glossary_castles_stone_txt

The first element of the castle to change under the influence of the Norman invaders was the former wooden tower, central part of the defences and the living-quarters of the seigneur. From 994, Foulques III Nerra, Comte of Anjou had the vestiges of a former seigniorial dwelling at Langeais, a keep in stone.

Its shape foretold that of the XIth and XIIth centuries. They were rectangular and generally reinforced by powerful flat battlements; only the ground floor, which had no openings and was used as a storeroom, was vaulted so as to strengthen the work and to prevent fire. The other levels, on wooden floors, were reached by ladders or by a spiral staircase built into the thickness of the wall (or in the turret joined on to the keep which was called the small keep). At the top putlogholes or consoles were supports for the wooden galleries. Around the keep, which was built on a rock or on a former motte, the XIth century defences were for the most part made up of palisades and moats.

The first keeps had at least three parts: the aula - great hall used for receptions or for giving justice; the camera or private apartment; the capella, a small chapel or a simple oratory. At the end of the XIIth century, Lambert d'Ardres, priest of a Flemish parish, gave one of the rare descriptions of this type of arrangement. The keep he described, which was built in 1120 by the engineer Maitre Simon for the seigneur Arnoul de Guines, was wooden but was on the same plan as those built in stone in the same period: "On the ground level were the store rooms containing the barrels, the jars and other domestic ustensiles; on the upper level were the apartments and the great hall; rooms used as the pantler's and cup-bearer's offices; then the great bedchamber for the seigneur and his wife, the chamber for the ladies-in-waiting and the dormitory for the servants. A room with a fireplace was used as a wash-room, a warming-room and an infirmary where the small children were kept warm. The kitchen, on two levels, was in a separate building but joined on to the keep: below, the pigsty and the henhouse and above, the kitchen. On the upper level were the bedchamber for the seigneur's sons and daughters and the room for the watchers... and the chapel, decorated with sculptures and paintings. The levels were linked by stairs and corridors."

In the XIIth century the outer defences were modified: the enceinte, which from now on encircled the keep was built in stone. It was flanked by two square or semicircular towers spaced so as to take into account the range of the arrows. A second enceinte (or chemise) sometimes protected the base of the keep.

This strengthening was essentially to ensure a better protection for the keep which, built in the most inaccessible part of the castle, was the last retreat in the centre of a concentric system of defence. As in former times, the whole of this system was aimed at discouraging the enemy by a succession of obstacles: it was still only a passive defence.

close window Xth - XIIIth CENTURY THE FIRST FORTIFIED CASTLES At right: Keep of the Castle of Loches (end of XIth, beginning of XIIth century)		All About All Crusades THE KEEP BUILT IN STONE XIIIth century IXth century

The first element of the castle to change under the influence of the Norman invaders was the former wooden tower, central part of the defences and the living-quarters of the seigneur. From 994, Foulques III Nerra, Comte of Anjou had the vestiges of a former seigniorial dwelling at Langeais, a keep in stone. Its shape foretold that of the XIth and XIIth centuries. They were rectangular and generally reinforced by powerful flat battlements; only the ground floor, which had no openings and was used as a storeroom, was vaulted so as to strengthen the work and to prevent fire. The other levels, on wooden floors, were reached by ladders or by a spiral staircase built into the thickness of the wall (or in the turret joined on to the keep which was called the small keep). At the top putlogholes or consoles were supports for the wooden galleries. Around the keep, which was built on a rock or on a former motte, the XIth century defences were for the most part made up of palisades and moats. The first keeps had at least three parts: the aula - great hall used for receptions or for giving justice; the camera or private apartment; the capella, a small chapel or a simple oratory. At the end of the XIIth century, Lambert d'Ardres, priest of a Flemish parish, gave one of the rare descriptions of this type of arrangement. The keep he described, which was built in 1120 by the engineer Maitre Simon for the seigneur Arnoul de Guines, was wooden but was on the same plan as those built in stone in the same period: "On the ground level were the store rooms containing the barrels, the jars and other domestic ustensiles; on the upper level were the apartments and the great hall; rooms used as the pantler's and cup-bearer's offices; then the great bedchamber for the seigneur and his wife, the chamber for the ladies-in-waiting and the dormitory for the servants. A room with a fireplace was used as a wash-room, a warming-room and an infirmary where the small children were kept warm. The kitchen, on two levels, was in a separate building but joined on to the keep: below, the pigsty and the henhouse and above, the kitchen. On the upper level were the bedchamber for the seigneur's sons and daughters and the room for the watchers... and the chapel, decorated with sculptures and paintings. The levels were linked by stairs and corridors." In the XIIth century the outer defences were modified: the enceinte, which from now on encircled the keep was built in stone. It was flanked by two square or semicircular towers spaced so as to take into account the range of the arrows. A second enceinte (or chemise) sometimes protected the base of the keep. This strengthening was essentially to ensure a better protection for the keep which, built in the most inaccessible part of the castle, was the last retreat in the centre of a concentric system of defence. As in former times, the whole of this system was aimed at discouraging the enemy by a succession of obstacles: it was still only a passive defence.