Castles & knights
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Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
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History, Castles & knights, s.v. "Inside a castle," accessed March 19, 2024.
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Inside a castle
A late 13th-century castle had no separate keep. Instead, one of the towers was much grander than the others and contained the bedchambers for the lord and his family. Four turrets at the top of this tower served as good lookout positions for the castle garrison. Other principal rooms, including the Great Hall, solar and chapel, were housed in buildings constructed against the walls around the inner ward or bailey. It also had kitchens, an armoury and a treasure house, a forge, store rooms and stables. The castle was also well equipped to fight off attack and had a heavily fortified gatehouse containing quarters for soldiers.
Towers
The castle’s towers were designed so that, should enemy forces get inside the castle, each could be sealed off and defended independently. The main tower had two entrances, both with heavy wooden doors: one at the base, opening into the inner ward, the other at the top, and reached only from the wallwalk. There were several rooms in the tower, built one above the other and connected by a spiral staircase in one corner.
The floors were made from wooden planks nailed to heavy wooden beams called binding joists. These were either inserted into holes left in the walls by the masons, or supported by corbels, stones projecting from the walls. The planks with their supporting joists also served as the ceilings of the floors below.
Castle comforts
The main tower was where the lord and his family lived, so it was important that the rooms were as comfortable as possible. The stone walls were coated with plaster, painted, and covered with wall hangings or tapestries. The floors were strewn with reeds and sweet-smelling herbs.
The thickness of the walls would keep inside temperatures fairly even, but in winter open fires were needed to heat the rooms. Fires were lit in hearths in the middle of single-storey rooms in earlier times. Now, in rooms on upper floors, fireplaces were built into the walls with a flue that drew the smoke from the fire up to a chimney on the wallwalk.
Private apartments
The lord and lady’s private living room was called the solar. After dinner, the lord and lady would retire to this lavishly-decorated room. The lord might play a quiet game of chess in front of a roaring fire. The master bedroom was often above the solar. The lord’s servant guarded him at night, sleeping on a small bed in the same room, or on straw mat outside the door.
Bathroom and toilet
A bathroom was not essential: even the wealthiest lord would bathe no more than twice a year. Water could be heated in the kitchen and carried up in jars. Toilets, or garderobes, were built into the walls.
The garderobe was lit by a small arrow loop. They consisted of a seat made of either wood or stone above a chute leading down either directly into the moat or into a cesspit. It was the job of workers called gong farmers to clean out the pit about twice a year.
Spiral staircase
Many castle staircases spiralled upwards in a clockwise direction. This design might have favoured the castle’s defenders: it would have been easier for a swordsman (provided he was right-handed) to strike at an opponent standing lower on the stairs, whose right arm would be obstructed by the central pillar. This is likely to be a myth, however; there are a number of examples of anticlockwise spirals. And if soldiers from a besieging army managed to break into a castle it was almost certain they would quickly overrun it whichever way the staircases were constructed.
Great Hall
The Great Hall was the largest and grandest room in the castle. For this reason, special care was taken over its construction. It would serve a number of different functions. It was the general gathering and dining area for everyone in the castle. It was also the place where the lord of the castle received his guests. It functioned as an office and courtroom—the place where the lord and his steward, who was responsible for managing the castle and its estates, dealt with tenants’ disputes, received payments of rent and handed out punishments.
The Great Hall was, above all, the showpiece of the castle, the room where the lord could show off his great wealth and throw extravagant celebratory feasts. For the lowlier castle inhabitants, the floor of the Great Hall was also where they bedded down for the night.
The Great Hall was built to generous proportions: about 30 metres (100 feet) long, 10 metres (more than 30 feet) wide and 15 metres (50 feet) high. Large windows made it of the lightest spaces in the castle. At one end there was a raised platform, called a dais, where the top table—for the lord and lady and their special guests—was placed. It had a minstrels’ gallery at one end, where musicians would entertain the guests during feasts.
Well
Having a well inside the castle walls was essential, especially during sieges. One of the first acts a besieging army would do was to poison the castle’s water supply. Water was also needed to put out fires started by fiery missiles. Deep shafts, lined with stone, were dug several metres deep to the water table, the underground layer below which the rocks or soil is saturated with water. The water was raised in wooden buckets using a rope and windlass.
The bailey
The castle walls enclosed both the keep and one or more courtyards called baileys. Various workshops and other outbuildings were clustered inside the walls. The open spaces of the baileys sheltered villagers and their animals in time of war.
The bailey buildings provided essential goods and services for the castle. The blacksmith made or mended all items made of metal. The windmill ground grain into flour to make bread. The stables provided a home for the lord’s horses. The kitchens prepared food for the lord and his family, and were especially busy when banquets were held.
Consultant: Philip Parker