CKHG Grade 4 Unit 3 Lesson 8 Life in a Castle

foreign ly heard fairy tales about kings and queens and castles there's always something magical going on in the fairy tales Wizards witches and fairy godmothers are likely to be hanging around the castle casting and breaking spells castles are real however even if some of the characters in these stories are not even today you can see medieval castles all over Europe in this chapter you'll learn why people built castles and what it was like to live in one castles were designed to be fortresses Kings and some Nobles built castles to defend themselves and their states against attacks the forts were usually built on high ground this way the Defenders could look down on the attacking enemy in the Early Middle Ages people built wooden forts with wooden fences around them surrounding the fence was big ditch called moat that was often filled with water if you were attacking such fort what would you do if you answered burn it you would have made good General in the Middle Ages wooden castles were easy to build but they provided little protection against flaming arrows Kings and Nobles realized that they needed to build castles out of stone to get any real protection from Invaders it was certainly lot more work but by the year 1000 many Stone castles were being built in different parts of Europe what did stone castle look like what was it like to live and fight in one read on and find out put yourself in the place of king or Noble in the Middle Ages you need to build castle what's the first thing you're going to think about if you answered location you get an for good planning castle needed to be in place that would be possible to defend have you ever wondered why many castles were built on hilltops Hilltop was easier to defend soldiers could see their enemies coming castles had high watchtowers for spotting approaching enemies the enemies had to March up the hill while soldiers in the castle used weapons against them from above most castles were surrounded by tall stone walls and water-filled moat some castles had more than one moat and more than one wall draw Bridges could be lowered or raised to create or remove roadway over the moat these extra walls and moats provided additional lines of Defense some castles also had underground tunnels for moving soldiers between different parts of the castle on top of the walls there were usually walkways from which soldiers could shoot arrows or dump Boulders and hot oil down on the attacking enemy within the castle walls was central tower called keep some of the area near Castle's keep was open courtyard other areas were covered the keep was built to help people hold out for long time against an enemy who surrounded the castle in or near the keep were Stables workshops large oven and kitchen there was well for water and stalls for farm animals there were also store rooms where grains and other Foods were kept these stores were not unlimited however many people Kings Nobles servants and soldiers lived inside castle unless food and supplies were replaced they would eventually be used up the chickens would stop laying eggs and the cows would stop giving milk still people could survive behind Castle's walls for many months castles were strong forts but well-armed patient attackers could take castle the battering ram was one method used by attackers many soldiers were required to hold up huge log that was banged against the heavy iron-clad Castle doors until the doors broke open battering down the door was difficult Castle doors were strong and the men holding up the battering ram were under constant attack from defending soldiers high on the castle walls attackers also shot flaming arrows into the keep the walls may have been Stone but Castle still had buildings within made out of wood they also had hay in the Staples and other items that could catch fire sometimes attackers would dig tunnels under the stone walls and weaken them to point of collapse nevertheless since castles were so strong direct attack rarely worked most attackers relied on Siege or blockade to win in Siege an attacking Army would surround the castle so that food weapons and other supplies could not reach the people inside castles were prepared for sieges but after weeks their supplies would run out then the attackers would attempt to take over the castle attackers used Siege Towers tall wooden towers that rolled on Wheels and could hold soldiers these towers were rolled up to the castle walls soldiers climbed up the towers and over the castle walls nevertheless castle was strong Fortress small army inside could hold out for quite while against much larger attacking Force sometimes what decided the battle was action outside the castle king or Noble Under Siege would try to get word to other vassals to come to his Aid an army surrounding the castle had to be prepared to fight both the castle troops and another Army castles were very expensive to build but that doesn't mean that they were very comfortable to live in in fact by today's standards living in an early Castle would have been awful these castles were cold drafty and even smelly places many people lived in castle but few of them had their own rooms or apartments most people lived and ate in the Great Hall the largest room in the castle in early castles the king or Noble and his family might have had beds in the corner of the hall everyone else slept on the floor often piling any clothes they happened to have Under and Over themselves for warmth the Great Hall was also used for meals again only very important people would probably have had chairs to sit in and everyone else would have sat on long benches alongside tables after everyone had eaten the tables were put aside to provide room to sleep some early Halls did not even have fireplaces an open fire was built in Stone Hearth in the center of the room it was probably more like camping than luxury living it was hard to keep these castles clean dogs were allowed to run free in the Great Hall there were no flush toilets just closets built into the edges of walls waste fell into pits or moats along the outside of the castle the most privileged occasionally took bass and washed their hands but servants did not have many chances to wash over time castles did become more comfortable especially for the Kings and Nobles who lived in them fireplaces were added more people had beds in their own bedrooms cold stone walls were hung with tapestries or even paneled with wood to cut down on drafts the Great Hall was still center of activity though musical performers storytellers and jugglers entertain people while they ate dinner and long into the evening too various forms of entertainment were especially important during the dark winter nights when the only source of light and warmth in the castle came from the fire in the Great Hall castles were so well constructed that many still stand nearly thousand years after they were built Castle Building changed along with advances in weapons and warfare during the Middle Ages during the Early Middle Ages foot soldiers used bows and arrows as their main weapon you can see how those thick castle walls would be good defense against bow and arrow but toward the end of the Middle Ages the use of cannons in battle made it easier to break down Castle's walls can you imagine what it must have been like to be inside castle that was being hit by cannonballs