Castles in Context: Power, Symbolism and Landscape, 1066 to 1500Windgather Press, 2005 - 178 pages Castle studies have been transformed in recent years with a movement away from the traditional interpretation of castles as static military structures towards a wider view of castles as aesthetic symbols of power, with a more complicated relationship with the landscape. Supported by numerous colour photographs of the most `tangible' remains of the Middle Ages, this clearly written and very accessible study makes the most current ideas about the role of the castle available to a wider and more general readership. Robert Liddiard discusses the history of castle building before and after the Norman Conquest, considering the Norman and medieval definition of the castle, and he reassesses the military defensive capabilities of castles, demolishing the idea that they were built in response to military policy. Instead, they proved a very effective means for aristocrats to display their status. Liddiard evaluates the role of the castle in warfare and the extent to which sieges played a part in conflicts before turning his attention to the varied role of the castle in the landscape (and in the lives of those who lived in and around it) and its relationship to its environment, arguing that the aesthetic setting of many castles was not a happy accident. Throughout, the study is supported by numerous case studies which examine the archaeological, architectural and historical evidence for numerous castles. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 17
Page 102
... deer park . The association between park and castle went back at least to the time of Domesday and the deer park was a backdrop common to secular and ecclesi- astical residences throughout the Middle Ages . 15 At the largest castles ...
... deer park . The association between park and castle went back at least to the time of Domesday and the deer park was a backdrop common to secular and ecclesi- astical residences throughout the Middle Ages . 15 At the largest castles ...
Page 103
... deer reared on neighbouring uplands were butchered and then transported across the kingdom.17 Although perhaps not on the same scale , evidence for deer management can be found at other castles . Where there was more than one park this ...
... deer reared on neighbouring uplands were butchered and then transported across the kingdom.17 Although perhaps not on the same scale , evidence for deer management can be found at other castles . Where there was more than one park this ...
Page 134
... deer park and would have passed the orchards and ponds before finally entering the castle through the gatehouse . Due to the present ruinous state of the building it is difficult to judge the exact spatial arrangement of the castle ...
... deer park and would have passed the orchards and ponds before finally entering the castle through the gatehouse . Due to the present ruinous state of the building it is difficult to judge the exact spatial arrangement of the castle ...
Common terms and phrases
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman Castles Anglo-Norman Studies Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Architecture and Power aristocratic attacks bailey Bodiam Bodiam Castle Boydell Press building built Castellarium Castle Acre Castle Acre Castle Castle Hedingham Castle in England castle studies castle-building Castles and Landscapes Castles in Context chapter Château-Gaillard Chronicle Conquest construction Coulson crenellate deer park defence designed landscapes Domesday Book donjon dovecote Dover Edward eleventh England and Wales example Excavations Experiencing Castles fifteenth centuries Figure fishponds fortifications fourteenth century Framlingham Framlingham Castle garden garrison gatehouse hall Hedingham Hen Domen Henry Hertfordshire King later medieval London Lordly Landscapes lords lordship major manor manorial Medieval Castle medieval period medieval warfare Middle Ages motte motte and bailey noble Norfolk Orderic Vitalis Oxford Peddars ponds probably raised reprinted in Liddiard residence ringwork role royal seigneurial settlement Shropshire social Stokesay structures Suffolk suggested surrender Symbolism and Landscape thirteenth century tower town twelfth century visitor visual walls Welsh William Woodbridge
References to this book
Castles from the Air: An Aerial Portrait of Britain's Finest Castles Paul Johnson No preview available - 2006 |