HIST 212: Castles

RESTORMEL CASTLE

The art and craft of building castles came from the Middle East through the Crusades. Before 1100, castles in Europe looked nothing like Kerak because they were built of wood, not stone.

These very early medieval fortifications were simple enough: they consisted of a structure on a large mound of dirt (the "motte"), surrounded by a wooden pallisade so that the inner "bailey" would be protected, usually with the addition of a trench to provide further protection.

The 12th-Century brought the ability to work in stone for large structures, so at first, stone simply replaced the wooden pallisade and inner walls, as this example at Restormel in Cornwall shows. Dry Moats were common, basically giving a height advantage over an enemy: Throwing rocks down is easier than throwing them up. Life and surroundings in these early castles were anything but romantic. "Brutal" would be a better term.

Considering the age of Restormel, we can justifiably call the inside of it The Old Bailey.

Here you can see the Reredorter (for human refuse). There was only one. But there WAS a similar hole on the other side of the Bailey -- the Well -- and not to be confused with the Reredorter! Just above the Reredorter there are 'post-holes' for timbers to make a second floor. That floor was for the (only) Guest Room.

This little Window Seat in the Lord's and Lady's Room was the one 'saving grace' of Restormel. Though made of stone, the seat was probably covered with various kinds of cloth, and perhaps, a pillow. It overlooked the Bailey.

It is interesting that Prof. Colin Platt, an expert on castles, wrote this about Restormel: "The main feature...is the lavish scale of its domestic accomodation." (The Castle in Medieval England & Wales (N.Y., 1981), 32. After enjoying 20th century life, would you use the word "lavish" to describe its accomodations? Would Restormel really get four 'stars'? On the other hand, think about what the past, comparative context of Restormel must be that Platt has in mind in making that characterization!

While life may have been hard here, the castle did serve to protect peasants in the area from an attack. Everyone would gather in the Bailey during such an emergency, the gate-keeper would bar the front, and only, entrance into Restormel, then wait out the emergency. An attacker had five options:

1.) Prolonged siege, which was expensive because of maintaining the besieging warriors for months. (The castle defenders might also sally forth, attack the besiegers' camp, then run back to the safety of the walls);

2.) Breach the walls, (go over them with ladders or moveable wooden structures). This was a deadly risk and seldom tried because it was seldom successful. The storming of Jerusalem's walls by the First Crusaders was one of the few major examples of success.

3.) Make terms, get tribute from the castle, and go away with a small gain, if the residents would make such terms;

4.) Go away with nothing (and risk alienating the warriors who also get nothing).

5.) 'Sap' the Castle: Dig under part of the wall, put up timbers for temporary support, then light a fire to burn the supports and destroy part of the wall.

Hence the first generalization about early castles: They were defensive weapons.