Shutting oneself up in a castle was not an attempt to avoid eonfliet, but a maneuver to make the enemy fight at a disadvantage,
— Philip Warner, Sieges of the Middle Ages (2000), 2
The intrusion of the Normans and their followers into Britain inevitably brought about a number of sociopolitieal changes. Much of the populace rejected outside control, and rebellions against the new overlords continued. Consequently, castles appeared throughout the countryside. Initially erected to effect the Conquest, earth and timber castles were fairly simple structures with limited defensive capabilities. The goal of their builders was to establish a presence in a region. Some motte and ringwork castles featured steeply banked mounds topped by timber palisades and surrounded by dry ditches, which made scaling their walls a strenuous effort for even the most able-bodied of soldiers. The Normans swiftly recognized the fallibility of their earthwork castles, which burned easily and were prone to rot. They either refortified many of them with masonry walls and towers, as at York, or constructed completely new strongholds.
Increasingly equipped with more sophisticated defensive mechanisms, such as arrowslits, portcullises, and machicolations, Britain’s castles took on a dualistie military role. Not onN were they offensive strongholds intended to subjugate a poprdation and dominate a region, castles were also intended to withstand peasant revolts, assaults b’ besieging armies, and trickery by ostensibly loyal subjects. Castle-builders, the kings, lords, and barons of the land, required defensive might for two crucial reasons: to protect themselves, their families, staff, and garrison during a siege; and to defend the lordship, prevent the seizure of land, and maintain an offensive posture in the region.'
World History
