More Art Zones
|
Enchanted Castle Art Print Lorrain, Claude 40.25 in. x 25.5 in. Buy at AllPosters.com Framed Mounted Before the 11th century, castles had little architectural character, for they were chiefly earthworks with a wooden tower and palisading. The feudal system necessitated a permanent stronghold for the feudal lord, and castles therefore became most important buildings. These Ilth-century castles had keeps of two types, the 'shell' and the rectangular. The shell keep was built on existing earthworks, its walls of masonry circling the mound in which it was built, replacing earlier palisading; it was developed from the 'motte and bailey' castle with its bailey or court at the base of the motte, or mound, and a surrounding fosse, or ditch. Carisbrooke, Pontefract, Windsor and Durham are among castles with 'shell' keeps. The rectangular keep originated in France and was erected on sites other than those suitable for a 'motte and bailey' castle. It was generally four storeys high and stood in a court surrounded by a thick, lofty wall and a deep moat.
Such is the Château de Châteaudun. The Crusades brought about a change in the planning and building of castles. Instead of relying for defence on the keep, a system of concentric curtain walls with towers at intervals was adopted. This was the plan of the great castles such as the Crac des Chevaliers built by the Crusaders in Syria and the Holy Land. They took the plan from the Turks who had adopted it from Roman military architects. The Tower of London has a rectangular keep in the old style and concentric walls with towers added by Henry III and his successors in the new manner.
This new style gave rise to several outstanding masterpieces of military architecture in the symmetrically designed Edwardian castles of Wales: Beaumaris, Harlech, Conway, Caernarvon, Pembroke and Caerphilly. During the 14th and 15th centuries castles were increasingly adapted to provide domestic comfort on the model of manor houses. At Kenilworth, for example, the Norman keep was incorporated into a concentric plan which included a magnificent entrance porch, banquetting hall, kitchens and other offices. Design was still important at Kenilworth, but the principle of symmetry which had made the Welsh castles such splendid works of architecture was gradually lost and the typically late Gothic English castle, like the French château and the German Burg were picturesque agglomerations of rooms. In France many Gothic castles were pulled down to made room for the Renaissance châteaux such as those along the banks of the Loire.
|
 |
RSS Feed XML Sitemap HTML Sitemap Contact Us Privacy Policy