4. castles

Question 1

burhs

Answer 1

defended towns

Question 2

what are burh-geats?

Answer 2

smaller defended sites built by thegns

Question 3

archeologist dig of a burh-geat at goltho

Answer 3

-egg-shaped enclosure
-size of a football pitch
-thegn’s hall where he feasted with his followers
-separate kitchen
-buildings where the thegn and his family slept

-two-metre-deep ditch and a two-metre-high earth bank surrounded enclosure

Question 4

where is it possible that many anglo-saxons thegns lived?

Answer 4

-fortified enclosures surrounded by banks and ditches
-impressive multi-storeyed gatehouse at the entrance

Question 5

what do historians think that burh-geats were for?

Answer 5

to show the status of their owners

Question 6

why did a peterborough monk complain in the anglo-saxon chronicle that some norman friends of edward the confessor were causing trouble in _______? (and when?)

Answer 6

1051(heredforshire)
-the normans had built huge mounds of earth topped with wooden towers and surrounded by a wooden palisade
-there was no english word to describe the new buildings, so the monk used a foreign word - castle

Question 7

what were the earliest castles in england & why were they built?

Answer 7

-the three mottes built in herefordshire during the 1050s
-they were built to help edward the confessor in his power struggle with earl godwin

Question 8

the castle at pevensy:

Answer 8

-when will invaded england in
sept 1066 he landed at pevensey
-in the third century AD the romans had built a huge fort here, by 1066, it was in ruins, but the massive walls and towers still provided useful defences for the norman army
-the normans strengthened the roman defences

Question 9

hastings castle

Answer 9

-soon after the castle at pevensey, the normans built another castle at hastings
-they used the same approach that they had adopted at pevensey, creating a strongly defended site in the corner of an iron age fort
-this time, the normans seem to have built a motte

Question 10

hints about the castle at hastings from the bayeux tapestry

Answer 10

-timber palisade on top of the motte, tower inside the palisade
-the five men building the motte seem to be using picks and shovels
-the motte has been embroidered with stripes in different colours

Question 11

castle-building after the battle of hastings (castles w/o mottes, purpose of castles, when castles began to be built)

Answer 11

-during autumn of 1066, castles were
important in the norman invasion and conquest of england
-normans started to build fortifications as soon as they arrived

eg: used them to secure the south-east of the country

-some of these early castles were motte and baileys, but not all
-fortifications without mottes were called ‘ringworks’ built into the corner of existing fortifications
-normans built whatever was easiest and most effective in order to conquer england

Question 12

who did william leave in charge of his kingdom when he went to normandy in march 1067 and what did they do?

Answer 12

william fitzOsbern & odo
-these men, based at dover & winchester, began to build more castles across the south of england

the anglo-saxon chronicle recorded:
-‘they built castles…throughout the land’

Question 13

why did the new norman castles cause suffering?

Answer 13

-the english were often forced by norman lords to build castles by
-in towns, sometimes hundreds of houses were demolished to create space for a new castle
-in some places, norman soldiers may have ridden out from a castle, committing acts of plunder, rape and violence against local people
-it is likely that castles soon became a detested symbol of norman rule

Question 14

when did chroniclers record risings against the norman castle-builders?

Answer 14

as early as 1067

Question 15

castle at york

Answer 15

-before the norman conquest, york was the most important city in the north of england
-william built a motte & bailey castle there
-motte was over 60 metres wide at its base
-in 1069 william strengthened the castle & built another motte

Question 16

how did william protect the road to the north?

Answer 16

-he built royal castles at lincoln & cambridge
-they also reminded the local population of the king’s power and of his right to rule

Question 17

william & sussex

Answer 17

-will divided sussex into six new lordships and granted these to different barons who each built a castle
-these castles were vital in protecting the routes from normandy to london

Question 18

what castles made of and why?

Answer 18

-timber, they could be made quickly

-a small number of the early castles, were built in stone (very expensive to build but they demonstrated the wealth and power of the lord that built it)

Question 19

was the layout and construction of motte and bailey castles fixed?

Answer 19

no, it varied from place to place

Question 20

how many early castles were ringworks?

Answer 20

up to a quarter

Question 21

what are ringworks?

Answer 21

simple enclosures of earth and timber, often built into the corner of an existing fortress

Question 22

how many castles had been built in england by 1071 & what had they done?

Answer 22

around 35 castles, these had played an important role in enforcing norman rule

Question 23

from the years between 1071 and 1087, what new phase had the norman conquest entered?

Answer 23

settling the land & keeping the country under control

Question 24

how many castles were there by 1087?

Answer 24

500 castles

Question 25

what did william order in 1080?

Answer 25

the building of motte and bailey castles on the sites of the roman forts at cardiff and newcastle

Question 26

who were most of the castles built between 1071 and 1087 built/owned by?

Answer 26

the kings barons and knights

Question 27

what did william give his barons after the defeat of english rebellions & what did this do?

Answer 27

-huge blocks of land, he told them to keep control of their territories
-the barons then granted land to their knights in return for military service

Question 28

features of castles

Answer 28

-hall
-palisade
-ramparts
-bailey
-gatehouse
-bridge
-moat
-tower
-motte

Question 29

traditional interpretations of the use & origin of a castle? (early 20th century)

Answer 29

-normans were the first to build mottes in england
-they played an important military role in the norman conquest

Question 30

revisionist interpretations of the use & origin of a castle? (1960s)

Answer 30

-some people began to question the military interpretation of castles
-archaeologists began discovered that many of the earliest norman castles were ringworks
-these were also built by the anglo-saxons, leading some archaeologists to suggest that norman castle-building was not particularly new
-other revisionist historians began to examine the features of remaining stone castles discovered that many were quite weak
-they argued that castles must have been more about showing off the status of the owner than about serious defence

Question 31

recent interpretations of the use of a castle? (21st century)

Answer 31

-in recent years, some historians have argued that the revisionist interpretation has gone too far
-they think early norman castles were more than expressions of status and power
-castles were military fortresses that played a crucial role in the norman occupation of england after 1066
-early norman castles were heavily-defended sites containing garrisons of norman cavalry which could have inflicted great damage on the local english populations

Question 32

archeologists findings about the exeter castle gatehouse

Answer 32

-the gatehouse was built facing into the city
-large gateway with wooden doors
-above the entrance was a chamber with two large triangular-headed windows (anglo-saxon design)

Question 33

what have archaeologists and historians argued about the exeter gatehouse?

Answer 33

-not a defensive structure
-its design was like the wooden gatehouses of the saxon thegns which were intended to show the status of their owners

Question 34

how can archaelogists study castles although early norman castles weren’t built of stone?

Answer 34

by studying earthworks

Question 35

what were the two types of earthworks?

Answer 35

-ringworks
-mottes

Question 36

mottes

Answer 36

-often built from soil thrown up from a surrounding ditch
-sometimes stood alone, but were often linked to one, or sometimes two, baileys

Question 37

in the 1980s, how did archaelogists begin to investigate castles?

Answer 37

by investigating the wider landscapes surrounding castles

Question 38

important findings from the landscape approach to investigating castles:

Answer 38

-more than 80 per cent of castles were located in the countryside (insufficiently defended, it was hard to find any military explanation for their location)

-most early norman castles were situated at the centre of the lord’s estate and were important centres for the administration of land

-castles were often in saxon landscapes, they were sometimes built close to burh-geats

-norman lords soon began to change the landscape around their castle to make it look more impressive (eg: castle acre)

Question 39

castle acre

Answer 39

-in 1066, there was already a settlement and church there
-around 1070, a norman lord built a castle here
-in the early 1080s, he brought a small community of monks to castle acre who began to build a priory nearby
-in the early twelfth century, the de warenne family created a more impressive castle as a symbol of their wealth and power
-they created a deer park and even diverted a roman road to give more impressive views of their castle

Question 40

archaeological digs as a way of understanding castles

Answer 40

-archaeological digs can reveal a lot about early timber castles
-excavations are expensive and only a few sites have been investigated in this way

Question 41

hen domen

Answer 41

-castle which has been studied in great detail over many years
-built by one of william the conqueror’s closest friends

Question 42

summary of discoveries about hen domen

Answer 42

-at the top of the motte, archaeologists found the foundations of a large tower which would’ve given a view of surrounding areas by

-the castle was defended by double ramparts and deep ditches (very difficult to attack)

-few finds like jewellery and coins (lack of luxury items revealed that hen domen was an important military site, manned by knights and soldiers who lived in tough conditions, not a castle to show off)

Question 43

when do historians think that the tower of london was built?

Answer 43

between 1075 and 1079

Question 44

what was the purpose of the tower of london?

Answer 44

-main fortress
-royal palace
-centre of govenment

Question 45

features of the tower of london

Answer 45

fake upper floor:
windows gave the illusion of an upper floor, there was just a roof and a narrow walkway where norman soldiers patrolled

the second floor:
-contained the king’s apartments
-a spiral staircase was the only access to the second floor

the entrance floor:
-above ground level
-a wooden staircase could be removed if the castle was under attack

the basement:
-used as a store, included a well which ensured a supply of water