Contents

The Venerable Bede

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Jean Froissart

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales)

Jean, Lord of Joinville

Lambert of Ardre

Ordericus Vitalis

Builders

Blanche of Castile Edward I

Eleanor of Aquitaine Henry I

Henry II Plantagenet James of St. George John of Gaunt Louis VII

Louis IX (St. Louis)

Philip II Augustus Philip IV the Fair Richard I the Lion Hearted William I the Conqueror

Primary Documents  111

1. King Arthur’s Parents  112

2.  The Roman Rampart, Built of Earth and Timber 114

3.  The Mound and Ditch Castles in Ireland Continue the Earth and Timber Building

Traditions of the North  114

4.  The Irish Win through a Daring Trick;

They Enter the Castle and Kill the Lord  115

5.  Gerald Describes His Home, the Castle

Of Manorbeer  116

6.  The Castle of Ardre, a Huge Timber Castle,

Built after Arnold’s Return from the

First Crusade  117

7.  The Masonry Castle at Guines 118

8.  Repairs and Improvements—Building a Prison, a Chapel, Lists between the Walls, and a

Fish Pond  118

9.  The Problems of a Medieval Baker when the

Oven Is Badly Located  119

10.  Separate Bedrooms but a Convenient Spiral

Staircase in a Thirteenth-Century Castle  120

11.  A Crusader’s Sorrow at Leaving Home 120

12.  The Mound Is Built 121

13.  The Castle and the Master Builder 121

14.  The Crew Needed to Build a Castle, and the

Hazards They Faced  123

15.  Compulsory Service on Castle Building and

Destruction  123

16.  The Burden of Castle Building on the

People, 1066  124

17.  The Burden of Castle Building on the

People, 1087  124

40.  A Constable Saves His Castle by Pretending

To Have Plenty of Food  141

41.  The Escape of the Bishop of Durham from the

Tower of London  142

42. The Virtues of Good Grooming—an Escape  143

43.  The Tables Are Turned; an Inept Castellan and a Clever Governor, the Scots Take a Castle,

And Are Trapped  144

44.  Matilda Governs Normandy while William

Conquers England  145

45.  A Militant Countess 145

46.  Princess Sibylla Defends Tarragona 145

47.  The Changing Fortunes of Civil War, and the Daring Escape of Empress Matilda from Oxford

In 1140  146

48.  The Heroic Countess of Montfort Saves Her

Castle and Fights for Brittany  146

49.  Countess Alberede Builds a Fine Castle and Then Has Her Architect Lanfred Beheaded

So that He Cannot Build Another  149

50.  Isabel, a Warrior Countess, and Her Rival Stir up

A Civil War  149

51.  A Clever Mother, but Was She Wicked Too? 150

52.  Juliana, King Henry’s Illegitimate Daughter,

Tries to Shoot Her Father and Escapes by Way

Of the Moat  150

53.  The Earl of Chester and His Brother Capture

Lincoln Castle with the Help of Their Wives  151

54.  The Earl of Pembroke and His Men Find

Shelter in a Fortified House  152

55.  City Walls 153

56.  The Destruction of Limerick 153

57.  The Building of a Town 154

58.  The Origin of Oven Dues—the Bear and

The Bread  154

59.  A City Is Forced to Feed the Army 155

60.  A Rare Description of a Poor Woman’s House;

The Earl Takes Refuge  156

61.  Homes in the Countryside 157

62.  The Welsh Character, Hospitality, and

Personal Hygiene  157

63.  Noble Entertainments 158

64.  A Poet Suffers for His Jokes 159

65.  A Noble Household Finds Lodging, and the Dangers of Spanish Wine in the

Fourteenth Century  159

66.  A Description of a Livery 160

67.  The Lord at Dinner 160

68.  A Great Banquet in Thirteenth-Century France,

The Social and Architectural Arrangements  161

69.  A Splendid Royal Banquet and Entertainment,

June 20, 1399  162

70.  The Dance of the Flaming Wildmen: A

Wedding Party Ends in Tragedy,  January 1392 163

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Glossary

Annotated Bibliography Index