Castle
Windsor Castle in England.
Alcázar of Segovia in Spain.
A castle is a defensive structure seen as one
of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The
term has a history of scholarly debate sur-
rounding its exact meaning, but it is usually
regarded as being distinct from the general
terms fort or fortress in that it describes a
residence of a monarch or noble and com-
mands a specific defensive territory.
Roman forts and hill forts were the main
antecedents of castles throughout Europe,
which emerged in the 9th century in the
Carolingian Empire. The advent of cannon
and gunpowder in the mid 13th century
changed the needs of warfare in Europe, lim-
iting the effectiveness of the castle and lead-
ing to the rise of the fort.
Similar constructions in Russia (Kremlin)
and feudal Japan (Shiro) are also considered
castles.
Definition
Etymology
The Norman "White Tower", the keep of the
Tower of London, exemplifies all uses of a
castle: city defence, a residence, and a place
of refuge in times of crisis.
Moorish Alhambra, in Spain demonstrates a
fortress evolving into the Palace of Charles V
after the Reconquista.
Castle is derived from the Latin word castel-
lum. This
is a diminutive of the word
castrum, which means "fortified place". The
Old English castel, the French château, Span-
ish castillo, the Italian castello, as well as
other European words for castle derive from
castellum.[1] The word "castle" was intro-
duced into English shortly before the Norman
Conquest to denote this type of fortress, then
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Castle
1
new to England, brought in by the Norman
knights whom Edward the Confessor had
sent for to defend Herefordshire against the
Welsh.
A French castle is a Château-Fort, as in
French a simple château connotes a grand
country house at the heart of an estate, with
non-military,
purely
residential
function.
When European castles were opened up and
expanded into pleasure dwellings and power
houses from the late 15th century, their
"castle" designations, relics of the feudal age