Castles in Medieval Europe

Why were castles necessary and what were they used for?

Castles were a very important part of the medieval European times. Most castles were built in the 12th century to the 15th century. Castles were very important back then because to some people it was like their home. When you aren’t surrounded by any wall there is a high possibility to be shot by a bow and arrow. Castles could be said as homes to some people because that’s where they felt safe and protected. Castles were used as a wall of defense and protection. They were also very important to the king and his nobles so that they could have power to control all of the land and also to protect themselves from foreign invaders. This is why most of the castles are built on hills so they can see the whole city for land and attacks. Castles were mainly built in war times because they were used mainly for war and to block out enemies. When they were expecting an attack from somewhere all the gates were closed up and the drawbridge was raised up and closed.

What were castles made of?

The buildings of castles were built out of large stones, bricks and wood because those were probably the only materials that were available to them back then. Most castles were built out of strong stones and bricks. Early castles were built out of wood and on a hill. Then they found out that wood burns easily so they stopped making it out of wood and instead used stone to make it strong and efficient. Also stone wouldn’t burn so that changed castles over time. Later on castles were built out of Also they were very tall to block all enemies from coming into it and also so it could be hard for the enemies to shoot them. Castles have the walls around it dug in so there is a place for protection and to shoot from above. High walls were used to stop armies from coming in and also to provide many lookout positions for safety of the castle and all its people. Also castles would usually have a river or some sort of danger area around the whole castle to protect themselves and to stop the people from coming into it.

Why did castles come to an end?

One of the reasons castles came to an end was because when the Chinese people invented gunpowder which wrecked many castles and war was easy. They would fire a bomb at the castle then it would be blown up. Castles would then need to be upgraded so they could be able to stop guns and even cannon bombs and explosions. People were not going to pay for their castles not to be wrecked and fixed by bombs. Gunpowder and canons and explosions made the castles ineffective and later were useless and not many used them anymore.