Hidden Complexities of the Frankish Castle
This thesis is devoted to crusader castles and has a geographical focus on the Near Eastern regions.
Medieval Lisbon: Castelo de São Jorge
Above Lisbon’s skyline of colourful tiled houses and red roofs lies Castelo de São Jorge, a dominating, but beautiful, 11th century fortress in the heart of this vibrant city…
Halls, ‘hall-houses’ and tower-houses in medieval Ireland: disentangling the needlessly entangled
This short paper addresses what I regard as two critical issues in Irish castellological research: the definition of the ‘hall-house’, and the relationship of buildings so identified with the tower-houses of the later middle ages.
How to build a medieval fortress – the construction of Hildagsburg
What does it take to build a fortification in the 10th century?
Shell-keeps re-visited: the bailey on the motte?
This essay revisits the historiography, history and archaeology of shell-keeps, offering a critique both of past applications of the term and of the sites themselves.
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Tintagel Castle
The bleached bones of a blasted cliff-top castle, scourged by leaping sea and howling wind, Tintagel made as much from tempered dreams as carved stone still has the power to inspire.
Szczecin: Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes
My visit to Berlin included a quick stop across the border to Poland, to visit Szczecin and the Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes.
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Warwick Castle
Raised amidst the settling dust of the Norman Conquest, the traditional seat of the Earldom of Warwick has continually throughout its millennia long and oft glorious history fundamentally reinvented itself, making it the Madonna of medieval military architecture.
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Windsor Castle
At one time the greatest palace complex in Europe and a favoured haunt of the British Royal family to this day, Windsor Castle is a still living relic of a time where out of necessity, the sum of a nation’s sovereignty and a State’s very existence as a politically distinct identity rested upon a crowned head.
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Edinburgh Castle
Few indeed are those architectural legacies still remaining to us that can boast the iconic status of Edinburgh Castle, its distinctive silhouette known throughout the world, accompanied by the gently wafting of bagpipes. Far rarer still are those structures with a comparably singular influence upon the shaping of a nation.
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Dunstanburgh Castle
Few ambitions were ever so grand or manifestos so proudly proclaimed as those writ into the walls of Dunstanburgh Castle. The power of such fortifications wasn’t just limited to their considerable heft but was rooted in their role as the stronghold and home of the great men and women of the age
Motte and Bailey Castle for Sale in Wales
Own your own piece of Welsh history with your own Motte and Bailey Castle site in your garden with views over Lake Bala which comes with a superb farmhouse.
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Bamburgh Castle
Windswept and interesting, the spectacle of the venerable old man of Northumbria, Bamburgh Castle, cannot help but stoke the imagination.
Why did they stop building tower house castles in Ireland?
One of the most visible reminders of Ireland’s medieval history are the tower house castles that are scattered throughout the country. For centuries they were the homes and fortresses for the native Irish elites as well as the English and Scottish settlers. However, by the early seventeenth-century it seems that they were now being abandoned and left the fall into ruin. What happened?
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Dover Castle
Resolute and vigilant, Dover Castle yet stands guard above its ancient charge, the port of Dover. Of all the facets and functions that the castle performed in medieval society, Dover personifies its most commonly remembered and perhaps fundamental aspect, as a stronghold and place of security.
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Pembroke Castle
While Caernarvon was the ultimate manifestation of Anglo-Norman occupied Wales wrought into stone and mortar, Pembroke was its beating heart. Today ensconced upon a spur of rock, the Cleddau estuary flowing gently by, Pembroke Castle stands still, its long shadow silent and serene.
Places to See: Arundel Castle
I spent a soggy, but fun filled Sunday in Sussex at Arundel Castle during International Joust Week July 21-26th. Even without the jousting,…
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle is intimately entwined with the history of Scotland and her monarchy, a significance which is recognized and presented throughout its numerous components with admirable vigour.
Ten Castles that Made Medieval Britain: Caernarfon Castle
Perhaps more than any other castle found within the British Isles, Caernarfon embodies that most terrifying of a castles aspects; a tool for the aggressive and utter domination of territory.
Was this Castle built in the Middle Ages?
Here are ten castles from around Europe. Which ones were built in medieval times, and which ones were built in more modern times?
Holt Castle in Wales reopens
Holt Castle, near Wrexham in northern Wales, was re-opened last week after the completion of a four year restoration project.
White Castle and the Dating of the Towers
Paul Remfrey makes a detailed case for dating the towers to 1229-31, and 1234-39, built by Hubert de Burgh.
Magna Carta Conference Offers New Insights Into The 800-year-old Document
Magna Carta just celebrated its 800th birthday this past Monday. In honour of this incredible milestone, King’s College London, and the Magna Carta Project, hosted a 3 day conference dedicated to this historic document.
The building of Castles and the administration of Sweden
Throughout Sweden the King began to build castles on the basis of foreign models in the middle of the 13th century. It is about the new art of castle building under Anglo-Norman and German influence.