Ask Me Everything'5

Why did medieval people build castles?

Great Hall:

The grandest room in the castle, used for banguets

Military paradę

■se&sees:

cosmetics

including sp    p_erfumes,

_(hennaand ro J _qP _on

Lord's rooms.

Guard room:

Where soldiers ate, slept, and relaxed

Murder hole:

Designed for pouring boiling water or oil on the heads of attackers

Basement:

Used for storage

Castles were fortified houses where kings and lords lived with their families, soldiers, and servants. They were built to provide shelter from enemy armies and to show off the

wealth and power of the people who lived inside them—the bigger the castle, the morę important you were.

Quick guide to castle building

Tell me morę: inside a castle

In medieval Europę, castles usually contained lavish private rooms for the lord and his guests, as well as a chapel, storerooms, and a Great Hall for entertaining.

The first medieval w X castles in Europę were built of wood, usually on top of a smali mound.

Later, castles were w u built of stone with a central sąuare tower (keep).

Stone castles then Uo began to sprout to wers and battlements.

f\JI European soldiers Ua adapted Muslim castle-building techniąues after the Crusades—w ars between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East.

^he ^most important w w castle in England was the Tower of London (above), built by William the Congueror.

Agra Fort, India

Built for the Mughal emperors of India.

Carcassone,France

A medieval fortified city consisting of two ramparts and 53 towers.

Himeji Castle, Japan

Towering Japanese castle famous for its white wails.

Krak des Chevaliers, Syria

The largest and most formidable of the crusader castles.

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