So You Want to {B Uri” Ch tee Alex Woolf Series Editor Greg Foot XFORDit W/tHAL iT Before reading ® Lock at the cover and read the blurb. Why might someone want to build acastle? © Have you ever visited a castle, or can you think of a castle you have seen in a film ot read about in a book? What did it look like? After reading © Why might you need secret tunnels underneath your castle? © Lock back at the section called ‘Learning from the Past’ on pages 27-49. Each siege story has been told in a different way. Which style do you prefer and why? ® Think about what it would be like to be inside a castle under siege. How would you feel? Would it feel different to be in the army outside the castle? Book quiz 1 Which of these is not a siege engine? acrenel b trebuchet © mangonel 2 Which are easier to defend: round towers or square towers? 3 Why might you want to keep your clothes in the garderobe of your castle? Now read on ®© Castaway by David Macphail (TreeTops infact Oxford Level 20) © Generation Energy by Paul Mason (TreeTops inFact Oxford Level 20) ® Thomas Heatherwick: Designer by Claire Llewellyn (TreeTops infact Oxford Level 20) See inside the back-caver for the Book quiz answers! OwL www.oxfordowLco.uk So You Want to Th CASTLE Alex Woolf Illustrated by George Bletsis, Martin Bustamante and Will Morris OXFORDCONTENTS LET'S DESIGN YOUR CASTL: CASTLE BUILDING BASIC Location, Lecation, Parts of a Cast What Type of Castle Sh What Rooms Will You Have in Your cast! ‘What Will Life Be Like in Your Castle? SPECIAL FEATURES FOR Learning Design and Decoratio: KEEPING OUT THE Up Against the Wal UNDER ATTAG) Bombarding Your Castle A Fair Fight LEARNING FROM THE PA The Siege of Castle Gaillard, 120: The Siege of Rochester Castle, 121 ‘The Siege of Dover Castle, 1216-1 of Kenilworth Castle, 1266 BUILDING YOUR CASTLE .. GLOSSA, INDEX.YOUR CASTLE! Le the late Middle Ages, the year is 1490 and Henry VII is the King of England, You are a noble who has recently been rewarded by the King and now you have the opporcunity to plan and build a castle chat will shelter and promoce your Fumily for generations to. come. In these challenging and changeable times, every powerful noble needs a castle! Its thick walls and high towers will display your power and influence, and provide you with a secure home where you can live comfortably and enjoy your wealth. [will talk you chrough all che imporcane things you need to consider. We master masons have been designing castles for hundreds of years, so Lam an expert in castle design and Ican help you plan a building tharis the height af comfort and security. I'll also guide you through the main ways of defend famous your castle, and we'll look at some accounts of ges to help you understand how to make your castle the strongest in the land, There is alot to think about and time is short. Solet us begin straight away! Heary VI Edward IV = 5 Stephen Henry U1 John Henry LIL edward I Henry IV Henry V Henry VII 1200ce 1300ce 1dOOce | 1800ce High Middle Ages LET’ S DE SIGN LEVEL CTT TTR teint dati To start you off, here are a few things you'll need to.consider: Where would you like your castle te be? : , What 3 | What are the parts i as type of castle deo yeu want? | your castler —) What rooms will you have in | yeur castle? | - ~ = iy Howwill you defend your castle? a Location, Location, Location I would advise you co build your castle on cop of a hill. This will allow your soldiers Beige er em erreciaehinie ome len oeOay Orie eave ellie make your castle visible to people in the area, reminding them of your power. You should also ery to build your castle close co transport routes (the sea, or a river or a road), as well as sources of food and water. The site will also need to be near a quarry, where the castle workers can cur blocks of stone for the castle walls, This is Bestar: Castle in England. Castles built on top of bile are easier te defend.Parts of a Castle Although castle basic part entre of your castle will be a tower called the ‘keep’ fthe keep, and the number of floors, will depend pou wish ro spe gan arack, the keep is the oyou must ensure itis strong, Also, consider p yell under the kee : ege. curtain wall . consider buildi first, This creates two .n ourer and an inner onc. Drawbridge In front of the garchouse will be the dge across the moat. Thi: cause it canWhat Type of Castle Should You Choose? I come froma longline of master masons who have passed on their skills Li from generation to generation down the centuries. ‘Over time, my ancestors ‘made gradual improvements to the design of their castles. You only have to Jook ar the simple seruetures of early castles to see how far we've come... Motte and bailey This was the state-of-the-art castle in the th and 12th centuries. It had a wooden keep, surrounded by a wooden wall, buileon | f top ofa large mound of earth called a“motte’ Next to this was a bailey, also enclosed by a wooden wall. By digging our the earth for the motte, they created a ditch which formed the castle's moat. Compared to laterdesigns, | these castles were simple and relatively cheap. moat ‘Wood or stone? The first castles were made of wood, with walls of wood and earch, They could be buile quickly, and building in wood is a lor cheaper chan building in stone. The problem is that wood rots, and i also burns. As a result, mast wooden castles didn't last very long, You should probably build your castle with stone! Stone castles Stone castles, built from the 12ch century onwards, can be constructed bigger, with taller towers, and they give better protection against the Pembroke Castle in Wales, fortified in the ravages of ime, weather and enemy attack. The first stone castles had square keeps. Bur these proved vulnerable early 13th century, bas stone walls and a round keep. to undermining, so master masons started building round keeps. Beaumaris Castle is Wales was built in the late 13th comtury in a concentric style. y E | Nowwearrive at our present js of castle building ce the 13th century, concentric | castles have beenall the J} rage. They arc often called | ‘acastle within a castle’ ‘They have more than one curtain wall, and cach of the walls has projecting towers, Many of them don’t have a central, free-standing keep, Instead, the living quarvers are spread among series of interconnected rowers the inner wall. + x . Concentric castles 5a wl DWhat Rooms Will You Have in ‘Of course you will need a number of basic rooms, bu some exta ones. For example, you may wish to add a where musicians can play). You may even decide to have a ‘bathroom’ — a room set aside for bathing, would you believe! This is quite unusual though. ur Castle? This will be oilet. You may wish to store you might also consider | bower’ (a lady's withdrawing room) ora ‘minstrels’ gallery’ (a balcony abave the Great Hall Garderobe is a suite of rooms for too, as many believe the foul wand your | CASTLE BUILDING BASICS. ‘The following are the essential rooms you will find in every casde .. Stables Barracks This is where the soldiers cher valuable po quarters for groon Dungeons Back in che early Middle Ages, castles didn’t have idea of keeping prison med very odd, The word ‘dungeon’ onjon) another word would hav Acthe same time, it became common kup troublemakers rather than kill them. Asitwa re part of the castle, the keep became a place for and prisoners. The prisoners were held in the |, dark storerooms in the b ment, and these nown as the castle dungeons. ing valuables - Great, Hall ‘This is the castle’s main room wi you will ho banguets entertain important eda dais at the front of the hall where Undercrott Another word fo: ean use this room for stawoud SSG vty * \ What, Will Life Be Like in Your Castle? What kind of life can you expect to lead in your castle? One thing you can be certain of: it'll be alot more comforcable than if you'd been living in the early s Middle Ages, in che 6th—10th centuries. Castle life was pret basic back then... Early Middle Ages Castles were made of wood with no fireplaces or chimneys. Instead, the fire was in the middle of the Great Hall, which had a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape. ‘This means the air was smoky and smelled unpleasandly of animal fat from the tallow: candles, The servants could sweeten the aira little by scattering herbs on the floor and on the straw mattresses where the family slepe. Furniture was very expensive — beds were very rare! There would have been a simple long rable with benches. Clothing and valuables were stored in chests. ‘There were no separate bedrooms either — you would have slepe at one end of the hall, behind a curtain. +e You might not liave wanted to smell the moat too closely, «as the waste frona the garderobe enaptied directly ito it Household ‘You will need lots of people co help run your castle and pravide for your needs: castellan, or constable - will manage the day-to-day affairs of the castle when you're away chamberlain ~ responsible fo: private chamber and will supervise the servants who work there our © quartermaster - will look after supplies @ large team of servants carpenter @ blacksmith # cook @ baker acmourer. Reds, bath tubs, canpets and ‘fireplaces: castle life is definitely more comfortable in the Later Maile gest Late Middle Ages The switch from wood to stone was a big improvement, although carly stone castles got very cold in winter, My ancestors fixed that problem in the lace 13th century by putting in fireplaces, chimneys and glazed windows (though glass is very expensive, so windows tend to be small). Thanks to recent increases in trade and travel, a world of luxury goods from abroad have become available to enhance a case: tapestries, rugs and bedcovers to provide extra warmth and colour in those big, draughty rooms, and spices co mask bad odours, Speaking of bad odours, some things never change: he garderobes still empty into a pit or straight into the moat! : ,PHCIAL FEATURES FoR YOUR CASTLE | Learning from the Best Le need co think about what kind of ‘look and feel’ your castle will have. To you some ideas, I've included some examples of famous castles below. Fortified menor house Ifyour budget doesn't stretch toa full castle, you could consider a fortified 70R YOUR CAST) astle. manor house, li “These are basically large houses, bur with some fortifications such as towers oramoat to help keep out intruders Of course, the type of castle you go for depends on your needs. Do you havea lor of SPECIAL FRATURES | enemies? Ifso, prioritize building strong fortifications. Or do you love | inviting the royal family to-visit, perhaps fora lavish banquet? That Coastal castle IF you trade abroad a lot, you might want to choose a coastal a a Se. ’ sive like Bamburgh Castle so you ! can get co your ships quickly. Bear in mind, though, chat castles on the coast are likely co be attacked first by any invading armies, | would require you ro have lots of space for entert ning. aq Style over substance? aa You might decide thar your top priority is having a castle that looks good. Bodiam Castle was buile in the 1380s, and itisa fine example of a late-medieval moared castle Tedoesn’t have space for ma soldiers, but it looks great! Upcycling Ie might make sense to use an existing site, Lincoln Castle, for example, was built on the sire of a pre-existing Roman fortress. Secret: tunnels Reet nee etioe eed (caren emia fee teecerne tea Siege ee patent Pine nrenssel econ icra exerts ad sere pete whichiled oucof ie middie bailey and undetneach che castle walls: 14Design and Decoration ‘The interior design of your castle is for your own comfort and enjoyment — bur also to impress your guests. Asa master mason, my expertise lies in the castle design itself rather than the interiors, but having spent so much time in castles, can help by giving you some tips on the best ways to furnish and decorate, Decorating furniture Some ideas to consider are: carving patterns covering it with gold leaf i tapestries. Coat, of arms using decorative metal work ® covering it with claborare If your noble family has a coat of arms, you might want to incorporate this design into your castle furnishings ~ for example, painting it on to special pieces of furniture, or carving itinto stone, Ifyou don’t have a coat of arms already, why nor design one? Ideally you'd get a professional in, but here's what co do if you want to make one yourself: 1, Make a list of your best features, For example, are you brave, kind, trustworthy or loyal? Make upa motto for yourself based around your best feature, for example Kind at all times, 2. Choose your favourite colours, e.g. gold and green. 3. Choose your favourize animal or plant, e.g. car. 4, Combine these intoa shield-shaped design. KIND AT ALL TIMES Dee Tapestries will make your east look beautiful and will also provide insulation through the cold winters. Look at the Overhogdal or Bayeux tapestries for inspiration ~ you could tell a whole story with your tapestries, or just show a scene from your favourite book. Tluminated manuscripts ‘How about buildinga collecti u manuscripts? These are handwritten books with gorgeously eae pee TOP TIP: Ifyou de collece some manuscripts to ~ display in your eastle, consider chaining them to the “shelves, Having been painstakingly hand-copied and decorated with the likes of lapis lazuli and gold, your books will be extremely valuable! vu mes UNE! © aotntes Enuete tpn | Cmabunnte sere Budget Choosing the design and decorations for your castle could get expensive. Set your budget before you start, and stick ro it. If you do go over-budger, you could raise local taxes co make up the shortfall - but it won't make you very popular! 17‘e've thoughe about the type of castle you might want, how ic will look and what features ic will have, but a castle is more than a grand house. You must face the possibility that one day your castle will be attacked, and prepare your defences. Ir goes withoue saying that your castle will need strong walls. I would also suggest thar you consider a number of clever defensive features designed to frustrate the most decermined enemy. Moat ‘Awater-filled ditch around your castle will slow down an advancing army, making it easier for archers on the castle walls to repel their attack. A moaralso reduces the risk of the enemy tunnelling under your casde, Zz Gatchouse Since your castle must have an entrance, you should consider how to make your gatchouse as strong as possible, Make sure it has thick wooden doors, and add an iron grille called a ‘portcull lowered. Bigger castles have two portcullises, so attackers can be lured ineo the gatchouse and then ch can be raised or M trapped in the passage beneath it. porteullis | muse pass through to gain Barbicen ‘The barbican is quitea recentinv ion, es another Fortified structure built in front of the gatehouse containing axorher layer of portcullises that attackers access ro your castle. gatehouse barbican Towers Consider building towers where you can place lookouts co give you advance warning of an approaching enemy, In the early Middle Ages, these towers ‘were square-shaped, and actackers could topple chem by undermining one of the corners. These days we build round rowers with none of those vulnerable corners! Round towers also make it easier to see your enemies, and their curved walls are bereer at deflecting missiles. Badia Castle, a Hitb-century > English castle, basa combination of round j and square towers.Up Against: the Wall ‘The walls of your cascle will be irs sturdiest defence, so you must make sure they are strong! Bur even the thickest stone wall can be breached by a derermined arcacker. Consider adding excea features to make your walls as strong as possible. Bossing Taluses Consider adding ‘Walls with ‘aluses'~ thick, “bossing' ro your walls ~ sloping bases ~ are better for cut some of the stones an keeping out che enemy. They they stick out of the wall make it harder for attacking codeflect rocks hurled soldiers to move siege engines against them. up against them, or for tunnellers to undermine them. mer courtain wall of the fortress of Carcassennte, Biance Arrow loops ‘These are narrow openings OUT THE ENEMY through which archers can fire their arrows. On the inside, the wall around the arrow loop opens widely so the archers can seand ‘comfortably, Arrare loop at Carreg Cormen Castle in Wales Battlements ‘The tops of the casdle walls should have regularly spaced openings, about 80 centimetres wide, called ‘crenels. The sections of wall between them are called “merlons, ‘The crenels and merlons together form the castle's bartlements and provide ideal cover for archers as they fire their arrows at an advancing enemy. Machicolations The battlements will jut ourwards from the wall, and beneath them will be openings called ‘machicolations' ~ through which defenders ca throw of pour whace horrible things they ean find on to attackers climbing the wall. Walkways ‘There should be broad paths on top of the walls along which the castle's defenders can move quickly. These walkways are usually exposed to the eastle interior so thac if enemy soldiers manage to climb the walls and get on to the walkways, defenders inside the castle can fire on them. 21ked about castle defences. Now we're going to might be tested in an enemy attack. are two basic forms of artac and the bombardment of a castle from a distance by “si usually attempt both of these at the same time num impact. First of all, ler’s look at the will try ro scale the walls g ladders. However, sea ‘siege rower’ ~ atall structure on wheels, which th will push up agai This provides the barelem might cover the in animal hid and mud to protect them Siege towers canbe | over 20 metres high, try to smash through the castle nd walls using a bartering ram. spended ns of soldiers, Batterin; it the Battering rams are often houscil beneath 4 protective reof to guard the soldiers _frowe archers om the castle walls.ES SN Se Bombarding Your Castle A Bair Fight? As-well as trying to break through the castle's walls, an enemy . If you believe there is anything honourable about a castle siege, then think again. might also bombard the castle with missiles launched from f Sieges are supposed to be governed by the rules of chivalry, and they usually are enormous siege engines. Here are three different types of siege ( wat the scart, Before hostilities begin, attackers should offer che castle a chance engine you need to watch our for. to surrender. If this is accepted, then che castle inhabitants should be allowed to leave the castle unharmed, If the castle doesn’t surrender within a specified time, ; _. however, the siege begins. After that, che besiegers will do anything to capture Trebuchets B the castle - and defenders will do everything they can to hold on to it. The trebucher is the most powerful of all siege engines and can hurl stones weighing 90 kilograms up to 275 metres, Treachery Castles can be betrayed by traitors within them. Ir happened during the siege of Antioch in 1098. Despire months of bombardment, the attackers Mangonel cw \ could ot break inro the eiry. Finally, ‘The mangonel, like the rrebucher, isa \ 3 they bribed a guard, who let chem kind of giant catapule. Iris lighter and E < l climb the city walls ar night. more manoeuvrable than the trebucher. , Ichappened again in 1480, during the siege of Rhodes, when someone inside the island fortress signalled to cheir friends in the besieging army and the : city was nearly caprured. Ballista The ballista is like a giant crossbow Iris less powerful but much more a curate ~ and it's quicker to reset after it’s been fired. 24Let’s look at some real-life sieges from the 13th century. How well did the castle defer designing your castle. ses work? Whar tac s did both sides use? This could help us when it comes to Setbing the scene ‘After the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Norman Conquest, King William I had conquered the Saxons and ruled over England and Normandy ~ as did the next five kings who came after him. There followed many battles between England and France: the English kings tried to take over large areas of France and the French kings tried to reclaim their lands, me 5 = 3 Monarchs of 5 E g : England frane = = = ie 1066-1300 T1OOce 1200ce 1300ce Kings relied on noblemen to fight battles and defend lands on their behalf. William the Conqueror had made lots of his Norman followers into nobles called “barons, and they buile strong castles in order to show off their power and keep control of the people. But because the barons were so powerful, it was important to keep them happy = which not every king managed to do .. So, in the 13th century the English kings were fighting battles against France and sometimes fighting against their own barons too. Let’s look at some of the sieges which took place in the 1200s to learn more and to see how having goad castle defences can change the course of history! 26 Our first famous siege began in 1203, when King John was on the throne of England. He also ruled Normandy, where Castle Gaillard is located. The castle was held by che baron Roger de Lacy, who was loyal co King John. King Philip II of France wanted to conquer Normandy and take it back from King John, bue to-do so he needed to capture Castle Gaillard. Could he get through the castle’s many layers of defences? Castle Gaillard has formidable defences: built cn a high hill above the River Seine. its keep is protected by a triangular barbican and two curtain walls. King John fact file Youngest son of King Henry II 4 Became King after his brother Richard I (‘Richard the Lionheart) | @ Ruled from 1199-1216 @ Agreed co sign Magna Carta (sce p32) First, the English defenders of the castle tried to prevent King Philip's forces from crossing the river. Your Mojesty, the English have destrayed the bridge.Philip uses boats to form a bridge E will 1 destroy our Soon the French forces have crossed the nver and surrounded the castle. The English commander of the castle, Roger de Lacy, and his wife Maud ore worried needed for should leo Then we will mouths to feed. While the siege is being fought above ground, French soldiers ore quietly beginning o tunnel The French have made if into the outer bailey, but still hove onother two walls to get through ‘Quiek! Let's open the gate so we can let our soldiers through! The ladders are too short! We are done forbee ee ed ee aad After he lost Normandy to King Philip of France, things just got worse for King John. Back in England, che barons rebelled against him and John had co go to war with them to defend his place on the throne. This newspaper-style account of the siege of Rochester Castle will cell you mote, as well as showing how crucial itis for your castle to have a really strong keep, THE TOWN CRIER Wednesday Ith October 1215 |eould climb W” You realize tht How did you get You don't want to know, Your Majesty’ How are we gaing to get through that? : woll, using thot ‘ 03 cover! KING JOHN LAYS SIEGE TO ROCHESTER Rebel barons holed up at Rochester were fighting for their lives last night as King | John’s forces began assaulting the mighty walls of the eastle with a deadly barrage of After the final wall is breached. the castle quickly falls. On 6th March 1 204, affer on So-whar lesson can we leam from eight-month siege, Roger de Lacy ond his che fll of Casele Gaillard? Keep rocks and stones, fellow defenders surrender to King Philip. ARIGHT ROYAL ROW The spat between che King and his barons kicked off back in 1204 when John lost most of his lands in Normandy and France. To gee an eye out for miners digging secret tunnels, and watch our for unguarded entry points! Of course every castle needs garderobes, but we should make sure that they can them back he needed money, so he hit the barons with a huge tax bill. The angry barons struck back by forcing the King co agree to a list of demands called ‘Magna Carta! all be seen from the turrets or are obstructed by iron barsWhen John tried to back our of the agreement, the barons threatened to hand the English throne to Prince Louis of France. For John, that was the final straw, He decided to march on the barons’ seronghold in London. In his way lay Rochester Castle ... BRIDGE DESTROYED When the King's men entered the city last Sunday night, their first act was to wreck the bridge over the River Medway to foil any reliefefforts aimed at saving the rebel barons. They then sacked Rochester Cathedral, before laying siege to the casele. STATE OF THE REBELS There’s no word as yer from. rebel chief William d’Aubigny, Lord of Belvoir, But our chronicler on the scene, Roger of Wendover, estimates there are between 95 and 140 knights surrenely inside the castle, along with crossbowmen, sergeants, foot soldiers and others. According to eyewitnesses, the King has no less than five siege engines trained on the fortress, supported by archers and _crossbowmen, and they're giving it everything they've got “We will break down those walls, make no mistake!” vowed Captain Savari de Mauléon of the royal army. One of the copies of Magna Carta signed in 1205 WHAT IS MAGNA CARTA? Magna Carta is a list of rules and promises. Ie says thar everybody has to obey the law, including the monarch. Tt also says thar all ‘free men’ have the Fight to justice and a fair trial, A source close to King John has Suggested he didn't think Magna Carta was very important when he signed it, but ic is already proving to be of great national importance. Sth November 1215 ROYAL ARMY BREACHES CASTLE WALL! Forces loyal to King Jo Rochester Castle final the climax of a ferocious three-weel hn were cheering last night as the oats y fell and they captured the bailey. It k campaign involving siege engines, crossbow fire and risky tunnelling. TUNNEL TRIUMPH Ye order you to make, by day Bae night, ‘all the pickaxes you can and send them to us at Rochester with all speed? “That was the King’s orden, sent out to all the blacksmiths of Canterbury on 14th October, Within days the tunnelling tools began co arrive and the miners got wo work, digging patiently beneath che cascle walls while the trebuchets and mangonels kept the defenders distracted. Yesterday the tunnel was complete and the soldiers poured through, quickly overwhelming the defenders. The keep ie square, aneasnerinng 21 by 21 metres, RETREAT TO THE KEEP ‘The besieged barons have now taken refuge in the keep. Royalist officer William Marshal, Ist Earl of Poles is optimistic char the battle is ca ly won. “We'll flush them out of there by the weekend: he predicts. with rurrets at each corner. We LEARNING FROM THE PAST