Castles changed dramatically during the Middle Ages, and with each new offensive technique developed by invading forces, castle-builders added new defensive technology. For instance, because castles were vulnerable to attack by sappers, men who dug under the walls and caused the foundations to collapse, builders surrounded castles with moats, or large deep trenches.
To make it easy for troops to retreat into the castle without the enemy pursuing them, builders added drawbridges, which were lowered and raised by a series of cranks. Eventually they also added an outer gate house, a fortified tower that stood in front of the drawbridge and provided an additional line of defense. In place of the single tower that had dominated early castles, later structures included a number of defensive towers, linked by walkways from which defenders could fire.
Within the castle walls was a courtyard where troops could assemble and regroup, and beneath ground level was the dreaded dungeon for prisoners. There were also stables and storerooms just inside the walls, and the main building housed sleeping quarters, a kitchen, the great hall (for dining and meeting), and a chapel.
Castle defenses became increasingly elaborate, but the development of cannons and other new forms of artillery in the late 1300s began to render the medieval castle obsolete. Eventually the chateau (sha-TOH), a massive but delicate structure with real windows instead of small slits from which to fire at attackers, took the place of the castle as a residence for kings and noblemen.
Their insignia, which they also carried on their shields, was important because it identified them on the field of battle. Therefore men known as heralds were charged with keeping track of the knights' symbols, and they developed the art of heraldry, which survives today in many a family's or country's coat of arms.
World History
