Castles were fortified structures built across Europe during the Middle Ages for protection from enemies. They were constructed by wealthy nobles and lords to house their families and workers. While initially made from dirt, timber, and stone, castles evolved over 900 years into large fortresses with multiple defenses against sieges. The advent of gunpowder in the 14th century diminished their military effectiveness, leading to the end of widespread castle construction.

1. ...you may remember me from other monument presentations such as:

The Eiffel Tower and Other Overpriced French Attractions
and

Stonehenge: Large Rocks
Today, I'll be talking to you about castles.

2. Castles
Roberto Vargas

3. What Are Castles?

Castles are fortified structures that were built in Europe during the Middle Ages.
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They were built in times of war for protection from enemies.
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Nobles and lords lived there, along with their families and workers.
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Castles were built across Europe for over 900 years.

4. Why Were They Made?
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As Europe grew weak after the fall of the Carolingian Empire, lords needed to
protect their people from enemies.
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They began constructing castles big enough to hold themselves, their families,
their staff, etc.
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Eventually, some became big enough to hold even an entire community
inside.
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Some kings and lords made them to show off their power and strength.

5. When Were They Made?
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Castle construction came to a stop when gunpowder was invented, around
the 14th century.
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The earliest castles are from the late 9th /early 10th century.
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Probably the oldest castle in Europe is the castle of Prague, built around 880.
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There is even a castle-like fortification in Syria from around 3000 BC.

6. Who Made Castles?
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Castles were very expensive to make and maintain due to the amount of
workers and materials needed.
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Because of this, only rich lords and nobles could afford it.
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Before constructing, they had to get a signed permission from the king.
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Castles cost, more or less, €2700 per m2.

7. How Were Castles Constructed?
Different steps had to be followed:
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A lord or noble that wanted to build a castle had to choose a good place to build it on,
usually on a hill.
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Workers had to be brought in, even from far away places. There could be as much as
2000 workers building at the same time.
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Even with such a large work force, castles took 7 to 12 years to complete, the biggest
castles taking 20 years.
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Kings could have parts added to their castles (later).
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Castles were made with resources inside them to use in the case of an attack.

8. What Were They Made With?
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The first castles were made only with dirt and mud, as they were easy to
build.
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They were also made with timber, which was effective to stop arrows but
could easily burn.
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When people realized this, they began constructing with stone in the 12th
century.

9. What Were Sieges?
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Sieges were attacks on enemy castles.
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The main components were siege towers. These were high towers from which
enemies could attack castles. The largest ones held 200 men and 10 catapults.
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Enemies threw any kind of weapon at castles: burning arrows, large stones,
rotting carcasses, etc.
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The fight would continue until the attackers had gained control over the
defenders or if the attackers had suffered many deaths, then they would
retreat.

10. How Did Castles Resist Sieges?
Castles resisted attacks from enemies in many ways:
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Castles were built on hills to spot enemies from far away.
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Around a castle were a certain number of lines of defense, from one to four
[moats, walls, etc.]
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The outermost wall was the curtain wall. The innermost was the enceinte.
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Castles had merlons and arrowslits from which archers could shoot enemies.

12. What Was A Keep?
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A keep was a large tower used as a dungeon or as fortress.
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'Twas the most defended part of the castle. Because of this, it was usually the
main living area in a castle.
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It could also have an armory, a food supply, and a well, in order to survive in
case of a siege.

13. What Was A Moat?
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Moats were deep ditches around a castle which could be filled with water or
could be empty.
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They were made to make enemy sieges less effective on the castle. Enemies
usually used siege towers to attack, but they had to be next to a castle to be
effective.
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Some water-filled moats were made wider, resembling a lake around the
castle. These are called “water castles”.

14. How Were Castles Inside?
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Castles often had a large number of rooms. These included a knighting room,
a safe room, a chapel, a storage cellar, and a torture chamber. Most of them
were very decorated.
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The most important room was the lord's. He had servants and doctors around
him constantly. His bed was the most precious item in a castle.
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Restrooms had small passages through which remains fell to the outside or in
some cases to a special room that often had to be cleaned, manually.

15. Who Worked In Castles?
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There were hundreds of people working in a castle.
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Each one performed a specific job for which they had trained that helped
make the castle a better place.
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Depending on the castle, thousands of people could fit inside them.
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There could be cooks, torturers, peasants, merchants, cleaners, etc.

16. How Were Dinners?
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Meals were served in a large dining room with a separate table for the lord and his
family and friends.
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Instead of plates, they used slices of bread on which the food was served. They also
didn't use utensils (until the XVII century).
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Cooks used spices and salt, but not too much (only because it was fashionable).
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Jugglers, acrobats and buffoons entertained the people during the meals.
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Peasants ate in a separate building and with food not as wonderful as the lord's.

17. How Did People Have Fun?
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The most popular activities were jousting matches, sword fights, and hunting.
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An interesting activity was bear fighting. People would pay to have their dogs
fight a chained bear. If the bear roared, the dog's owner would win a prize.
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Other usual activities were arm-wrestling matches, wrestling, dice games,
cock fights, and puppet shows.

18. How Were Criminals Punished?
The Middle Ages were bad times to commit crimes. This is why:
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Traitors and the highest criminals were executed. They could be hanged, tied to
a chair and thrown to the water to drown, or be crushed with stones.
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Traitors were cut open and their hearts were removed. They were then cut into
separate pieces to be shown in public, mainly the cut-off head.
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Enemies could be captured and held for ransom. If the fee wasn't paid, they
were left in a dungeon and were forgotten. They would die of starvation.
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Less dangerous criminals were exposed in public to be laughed at and ridiculed.

19. Alcázar of Segovia
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It is found in Segovia, Spain.
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The Alcázar was first mentioned in 1120, although it could be older.
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A fire destroyed most of it in 1862. It was later rebuilt, but not exactly as it was.
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It has served as a royal castle and residence, a prison, an artillery college, a
military academy and is now a tourist attraction.

20. The Castle of Prague
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It is found in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic.
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The castle of Prague is the largest castle in the world. It is 570 m long and
around 130 m wide (~74100 m2).
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It is currently a tourist attraction and the office of the Czech president.
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It has also been used as office by kings, Holy Roman emperors, and
Czechoslovakian presidents.

21. Windsor Castle
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The castle is found in the British community of Berkshire.
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It is the largest uninhabited castle in the world, measuring 44965 m2.
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It was built by William the Conqueror in 1066.
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It is one of the three residences the Queen uses, but mostly on weekends.

22. Why Did People Stop Making Them?
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Around the 14th century, gunpowder was invented.
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Even the best stone castles couldn't resist canon shots.
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People continued until the 18th century, when people realized they were
useless and expensive.