At the great siege of Dover Castle in 1216, 140 knights and perhaps a thousand sergeants (the medieval name for any fully-equipped soldier) defended the fortress against the French.įor hand-to-hand fighting (there was plenty of that at Dover) they'd use swords, spears and axes, with longbows and arrows to keep the enemy at a distance. The soldiers slept in a dormitory.īut when attack threatened, you'd pack as many soldiers as you could into the castle. They'd be commanded by the constable or castellan, who stood in for the owner and lived in his own rooms (there's a Constable's Gate at Dover Castle). This was just enough to open the gate, operate the portcullis and drawbridge and patrol the walls against stray robbers who tried to break in. In peacetime, a small castle might have a garrison of only a dozen soldiers or even fewer. Read more about the people of Goodrich CastleĬastles were no use without soldiers to defend them. The Earls of Northumberland's Great Tower within Warkworth Castle had its own wine-cellars, kitchens, hall, chapel and bedrooms.įor the best experience of lordly life in a castle, go to Henry II's royal palace in the keep of Dover Castle, colourfully recreated as it looked in about 1185. Some castles had their lordly living rooms in a completely separate building a castle within a castle, which could be defended even if the rest of the fortress fell. These were usually in the safest part of the castle, and only trusted servants or honoured guests were allowed in. There was great excitement (and a rapid clean-up) in 1296 when she arrived there with a long procession of carts and waggons, over 50 horses and 194 followers.Ĭastle owners always had private 'apartments', or at least a bedroom with an en-suite loo and a chamber where they welcomed visitors. Kings of England owned dozens of castles, and could never have visited them all.Ĭountess Joan de Valence, a widow, often travelled between her four castles and many manor houses, but Goodrich Castle seems to have been a favourite. The most important person in a castle was the owner -the king, lord, knight or lady.
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