

Today it is widely believed that latrines used to be called "cloakrooms". In fact, the lexicon for toilets was extensive and colorful. They were called gongs or gangs (from the Anglo-Saxon word for "a place to go"), nooks and jakes (the French version of "john").

Advice: Ask a master mason to plan comfortable and private latrines outside the bedroom, following the example of Henry II and Dover Castle.

9) Decorate as needed

The castle not only had to be well-guarded - its inhabitants, having a high status, demanded a certain glamor.

During the war, the castle must be defended - but it also serves as a luxurious home. The noble gentlemen of the Middle Ages expected their dwelling to be both comfortable and richly furnished. In the Middle Ages, these citizens traveled with servants, things and furniture from one residence to another. But home interiors often had fixed decorative features, such as stained-glass windows.

The tastes of Henry III in the setting are recorded very carefully, with interesting and attractive details. In 1235-36, for example, he ordered that his hall at Winchester Castle be decorated with images of a map of the world and a wheel of fortune. Since then, these decorations have not survived, but the well-known round table of King Arthur, possibly created between 1250 and 1280, remains in the interior.

Winchester Castle with King Arthur's Round Table hanging on the wall

The large area of ​​the castles played an important role in the luxurious life. Parks were created for hunting, a jealously guarded privilege of aristocrats; gardens were also in demand. The extant description of the construction of the castle of Kirby Maxloe in Leicestershire says that its owner, Lord Hastings, began laying out gardens at the very beginning of the construction of the castle in 1480.

In the Middle Ages, rooms with beautiful views were also loved. One of the 13th-century groups of rooms at the castles of Leeds in Kent, Corfe in Dorset and Chepstow in Monmouthshire were called gloriettes (from the French gloriette, a diminutive of glory) for their splendor.

Advice: The interior of the castle should be luxurious enough to attract visitors and friends. Entertainment can win battles without having to expose itself to the dangers of combat.