What is a keep in a Norman castle?
keep, English term corresponding to the French donjon for the strongest portion of the fortification of a castle, the place of last resort in case of siege or attack.
How did the Normans protect their castles?
The defenders could fire missiles through gaps (crenels). The raised sections between, called merlons, helped to shelter the defenders during an enemy attack. These were stone boxes that projected from the walls of castles and had holes in the floors for dropping stones or boiling oil on attackers.
Did the Normans have castles?
After their victory at the Battle of Hastings, the Normans settled in England. They constructed castles all over the country in order to control their newly-won territory, and to pacify the Anglo-Saxon population. These early castles were mainly of motte and bailey type.
What type of castles did the Normans build first to keep control?
The Normans were master castle builders. After 1066, England witnessed a massive castle building programme on the orders of William the Conqueror. First, motte and bailey castles were built. Once William had firmly established his rule in England, he built huge stone keep castles.
What were battlements used for?
The function of battlements in war is to protect the defenders by giving them something to hide behind, from which they can pop out to launch their own missiles.
What are medieval keeps?
A keep (from the Middle English kype) is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility.
How did the Normans improve castles?
The Normans built motte and bailey castles to begin with. These castle were quick to build using just earth and timber. Later, once William the Conqueror, the leader of the Normans, had firmly established his rule in England, the Normans built huge stone keep castles.
Why did we stop building castles?
Why did they stop building castles? Castles were great defences against the enemy. However, when gunpowder was invented the castles stopped being an effective form of defence. By the end of the 1300s gunpowder was widely in use.
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