Читать реферат по английскому: "Charles Viii Essay Research Paper In 1494" Страница 1

(Назад) (Cкачать работу)

Charles Viii Essay, Research Paper

In 1494 the armies of the French king, Charles VIII, invaded Italy to capture the kingdom of Naples. They swept through the

country and bombarded and destroyed many castles. This invasion signaled the end of the castle as a stronghold of defense.

For centuries it had been the dominant fortification in Western Europe for the defense of kings, nobility, and townspeople.

Ancient cities were often walled to keep out invaders, and within the walls there was usually a citadel, a strongly built

fortification occupying the highest or militarily most advantageous position. A castle is much like such a walled city and its

citadel contracted into a smaller space.

Castles were basically fortified locations. The word itself comes from the Latin castellum. Up to the 6th century fortifications

were primarily communities in which most of the population lived. But in the middle of the 6th century, the armies of the

Byzantine Empire began to build strong forts as defensive positions. For the next few centuries this castle building was confined

to the Byzantine Empire, but later hordes of Islamic warriors who swept out of Arabia to conquer the Middle East, North

Africa, and much Byzantine territory also started building such forts.

Western Europe, in the depths of the Dark Ages from the 5th through the 9th century, had no such works. But late in the 9th

century, as local lords and kings began to consolidate power, castle building began probably in France. Once begun, castle

building spread rapidly to other areas. But it was not until the 12th and 13th centuries, after the Crusaders returned from their

wars against Islam in Palestine, that castles as imposing as those of the Byzantine or Islamic empires were constructed in

Europe. Many of the stone castles of the late Middle Ages still stand. Some are tourist attractions, in various states of repair,

along the Rhine River from Mainz to Cologne in Germany, dotted about the French countryside, or perched on hilltops in

Spain.

The original French castles had been built on open plains. Later ones, however, were situated on rocky crags, at river forks, or

in some position where advancing enemies would find approach extremely difficult, if not impossible. The fortifications became

more elaborate with time, with considerable attention paid to making the living quarters more comfortable.

A typical castle was usually guarded on the outskirts by a surrounding heavy wooden fence of sharp-pointed stakes called a

barbican_. It was intended to prevent surprise attacks by delaying the advance of assailants and giving those within the castle

compound time to prepare to resist and attack.

Inside the barbican stretched the lists, or wards: strips of land that encircled the castle. The lists served as a road in time of

peace and as a trap in war; once within the barbican the enemy was in the range of arrows shot from the castle walls. In

peacetime the lists also served as an exercise ground for horses and occasionally as tournament grounds.

Between the lists and the towering outer walls of the castle itself was the moat, usually filled with water. Across it stretched a

drawbridge, which was raised every night. At the castle end of the drawbridge was the portcullis, a large sliding door made of

wooden or iron grillwork hung over the entryway. It moved up and down in grooves and was raised every day and lowered at

night. In times of danger it blocked the way to the heavy oak gates that served as doors to the castle compound. These gates

were so large that they were rarely opened except on ceremonial occasions. A smaller door was built into one of them to

provide easy entrance and exit for those who lived in the castle_. A person known as the chief porter was charged with the

responsibility of making sure that only friends passed through.

The outer walls of most castles were massively thick, sometimes as much as 15 feet. At intervals were high towers, each a small

fort in itself with provisions to withstand a long siege. When an attack was expected, wooden balconies were hung over the

outer edges of the wall.

During an attack, large stones were thrown or boiling oil poured from the balconies onto anyone trying to climb the wall. The

wall and the towers had hundreds of narrow openings through which defenders could shoot arrows and other missiles.

Inside the walls was the bailey, or courtyard. At intervals around the bailey were the stables, a carpentry shop, the shop of the

armorer and blacksmith, barracks for the men-at-arms and for servants, a chapel, and a storehouse. There was also an oven

room where the bread was baked, a kitchen, a kennel for dogs, and a well and drinking fountain_.

The largest building along the wall was the castle owner’s home. It contained the apartment for the master and his family and a

great hall. This great hall was the center of social life such as wedding feasts, banquets, and knighting ceremonies.

Within the walls there was another structure called the keep, or donjon (dungeon)_. The keep was the focal point of the castle,

the place to which, in times of attack or siege, the whole population of the castle retired if the outer defenses were failing. The

keep had its own walls and was often protected by a moat as well. It contained private apartments, service rooms, weapons

supplies, and a well to provide water.

Most keeps were rectangular structures from two to four stories high. The entrance doorway was often on the second floor,

with access by a stairway protected

Похожие работы