Text of Factual information for everything about Castles! By The Wolf and 123Pink
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Factual information for everything about Castles! By The Wolf
and 123Pink
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People all around the world have had to build protection around
them, just like William the Conquer did when he won the battle of
Hastings. Since then castles have evolved dramatically, there have
been various changes in the designs and structures. It was almost
1,000 years since the first castles were built. The epic age of
castles lasted for about 500 years. This detailed information power
point will tell you all about them; from the first castles designs
to the famous castles that still stand in ruins today.
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What was the first design of castles? Stone Castles Concentric
castles Fascinating facts Glossary Bibliography
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The Normans first introduced castles in 1066 constructed of
wood and earth, named Motte and Bailey. Needing to protect his new
kingdom, William the Conquer started a frenzy build of these new
kind of protection. The Motte and Baily design was a quick and easy
structure to make, meaning the new king could have 1,000 or more of
these new designs dotted round the kingdom. The most Vital part of
this structure was the Keep which was built on a huge mound of
Earth (The Motte). Mottes ranged from 8 meters ( 25 Ft ) to over 24
meters ( 80 Ft ) in height. This was not the best structure because
the knights trusty steeds could easily either get startled or a
illness very quickly, meaning the design had to be changed.
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Slowly afterwards, the Motte and Baily design started to show
its faults. If the castles stood long enough, the moat would rot
the wood. Also if it didnt it was easily knocked down and burnt to
ashes. So the Normans had to think harder. Instead, seeing this
material was easily available, they started to construct a new
design of castles out of stone. Stone castles were the sign of
William the Conquers ultimate reign over Britain. Stone was a
sturdy, strong building material that allowed the builder to build
up. In addition, this allowed the foundations to be
elevated.elevated. Many stone castles were rectangular but not many
Norman castles were built like this, the most common design was a
circular type which was built in the 14 th centry, these were
called the rounded keep.
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In a concentric castle the inner curtain wall is usually larger
than the outer. The word concentric does not apply to the castle
itself, in fact it quite often confuses some people. These castles
were still made from stone but a new design was established.
Concentric castles usually had a defence mechanism called the death
wall, this was two walls and the inner was usually shorter than the
outer. Death walls, were designed to trap enemy's when they broke
down the first wall they were hit with another meaning it was near
impossible to escape. The concentric castle was one of the most
complex designs of the three evolved castles meaning these castles
took years and years to build.
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Did you know that the first concentric castles was in fact
Dover Castle and was designed by Henry 3 rd. Did you know that
Windsor Castle is one of the the oldest castles in Europe still
occupied, and is around 900 years old! The stairwells in a castle
always turned clock wise.
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Motte: clod ( mound) of earth Baily: enclosure Vital: extremely
important Elevated: higher, lifted upwards Concentric: circle
within a circle.
