castles-lnks – 8/6/04

A set of web links to information on medieval castles and fortifications by Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon.

NOTE: See also the files: castles-msg, buildings-msg, wattle-daub-msg, thatch-roofs-msg, siege-engines-msg, firearms-msg.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: Lis <liontamr at ptd.net>
Date: August 10, 2004 10:54:28 PM CDT
To: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
Subject: Links: Medieval Fortifications

Greetings everyone, on this hot, muggy day. I hope the weather is treating
you better than it's treating me here in the Poconos. We hit 90 today! And
it's still spring. Whew!

This week's Links list, by special request of my Husband, is on castles and
fortifications. I've included a little bit on fortifications from all over
Medieval Europe, and even a program for your kids to use to build their own
castle at home.

I hope you enjoy these Links and will pass thema long to those who will find
them interesting.

Cheers

Aoife

Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon
m/k/a Lisbeth Her-Gelatt
Riverouge
Aethelmearc

For Fun:

Build A Medieval Castle: Free children's activity
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/castle.htm
(Site Excerpt) Free educational software.  Build your own medieval castle,
complete with towers, gatehouse and keep. To understand how an army lay
siege to a castle, how a castle was defended, or what it might be like to
live in a castle (though this varied by who you were) -- build a model
castle.

For Teachers:
Castle Builder Lesson Plan
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/castle_builder/

And the Serious Links:

Castles of Britain: Build a Castle
http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle88.htm
(Site Excerpt) Even today, centuries after they were active in British
history, castles demonstrate the majesty, power and wealth of their noble
builders. By the end of the 12th century, stone castles became more
elaborate, the obsession of several powerful personalities who felt pressure
to prove their own value by constructing these towering piles. While Edward
I used the stone fortress as an effective means of dominating a rebellious
Welsh populace, and gave us several of the most impressive structures in the
world, his fortresses also reinforced his status as a wealthy and privileged
ruler.

Medieval Fortifications
Prof. Jefferey Howe, Boston College
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/arch/medieval_fort.html
Inlcudes slides of castles at: Aigues-Mortes, Carcassonne, Pierrefonds, all
in France.

123Voyage--Southwest France Medieval fortifications
http://www.123voyage.com/realsw/tosee/medvill.htm
(Site excerpt) The south west of France is full of medieval castles - or
rather the remains of them - reflecting the turbulent and bloody history of
the area.

A comprehensive listing of the medieval castles, castle sites, fortified
houses, urban and coastal defences and other fortifications of England and
Wales
http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/home.html
(Site excerpt) The site consists of two main sections. The first is the
listings of medieval fortifications and the second is a listing of the texts
and online sources used in compiling in information for these lists This
section also contains details of some other important or useful texts and
Internet resources.

Infoplease: Ancient and Medieval Fortification
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0858197.html
(Site Excerpt) As long as weapons remained relatively primitive, permanent
fortifications predominated. The art of fortification developed in earliest
times with the building of earthworks made up of layers of mud, sticks,
rocks, and the like. These soon were developed into walls, then into
palisades and elaborate wooden stockades. In the Middle East walled cities
appeared very early. Those of Mesopotamia had walls of mud or sun-dried
brick built to withstand invaders. The citadel, a fort or fortified section
within the city, also appeared early. Phoenician cities were strongly walled
and offered sturdy resistance to Assyrian, Persian, and Macedonian
attackers.

Alphabetical Listing of German Castles and Fortifications
http://www.roadstoruins.com/directory.html

Medieval Fortifications in Florence
http://graphics.stanford.edu/~lucasp/pictures/italy/forts/
(Site excerpt) In Medieval times, Florence was protected by city walls that
surrounded the city, as well as a number of forts around the perimeter.
These forts and walls served as the first line of defense, followed by the
defenses of the individual buildings -- the Medici's palace and the town
hall are even more imposing structures...

The medieval town fortifications of Limerick by Kenneth Wiggins
http://www.ijai.supanet.com/vol1/kw/limerick.htm
(Site Excerpt)
Limerick is situated about sixty miles from the coast at the lowest crossing
point on the River Shannon. The island area to the north, known as King's
Island (Inis-Sibtonn), formed by the Shannon and Abbey rivers, attracted
settlement by the Vikings in the 9th century, and they were well established
in the 10th century. An account of the sack of 'the fort and the good town'
at Limerick in 968 describes a place of fabulous opulence (Todd 1876, 79,
81). This core Danish town was later taken over by the Anglo-Normans at the
end of the 12th century, and re-walled and extended to the north to form
medieval English Town. Later the Irish borough on the southern side of the
Abbey River was walled in 1310 - 1495 as Irish Town. Therefore, the city was
like a figure-of-eight in the medieval period, with Baal's Bridge connecting
the two halves.

ISLAND CASTLES
MEDIEVAL FORTRESSES OF GREAT BRITAIN
By Edward Blanchard
http://www.wtj.com/articles/castles/
(Site Excerpt) In the many hundreds of years since the days of Roman
Britain, the island which makes up England, Wales and Scotland has become
studded with thousands of castles, fortifications and towers. Even major
highlights of the apparently unending wars which swept over this land would
make for lengthy reading, and a solid understanding of them would consume a
lifetime of study. So it is not surprising that as I was driving along the
southern coast of England a while back, I chanced upon the dramatic ruins of
Corfe Castle which was partly destroyed on the orders of Parliament in 1646.

Castle-UK Castle Listing
http://www.castleuk.net/list.htm

Castles Unlimited (Castles of Britain Learning Center)
http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle6.htm

Castle and Seige Terminology
http://home.olemiss.edu/~tjray/tjr6.html

Nova: Secrets of Lost Empires: Medieval Seige--Shockwave required to play
the seige game
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/
(Site Excerpt)Welcome to the companion Web site to the NOVA program
"Medieval Siege," originally broadcast on February 1, 2000. In the film,
which is a part of the NOVA series Secrets of Lost Empires, a team of timber
framers and other specialists design, build, and fire a pair of trebuchets,
a devastating engine of war popular in the Middle Ages. Here's what you'll
find online: Medieval Arms Race...Nova Builds a Trebuchet...Life in a
Castle...Destroy the Castle...Resources...A Teacher's Guide

The Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne
http://whc.unesco.org/sites/345.htm
(Site Excerpt) Since the pre-Roman period, a fortified settlement has
existed on the hill where Carcassonne now stands. In its present form it is
an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town, with its massive
defences encircling the castle and the surrounding buildings, its streets
and its fine Gothic cathedral. Carcassonne is also of exceptional importance
because of the lengthy restoration campaign undertaken by Viollet-le-Duc,
one of the founders of the modern science of conservation (Note: Further two
links, a very short page).

Russian Military History--Fortifications
http://www.xenophongi.org/ruscity/fortress/main.htm
(Site Excerpt) This is the 'cover page' for an expanding web site devoted to
the history of fortifications in Russia and Ukraine. It features extensive
illustrations. The following locations are currently on line.
Gorodetz fortress on the Volga
Ivangorod Ivan III's fortress opposite Narva
Izborsk Novgorodian fortress on Livonian frontier west of Pskov
Kam'yantes Medieval fortress fought over by Poles and Turks
Kazan Tatar capital captured by Ivan IV
Khotin Polish- Galician fortress fought over by them and Turks...(many more
links)

LePage Castles and Fortified Cities in Medieval Europe (Book Review)
http://www.deremilitari.org/RESOURCES/REVIEWS/review27.htm
(Site Excerpt) The Dutch writer and illustrator, Jean-Denis Lepage, has
produced a wonderfully illustrated, comprehensive volume on the history of
fortification that demonstrates his enviable ability with ink and fluidity
of prose, although not quite as much his analytical skills. A large-format
(9x12in.) volume with copious (easily half the overall page space) clear
black and white line-art drawings of castles from Roman castra to early
modern trace italienne fortified cities, this book is clearly targeted at
the general reader rather than the scholarly academic

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