Marilyn Stokstad
There are few more iconic symbols of the European Middle Ages than castles. Once a castle was defined simply as the fortified and self-sufficient dwelling of an individual feudal lord. Today we know that castles had many functions, both practical and symbolic. The castle was a new architectural form—part fortress, part residence, part statehouse, part theatrical stage. Furthermore, every castle was different, depending on the wealth of the builder, the reason for the castle (control of territory, border, coastlines), the local geography (availability of naturally defensible sites), the knowledge of the master builder or patron, the available materials, the degree of urgency (speed), and finally the building traditions of the region (the techniques the workmen knew and used). In short, there is no such thing as a typical castle; a castle was a very special building whose form and function answered the needs of people living in Europe from the eleventh through the fifteenth centuries.
Where does the word castle come from? Strangely enough, medieval writers never made up a new word to describe this new building type. They continued to use Latin words like castrum (pl. castra) and castellum (castella), meaning a town, a walled enclosure, a stronghold, or sometimes simply a tower. Ancient Romans called any stronghold or walled place a castrum and used the diminutive form, castellum, for everything from a fortress to a dwelling on a hill. Ancient Roman military camps with ditches and palisades (walls of upright timbers), for example, were also called castra. In the early Middle Ages, authors used these words for any inhabited place. But meanings changed, and from a rather vague designation for any walled enclosure, “castle” came to mean a specific kind of building. By the eleventh century castellum had entered the vernacular languages of Europe as castle (English), castillo (Spanish), castello (Italian), and chateau (French), although burh, burg, borg, berg, or burgh remained the preferred form in Germanic languages.
As we use the word today, a castle is not a palace, which is unfortified, although a castle and a palace are both imposing residences. Nor is it a fort, as that word implies a purely military function and a garrison. Neither is a castle a walled city, although a royal castle may house as many people as a town, because a castle—even with all its buildings and inhabitants—has a single owner. In short, a castle combines a variety of building types in a new way, often using the same kind of sophisticated decoration and fine masonry found in religious architecture. A castle was a secure place to live and to administer the surrounding estate, and as a headquarters and court of justice, it became the visible symbol of its owner’s authority.
World History
