Medieval Houses Serfs’ Huts and Lords’ Castles. Serf Huts Houses were usually built out of wood,...
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Transcript of Medieval Houses Serfs’ Huts and Lords’ Castles. Serf Huts Houses were usually built out of wood,...
Medieval Houses
Serfs’ Huts and Lords’ Castles
Serf Huts
• Houses were usually built out of wood, dirt, mud, and straw• Most homes had one room, the wealthier serfs may have had a 2-room home• The floor was made from packed dirt• Windows were very small, the huts were dirty and drafty• Many huts had a stable nearby, but if not, the serfs had to take some livestock in at night
Castles
• Very expensive to build, often took a long time to complete
• Many people lived in a castle, not just a lord and his family
Why Build a Castle?
• Castles were fortified homes that could withstand a major attack
• Powerful lords built castles because they were constantly threatened by enemies
• Castles were built of strong, sturdy materials and designed for defense
• If a castle was under attack, the people inside could live for weeks on stored food and water
Motte and Bailey Castle
• Early castles relied on the surrounding landscape to provide much of the protection
• made of wood and built on hills or "mottes“• These fortifications proved very easy to burn • Stone was used more often after Battle of
Hastings
A Typical Stone Castle
What Does a Castle Include?
• Keep: inner stronghold; lord’s residence
• Kitchen• Chapel• Great Hall: where most
castle events took place• Towers: connect stretches
of wall, serve as lookouts• Gatehouse: Fortified
entrance into the castle
The Castle Keep
• Often contained not only the lord’s residence but also the chapel, great hall, and kitchen
• The Keep was supposed to be the safest place in the castle
Keep Interior
• Dark, had small windows
• Stuffy, hot in the summer and cold in the winter
• Often quite dirty, lower floors were usually rat-infested
The Great Hall
• Large room for dining and entertaining
• Usually the most decorated room in the castle– They hung carpets on the walls, but never
put them on the floor
• In early castles, nobles used sheets to divide the hall into smaller rooms
The Castle Chapel
• Located very close to, if not inside, the keep
• Lord and guests would go here at least once a day for prayer
• Some were decorated, others were not
Designed for Defense
• Moat: water or sewage-filled trench surrounding the castle
• Gatehouse: funnels castle visitors through fortified entrance
• Drawbridge: can be raised or lowered to control castle traffic
• Battlement: thin, saw-toothed wall that protects defenders during battle
• Tower: helped defend the rampart and castle wall
Label the Medieval Castle
• Keep• Chapel• Tower• Gatehouse• Drawbridge• Battlement• moat
Castles across Europe
The Tower of London
• Built in part by William the Conqueror, actually a series of buildings and towers built over 200 years
• White tower is in the middle, 13 towers surround the perimeter
• Used as a fortress, royal palace, and prison
The Tower of London (cont.)
• Has a sordid reputation
• Many famous people were imprisoned and executed here
• Many others were brutally tortured
• The Tower is reportedly haunted by several ghosts
• Legend of the ravens