A
typical castle had a stone building of about four floors [a keep]
on a small, steep hill. Later it also had an open area surrounded
by a stone curtain-wall with towers at the corners. Around the
outside of the wall were ditches and banks and perhaps a moat. One
traveled over these via a drawbridge let down at the gatehouse of
the enclosing wall. On either side of the gatehouse were chambers
for the guards. Arrows could be shot through slits in the
enclosing walls. Inside the enclosed area might be stables, a
granary, barracks for the soldiers, and workshops. The only winter
feed was hay, for which the horses, breeding animals, milk-cow,
and work-oxen had a priority over other animals. The bulk of the
cattle were usually slaughtered and salted.
The castle building typically was entered by an outer wood
staircase to the guard room on the second floor. The first
[ground] floor had a well and was used as a storehouse and/or
dungeons for prisoners. The second floor had a two-storied great
hall, with small rooms and aisles around it within the thick
walls. There was also a chapel area on the second floor. There
were small areas of the third floor which could be used for
sleeping. The floors were wood and were reached by a spiral stone
staircase in one corner of the building. Sometimes there was a
reservoir of water on an upper level with pipes carrying the water
to floors below.
Pages:
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118