Medieval Houses

Serfs’ Huts and Lords’ Castles

Serf Huts

• Houses were usually built out of wood, dirt, mud, and straw• Most homes had one room, the wealthier serfs may have had a 2-room home• The floor was made from packed dirt• Windows were very small, the huts were dirty and drafty• Many huts had a stable nearby, but if not, the serfs had to take some livestock in at night

Castles

• Very expensive to build, often took a long time to complete

• Many people lived in a castle, not just a lord and his family

Why Build a Castle?

• Castles were fortified homes that could withstand a major attack

• Powerful lords built castles because they were constantly threatened by enemies

• Castles were built of strong, sturdy materials and designed for defense

• If a castle was under attack, the people inside could live for weeks on stored food and water

Motte and Bailey Castle

• Early castles relied on the surrounding landscape to provide much of the protection

• made of wood and built on hills or "mottes“• These fortifications proved very easy to burn • Stone was used more often after Battle of

Hastings

A Typical Stone Castle

What Does a Castle Include?

• Keep: inner stronghold; lord’s residence

• Kitchen• Chapel• Great Hall: where most

castle events took place• Towers: connect stretches

of wall, serve as lookouts• Gatehouse: Fortified

entrance into the castle

The Castle Keep

• Often contained not only the lord’s residence but also the chapel, great hall, and kitchen

• The Keep was supposed to be the safest place in the castle

Keep Interior

• Dark, had small windows

• Stuffy, hot in the summer and cold in the winter

• Often quite dirty, lower floors were usually rat-infested

The Great Hall

• Large room for dining and entertaining

• Usually the most decorated room in the castle– They hung carpets on the walls, but never

put them on the floor

• In early castles, nobles used sheets to divide the hall into smaller rooms

The Castle Chapel

• Located very close to, if not inside, the keep

• Lord and guests would go here at least once a day for prayer

• Some were decorated, others were not

Designed for Defense

• Moat: water or sewage-filled trench surrounding the castle

• Gatehouse: funnels castle visitors through fortified entrance

• Drawbridge: can be raised or lowered to control castle traffic

• Battlement: thin, saw-toothed wall that protects defenders during battle

• Tower: helped defend the rampart and castle wall

Label the Medieval Castle

• Keep• Chapel• Tower• Gatehouse• Drawbridge• Battlement• moat

Castles across Europe

The Tower of London

• Built in part by William the Conqueror, actually a series of buildings and towers built over 200 years

• White tower is in the middle, 13 towers surround the perimeter

• Used as a fortress, royal palace, and prison

The Tower of London (cont.)

• Has a sordid reputation

• Many famous people were imprisoned and executed here

• Many others were brutally tortured

• The Tower is reportedly haunted by several ghosts

• Legend of the ravens