Medieval knight's castle. How to build a medieval castle from scratch
Imagine that you are a feudal lord whose lands are constantly raided by very unfriendly colleagues. In order to protect yourself and your property, you decide to build a reliable fortress that will serve you and your retinue as a home and a defensive point in case of complications in relations with envious neighbors. But the castle is not a barn or a bathhouse, you can’t build it that easily! Last time we talked about how best, and today let's go back way. How to build fortification walls? What factors should be taken into account during the siege? What is the difference between a barbican and a donjon? Let's start with the very basics.
What is a castle
Lock is a complex of buildings that combine defensive and fortification and residential tasks. Unlike walled policies, castles are not a public building, but belong to the feudal lord and are intended for himself, his family and retinue, as well as overlords visiting him. Often a castle is confused with a fortress, but you, as a future king, should distinguish between them: if a fortress is just a piece of land with a variety of buildings, surrounded by a wall (for example, the famous ones, one of which was recently dug up by archaeologists), then the castle is a single building in which towers, walls, bridges, residential and other structures are combined into a single architectural ensemble.
The larger the castle, the higher the prestige of its owner. Fortress yard, zone inside castle walls, can be densely built up: there are residential houses for servants, and barracks, and warehouses and, of course, their own churches. At the same time, the beauty of the castle itself and the height of its walls do not always speak of its defensive qualities. History knows examples when squat and quite poor-looking castles became a real bone in the throat of eminent conquerors.
Choosing a building site
It would seem, what difference does it make where to build your fortress? thick walls, tall towers, a deep ditch - and no armies are afraid. But remember that the castle is not just a fortification unit, but also a dwelling and a potential center of the future city. In order for your castle to meet all the necessary requirements, you should take into account a number of important features of the area:
Relief. The first thing you should pay attention to when choosing a site for construction is the nature of the surrounding area. The ideal point would be a high hill or any other elevation on which it is physically possible to build a complex defensive structures. Height is extremely important for a number of reasons. Firstly, the higher your castle, the harder it will be for a potential enemy to get to it. Steep slopes are an impenetrable obstacle for cavalry and siege weapons, and in some cases for heavily armored infantry. Even if the attackers somehow miraculously climb the mountain steeps, it will not be difficult to throw them off. The ideal option would be a high hill, which can be climbed along a single narrow serpentine: such a road, additionally protected by the rings of the fortress walls and several sections of the gate, will become even for a huge army the hardest test: for every meter traveled under a hail of arrows, stones and hot oil, the enemy will pay with the lives of his fighters.
Liechtenstein Castle stands on a cliff 817 meters high!
Resources. Another important factor is access to clean spring or well water, as well as the logistical connection of the castle with the surrounding buildings, if any. Oddly enough, the most popular tactic for taking a fortress is not an assault, which in itself is a very risky undertaking, but a long siege. Your castle can turn from a reliable fortress into a real crypt: if your army is isolated for a long time from access to food and drinking water, expect starvation, mass discouragement and, in extreme conditions, even outbreaks of cannibalism. The castle is a construction of the Middle Ages, before the invention of canning food for at least a couple of centuries. If the territory allows you, set up a garden or vegetable garden inside the castle walls: lean swede porridge and roast from rats feeding in the castle warehouses may at some point become the only source of calories.
The favorable location of the Heidelberg Castle made it possible to establish at its foot large city
Water is not only a drinking resource, but can also act as an alternative transport route. The castle, standing on a hill near the river, always has access to running water, which will serve as an additional protection against raids (it is much more difficult to storm the fortifications by swimming than by land), and as a retreat in case of emergency. Remember, the castle is your prestige, but personal safety is above all!
The availability of sources will also be important. building materials at least in relative proximity to the construction site. If the forest is still more or less rafted down the river (although these are additional risks), then dragging blocks from distant quarries for the construction of fortress walls is not only a thankless task, but also extremely costly. And you still need to throw feasts and drinking parties for some shisha - otherwise the vassals will laugh and go to a more generous lord.
Life hacks for every day
But what if there are no suitable hills on your lands, but you still want a castle? Bulk hills will come to the rescue: if fortresses were often surrounded by an earthen rampart (a man-made embankment that makes it difficult to approach the walls), then for the sake of the castle it would not be a sin to force farm laborers and slaves to pour a full-fledged hill, mixing soil with peat, gravel and limestone. In order to prevent all this land from spreading away from the rains and under the weight of stone buildings, smear the hill with several layers of clay, or even better, cover it with a wooden deck. Even such primitive reinforcement will make the structure much more reliable.
Gisors Castle in Normandy: the height of the bulk hill is 20 meters, and the diameter at the base is all 70
The earth can not only be poured, but also dug. Next time we will talk in detail about each type of defensive element of the castle, but the good old moat - great way protect the site at the development stage. If you manage to divert river or ground water into it, then congratulations: now you have not only additional protection, but also a source fresh water. If not, do not worry: the ditch itself is an extremely difficult obstacle, and it will take the enemy a lot of time to fill it up. In extreme cases, you can poke sharp stakes into it in order to drop presumptuous warriors on them during the assault.
Conclusion
This concludes our story. Next time, we will analyze in detail what structures the castle consists of and how best to design it, based on their terrain features. And remember: the castle is a universal dwelling for all occasions, so its construction should be approached, thinking through every little thing.
How to build yourself a castle September 17th, 2016
In 1997, two masters began to build in historical area in the east of France, namely in Burgundy, a real medieval castle of the 13th century. Construction is carried out using methods and materials that were available 800 years ago.
Here you will find stonemasons and all related personnel: a blacksmith, potters, a rope weaver, carpenters... Nearby there is even a small farm with "medieval" pigs.
When the castle is ready and whether ghosts will live there - read about it in today's report.
1. Perhaps, this is the only construction in the world that is carried out by medieval methods. There are no excavators at its construction site and tower cranes Everything here is the same as 800 years ago. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
2. France is famous for its medieval castles. This idea came from a certain Michel Guyot, the owner and restorer of another Saint-Fargo castle in the department of Yonne. In 1979, he bought it with his brother and restored it for 20 years. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
3. During this time, the love for castles did not weaken, and Michel Guyot decided to build another castle from scratch - a medieval castle of the 13th century, and do it according to the technologies of that time in order to better understand how the builders of that era worked. Marilyn Martin became the second partner, and at the same time the director of the project. She dreamed of making the region attractive to tourists, and this castle could be very useful here. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
4. The model of Guédelon Castle - as it is called - was completely invented by its creators, who were inspired by the architectural canons laid down by the King of France Philip II Augustus in the XII-XIII centuries. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
5. According to the standards of that time, the future castle will have a dry moat, one corner tower, which is larger than the others, two identical towers protecting the entrance, loopholes on the floors of the towers. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
6. About 40 workers work at the construction site. Volunteers also provide enormous assistance - every year several hundred volunteers actively help and take part in the construction of a medieval castle.
A blacksmith has been working here since 1999, and the picture was taken on October 29, 2013. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
7. During the construction of the castle, they rely on the surviving records and illustrations of that time, and in order to be sure of the “medieval” of their technologies, the creators studied the already existing castles of the XIII century for a long time.
8. The construction project of the castle of Guédelon will allow you to study many of the technologies of medieval masters. One of the most difficult tasks was the revival of stone mining technology. The instruments, by the way, are also homemade, and not from Leura, June 25, 2005. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
11. The construction completion date is 2023, there are still 7 years of exciting work ahead. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
12. It will look like a bedroom inside Guedelon Castle, August 29, 2013. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
13. There are no cars on the construction of Guedelon Castle, and workers drive around the territory in carts. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
14. Inside the head of the castle. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
16. View of the construction site of Guédelon Castle, September 13, 2016. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen | Reuters):
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 by right hand there was always a wall, 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.
The Middle Ages in Europe was a turbulent time. The feudal lords, for any reason, arranged small wars among themselves - or rather, not even wars, but, to put it modern language, armed "disassembly". If a neighbor had money, they had to be taken away.
Lots of land and peasants? It's just indecent, because God ordered to share. And if knightly honor is hurt, then here it was simply impossible to do without a small victorious war.
Initially, these fortifications were made of wood and did not resemble the castles known to us in any way - except that a moat was dug in front of the entrance and a wooden palisade was erected around the house.
The lordly courts of Hasterknaup and Elmendorv are the ancestors of castles.
However, progress did not stand still - with the development of military affairs, the feudal lords had to modernize their fortifications so that they could withstand a massive assault using stone cannonballs and rams.
The besieged castle of Mortan (withstood the siege for 6 months).
Beaumarie Castle, owned by Edward I.
Welcome
We are on our way to the castle, which stands on a ledge of a mountain slope, on the edge of a fertile valley. The road goes through a small settlement - one of those that usually grew near the fortress wall. Common people live here - mostly artisans, and warriors guarding the outer perimeter of protection (in particular, guarding our road). This is the so-called "castle people".
Scheme of castle structures. Note - two gate towers, the largest stands separately.
The first barrier is a deep ditch, and in front of it is a rampart of excavated earth. The moat can be transverse (separates the castle wall from the plateau), or sickle-shaped, curved forward. If the landscape allows, the moat encircles the entire castle in a circle.
The shape of the bottom of the ditches could be V-shaped and U-shaped (the latter is the most common). If the soil under the castle is rocky, then ditches were either not made at all, or they were cut down to a shallow depth, which only hindered the advancement of infantry (it is almost impossible to dig under the castle wall in the rock - therefore, the depth of the moat was not decisive).
The crest of an earthen rampart lying directly in front of the moat (which makes it seem even deeper) often carried a palisade - a fence of wooden stakes dug into the ground, pointed and tightly fitted to each other.
A bridge over the moat leads to the outer wall of the castle. Depending on the size of the moat and bridge, the latter supports one or more supports (huge logs). The outer part of the bridge is fixed, but its last segment (right next to the wall) is movable.
Scheme of the entrance to the castle: 2 - gallery on the wall, 3 - drawbridge, 4 - lattice.
Counterweights on the gate lift.
This drawbridge is designed so that in a vertical position it closes the gate. The bridge is powered by mechanisms hidden in the building above them. From the bridge to the lifting machines, ropes or chains go into the wall holes. To facilitate the work of people servicing the bridge mechanism, the ropes were sometimes equipped with heavy counterweights that took part of the weight of this structure onto themselves.
Of particular interest is the bridge, which worked on the principle of a swing (it is called “overturning” or “swinging”). One half of it was inside - lying 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, where the so-called “wolf pit” was arranged (sharp stakes dug into the ground), invisible from the side, until the bridge is down.
To enter the castle with the gates closed, there was a side gate next to them, to which a separate lifting ladder was usually laid.
Gates - the most vulnerable part of the castle, were usually made not directly in its wall, but were arranged in the so-called "gate towers". Most often, the gates were double-leaf, and the wings were knocked together from two layers of boards. To protect against arson, they were upholstered with iron on the outside. At the same time, in one of the wings there was a small narrow door, which could be entered only by bending over. In addition to locks and iron bolts, the gate was closed by a transverse beam lying in the wall channel and sliding into the opposite wall. The transverse beam could also be wound into hook-shaped slots on the walls. Its main purpose was to protect the gate from their landing attackers.
Behind the gate was usually 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 lattice could descend from a gap in the vault of the gate portal, or be behind them (on the inside of the gate tower), descending along the grooves in the walls.
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.
Inside the gate tower there were rooms for guards. They kept watch on the upper platform of the tower, asked the guests for the purpose of their visit, opened the gates, and, if necessary, could hit all those who passed under them with a bow. For this purpose, there were vertical loopholes in the vault of the gate portal, as well as “tar noses” - holes for pouring hot resin on the attackers.
All on the wall!
Zwinger at Laneck Castle.
On top of the wall was a gallery for defense soldiers. From the outside of the castle, they were protected by a solid parapet, half the height of a man, on which stone battlements were regularly arranged. Behind them it was possible to stand at full height and, for example, load a crossbow. The shape of the teeth was extremely diverse - rectangular, rounded, in the form of a dovetail, decoratively decorated. In some castles, the galleries were covered (wooden canopy) to protect the warriors from bad weather.
A special type of loophole - ball. It was a freely rotating wooden ball fixed in the wall with a slot for firing.
Pedestrian gallery on the wall.
Balconies (the so-called “mashikuli”) were arranged in the walls very rarely - for example, in the case when the wall was too narrow for the free passage of several soldiers, and, as a rule, performed only decorative functions.
At the corners of the castle, small towers were built on the walls, most often flanking (that is, protruding outward), which allowed the defenders to fire along the walls in two directions. In the late Middle Ages, they began to adapt to storage. The inner sides of such towers (facing the courtyard of the castle) were usually left open so that the enemy who broke into the wall could not gain a foothold inside them.
Flanking corner tower.
The castle from the inside
The internal structure of the castles was diverse. In addition to the mentioned zwingers, behind the main gate there could be a small rectangular courtyard with loopholes in the walls - a kind of “trap” for the attackers. Sometimes castles consisted of several "sections" separated by internal walls. But an indispensable attribute of the castle was a large courtyard (outbuildings, a well, premises for servants) and central tower, she is “donjon” (donjon).
Donjon at the Château de Vincennes.
The location of the water source depended primarily on natural causes. But if there was a choice, then the well was dug not in the square, but in a fortified room in order to provide it with water in case of shelter during the siege. If, due to the peculiarities of the occurrence of groundwater, a well was dug behind the castle wall, then a stone tower was built above it (if possible, with wooden passages to the castle).
When there was no way to dig a well, a cistern was built in the castle to collect rainwater from the roofs. Such water needed to be purified - it was filtered through gravel.
The combat garrison of castles in peacetime was minimal. So in 1425, two co-owners of the Reichelsberg castle in the Lower Franconian Aub entered into an agreement that each of them exposes one armed servant, and two gatekeepers and two guards are paid jointly.
Kitchen at Marksburg Castle.
Inside the tower there was sometimes a very high shaft going from top to bottom. It served as either a prison or a warehouse. The entrance to it was possible only through a hole in the vault of the upper floor - “Angstloch” (in German - a frightening hole). Depending on the purpose of the mine, the winch lowered prisoners or provisions there.
If there were no prison facilities in the castle, then the prisoners were placed in large wooden boxes made of thick boards, too small to stand up to their full height. These boxes could be installed in any room of the castle.
Of course, they were taken prisoner, first of all, for a ransom or for using a prisoner in a political game. Therefore, VIP-persons were provided according to the highest class - guarded chambers in the tower were allocated for their maintenance. This is how Friedrich the Handsome spent his time in the Trausnitz castle on Pfaimd and Richard the Lionheart in Trifels.
Chamber in Marksburg Castle.
Abenberg castle tower (12th century) in section.
At the base of the tower there was a cellar, which could also be used as a dungeon, and a kitchen with a pantry. The main hall (dining room, common room) occupied an entire floor and was heated by a huge fireplace (it spread heat only a few meters, so that iron baskets with coals were placed further along the hall). Above were the chambers of the feudal lord's family, heated by small stoves.
Sometimes the donjon did not serve as living quarters. It could well be used only for military and economic purposes (observation posts on the tower, dungeon, provisions storage). In such cases, the feudal lord's family lived in the "palace" - the living quarters of the castle, standing apart from the tower. The palaces were built of stone and had several floors in height.
It should be noted that the living conditions in the castles were far from the most pleasant. Only the largest carpets had a large knight's hall for celebrations. It was very cold in the donjons and carpets. Fireplace heating helped out, but the walls were still covered with thick tapestries and carpets - not for decoration, but to keep warm.
The windows let in very little sunlight(the fortification character affected castle architecture), not all of them were glazed. Toilets were arranged in the form of a bay window in the wall. They were unheated, so visiting the outhouse in winter left people with simply unique sensations.
Large temples had two floors. The common people prayed below, and the gentlemen gathered in the warm (sometimes glazed) choir on the second tier. The decoration of such premises was rather modest - an altar, benches and wall paintings. Sometimes the temple played the role of a tomb for the family living in the castle. Less commonly, it was used as a shelter (along with a donjon).
War on earth and underground
To take the castle, it was necessary to isolate it - that is, to block all the ways of supplying food. That is why the attacking armies were much larger than the defending ones - about 150 people (this is true for the war of mediocre feudal lords).
The issue of provisions was the most painful. A person can live without water for several days, without food - for about a month (in this case, one should take into account his low combat capability during a hunger strike). Therefore, the owners of the castle, preparing for the siege, often went to extreme measures - they drove out of it all commoners who could not benefit the defense. As mentioned above, the garrison of the castles was small - it was impossible to feed the whole army under the siege.
The attackers had no less problems. The siege of castles sometimes dragged on for years (for example, the German Turant defended itself from 1245 to 1248), so the question of supplying the rear of an army of several hundred people was particularly acute.
In the case of the siege of Turant, the chroniclers claim that during all this time the soldiers of the attacking army drank 300 fouders of wine (a fuder is a huge barrel). This is about 2.8 million liters. Either the scribe made a mistake, or the constant number of besiegers was over 1,000.
View of the castle Eltz from the counter-castle Trutz-Eltz.
The war against castles had its own specifics. After all, any more or less high stone fortification was a serious obstacle for conventional armies. Direct infantry attacks on the fortress could well have been successful, which, however, came at the cost of heavy casualties.
That is why a whole range of military measures was necessary for the successful capture of the castle (it was already mentioned above about the siege and starvation). Undermining was one of the most time-consuming, but at the same time extremely successful ways to overcome the protection of the castle.
Undermining was done with two goals - to provide troops with direct access to the courtyard of the castle, or to destroy a section of its wall.
So, during the siege of the castle of Altwindstein in Northern Alsace in 1332, a brigade of sappers of 80 (!) People took advantage of the distracting maneuvers of their troops (periodic short attacks on the castle) and for 10 weeks made a long passage in solid rock into southeastern part fortresses.
If the wall of the castle was not too large and had an unreliable one, then a tunnel broke through under its base, the walls of which were reinforced with wooden struts. Next, the spacers were set on fire - just under the wall. The tunnel collapsed, the base of the foundation sagged, and the wall above this place crumbled into pieces.
Curious devices were used to detect tunnels. For example, large copper bowls with balls inside were placed throughout the castle. If the ball in any bowl began to tremble, this was a sure sign that a mine was being dug nearby.
But the main argument in the attack on the castle were siege machines - catapults and battering rams.
Storming of the castle (miniature of the 14th century).
A type of catapult is a trebuchet.
Sometimes barrels filled with combustible materials were loaded into catapults. To deliver a couple of pleasant minutes to the defenders of the castle, catapults threw the severed heads of captives to them (especially powerful machines could throw even whole corpses over the wall).
Assault the castle with a mobile tower.
In addition to the usual ram, pendulum ones were also used. They were mounted on high mobile frames with a canopy and were a log suspended on a chain. The besiegers hid inside the tower and swung the chain, forcing the log to hit the wall.
In response, the besieged lowered a rope from the wall, at the end of which steel hooks were fixed. With this rope, they caught a ram and tried to lift it up, depriving it of mobility. Sometimes a gaping soldier could get caught on such hooks.
Having overcome the shaft, breaking the palisades and filling up the moat, the attackers either stormed the castle with the help of ladders, or used high wooden towers, the upper platform of which was on the same level with the wall (or even higher than it). These gigantic structures were doused with water in order to avoid arson by the defenders and rolled up to the castle along the flooring from the boards. A heavy platform was thrown over the wall. The assault group climbed up the internal stairs, went out onto the platform and with a fight invaded the gallery of the fortress wall. Usually this meant that in a couple of minutes the castle would be taken.
Silent glanders
Sapa (from the French sape, literally - a hoe, saper - to dig) - a method of extracting a moat, trench or tunnel to approach its fortifications, used in the 16-19 centuries. Flip-flop (quiet, secretive) and flying glanders are known. The work of the crossover glanders was carried out from the bottom of the original ditch without the workers coming to the surface, and the flying glanders were carried out from the surface of the earth under the cover of a pre-prepared protective mound of barrels and bags of earth. In the second half of the 17th century, specialists - sappers - appeared in the armies of a number of countries to perform such work.
The expression to act "on the sly" means: sneak, slowly, imperceptibly go, penetrate somewhere.
Fights on the stairs of the castle
It was possible to get from one floor of the tower to another only along a narrow and steep spiral staircase. The ascent along it was carried out only one after another - it was so narrow. At the same time, the warrior who went first could only rely on his own ability to fight, because the steepness of the turn of the turn was chosen in such a way that it was impossible to use a spear or a long sword from behind the leader. Therefore, the fights on the stairs were reduced to single combat between the defenders of the castle and one of the attackers. It was the defenders, because they could easily replace each other, since a special extended area was located behind their backs.
samurai castles
We know the least about exotic castles - for example, Japanese ones.
Stone castles began to be built at the end of the 16th century, taking into account European achievements in fortification. An indispensable attribute of a Japanese castle is wide and deep artificial ditches with steep slopes that surrounded it from all sides. Usually they were filled with water, but sometimes this function was performed by a natural water barrier - a river, a lake, a swamp.
Inside, the castle was a complex system of defensive structures, consisting of several rows of walls with courtyards and gates, underground corridors and labyrinths. All these buildings were located around central square honmaru, on which the feudal lord's palace and the high central tenshukaku tower were erected. The latter consisted of several rectangular tiers gradually decreasing upwards with protruding tiled roofs and gables.
Japanese castles, as a rule, were small - about 200 meters long and 500 wide. But among them there were also real giants. Thus, Odawara Castle occupied an area of 170 hectares, and the total length of its fortress walls reached 5 kilometers, which is twice the length of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin.
The charm of antiquity
Saumur French castle (14th century miniature).
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There are few things in the world more interesting than knight's castles Medieval: these majestic fortresses breathe evidence of distant eras with grandiose battles, they saw both the most perfect nobility and the meanest betrayal. And not only historians and military experts are trying to unravel the secrets of ancient fortifications. The knight's castle is interesting for everyone - a writer and a layman, an avid tourist and a simple housewife. This is, so to speak, a mass artistic image.
How the idea was born
A very turbulent time - in addition to big wars, the feudal lords constantly fought with each other. In a neighborly way, so as not to be bored. Aristocrats fortified their dwellings from invasion: at first they would only dig a moat in front of the entrance and put up a wooden palisade. With the acquisition of siege experience, the fortifications became more and more powerful - so that the ram could withstand and not be afraid of stone cores. In antiquity, this is how the Romans surrounded the army with a palisade on vacation. stone structures the Normans began to build, and only in the 12th century did the classic European knightly castles of the Middle Ages appear.
Transformation into a fortress
Gradually, the castle turned into a fortress, it was surrounded by a stone wall, into which high towers were built. The main goal is to make knight's castle inaccessible to attackers. At the same time to be able to monitor the entire district. The castle must have its own source drinking water- suddenly a long siege is ahead.
The towers were built in such a way as to hold any number of enemies for as long as possible, even alone. For example, they are narrow and so steep that a warrior walking second cannot help the first in any way - neither with a sword nor with a spear. And it was necessary to climb them counterclockwise, so as not to hide behind the shield.
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Imagine mountain slope on which a knight's castle was erected. Photo attached. Such structures were always built at a height, and if there was no suitable natural landscape, they made an artificial hill.
The knight's castle in the Middle Ages is not only knights and feudal lords. Near and around the castle there were always small settlements, where all kinds of artisans settled and, of course, warriors guarding the perimeter.
Those who walk along the road always turn their right side to the fortress, the one that cannot be covered by a shield. There is no high vegetation - no hiding. The first obstacle is the moat. It can be around the castle or across between the castle wall and the plateau, even crescent-shaped if the terrain allows.
There are dividing ditches even within the castle: if suddenly the enemy managed to break through, movement will be very difficult. If the soil rocks are rocky - a moat is not needed, digging under the wall is impossible. The earthen rampart right in front of the moat was often with a palisade.
The bridge to the outer wall is made in such a way that the defense of the knight's castle in the Middle Ages could last for years. He's uplifting. Either the whole or its extreme segment. In the raised position - vertically - this is an additional protection for the gate. If a part of the bridge was raised, the other part automatically fell into the moat, where a "wolf pit" was arranged - a surprise for the most hasty attackers. The knight's castle in the Middle Ages was not hospitable to everyone.
Gate and gate tower
Knight's castles of the Middle Ages were most vulnerable just in the gate area. Latecomers could enter the castle through the side gate on the lifting ladder, if the bridge was already raised. The gates themselves were most often not built into the wall, but were arranged in gate towers. Usually double-leaf, from several layers of boards, sheathed with iron to protect against arson.
Locks, bolts, transverse beams sliding across the opposite wall - all this helped to hold out in the siege for quite a long time. Behind the gate, in addition, a powerful iron or wooden grate usually fell. This is how the knightly castles of the Middle Ages were equipped!
The gate tower was arranged so that the guards guarding it could find out from the guests the purpose of the visit and, if necessary, treat them with an arrow from a vertical loophole. For a real siege, holes for boiling resin were also built in.
Defense of a knight's castle in the Middle Ages
The most important defensive element. It should be high, thick and better if on a plinth at an angle. The foundation under it is as deep as possible - in case of a digging.
Sometimes there is a double wall. Next to the first high - the inner one is small, but impregnable without devices (ladders and poles that were left outside). The space between the walls - the so-called zwinger - is shot through.
The outer wall at the top is equipped for the defenders of the fortress, sometimes even with a canopy from the weather. The teeth on it existed not only for beauty - it was convenient to hide behind them to their full height in order to reload, for example, a crossbow.
The loopholes in the wall were adapted for both archers and crossbowmen: narrow and long - for a bow, with an extension - for a crossbow. Ball loopholes - a fixed but rotating ball with a slot for shooting. Balconies were built mainly decorative, but if the wall is narrow, then they were used, retreating and letting the others pass.
Medieval knight towers were almost always built with domed towers at the corners. They came out to shoot along the walls in both directions. The inner side was open so that the enemy who penetrated the walls would not gain a foothold inside the tower.
What's inside?
In addition to zwingers, other surprises could be expected outside the gates of uninvited guests. For example, a small enclosed courtyard with loopholes in the walls. Sometimes castles were built from several autonomous sections with strong internal walls.
There was certainly a courtyard with a household inside the castle - a well, a bakery, a bathhouse, a kitchen and a donjon - the central tower. Much depended on the location of the well: not only the health, but also the life of the besieged. It happened that (remember that the castle, if not just on a hill, then on the rocks) was more expensive than all the other buildings of the castle. The Thuringian castle Kuffhäuser, for example, has a well over one hundred and forty meters deep. In rock!
central tower
Donjon - the most tall building castle. From there, the surroundings were monitored. And it is the central tower - the last refuge of the besieged. The most reliable! The walls are very thick. The entrance is extremely narrow and located on high altitude. The stairs leading to the door could be pulled in or destroyed. Then the knight's castle can keep the siege for quite a long time.
At the base of the donjon there was a cellar, a kitchen, a pantry. Next came the floors with stone or wooden ceilings. The stairs were wooden, with stone ceilings they could be burned to stop the enemy on the way.
The main hall was located on the whole floor. Heated by a fireplace. Above were usually the rooms of the family of the owner of the castle. There were small stoves decorated with tiles.
At the very top of the tower, most often open, there is a platform for a catapult and, most importantly, a banner! Medieval knightly castles were distinguished not only by chivalry. There were cases when the knight and his family did not use the donjon for housing, having built a stone palace (palace) not far from it. Then the donjon served as a warehouse, even a prison.
And, of course, every knight's castle necessarily had a temple. The obligatory inhabitant of the castle is the chaplain. Often he is both a clerk and a teacher, in addition to his main job. In rich castles, temples were two-story, so that the gentlemen would not pray next to the mob. The family tomb of the owner was also equipped within the temple.
