Life in a medieval castle would have been ordered and organised, full of pomp and ceremony, and also very cold and smelly! Essentially, castles were at the heart of Medieval society. Castles were built in England and Wales after 1066. They cemented a new social system of feudalism in place.

NOVA Online Secrets of Lost Empires Medieval Siege Life in a CastleMilitary historian Richard Holmes says castles were households as well as fortresses.Life in a CastleProfessor Richard Holmes, a British military historian featured in the NOVA film 'Medieval Siege,' talks here about everyday life in a medieval English castle, giving a sense of how lords and ladies, archers and engineers, cooks and carpenters lived their lives behind castle walls.NOVA: When we think of life inside a medieval castle, what usually comes to mind are lords, ladies, and maybe knights. But it actually was a much more diverse group than this, wasn't it?Holmes: That's true. The thing to remember is that a castle was a residence as well as a private fortress. Most of the time the castle operated as a small, large, or medium-sized household.Now, the number varied hugely depending on the size of the castle. During the civil wars of King John's reign, Odiham was defended by a garrison of three knights and ten men-at-arms. And that's about as small as a garrison would get.

However, Rochester Castle at the same time was held against King John by a garrison of a hundred knights and men-at-arms and a whole variety of lesser men. So we're looking at garrisons that went from a dozen or so to several hundred, though several hundred would have been exceptional.Some of the people in the garrison were paid, such as the crossbowmen. Medieval society was a sort of interlocking network of relationships between people based on feudal obligations and on money and very often a bit of both. People who did jobs in the castle were often paid.

They might have been local people with a long-standing personal or family relationship with the lord and his family as well.Knights had more status than many others in a castle's hierarchy.NOVA: What was the hierarchy inside the castle?Holmes: The lord and lady were at the top of the tree. However, the single most important figure in the daily life of a castle was the constable. His job was to look after the castle, because the lord was not usually at home.

In England, during the period we're talking about, many castles were royal castles. Clearly, the king could only be at any one place at any one time. And medieval English kings were always on the move.

They moved from place to place. I live not far from Winchester Castle, where the king routinely appeared for Christmas.So the constable was the person whose job it was to look after the castle in the lord's absence. He had a number of people who worked beneath him. There was the garrison, whose members vary in status, including knights, men-at-arms, archers, and engineers. You also had grooms, watchmen, porters, cooks, and scullions, who did all the washing up in the kitchen.NOVA: Speaking of washing, what was the level of cleanliness in a typical castle?Holmes: Well, by our standards, cleanliness in the Middle Ages was pretty poor. Clearly, a castle was slightly better maintained than a peasant hovel, but we would still find the place pretty shocking.

We'd have found it very smoky, for example. Very often in the great hall there was a central fire. Later on there were proper fireplaces, but a central fire with a hole in the roof was standard.

Perhaps some carpets hung on the walls, but on the floors were rushes with dogs rolling around with scraps of meat and bones and such. So it was a pretty primitive atmosphere.NOVA: Did personal hygiene habits match the overall cleanliness level?Holmes: Well, toilets, or garderobes as they were called, usually were situated so that they opened over the moat. If you look at a medieval castle, you can very often see little stone extensions built out from the walls. The waste matter fell into the moat below. Even some several hundred years after they were last used, you still can see castle walls stained with the results.And medieval men didn't really bathe terribly often. People might have wiped their hands and faces from time to time. Clean water, remember, was hard to come.

So cleanliness was pretty primitive. But clearly lords and ladies would have been slightly cleaner and sweeter-smelling than most of their subordinates.Castle walls provided good protection from enemies - and the elements.NOVA: Was a castle assignment a plum one for medieval men or women?Holmes: Given the ups and downs of medieval life, it probably was. What you wanted if you were a medieval man was protection.It's not unlike the Mafia today. You wanted a job, yes, you wanted money, yes, you wanted someplace to live.

But you also wanted protection from a great man. And if you were working for the great man or one of his family—and the idea of family was very important in medieval England—it helped.So you were well up the pecking order if you were working for the great man in the great man's castle. The closer you were to one of the real movers and shakers, the better the protection you had. And the nearer you were to a store of food, the less liable you were to die during one of the endemic famines.

And a stone building means you were probably warmer and drier.NOVA: What were sleeping arrangements like for all these people? Did families in the castle have private rooms?Holmes: If you were a lord or lady, if you were the constable or the constable's lady, then you would have had a private room. You would have had a nice suite of private rooms.

But for most other people, life was pretty communal. An awful lot of life in a castle went on in the great hall. There was a fire and shelter in the hall. People ate and slept in the great hall. Very often, certainly in smaller castles, before sophisticated domestic arrangements evolved, you would have found the lord and lady sleeping at one end of the great hall in a sort of screened-off area. So medieval men and women didn't have much privacy. Medieval Siege Updated November 2000.

Focusing on Chepstow, an English castle that survived the turbulent Middle Ages with a relative lack of violence, the book offers an exquisite portrait of what day-to-day life was actually like during the era, and of the key role the castle played. The Gieses take us through the full cycle of a medieval year, dictated by the rhythms of the harvest.

We learn what lords and Focusing on Chepstow, an English castle that survived the turbulent Middle Ages with a relative lack of violence, the book offers an exquisite portrait of what day-to-day life was actually like during the era, and of the key role the castle played. The Gieses take us through the full cycle of a medieval year, dictated by the rhythms of the harvest. We learn what lords and serfs alike would have worn, eaten, and done for leisure, and of the outside threats the castle always hoped to keep at bay.For medieval buffs and anyone who wants to learn more about this fascinating era, Life in a Medieval Castle is as timely today as when it was first published. A funny thing happened to me with this book. I was reading it on a plane when the gentleman next to me exclaimed, 'That would have to be the most boring book I have ever read!'

Having been so engrossed in the book, I'd failed to notice he was reading over my shoulder and first assumed he must be referring to the novel he'd fallen asleep reading. But when he continued with, 'why, there's no torture or dungeons in it or anything!' I realised he WAS reading my book. I was so lost in the narrative, A funny thing happened to me with this book. I was reading it on a plane when the gentleman next to me exclaimed, 'That would have to be the most boring book I have ever read!'

Having been so engrossed in the book, I'd failed to notice he was reading over my shoulder and first assumed he must be referring to the novel he'd fallen asleep reading. But when he continued with, 'why, there's no torture or dungeons in it or anything!' I realised he WAS reading my book. I was so lost in the narrative, in the unfolding of history, of the way Joseph and Frances Gies bring life in a medieval castle to. Well, life,that I'd forgotten my recent surgeon's appointment (reason I was on the plane), the take-off, fellow passengers, and ride, because I was utterly captivated. All of which just goes to demonstrate how subjective the reading experience is - this man's pain was my pleasure.

(I should add, I quickly dispelled him of the idea it was boring and he could only have read a few pages anyhow. The reason I know this is because up until a short period before he spoke to me, he'd been snoring like a roadside drill).The Gies' compelling non-fiction work takes the reader back in time, depositing us firmly in the midst of the life and times of the castle - not the ones you see on television or in too many films, all scrupulously clean and with everyone tidy and far too accomplished with weapons, food preparation and all sorts of other duties; or the type filled to the brim with aristocrats and where servants are largely absent or so in the background you barely notice them.

No, these castles, mainly in England, but also abroad, are filled with pantlers, bottlers (where the term 'butler' originates from), slaughterers, smiths, grooms, carters, brewers and all manner of servants. There are also the requisite lord and lady, squires and knights, but also seneschals and other administrative people. Taking us through the various roles - within the castle and village surrounds, what people ate, wore, celebrated - from Lammas to tournaments, how the castles were built, altered, the manner in which they were defended or attacked as well as simply lived in and around, this book is a fascinating and beautifully written (and translated) insight into a period of time that's all too easily misrepresented and romanticised in popular culture (not that there's anything wrong with that, unless you're a dinky-di history buff and want more than constant spit and polish). It also explains why the castle declined and provides a comprehensive list of castles to visit throughout the UK and Europe as well as a terrific glossary at the back.Far from boring, I devoured this book and am looking forward to tackling the others in the series. From my notes:1. Sometimes, instead of a city causing a castle to be built, the reverse was true, as craftsmen and merchants settled close by for protection and to serve the household. Several such examples are the castle-originated cities of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Ghent, Bruges.

Chepstow is one of the few Anglo-Norman castles not sited to command an important town.2. The rectangular shaped castle had many disadvantages, especially around the corners. The Byzantines and Saracens were the first to From my notes:1.

Sometimes, instead of a city causing a castle to be built, the reverse was true, as craftsmen and merchants settled close by for protection and to serve the household. Several such examples are the castle-originated cities of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Ghent, Bruges. Chepstow is one of the few Anglo-Norman castles not sited to command an important town.2.

The rectangular shaped castle had many disadvantages, especially around the corners. The Byzantines and Saracens were the first to build in a circular pattern.3. Machicolations are the openings through which missiles and boiling liquid could be dropped on the enemy.4. Some of the most powerful castles in the world were built in between 1280-1320 in Wales by Edward I.5. Carpets were only employed as floor coverings in the 14th century. Previously, floors were covered with hay, basil, lavender, marjoram, fennel, mints, violets. Cave run 3d printer.

Even though these were replaced in intervals and the floors swept, there was always an ancient collection of beer, grease, bones, spittle, dog excrement under the sweet smelling herbs.6. All tables in the great hall were covered with white cloths.7. Only the lord and lady of the castle would sit in chairs, to emphasise status. Everyone else sat on benches.8.

The ancestor of the fireplace is the central open hearth, used in Saxon times.9. In the bailey near the kitchen was the garden with fruit trees, herbs, flowers (poppies, roses, lilies) and a fish pond.10. Colour scheme was frequently green, gold and red, with murals covering the walls.11. Tapestries hanging off the wall served an important purpose of checking for drafts.12.

Any private chamber is called a solar.13. Apart from kitchen passages, medieval castles rarely contained interior corridors. Rooms opened into each other or were joined by a spiral staircases. Covered passageways called pentices joined a chamber to a chapel or wardrobe. (see Restormel Castle, Cornwall).14. When the lord traveled, his private bath tub accompanied him, along with a bathman who prepared the baths.

Important 13th century castles had permanent bathrooms. Henry III’s palace at Westminster had hot and cold water running in the bathhouse. Edward II had tiled floor in his bathroom, with mats to protect feet from the cold.15. Education of girls evidently compared favourably with that of the brothers, as marriage was nothing but business.16. The steward was the servant in charge of the great hall. The chaplain was in charge of the chapel. The chamberlain was responsible for the great chamber.17.

Beginning with the reign of Henry III, a regular course in estate management was taught by the masters at Oxford.18. Mustard was a favourite ingredient used by the gallon.19. Meals were announced by a horn blown to signal the time for hand washing.20. The word ‘manor’ came to England with the Normans. Neither romantic nor hardnosed, this book lays out a realistic picture of what day-to-day life was like in a medieval castle.

One myth I had to let go of was the idea that the peasants worked themselves to death with no respite. Life was hard work (when hasn't it been), but it wasn't deadly. For one thing all the frequent church holidays and holy days meant rest periods. There were times as well when the lord of the manor was obliged by custom to provide food and drink for the celebration.

The Neither romantic nor hardnosed, this book lays out a realistic picture of what day-to-day life was like in a medieval castle. One myth I had to let go of was the idea that the peasants worked themselves to death with no respite. Life was hard work (when hasn't it been), but it wasn't deadly. For one thing all the frequent church holidays and holy days meant rest periods.

There were times as well when the lord of the manor was obliged by custom to provide food and drink for the celebration. The 12 days of Christmas (from December 25 to Jan 6) were stretched into a 2-week period of playfulness, gift giving and receiving, and entertainment provided by the local lord, all nicely adjusted to the station of each person in the household. Tenants of Glastonbury Abbey received bread, broth, beer, and two kinds of meat. Maskers, mummers and wandering entertainers appeared to provide diversion for all before moving on.I liked this book a lot and found it engrossing. I like this book. This book explains how the castle changed from motte and bailey to stone. It also explains the roles of lord, lady, household, and villagers in relation to the castle.

The authors discuss what a 'day in the castle' was like. Many people and so much to do.

Knights, squires, apprentices were all present and practicing or learning military training. The castle and the Knights were tied closely together.

Then the authors explain what is was like when the castle was at peace I like this book. This book explains how the castle changed from motte and bailey to stone. It also explains the roles of lord, lady, household, and villagers in relation to the castle.

The authors discuss what a 'day in the castle' was like. Many people and so much to do. Knights, squires, apprentices were all present and practicing or learning military training. The castle and the Knights were tied closely together. Then the authors explain what is was like when the castle was at peace and at war. They conclude with the decline of the castle.

Chepstow, a fortress on the Welsh border and its lord, William Marshall appear throughout the book with the authors tying the story of each to the book so the reader can comprehend better Life in a Medieval Castle. One thing that I would like to mention is the photographs in this edition are too dark. Thus, it is difficult for the reader to see the castles to which the authors refer. Frances and Joseph Gies are well-known for their popular 'Life in a Medieval.'

Neither was a trained historian. Joseph graduated with a degree in history from the University of Michigan in 1939, although he himself said that his major was 'technical'; he spent most of his time editing the school newspaper and writing its literary column. He became a professional writer after college, working for the Sunday magazine of the New York Tribune. France Carney Gies received her B.A. In Frances and Joseph Gies are well-known for their popular 'Life in a Medieval.' Neither was a trained historian. Joseph graduated with a degree in history from the University of Michigan in 1939, although he himself said that his major was 'technical'; he spent most of his time editing the school newspaper and writing its literary column.

He became a professional writer after college, working for the Sunday magazine of the New York Tribune. France Carney Gies received her B.A.

In 1937 and M.A. In 1938, both in English, and became a teacher.Joseph Gies tried his hand at modern fiction ( A Matter of Morals, 1952), architectural history ( Adventure Underground: The Story of the World's Great Tunnels, 1962; Bridges and Men, 1963; Wonders of the Modern World, 1966), sports history ( Stars of the Series: A Complete History of the World Series, 1964), and biography ( Harry S. Truman, A Pictorial Biography, 1968). Most of these were aimed at a juvenile audience.Both were fascinated by the Middle Ages, and in 1959 Frances Gies published a biography of Joan of Arc. Joseph followed with Life in a Medieval City in 1966.Their first joint collaboration was a children's book, Leonard of Pisa and the New Mathematics of the Middle Ages in 1969. An updated version of Life in a Medieval City, with both authors credited, was issued in 1969.

Life in a Medieval Castle was their first full collaboration aimed at adults.The book's prose style reflects Joseph's experience writing for newspapers, and the two authors' joint history of writing books aimed at schoolchildren. This leaves the prose a little dumbed-down for my taste, although the book is well-written. A good reader will get through the work at high speed.The book starts out by focusing almost exclusively on Chepstow Castle at Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, United Kingdom.

The book gives a fairly good description of the reasons for the founding of Chepstow and the rise of the castle in the Middle Ages, as well as the castle's development over the next 300 years. This history tends to get sidetracked into discussions about English civil wars and the histories of the Marshal and Bigod families who owned it. It's frustrating, because I wanted a book about castles - not medieval Norman families.Using Chepstow as a typical Norman English castle of the Middle Ages might be a good choice, but it's never really justified by the Gieses. There were other kinds of castles in England, Wales, Cornwall, Scotland, and Ireland, not to mention in western, central, and eastern Europe. This book almost completely ignores all of these castles, the reasons for their existence, their developments, and their similarities and differences.

That is extremely frustrating, and left me hungry for a much more detailed and expansive work.This is a book about life at a medieval castle - not just castle architecture. The authors roam over a wide range of topics, including the role of the lord and ladyof the castle, the castle as house, household staff of a castle, daily and season and religious life at a castle, castle warfare, and the decline of the castle. There are also chapters dedicated to hunting as a way of life in the Middle Ages, the development of villages and farms around castles, the feudal system, and the development of the chivalric system and the changing role of knights in the Middle Ages. The focus on Chepstow is lost after the first two chapters, which is curious given the initail intense focus on Chepstow.Some of these chapters seem to range pretty far afield from 'life in a medieval castle'. The information on villagers and the feudal system is outstanding, one of the most readable and relatively comprehensive I've ever come across.

But it's not really about castles.Three appendices (a glossary of castle terms, a glossary of feudal terms, and a geographical guide to great medieval castles of western Europe) are included. Entries are not as extensive as one would wish, and there are some glaring omissions (covered in the book's text but not listed here).

The book has a number of photographs, but most of these are far too muddy and dark. Maps and layouts are few, however, which is a major shortcoming. I can see why this was acceptable in 1974, but it's not now. There are no footnotes, but there is a bibliography (with sources used for each chapter listed).At just 225 pages in my 2015 paperback reissue, the book seems short and lacking in detail. Some sections, like 'the year at the castle' seem amazingly truncated. It was almost infuriating.This book, like most the Gies wrote, comes highly recommended by a lot of people. I think if the reader has a casual and passing interest in castles, this book is just right.

The prose is fitting for a high school student or first year college student. There's nothing scholarly or detailed here; this is more popular history than it is 'real' history. A reader looking for a serious, detailed history of castles in Europe during the Middle Ages should look elsewhere. Easily readable book about the medieval castle - the purpose, the motte and bailey, and how it evolved during the ages. It's an interesting glimpse into the role the various people play - there was also quite a bureaucracy, with each role serving a purpose. I also enjoyed the author's mention of the community being closer than those in cities.I liked how the importance of land was stressed:Given the choice between freedom and more land, any villager would have chosen land. Land, in fact, was the Easily readable book about the medieval castle - the purpose, the motte and bailey, and how it evolved during the ages.

It's an interesting glimpse into the role the various people play - there was also quite a bureaucracy, with each role serving a purpose. I also enjoyed the author's mention of the community being closer than those in cities.I liked how the importance of land was stressed:Given the choice between freedom and more land, any villager would have chosen land. Land, in fact, was the real freedom.Over the majority of villagers, the landholding villeins, the lord in theory had arbitrary power. He could increase the villein's rents and services at will, or seize his holdings. In practice, however, the lord's legal position was modified by an accumulation of traditions that had the force of law.

Custom was reinforced by the fact that the lord could not survive without the services of his tenants. The lord rarely pressed them so hard that they ran away, or even resisted him. Unless a tenant refused to perform his services, he remained in possession of his holding could pass it on to his heir. Even the wood and wasteland, theoretically owned by the lord, could only be exploited within limits imposed by custom.I also appreciated the aside that the village ideal (where neighbours worked together) was slow to change due to the money economy only belatedly entering the countryside - I'm not sure how true it is, but it was an interesting thought. (The authors quote R.

Tawney in saying 'Villeinage ceases but the Poor Laws begin.' )This is not a dense book; it sets out a good overview for further study.

Joseph and Frances Gies have written what, in my opinion, are the most useful books a historical fiction or medieval fantasy writer can ever find. I've read the two for the village and city, both of which were terrific. This one falls a bit short of those. It's less focused, beginning with the focus on Chepstow Castle but then wandering around through the history of those centuries. There is little on how the castles were built (although plenty on why and on how to attack one), and not enough on Joseph and Frances Gies have written what, in my opinion, are the most useful books a historical fiction or medieval fantasy writer can ever find. I've read the two for the village and city, both of which were terrific. This one falls a bit short of those.

It's less focused, beginning with the focus on Chepstow Castle but then wandering around through the history of those centuries. There is little on how the castles were built (although plenty on why and on how to attack one), and not enough on what the castle layouts were, what the sub-buildings might have been, and what the everyday life was like. When those aspects were addressed, however, the result is gold. I learned a lot, and I definitely recommend it, but I remove one star for the content not being more like what the title promised. A fairly quick, easy-t0-understand book and a good introduction to what gave rise to castles, how they developed, their use, their effects, and their downfall. It doesn't have detailed explanations about layout or floor plans, though.

The first part was a bit slow as it seemed to talk about historical individuals instead of castles, but it picked up after that. I actually found the parts about daily life and the villagers more interesting than the knights or war. It's a very informative book, A fairly quick, easy-t0-understand book and a good introduction to what gave rise to castles, how they developed, their use, their effects, and their downfall. It doesn't have detailed explanations about layout or floor plans, though. The first part was a bit slow as it seemed to talk about historical individuals instead of castles, but it picked up after that. I actually found the parts about daily life and the villagers more interesting than the knights or war. It's a very informative book, but it is still just an introduction.

A very good introduction.