Late Medieval Castles

Late Medieval Castles
Author: Robert Liddiard
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2016
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1783270330

A collection of the most significant articles in castle studies, with contributions from scholars in history, archaeology, historic buildings and landscape archaeology. The castles of the late medieval period represent some of the finest medieval monuments in Britain, with an almost infinite capacity to fascinate and draw controversy. They are also a source of considerable academic debate. The contents of this volume represent key works in castle scholarship. Topics discussed include castle warfare, fortress customs, architectural design and symbolism, spatial planning and the depiction of castles in medieval romance. The contributions also serve to highlight the diversity of approaches to the medieval castle, ranging from the study of documentary and literary sources, analysis of fragmentary architectural remains and the recording of field archaeology. The result is a survey that offers an in-depth analysis of castle building from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, and places castles within their broader social, architectural and political contexts. Robert Liddiard is Professor of History, University of East Anglia. Contributors: Nicola Coldstream, Charles Coulson, Philip Dixon, Graham Fairclough, P.A. Faulkner, John Goodall, Beryl Lott, Charles McKean, T.E. McNeill, Richard K. Morris, Michael Prestwich, Christopher Taylor, Muriel A. Whitaker.

Ireland Encastellated AD 950-1550

Ireland Encastellated AD 950-1550
Author: Tadhg O'Keeffe
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2021-02-26
Genre: Castles
ISBN: 9781846828638

Despite an ever-expanding literature on Irish castles, the relationships between the castle building tradition in Ireland and those of contemporary Europe have attracted very little attention among Irish scholars. This book seeks to remedy this by approaching the corpus of Irish castles as a non-Irish scholar might do. Is there a case for dating the first castles in Ireland to the tenth century in line with the revised chronology of castle-building on the Continent? Are castles in Ireland typical of their periods by contemporary standards in England and France in particular? Are any castles in Ireland genuinely innovative or radical by those contemporary standards? What inferences about Ireland's place in medieval Europe can be drawn from the evidence of its castles and their forms?

Medieval Castles of England and Wales

Medieval Castles of England and Wales
Author: Bernard Lowry
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 81
Release: 2017-05-18
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1784422150

Designed to dominate the surrounding area, to house powerful garrisons, offer sumptuous quarters for local nobility, and to discourage and repel enemy attacks, castles dominated England and Wales for more than half a millennium. Though some were built before 1066, the Norman Conquest left a lasting legacy in the form of fortifications ranging from small earthworks now barely discernible, to mighty and dominating stone fortresses. This book examines why castles were so essential to medieval warfare, their importance in domestic politics, and the day-to-day lives of those who lived and worked within them. It also shows how the development of new technologies affected their construction and design, and why they eventually fell into disrepair in the late Middle Ages. Beautifully illustrated with stunning photographs, this is the perfect guide for any castle enthusiast seeking to discover more about medieval fortifications and their inhabitants.

Life in a Medieval Castle

Life in a Medieval Castle
Author: Joseph Gies
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2010-07-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0062016504

From acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies comes the reissue of this definitive classic on medieval castles, which was a source for George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series. “Castles are crumbly and romantic. They still hint at an age more colorful and gallant than our own, but are often debunked by boring people who like to run on about drafts and grumble that the latrines did not work. Joseph and Frances Gies offer a book that helps set the record straight—and keeps the romance too.”—Time A widely respected academic work and a source for George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, Joseph and Frances Gies’s bestselling Life in a Medieval Castle remains a timeless work of popular medieval scholarship. Focusing on Chepstow, an English castle that survived the turbulent Middle Ages with a relative lack of violence, the book offers an exquisite portrait of what day-to-day life was actually like during the era, and of the key role the castle played. The Gieses take us through the full cycle of a medieval year, dictated by the rhythms of the harvest. We learn what lords and serfs alike would have worn, eaten, and done for leisure, and of the outside threats the castle always hoped to keep at bay. For medieval buffs and anyone who wants to learn more about this fascinating era, Life in a Medieval Castle is as timely today as when it was first published.

Castles, Battles, & Bombs

Castles, Battles, & Bombs
Author: Jurgen Brauer
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2008-11-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0226071650

Castles, Battles, and Bombs reconsiders key episodes of military history from the point of view of economics—with dramatically insightful results. For example, when looked at as a question of sheer cost, the building of castles in the High Middle Ages seems almost inevitable: though stunningly expensive, a strong castle was far cheaper to maintain than a standing army. The authors also reexamine the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II and provide new insights into France’s decision to develop nuclear weapons. Drawing on these examples and more, Brauer and Van Tuyll suggest lessons for today’s military, from counterterrorist strategy and military manpower planning to the use of private military companies in Afghanistan and Iraq. "In bringing economics into assessments of military history, [the authors] also bring illumination. . . . [The authors] turn their interdisciplinary lens on the mercenary arrangements of Renaissance Italy; the wars of Marlborough, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon; Grant's campaigns in the Civil War; and the strategic bombings of World War II. The results are invariably stimulating."—Martin Walker, Wilson Quarterly "This study is serious, creative, important. As an economist I am happy to see economics so professionally applied to illuminate major decisions in the history of warfare."—Thomas C. Schelling, Winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics

Castles in Medieval Society

Castles in Medieval Society
Author: Charles Coulson
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 455
Release: 2004
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199273634

The vast majority of castles in England, Wales, Ireland, and France have virtually no military history' of sieges or physical conflict across the whole panorama of more than five centuries'. This is quite a sobering thought.

Behind the Castle Gate

Behind the Castle Gate
Author: Matthew Johnson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2013-04-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1135135584

In this engaging book Matthew Johnson looks 'behind the castle gate' to discover the truth about castles in England at the end of the Middle Ages. Traditional studies have seen castles as compromises between the needs of comfort and of defence, and as statements of wealth or power or both. By encouraging the reader to view castles in relation to their inhabitants, Matthew Johnson uncovers a whole new vantage point. He shows how castles functioned as stage-settings against which people played out roles of lord and servant, husband and wife, father and son. Building, rebuilding and living in a castle was as complex an experience as a piece of medieval art. Behind the Castle Gate brings castles and their inhabitants alive. Combining ground-breaking scholarship with fascinating narratives it will be read avidly by all with an interest in castles.

Castles in Context

Castles in Context
Author: Robert Liddiard
Publisher:
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2005
Genre: Architecture
ISBN:

"The last decade has seen a revolution in our understanding of the castle. Previously scholars have viewed it as essentially a military structure: a building where the need to resist a siege determined both architecture and site. Academics now paint a more complex picture, emphasizing the castle's symbolic projection of power, its position in the wider landscape and even its aesthetic role. This wide-ranging book makes this re-evaluation available to a new generation of castle enthusiasts. Focusing on the rich heritage of castle archaeology in England and Wales, the author offers a fresh and holistic perspective on these enigmatic medieval buildings. He examines not just the architecture but its wider social and landscape context. As well as offering new insights into familiar themes such as the Norman Conquest and siege warfare, he also covers in detail more original areas of study: the designed, ornamental landscapes that have been found at castle sites; the depiction of castles in literature; and the symbolic values that found expression in castle architecture. His aim is to understand how people experienced castles in the Middle Ages, and therefore to explain why they were such potent icons of lordship."--Back cover.

Castles and Landscapes

Castles and Landscapes
Author: O. H. Creighton
Publisher: Equinox Publishing Ltd.
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2005
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9781904768678

This paperback edition of a book first published in hardback in 2002 is a fascinating and provocative study which looks at castles in a new light, using the theories and methods of landscape studies.

The Culture of Castles in Tudor England and Wales

The Culture of Castles in Tudor England and Wales
Author: Audrey M. Thorstad
Publisher: Boydell Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781783273843

First multi-disciplinary study of the cultural and social milieu of the post-medieval castle. The castle was an imposing architectural landmark in late medieval and early modern England and Wales. Castles were much more than lordly residences: they were accommodation to guests and servants, spaces of interaction between the powerful and the powerless, and part of larger networks of tenants, parks, and other properties. These structures were political, symbolic, residential, and military, and shaped the ways in which people consumed the landscape and interacted with the local communities around them. This volume offers the first interdisciplinary study of the socio-cultural understanding of the castle in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, a period duringwhich the castle has largely been seen as in decline. Bringing together a wide range of source material - from architectural remains and archaeological finds to household records and political papers - it investigates the personnel of the castle; the use of space for politics and hospitality; the landscape; ideas of privacy; and the creation of a visual legacy. By focusing on such an iconic structure, the book allows us to see some of the ways in which men and women were negotiating the space around them on a daily basis; and just as importantly, it reveals the impact that the local communities had on the spaces of the castle. AUDREY M. THORSTAD teaches in the Department of History, University of North Texas.