Journeys On Screen: Castle Builders

Castle Builders (streaming on Amazon Prime) has been one of my favorite docuseries that I've encountered. It covers the evolution of the castle from motte and bailey and wooden structures to the epitome of fortress such as Caerphilly above to the grandiose Chateaux of France in later years. Very educational and engaging while taking you on a voyage to some of the greatest castles in Britain and Europe. 

Anatomy of a Castle: The Chapel

Stained Glass of St. Margaret in St. Margaret's Chapel, Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

Another essential part of any castle was the chapel were mass was heard daily. The chapel was located in various parts of the castle including the castle keep, the gatehouse, or even in the bailey as a separate building. It was common for the chapel to be two stories high so that the royal family could hear mass privately as servants and commoners sat below.  

Cahir Castle, Ireland

Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, Tower of London, England

King's Prayer Room, Tower of London, England

A Font for Holy Water  (and aumbry) in the Chapel at Doune Castle, Scotland 

An Aumbry (or cupboard or alcove for storing holy vessels, books,

reliquaries, oils, or for keeping the Holy Sacrament.

This aumbry is in the chapel of Goodrich Castle, England.

Anatomy of a Castle: The Great Hall

Great Hall - Doune Castle, Scotland

Usually found within the castle keep is the Great Hall, a part of the castle you might be familiar with, from stories to film. The Great Hall was the large, main room of the castle. On one end there would likely be a raised platform from where the lord and lady of the house would dine, all else would dine below them on floor level (literally and metaphorically I suppose). Walls might be hung with tapestries (which kept the warm in as well), heraldic shields of armors, or trophies from The Hunt. There would be candles and torches about for light and often a large fireplace for heat. Long wooden tables would fill the great hall. The Great Hall was the heart of the castle, home of ceremonies, feasts and gatherings, where guests would be received, disputes resolved, and the locus of daily life in the castle.

Great Hall at Blackness Castle, Scotland

Where the Lord & Lady Dine - Stirling Castle, Scotland

Stirling Castle Great Hall, Scotland

Great Hall - Cahir Castle, Ireland

Anatomy of a Castle: The Castle Keep

Keep in the center of Blackness Castle, Scotland

Within the castle walls you will find the Castle Keep. The Keep is a heavily fortified central tower serving as the last defense of the castle. This might also be called a donjon, especially academically, though donjon is not to be confused with dungeon, they are different things altogether. If the enemies have breached the castle walls and gotten past the gatehouse to the inner bailey - everyone would be in the castle keep, and they would try as they may to defend it. It was the last stronghold. 

The Keep at Trim Castle, Ireland

View of Castle Keep at Chepstow Castle, Wales

Strategically situated on a Cliffside on the River Wye

Keep & Great Hall at Caerphilly Castle, Wales

Depending on the date of the castle, some keeps were central towers, giants rising from within the inner bailey. Later, some were built so that one side of the keep was part of the castle walls. Most often, the Great Hall would be found near the bottom of the keep and the living quarters at the top. 

Keep of Carrickfergus Castle, Ireland

Keep of Ross Castle, Ireland

Round Keep of Pembroke Castle, Wales

Interior (looking up) of Round Keep at Pemrboke

Though in its day, there would have been several floors to this tower 

and a staircase to reach them all. Now it is home to a million pigeons and doves

whose cooing was amplified magnificently. 

Anatomy of a Castle: Fortress Block Print

Fortress Block Print $11

This hand carved and hand pressed Fortress Block Print was featured in the Castle Edition of Emerald Post. You can still get one in the July Issue of Emerald Post HERE or the Fortress Print individually HERE. This is no particular one castle but a concoction of many that I've visited. You can see many parts of the castle here: castle walls, a drawbridge, gatehouse, a portcullis, arrow loops, and the castle keep. You can have your castle printed on black, ivory, or and old page from The Death of King Arthur. The Anatomy of a Castle Series will continued tomorrow so keep the comments coming to enter the giveaway!

July Castle Edition - $15

The July Editions of Emerald Post contains a 5x7 Notecard & Envelope featuring Dunluce Castle in Northern Ireland, the 5x7 Fortress Block Print, and 5 Polaroid inspired photos nestled into a tiny envelope.

Anatomy of a Castle: The Inner Bailey

Raglan Castle, Wales

Once inside the gatehouse, you are in the castle bailey, or courtyard. The bailey is the open space within castle walls, often populated with grand buildings like the castle Keep or Great Hall and smaller structures like stables, the blacksmith's shop, a well or cistern, and usually a garden. Think of the castle environment as a small village- it must have everything for daily living like food, water, transportation, etc. Access to all of these things were most likely in the castle bailey, safe within the protection of the castle walls. This was especially important if you were to find yourself surrounded by enemies, unable to leave the castle walls. Visiting a castle now, the bailey is usually just a wide open green space populated with visitors, but imagine a small bustling village there. It is hard to capture these large spaces within a photo but think of your favorite medieval film or television series.... they have surely illustrated these scenes of life within the castle walls.

Caerphilly Castle, Wales

Cheptstow Castle, Wales

Stirling Castle, Scotland

Pembroke Castle, Wales

The large map was originally a royal tennis/croquet court

Pembroke Castle, Wales

Caernarfon Castle, Wales

Caernarfon Castle, Wales

Anatomy of a Castle: The Gatehouse

Gatehouse at Kidwelly Castle, Wales

Cross the drawbridge and you'll likely find yourself staring up at the gatehouse, the front door of the castle and arguably the strongest part of the castle.  Flanked, usually, by two enormous towers, peppered with arrow loops, and a slew of armed guards. The gatehouse might sometimes be referred to as a barbican, which is defined as a defensive tower, usually a double tower, of a castle or walled city, often above a gate or drawbridge.

Bridge over moat and Grand Gatehouse of Caerphilly Castle, Wales

Gatehouse of Carrickfergus Castle, Northern Ireland

Gatehouse at Pembroke Castle, Wales

Barbican & Gatehouse at Harlech Castle, Wales

Gatehouse at Caernarfon Castle, Wales

The tunnel through the gate is often extremely thick, supporting several doors or gates, usually including a portcullis. A portcullis is a heavy gate or grill, usually made of metal, which could be raised and lowered with pulleys inside the gatehouse. If lowered at the right time, the portcullis could be a weapon in its own right, impaling or crushing enemies. Two doors lowered in concert could also trap enemies. From within the gatehouse, soldiers could shoot arrows through arrow loops as well as make use of the murder hole. A murder hole is a gap, situated inside the doorway, above where people enter, through which boiling water, hot oil, and rocks might have been heaved upon unsuspecting enemies.

Gate and Portcullis at Cahir Castle, Ireland

Ruined Gate at Rock of Dunamase, Ireland

Anatomy of a Castle: Castle Walls

Harlech Castle Walls, Wales

The first line of defense for a castle was location. The lucky ones are perched atop volcanic crags where they can see miles in all directions. Many are on ocean cliffs or along rivers, all serving strategic purposes. After location, the well defended castle has a wall, sometimes called a curtain wall. Later some castles, called Concentric Castles, would have a set of two concentric walls, one inside the next. These walls could be from around 2 meters and 8 meters thick!

Pembroke Castle, Wales

Some castle walls adjoined walls that encircled the entire town such as Conwy Castle, Wales. Conwy Castle was a built for English King Edward I in Wales in 1283 to quell Welsh Rebellions against the crown. Walls were extended to envelop town, where only English settlers & soldiers were allowed. Many castles such as this were built in Wales at this time (Pembroke, Harlech, Caernarfon, Beaumaris, etc).  The walls contain many defensive elements that make up the castle's battlements. Learn more about these in my next post. Until then, enjoy your walk upon the ramparts.

Map of Conwy Castle and complete Town Walls, Wales  (source)

Stretch of Conwy's Town Walls which you can still walk.

Atop Conwy Castle, Wales

Kidwelly Castle, Wales

Anatomy of a Castle - A Giveaway !!!

Comment on any or all "Anatomy of a Castle" posts to enter

Chepstow Castle, Wales, UK

A GIVEAWAY !!! :

Questions and Comments are always welcome and to make this journey through Medieval Castles a bit sweeter, leaving a comment on any "Anatomy of a Castle" Post enters you into a drawing to win a 5x7 Castle Photo of Your Choice (from the Anatomy of a Castle Blog Series) plus a few other goodies. Winner will be chosen August 1st and announced here on the blog.

You'll be entered once for each blog post that you comment upon (but leave as many comments as you wish) and a winner will be chosen randomly after the blog series closes. Check back on August 1st to see if you won. Winner will need to email me a mailing address and photo choice for prize. So be sure to include a name in your comment.

So come journey with me, comment away and please share Emerald Post and this Giveaway with friends. Thanks!

Coming Up: Walls & Battlements

Descending the spiral staircase

Anatomy of a Castle

Cahir Castle, Ireland

Perched quite high on my list of travel destinations are castles. We prefer the wild, deserted, partially ruinous ones to the overly restored, museum-like, antique filled ones but there are many gems (like Cahir Castle, Ireland) that fall in the middle. It has been thoughtfully restored to it's medieval might in a way that you can imagine the history around you. Castles have inspired the contents of July's Issue of Emerald Post. In addition, I'm starting a series of posts here, digging into the parts of the castle.

Note - I am not a historian or any sort of architectural expert on castles but I did study Medieval History in my college days and continue to be entranced by these grand monuments of the past, their role in history, and their continuing presence throughout Ireland, England, Scotland & Wales. So join me here for my blog series "Anatomy of a Castle" as we explore Medieval fortresses of the Celtic Isles.

My Webster's defines a castle as "a large fortified building or group of buildings." The web adds "fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and in many cases a moat." And fortified is the key here. Castles were not just palaces or royal residences. In many cases, royalty did indeed live within the fortified walls and often, these castles showcased power and wealth but they were built to be strongholds. The fortified castle from the Middle Ages (5th-15th century) is where we will journey, touring the massive walls, great halls, and all the nooks and crannies of these Medieval marvels. We'll begin, in my next post, with Walls & Battlements. 

http://thehelpfulartteacher.blogspot.com/2012/02/medieval-castles.html

Castles Coming

Castles will be featured in the July edition of Emerald Post. Get yours HERE.