User:TupicIsGood/sandbox

The Middle Ages, also known as the Dark Ages, was a very enticing, part of our human history. It is a popular topic for many Historians because of the amazing creation of castles. Castles were giant fortresses made of stone with towers. Fairytales would often refer to castles having princesses stuck at the top of the tower of in the middle of the keep. However castles were not always this big and intimidating. They started of simple and grew their way to what we see them as now.

So, Why did the design of castles change throughout the Middle Ages?

The design of castles changed overtime from the Early Middle Ages through to the Late Middle Ages mainly because of the advancements in military technology and substitutes for castles being introduced. Together, this forced castles to catch up and be fortified more securely. As the design of castles changed overtime, so did the materials used to construct them. The old motte and baily, a wooden keep situated on a raised area, a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, a baily, also often surrounded by a moat, became no more than a chore to take control of. ‘Materials such as wood and timber were too easily overcome with fire’. Because of this, the materials were adapted into much more durable stone. However with this change came quite a cost. ‘Timber castles were really cheap compared to the impressive stone fortresses which were very expensive to build'. Even so, the change needed to be made so castles could stand strong in an attack. The expense of the sturdy stone castles wasn’t a reason to stop building castles just yet as castles became a great place of government, in which could hold territory. If you could control a castle, you were considered powerful.

Changing to stone was just one of the many ways castles had to adapt to advancements in military technology. ‘A castle is only as strong as its weakest point’. For many castles, this was the front entrance or main gateway into the castle’s protective walls. Because of this, they were rigged with murder holes, arrow slits, a portcullis, and a drawbridge in the event there was a moat surrounding the castle. These additions made the main entrance the deadliest part of the castle and essentially solved the problem. However, even with the improvements in castles. ‘The rise of nation-states (the formation of centralized governments with the power to control their territories) meant that castles were no longer necessary for protection and defense’. With the introduction of nation-states also came the invention of gunpowder, this allowed the creation of cannons which could shoot heavy cannon balls with enough power to demolish fortified curtain walls, an outer layer of walls that surrounded the entire castle. With this and the nation-states together, castles finally met their match, and were no longer needed for defensive reasons.

Even though castles were no longer needed in terms of military technologies. Many rich people found taste for castles as a nice residential home. ‘Some castles, like Windsor Castle, were restored during the 18th and 19th centuries and serve as homes for wealthy or noble families’. Some adaptations were made to castles, such as ridding them of murder holes and arrow slits obviously, and were engineered to be appealing and fancy. They served similarly as mansions do for us today. ‘Eventually, people became quite optimistic about castles’. Not only were these people just in Europe, but there are shrines and temples in China, Glamourous fancy castles all through France and Great big castles in Britain. In conclusion, castles throughout the Middle Ages were designed to defend a place of government from an attack coming from another tribe or kingdom, however as military technologies advanced, they were no longer useful for defense reasons. Because of this they were created as residential homes for the rich or noble and were designed to be pleasing and appealing instead of intimidating and deadly.