Knight's castle - a safe home in the Middle Ages. Medieval castles: structure and siege
If you are a fan of traveling to places with a centuries-old history that reek of archaism, take a look at what ancient castles are still inhabited by people and even ghosts.
Modern skyscrapers and designer exhibition centers are gradually displacing traditional architecture from cities. Given their popularity, the desire to live in a secluded castle seems extravagant. However, in every corner of Europe you can find old houses, preserved thanks to the efforts of loving owners. And although they are not as comfortable as penthouses equipped with the latest technology, castles have their own charm.
1. Chateau Plessis-Bourret, France
Appearance it is so severe that the castle rather resembles a defensive fortress. Its interior decoration will amaze even the most sophisticated person accustomed to luxurious decorations. It has not undergone any modifications: what makes the chateau truly unique is the absolute preservation of the original design. Plessis-Bourret was built in 1472 by Jean Bourret, who served as Minister of Finance under King Louis XI. The bribe-taker Bure was so afraid of the uprising of the inhabitants of the lands belonging to him that he ordered the palace to be surrounded by the widest ditch in France. The drawbridge, which makes it possible to exit from it, is still used for its intended purpose.
Modern owners do not hide the historical monument that belongs to them either from curious tourists or from film directors. In 2003, Penelope Cruz spent several unforgettable weeks at the castle, filming the film “Fanfan Tulip” with Vincent Perez. Today, anyone can follow her example by renting one of Plessis-Bourret's rooms as a hotel room. For those who prefer five-star hotels, free and individual excursions with a guide lasting several hours.
2. Residence of the Queen of Great Britain in Berkshire, England
Windsor castle- the largest and most famous among its fellows still considered residential. Its splendor and scale are frightening and amazing at the same time: on an area of 45 thousand m² there is a complex of buildings with 1000 residential premises. For 900 years, Windsor has belonged to the ruling dynasty and all its members have the right to modernize the estate to their taste. Each new monarch expanded and expanded the area of \u200b\u200bthe property, until the adjacent deciduous forest was considered Berkshire Park. At the end of the last century, the queen's residence was urgently reconstructed due to a massive fire.
The Queen of England today uses Windsor as a means of defeating heads of other states and other distinguished guests. She invites them to stay in rooms decorated with originals by Rembrandt and Rubens, antique candlesticks and gilded ceiling moldings. After this, who can refuse a royal person’s political request?
3. Berkeley Castle, England
The second most populous palace in England after Windsor. At the end of the 12th century it was bought by the surname Berkeley, which is in the title of lords. In 1327, members of an influential family became reluctant prison guards in own home. Opponents of King Edward II deposed him and placed him in Berkeley, demanding from his owners an obligation to prevent any attempt to escape. That same year, the estate began to be distinguished from other castles in the area by a high fence instead of the moat with water that was familiar to the eye in those days. Within six months, the prisoner tried to leave Berkeley twice, after which he was executed by the new ruler.
The castle's heirs inhabit only 20% of its area: the rest is used as a hotel and museum. But the main source of their income is cinema. Berkeley's interiors can be seen in the TV series "Wolf Hall", "Castle in the Country" and the film "The Other Boleyn Girl".
4. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
Built on an extinct volcano, the palace rises 120 meters above sea level. Scientists have found that the first walls appeared here in the Iron Age: they were built by warriors planning a raid on the English tribes. Over the course of many centuries, Edinburgh Castle passed from English to Scottish ownership and vice versa. Ten years ago, the British Ministry of Defense finally abandoned it. Residents of Scotland's biggest tourist attraction are not affected by the decision. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the castle has been home to a dynasty of caretakers, whose only duty remains the hourly firing of a cannon during daylight hours.
5. Warwick Castle, England
The vast majority of residents of the house are television and Youtube stars. The estate, built back in 1068 by William the Conqueror, is a regular participant in shows with psychics, “ghost hunters” and magicians. It even made it into the book Haunted Houses of Great Britain and Ireland. Anyone can find footage of internal surveillance cameras with evidence of their existence on video hosting sites.
Extreme temperature fluctuations, light anomalies and mysterious rustling noises are caused by the “Gray Lady” and her assistants. The pensioner, who is the heiress of the Earl-owner of Warwick, is also familiar with her. For 100 years, her figure has been bumping into the inhabitants of the palace in its long corridors and fearfully shying away at the sight of children. She can't walk through walls, so people in Warwick are used to doors suddenly opening. Those who have seen it up close say it is a ghost old woman dressed in a gray dress. The “Grey Lady” is assisted by the poet with the title of earl Fulk Greville, who was strangled in the Water Tower in 1628. His soul-chilling screams are heard from the Tower several times a week. In addition to this couple, more than 10 unidentified ghosts live in Warwick.
6. Rock of Cashel, Ireland
In the castle on the rock of Cashel lives the caretaker of the cemetery that spontaneously arose near its walls. A group of medieval buildings dating from the 12th to 15th centuries adjoins the Cormac Chapel, a small Romanesque church that houses the sarcophagus of the fortress's first owner, after whom it is named. During an unexpected enemy attack, local residents tried to take refuge in the church, but everyone was brutally killed. They were buried there, and soon new graves began to appear around the graves of the unfortunate victims. According to legend, dozens of spirits also live there.
7. Kronborg Estate, Denmark
Built in 1420, the castle on the outskirts of Copenhagen is officially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In order to protect against capture by the Swedes, it was designed in the form the most complex system labyrinths and underground passages. They live in Kronborg creative personalities- directors, actors, screenwriters. Every spring they create a new reading theatrical production"Hamlet" by William Shakespeare and present it to the audience.
8. Bran Palace, Romania
In picturesque Transylvania there is the estate of the bloodiest Romanian of all times - Count Dracula. Bran is a famous tourist attraction in the country, as well as a hotel with rooms like wooden log houses, decorated with tiles. The legendary vampire loved to stay there during his lifetime, but he left no reminders of himself in Bran. Interior decoration The castle has been preserved since the time of Queen Mary: she lived in it after the count and decorated it with a large number of books, porcelain and icons. The latter, according to rumors, she needed to prevent nightly visits from the vampire.
9. Pfalzgrafenstein Estate, Germany
Even native Germans are unable to pronounce the name correctly the first time. It is located in the middle of the Rhine River: the island of Pfalzgrafenstein used to be completely deserted and uninhabited. A fortress was built on it as a royal customs house, inspecting ships passing by. Later it became the residence of the local nobility. In the 20th century, a national need arose to use Pfalzgrafenstein as a lighthouse. Now a caretaker lives there, and to visit him, you will have to cross the Rhine by boat the old fashioned way.
10. Fortification of Castel del Monte, Italy
The author of this building was never found. In the 15th century, it was created as an astronomical calendar, in each room of which you can find out the time using a sundial or the date using a light calendar. Castel del Monte has 8 floors, each with 8 rooms. Modern astronomers have been able to prove that the location of the fortress is indeed ideal for observing starry sky. It was equipped as an observatory in which scientists live year-round.
10 kilometers from the town of Selestat, in Alsace, on a high hill stands a medieval castle, built back in 774 on the site of a Roman outpost. The castle is clearly visible from the “wine” route and you really don’t want to drive past it. Koenigsburg, that’s what it’s called, I planned to visit even before my trip to France. I spent a long time exploring the surrounding Vosges hills in search of more or less preserved castles. And it turned out there were no options - everything except this one was just the remains of fortress walls and towers.
There are not many signs to the castle along the road, or they are simply invisible. But, as I already said, you can’t drive past it. In the village of Saint-Hippolyte it can be seen from the road (in the video from 53 sec.):
By the way, the coat of arms of Saint-Hippolyte is very interesting. It depicts martyrdom(quartering) of the saint who gave the name to this place:
Literally 10 minutes later, having overcome a rather protracted serpentine road and searching for free space on free parking, you find yourself right next to the walls of this majestic structure:
Offers stunning views of the entire Upper Rhine Valley:
We are already accustomed to the fact that all cathedrals, monuments and castles were closed during our visit scaffolding and weren't upset about it.
The castle has a rich and interesting story- it can be easily found on the Internet. I will only note that after it was captured and plundered by the Swedes during Thirty Years' War(1633), and then the French (in 1648), it burned down a little, became empty and was in a very poor state until the end of the 19th century. Then the French suddenly became interested in medieval art and restored the castle, declaring it a monument.
The castle was restored using archival documents and became one of the most visited historical monuments in France.
By the way, in 1937 Jean Renoir’s film “The Grand Illusion” was filmed here.
Entrance to the castle is naturally paid, but it is not expensive. In any case, the children went for free, and I gave away something like 10 euros.
All rooms inside are available for inspection. The interior decoration and furniture have been restored. All this gives a good idea of the life of the defenders of the fortress in those dark times of iron armor and long swords.
It looks a lot like a toilet, but it’s still more of a prison.
Courtyard with well:
And as always, there are only pensioners around :)
Some other internal areas:
The guide explains something in French:
The knights sat here and drank wine.
In the far left corner there is a stove:
The fortress was not always a fortress in the sense of a defensive structure. They just lived here.
To the right is a tiled stove. Most likely, this is a later construction. I suspect that initially, apart from smoking torches, there was nothing here as a heat source.
A very interesting room - the armory:
I don’t know if these are genuine specimens, but the size of the swords inspires quiet horror.
Another room. With a dragon.
To the left above the door is the fat muzzle of a boar.
Apparently, some kind of prayer room:
A piece of nature within the walls of a fortress.
What caliber, I wonder?
Indeed, everyone has their own associations with ancient castles. But what do we know about their design and the purpose for which they were built? How did they serve those who lived outside their walls?
Although medieval castles look mysterious, their construction served specific purposes.
We have been familiar with castles since childhood, when we were read fairy tales before bed. Many people imagine the castle as a sparkling mansion in which a princess lives happily
In reality, not all castles are decorated with gold and precious stones. Those that were erected in the medieval era served a specific purpose - to protect the people outside their walls
Nowadays, castles can be museums or residences of the royal family. However, in the distant past these were impregnable fortresses, used during the war. The planning of the castle involved protection from enemies
When you think of a castle's first line of defense, you probably imagine a moat filled with water. Indeed, the castle was separated from the surrounding area by a moat. But he didn’t always stop his enemies.
The biggest fear of castle designers was that enemies would dig under the walls to get into the castle. But the ditch made this impossible - water immediately flooded any tunnels
In some castles, the moat was not outside the castle, but was located between the first and second walls. Thus, whoever started digging a tunnel soon received an unpleasant surprise
Speaking of unpleasant surprises, ditches did not exist solely to keep the enemy from digging tunnels. The moats were also intended to allow people living in the castle to dump their waste into it.
There were other ways to defend the castle. One of the oldest traditions was concentric circles of defense. Looking at this structure from above, you can see that several rows of thick walls really make taking the castle very difficult
The concentric circles of defense present a series of obstacles. When we look at medieval castles today, their layout may seem familiar to us. But at the time they were built, it was a real innovation.
For those attacking the castle, this meant that the army had to overcome one obstacle after another, which slowed their progress. First there was a wall, behind it a ditch, behind which there was another wall, and so on...
The main gate of a castle can look impressive. This is how he perceives them modern man. But in ancient times, the main gate was more than intimidating. They were simply deadly
Often the main gate consisted of two barriers. If enemies passed through the first entrance, they could fall into a trap located between the first and second gates. So the breakthrough was not always successful
A trap awaits enemies in the castle towers. There are narrow gaps in the walls that allowed the defenders to shoot the attackers
But the secret fortifications of the castles do not end there. Played an important role staircases. Most are designed narrow and arranged in a clockwise spiral. There was an important reason for this too
They were designed so that soldiers climbing them would have right hand was closer to the wall. Thus, the stairs prevented them from using weapons
But the inhabitants of the castle knew well the location of the cramped and narrow staircases, which gave them maximum benefit if the enemy suddenly penetrated the castle
Secret corridors were also an important part of any castle. They served various purposes and were one of the means of salvation for those who lived in the castle
Through secret corridors one could get to rooms in which local residents had the opportunity to hide. In the event of a siege, food supplies were stored here
Sometimes secret passages could be used to reach reserve wells if attackers penetrated the castle walls and poisoned the water supplies. Although castles may look ostentatious, they were important military fortresses.
Speaking of secrets medieval castles, then this is only a small part of them
The design and forethought of these fortresses was unique. It’s even difficult to understand what complex structures they were!
The castle was not only a fortress, but also a home. It could belong to a powerful lord or king. The large castle was occupied by the feudal lord's family, as well as his steward, knights, warriors, tax collectors, servants, cooks and hunters.
changing times
Medieval castles, built as fortresses, could not provide any particular comfort or privacy. At the beginning of the 15th century. they began to be rebuilt, and already at the end of the 15th century. large palaces with exquisite interiors appeared.
mistress of the castle
During the absence of the feudal lord, his wife, the mistress of the castle, ran the affairs. She had all the keys and ran the household, managing numerous servants.
priest
The castle had its own chapel. Usually it was a room with high ceilings, the light entered through stained glass windows decorated with scenes from the Bible. Standing in front of the altar, the priest conducted a service for the household.
blacksmith
There was a blacksmith's workshop in the castle courtyard. Weapons, tools, bars of castle gates, chains, horseshoes and other items were made and repaired here.
servants
Servants chopped wood, fetched water from the well, cooked food, made beds, washed clothes, washed floors, cleaned stables, tended gardens, lit candles—it’s too much to list.
children
The eldest son of the feudal lord plays in the master's chambers - the family living room on the first floor of the castle. She's warm and sunny in summer, but in winter it is very cold there, so it was heated by a large fireplace.
master's chambers
Compared with modern house, there was quite a bit of furniture in the castle. Linen, clothing and valuables were stored in large chests on the floor. To protect against drafts in the bedroom, fabric was hung on four posts around the bed. This type of bed is called a canopy bed.
Most often, acquaintance with medieval history In Europe, we begin not with textbooks, but with novels and Alexandre Dumas. In our view, Europe in the Middle Ages was unthinkable without majestic and impregnable castles, valiant in magnificent armor, fighting in tournaments for the honor of their lady. They could remain faithful to the chosen one of their hearts forever, despite her unrequited love. Faithful pages and squires, ready to selflessly give their lives for their master. Beautiful minstrels singing love songs and glorifying the honor and valor of noble knights. This is exactly how we saw Europe through the fog of centuries from the pages of chivalric novels, and it seems to me that there were many who wanted to be in one of these castles in order to feel all the charm and romance of medieval flavor. And what a blow to romantic dreams, however, would be the prosaic reality of life in a medieval castle if modern man could transport himself there!
The problem of security was very acute in the Middle Ages and the location for the castle was chosen on a natural hill. During construction, first of all, they thought not about comfort, but about strength and inaccessibility. The Middle Ages, especially at the beginning of the era, were literally swarming with gangs of armed robbers, and to protect yourself, your family and your subjects, only iron armor and courage were not enough. The medieval castle is an impressive stone structure, surrounded by powerful fortress walls with loopholes and watchtowers. A wide fortress moat filled with water certainly surrounded the entire structure. It was possible to get into the castle only through a drawbridge, which was also equipped with an iron grate for additional insurance. Inside the castle was a whole settlement. In addition to the main dwelling of the castle owner, there were all the services: stables, cellars, kitchen, dwellings of commoners, and sometimes even a forge and a mill. There must have been either a source of water - a spring, a well, or reservoirs with its reserves in case of a siege.
Any castle had its own priest and a special place for worship, and the castle chaplain often also performed the duties of a clerk or teacher. Residential buildings were built of stone, the floors were often earthen, covered with straw. In more late time the floors were laid with stone slabs and also covered with straw to make it warmer and to absorb excess moisture, which was always in abundance in stone structures. The years went by stone walls and the floors began to be decorated, while at the same time insulating them, with carpets brought from the Crusades. Light barely penetrated the narrow windows with lead frames, into which first parchment was inserted, then cloudy mica glass and, from the 14th to 15th centuries, multi-colored stained glass windows. They were, of course, beautiful, but they let in little light. The interior of the room was lit with torches and candles, which added stench and soot. The furniture was heavy and durable, although unprepossessing. Things were stored in voluminous chests and chests, which also served as benches. By the way, the nobility of the owner was determined by the height of the back of the chair. The beds had canopies, but not for beauty, but as a remedy for cold and drafts.
Frequent knightly tournaments, ending in feasts, attracted a large number of feasting. They were attended by musicians and jesters, and ladies and gentlemen could not leave the table for more than a day. There is a lot of evidence that they not only ate at the table, but often fell asleep and relieved themselves. Therefore, the smells of a medieval castle were not for the faint of heart, but the people of the Middle Ages were not too squeamish. There were always dogs next to the feasters, to whom people threw scraps. They were also present in the owner’s bed. quite rare, especially since the castle never had excess water to waste on daily ablutions. First of all, water was used to water animals - horses and other animals, and for cooking. Morality in modern concept, was not too high in the Middle Ages, despite all the codes of knightly honor. Men did not limit their sexual appetites too much, although their wives' infidelity was looked upon very strictly, especially because of the legitimacy of the offspring. But after courtly love came into fashion, a lady from high society could have an official lover.