Nestled among the green hills of Baden-Württemberg and crowning the old medieval city Heidelberg, Heidelberg medieval castle is one of the most wonderful romantic sights in Germany. The first mention of the castle dates back to 1225. The ruins of the castle are one of the most important structures of the Renaissance tonorth of the Alps. Long years Heidelberg Castle wasthe seat of the countsPalatine, who were accountable only to the emperor.

2. Castle Hohensalzburg (Austria)

One of the largest medieval castles in Europe, located on Mount Festung, at an altitude of 120 meters, which is next to Salzburg. During its existence, Hohensalzburg Castle was repeatedly rebuilt and strengthened, gradually turning into a powerful, impregnable fortress. In the 19th century, the castle was used as a warehouse, military barracks and prison. The first mention of the castle dates back to the 10th century.

3. Bran Castle (Romania)

Located almost in the center of Romania, this medieval castle gained its worldwide fame thanks to Hollywood, it is believed that Count Dracula lived in this castle. Lock is a national monument and main attractionRomania. The first mention of the castle dates back to the 13th century.

4. Segovia Castle (Spain)

This majestic stone fortress is located near the city of Segovia in Spain and is one of the most famous castles Iberian Peninsula. It was its special shape that inspired Walt Disney to recreate Cinderella's castle in his cartoon. Alcazar (castle) was originally built as a fortress, but served in quality royal palace, prisons, the Royal Artillery School and the Military Academy. Currently used as museum and places of storage of military archives of Spain. The first mention of the castle dates back to 1120, it was built during the reign of the Berber dynasty.

5. Dunstanborough Castle (England)

The castle was built by the countThomas Lancasterbetween 1313 and 1322 at a time when relations between King Edward II and his vassal, Baron Thomas of Lancaster, became openly hostile. In 1362 Dunstanborough took over John of Ghent , fourth son of the king Edward III who significantly rebuilt the castle. During Wars of the Scarlet and White Roses the stronghold of Lancaster came under fire, as a result of which the castle was destroyed.

6. Cardiff Castle (Wales)

Situated in the heart of Cardiff city, this medieval castle is one of the most defining monuments of the Welsh capital. The castle was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century on the site of a former 3rd century Roman fort.

This medieval castle dominates the skylineEdinburgh, capital of Scotland. The historical origins of the formidable Edinburgh Castle on the Rock are shrouded in mystery as it is mentioned in 6th century epics, appearing in chronicles before finally coming to the fore in Scottish history when Edinburgh established itself as the seat of monarchical power in the 12th century.

One of the most visited sites in southern Ireland, it is also one of the most intact examples of medieval fortifications in the world. Blarney Castle is the third fortress built on this site. The first building was wooden and dates back to the 10th century. Around 1210, a stone fortress was built instead. Subsequently, it was destroyed and in 1446 Dermot McCarthy, the ruler of Munster, built a third castle on this site, which has survived to this day.

Medieval castle Castel Nuovo was built the first king of Naples, Charles I of Anjou, Castel Nuovois one of the most famous sights of the city.With its thick walls, majestic towers and impressive triumphal arch make it the quintessential medieval castle.

10. Conwy Castle (England)

The castle is a magnificent example of 13th century architecture and was built by order of King Edward I of England. Surrounded by a stone wall with eight round towers. Until our time, only the walls of the castle have survived, but they also look very impressive. Many huge fireplaces were used to heat the castle.

Not every castle is actually a castle. Today, the word "castle" we call almost any significant building of the Middle Ages, whether it be a palace, a large estate or a fortress - in general, the dwelling of a feudal lord of medieval Europe. This everyday use of the word "castle" is at odds with its original meaning, because the castle is primarily a fortification. Inside the castle territory there could be buildings for various purposes: residential, religious, and cultural. But still, first of all, the main function of the castle is defensive. From this point of view, for example, the famous romantic palace of Ludwig II - Neuschwanstein is not a castle.

location, and not the structural features of the castle - the key to its defensive power. Of course, the layout of the fortification is important for the defense of the castle, but what really makes it impregnable is not the thickness of the walls and the location of the loopholes, but the correctly chosen construction site. A steep and high hill, which is almost impossible to get close to, a sheer cliff, a winding road to the castle, which is perfectly shot from the fortress, determine the outcome of the battle to a much greater extent than any other equipment.

Gates- the most vulnerable place in the castle. Of course, the fortress should have had a central entrance (in peaceful moments, it happens that you want to enter beautifully and solemnly, the castle is not always defended). When capturing, it is always easier to break into the entrance that already exists than to create a new one by destroying massive walls. Therefore, the gates were designed in a special way - they had to be wide enough for carts and narrow enough for the enemy army. Cinema often sins by depicting a castle entrance with large wooden gates locked: such would be extremely impractical in defense.

The interior walls of the castle were colored. The interiors of medieval castles are often depicted in gray-brown tones, without any cladding, just like the inside of bare cold stone walls. But the inhabitants of medieval palaces loved bright colors and generously decorated the interior of their living quarters. The inhabitants of the castles were rich and, of course, wanted to live in luxury. Our ideas are connected with the fact that in most cases the paint has not stood the test of time.

Large windows are a rarity for a medieval castle. As a rule, they were absent altogether, giving way to multiple small window "slots" in the castle walls. In addition to the defensive purpose, the narrow window openings protected the privacy of the inhabitants of the castle. If you come across a castle building with luxurious panoramic windows, most likely they appeared at a later time, as, for example, in the castle of Roctaiade in southern France.

Secret passages, secret doors and dungeons. Walking through the castle, be aware that somewhere under you lie corridors hidden from the eyes of the layman (perhaps someone wanders through them today?). Poterns - underground corridors between the buildings of the fortress - made it possible to quietly move around the fortress or leave it. But the trouble is, if the traitor opened secret door enemy, as happened during the siege of Corfe Castle in 1645.

Assault on the castle was not such a fleeting and easy process as it is portrayed in the movies. A massive attack was a rather extreme decision in an attempt to capture the castle, putting the main military force at unreasonable risk. Castle sieges were carefully thought out and implemented for a long time. The most important thing was the ratio of the trebuchet, the throwing machine, to the thickness of the walls. It took a trebuchet from several days to several weeks to make a breach in the castle wall, especially since a simple hole in the wall did not guarantee the capture of the fortress. For example, the siege of Harlech Castle by the future King Henry V lasted about a year, and the castle fell only because the city ran out of provisions. So the rapid attacks of medieval castles are an element of cinematic fantasies, and not historical realities.

Hunger- The most powerful weapon when taking the castle. Most castles had tanks that collected rainwater, or wells. The chances of the castle inhabitants to survive during the siege depended on the water and food supplies: the option to “sit out” was the least risky for both sides.

For the defense of the castle it didn't take as many people as it seems. Castles were built in such a way as to allow those inside to calmly fight off the enemy, making do with small forces. Compare: the garrison of Harlech Castle, which held out for almost a whole year, consisted of 36 people, while the castle was surrounded by an army numbering hundreds or even thousands of soldiers. In addition, an extra person on the territory of the castle during the siege is an extra mouth, and as we remember, the issue of provisions could be decisive.

You write about the baron in the castle - if you please, at least roughly imagine how the castle was heated, how it was ventilated, how it was lit ...
From an interview with G. L. Oldie

At the word "castle" in our imagination, an image of a majestic fortress arises - business card fantasy genre. There is hardly any other architectural structure that would attract so much attention from historians, experts in military affairs, tourists, writers and fans of “fabulous” fantasy.

We play computer, board and role-playing games where we have to explore, build or capture impregnable castles. But do we know what these fortifications really are? What kind interesting stories connected with them? What are the stone walls hiding behind them - witnesses of entire eras, grandiose battles, knightly nobility and vile betrayal?

Surprisingly, it is a fact - the fortified dwellings of feudal lords in different parts of the world (Japan, Asia, Europe) were built according to very similar principles and had many common design features. But in this article, we will focus primarily on medieval European feudal fortresses, since it was they that served as the basis for creating a mass artistic image of the “medieval castle” as a whole.

The birth of a fortress

The Middle Ages in Europe was a turbulent time. The feudal lords, for any reason, arranged small wars among themselves - or rather, not even wars, but, in modern terms, armed “showdowns”. If a neighbor had money, they had to be taken away. Lots of land and peasants? It's just indecent, because God ordered to share. And if knightly honor is hurt, then here it was simply impossible to do without a small victorious war.

Under such circumstances, the large aristocratic landowners had no choice but to strengthen their dwellings with the expectation that one fine day their neighbors might come to visit them, whom you don’t feed with bread - let someone slaughter.

Initially, these fortifications were made of wood and did not resemble the castles known to us in any way - except that a moat was dug in front of the entrance and a wooden palisade was erected around the house.

The lordly courts of Hasterknaup and Elmendorv are the ancestors of castles.

However, progress did not stand still - with the development of military affairs, the feudal lords had to modernize their fortifications so that they could withstand a massive assault using stone cannonballs and rams.

The European castle has its roots in the era of antiquity. The earliest structures of this kind copied the Roman military camps (tents surrounded by a palisade). It is generally accepted that the tradition of building gigantic (by the standards of that time) stone structures began with the Normans, and classical castles appeared in the 12th century.

The besieged castle of Mortan (withstood the siege for 6 months).

Very simple requirements were imposed on the castle - it must be inaccessible to the enemy, provide observation of the area (including the nearest villages belonging to the owner of the castle), have its own water source (in case of a siege) and perform representative functions - that is, show the power, wealth of the feudal lord.

Beaumarie Castle, owned by Edward I.

Welcome

We are on our way to the castle, which stands on a ledge of a mountain slope, on the edge of a fertile valley. The road goes through a small settlement - one of those that usually grew up near the fortress wall. Common people live here - mostly artisans, and warriors guarding the outer perimeter of protection (in particular, guarding our road). This is the so-called "castle people".

Scheme of castle structures. Note - two gate towers, the largest stands separately.

The road is laid in such a way that the aliens always face the castle with their right side, not covered by a shield. Directly in front of the fortress wall there is a bare plateau, lying under a significant slope (the castle itself stands on a hill - natural or bulk). The vegetation here is low, so that there is no shelter for the attackers.

The first barrier is a deep ditch, and in front of it is a rampart of excavated earth. The moat can be transverse (separates the castle wall from the plateau), or sickle-shaped, curved forward. If the landscape allows, the moat encircles the entire castle in a circle.

Sometimes dividing ditches were dug inside the castle, making it difficult for the enemy to move through its territory.

The shape of the bottom of the ditches could be V-shaped and U-shaped (the latter is the most common). If the soil under the castle is rocky, then ditches were either not made at all, or they were cut down to a shallow depth, which only hindered the advancement of infantry (it is almost impossible to dig under the castle wall in the rock - therefore, the depth of the moat was not decisive).

The crest of an earthen rampart lying directly in front of the moat (which makes it seem even deeper) often carried a palisade - a fence of wooden stakes dug into the ground, pointed and tightly fitted to each other.

A bridge over the moat leads to the outer wall of the castle. Depending on the size of the moat and bridge, the latter supports one or more supports (huge logs). The outer part of the bridge is fixed, but its last segment (right next to the wall) is movable.

Scheme of the entrance to the castle: 2 - gallery on the wall, 3 - drawbridge, 4 - lattice.

Counterweights on the gate lift.

Castle gate.

This drawbridge is designed so that in a vertical position it closes the gate. The bridge is powered by mechanisms hidden in the building above them. From the bridge to the lifting machines, ropes or chains go into the wall holes. To facilitate the work of people servicing the bridge mechanism, the ropes were sometimes equipped with heavy counterweights that took part of the weight of this structure onto themselves.

Of particular interest is the bridge, which worked on the principle of a swing (it is called “overturning” or “swinging”). One half of it was inside - lying on the ground under the gate, and the other stretched across the moat. When the inner part rose, closing the entrance to the castle, the outer part (to which the attackers sometimes managed to run) fell down into the moat, where the so-called “wolf pit” was arranged (sharp stakes dug into the ground), invisible from the side, until the bridge is down.

To enter the castle with the gates closed, there was a side gate next to them, to which a separate lifting ladder was usually laid.

Gates - the most vulnerable part of the castle, were usually made not directly in its wall, but were arranged in the so-called "gate towers". Most often, the gates were double-leaf, and the wings were knocked together from two layers of boards. To protect against arson, they were upholstered with iron on the outside. At the same time, in one of the wings there was a small narrow door, which could be entered only by bending over. In addition to locks and iron bolts, the gate was closed by a transverse beam lying in the wall channel and sliding into the opposite wall. The transverse beam could also be wound into hook-shaped slots on the walls. Its main purpose was to protect the gate from their landing attackers.

Behind the gate was usually a drop-down portcullis. Most often it was wooden, with iron-bound lower ends. But there were also iron gratings made of steel tetrahedral rods. The lattice could descend from a gap in the vault of the gate portal, or be behind them (on the inside of the gate tower), descending along the grooves in the walls.

The grate hung on ropes or chains, which, in case of danger, could be cut off so that it quickly fell down, blocking the way for the invaders.

Inside the gate tower there were rooms for guards. They kept watch on the upper platform of the tower, asked the guests for the purpose of their visit, opened the gates, and, if necessary, could hit all those who passed under them with a bow. For this purpose, there were vertical loopholes in the vault of the gate portal, as well as “tar noses” - holes for pouring hot resin on the attackers.

Resin noses.

All on the wall!

The most important defensive element of the castle was the outer wall - high, thick, sometimes on an inclined plinth. Worked stones or bricks made up its outer surface. Inside, it consisted of rubble stone and slaked lime. The walls were placed on a deep foundation, under which it was very difficult to dig.

Often double walls were built in castles - a high outer and a small inner one. An empty space appeared between them, which received the German name “zwinger”. The attackers, overcoming the outer wall, could not take with them additional assault devices (bulky ladders, poles and other things that cannot be moved inside the fortress). Once in the zwinger in front of another wall, they became an easy target (there were small loopholes for archers in the walls of the zwinger).

Zwinger at Laneck Castle.

On top of the wall was a gallery for defense soldiers. From the outside of the castle, they were protected by a solid parapet, half the height of a man, on which stone battlements were regularly arranged. Behind them it was possible to stand at full height and, for example, load a crossbow. The shape of the teeth was extremely diverse - rectangular, rounded, in the form of a dovetail, decoratively decorated. In some castles, the galleries were covered (wooden canopy) to protect the warriors from bad weather.

In addition to the battlements, behind which it was convenient to hide, the walls of the castle were equipped with loopholes. The attackers were firing through them. Due to the peculiarities of the use of throwing weapons (freedom of movement and a certain shooting position), the loopholes for archers were long and narrow, and for crossbowmen - short, with expansion on the sides.

A special type of loophole - ball. It was a freely rotating wooden ball fixed in the wall with a slot for firing.

Pedestrian gallery on the wall.

Balconies (the so-called “mashikuli”) were arranged in the walls very rarely - for example, in the case when the wall was too narrow for the free passage of several soldiers, and, as a rule, performed only decorative functions.

At the corners of the castle, small towers were built on the walls, most often flanking (that is, protruding outward), which allowed the defenders to fire along the walls in two directions. In the late Middle Ages, they began to adapt to storage. The inner sides of such towers (facing the courtyard of the castle) were usually left open so that the enemy who burst onto the wall could not gain a foothold inside them.

Flanking corner tower.

The castle from the inside

The internal structure of the castles was diverse. In addition to the mentioned zwingers, behind the main gate there could be a small rectangular courtyard with loopholes in the walls - a kind of “trap” for the attackers. Sometimes castles consisted of several "sections" separated by internal walls. But an indispensable attribute of the castle was a large courtyard (outbuildings, a well, premises for servants) and a central tower, also known as a donjon.

Donjon at the Château de Vincennes.

The life of all the inhabitants of the castle directly depended on the presence and location of the well. Problems often arose with him - after all, as mentioned above, castles were built on hills. Solid rocky soil also did not make it easier to supply the fortress with water. There are known cases of laying castle wells to a depth of more than 100 meters (for example, the Kuffhäuser castle in Thuringia or the Königstein fortress in Saxony had wells more than 140 meters deep). Digging a well took from one to five years. In some cases, this consumed as much money as all the interior buildings of the castle were worth.

Due to the fact that water had to be obtained with difficulty from deep wells, personal hygiene and sanitation issues faded into the background. Instead of washing themselves, people preferred to take care of animals - first of all, expensive horses. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the townspeople and villagers wrinkled their noses in the presence of the inhabitants of the castles.

The location of the water source depended primarily on natural causes. But if there was a choice, then the well was dug not in the square, but in a fortified room in order to provide it with water in case of shelter during the siege. If, due to the peculiarities of the occurrence of groundwater, a well was dug behind the castle wall, then a stone tower was built above it (if possible, with wooden passages to the castle).

When there was no way to dig a well, a cistern was built in the castle to collect rainwater from the roofs. Such water needed to be purified - it was filtered through gravel.

The combat garrison of castles in peacetime was minimal. So in 1425, two co-owners of the Reichelsberg castle in the Lower Franconian Aub entered into an agreement that each of them exposes one armed servant, and two gatekeepers and two guards are paid jointly.

The castle also had a number of buildings that ensured the autonomous life of its inhabitants in conditions of complete isolation (blockade): a bakery, a steam bath, a kitchen, etc.

Kitchen at Marksburg Castle.

The tower was the tallest structure in the entire castle. It provided the opportunity to observe the surroundings and served as a last refuge. When the enemies broke through all the lines of defense, the population of the castle took refuge in the donjon and withstood a long siege.

The exceptional thickness of the walls of this tower made its destruction almost impossible (in any case, it would take a huge amount of time). The entrance to the tower was very narrow. It was located in the courtyard at a significant (6-12 meters) height. The wooden staircase leading inside could easily be destroyed and thus block the way for the attackers.

Donjon entrance.

Inside the tower there was sometimes a very high shaft going from top to bottom. It served as either a prison or a warehouse. The entrance to it was possible only through a hole in the vault of the upper floor - “Angstloch” (in German - a frightening hole). Depending on the purpose of the mine, the winch lowered prisoners or provisions there.

If there were no prison facilities in the castle, then the prisoners were placed in large wooden boxes made of thick boards, too small to stand up to their full height. These boxes could be installed in any room of the castle.

Of course, they were taken prisoner, first of all, for a ransom or for using a prisoner in a political game. Therefore, VIPs were provided for upper class- guarded chambers in the tower were allocated for their maintenance. This is how Friedrich the Handsome spent his time in the Trausnitz castle on Pfaimd and Richard the Lionheart in Trifels.

Chamber at Marksburg Castle.

Abenberg castle tower (12th century) in section.

At the base of the tower there was a cellar, which could also be used as a dungeon, and a kitchen with a pantry. The main hall (dining room, common room) occupied an entire floor and was heated by a huge fireplace (it spread heat only a few meters, so that iron baskets with coals were placed further along the hall). Above were the chambers of the feudal lord's family, heated by small stoves.

At the very top of the tower there was an open (rarely covered, but if necessary, the roof could be dropped) platform where a catapult or other throwing weapon could be installed to fire at the enemy. The standard (banner) of the owner of the castle was also hoisted there.

Sometimes the donjon did not serve as living quarters. It could well be used only for military and economic purposes (observation posts on the tower, dungeon, provisions storage). In such cases, the feudal lord's family lived in the "palace" - the living quarters of the castle, standing apart from the tower. The palaces were built of stone and had several floors in height.

It should be noted that the living conditions in the castles were far from the most pleasant. Only the largest carpets had a large knight's hall for celebrations. It was very cold in the donjons and carpets. Fireplace heating helped out, but the walls were still covered with thick tapestries and carpets - not for decoration, but to keep warm.

The windows let in very little sunlight (the fortification character of the castle architecture affected), not all of them were glazed. Toilets were arranged in the form of a bay window in the wall. They were unheated, so visiting the outhouse in winter left people with simply unique sensations.

Castle toilet.

Concluding our “tour” around the castle, one cannot fail to mention that it always had a room for worship (temple, chapel). Among the indispensable inhabitants of the castle was a chaplain or priest, who, in addition to his main duties, played the role of a clerk and teacher. In the most modest fortresses, the role of the temple was performed by a wall niche, where a small altar stood.

Large temples had two floors. The common people prayed below, and the gentlemen gathered in the warm (sometimes glazed) choir on the second tier. The decoration of such premises was rather modest - an altar, benches and wall paintings. Sometimes the temple played the role of a tomb for the family living in the castle. Less commonly, it was used as a shelter (along with a donjon).

Many tales are told about underground passages in castles. There were moves, of course. But only very few of them led from the castle somewhere into the neighboring forest and could be used as an escape route. As a rule, there were no long moves at all. Most often there were short tunnels between individual buildings, or from the donjon to the complex of caves under the castle (additional shelter, warehouse or treasury).

War on earth and underground

Contrary to popular misconceptions, the average size of the military garrison of an ordinary castle during active hostilities rarely exceeded 30 people. This was quite enough for defense, since the inhabitants of the fortress were in relative safety behind its walls and did not suffer such losses as the attackers.

To take the castle, it was necessary to isolate it - that is, to block all the ways of supplying food. That is why the attacking armies were much larger than the defending ones - about 150 people (this is true for the war of mediocre feudal lords).

The issue of provisions was the most painful. A person can live without water for several days, without food - for about a month (in this case, one should take into account his low combat capability during a hunger strike). Therefore, the owners of the castle, preparing for the siege, often went to extreme measures - they drove out of it all the common people who could not benefit the defense. As mentioned above, the garrison of the castles was small - it was impossible to feed the whole army under the siege.

The inhabitants of the castle infrequently launched counterattacks. This simply did not make sense - there were fewer of them than the attackers, and behind the walls they felt much calmer. Food outings are a special case. The latter were carried out, as a rule, at night, in small groups that walked along poorly guarded paths to the nearest villages.

The attackers had no less problems. The siege of castles sometimes dragged on for years (for example, the German Turant defended from 1245 to 1248), so the question of logistical supply for an army of several hundred people was particularly acute.

In the case of the siege of Turant, the chroniclers claim that during all this time the soldiers of the attacking army drank 300 fouders of wine (a fuder is a huge barrel). This is about 2.8 million liters. Either the scribe made a mistake, or the constant number of besiegers was over 1,000.

The most preferred season for taking the castle by starvation was summer - it rains less than in spring or autumn (in winter, the inhabitants of the castle could get water by melting the snow), the harvest has not yet ripened, and the old stocks have already run out.

The attackers tried to deprive the castle of a source of water (for example, they built dams on the river). In the most extreme cases, "biological weapons" were used - corpses were thrown into the water, which could provoke outbreaks of epidemics throughout the district. Those inhabitants of the castle who were taken prisoner were mutilated by the attackers and released. Those returned back, and became unwitting freeloaders. They might not have been accepted in the castle, but if they were the wives or children of the besieged, then the voice of the heart outweighed considerations of tactical expediency.

No less brutally treated the inhabitants of the surrounding villages, who tried to deliver supplies to the castle. In 1161, during the siege of Milan, Frederick Barbarossa ordered the hands of 25 citizens of Piacenza, who were trying to supply the enemy with provisions, to be cut off.

The besiegers set up a permanent camp near the castle. It also had some simple fortifications (palisades, earth ramparts) in case of a sudden sortie by the defenders of the fortress. For protracted sieges, a so-called “counter-castle” was erected next to the castle. Usually it was located higher than the besieged one, which made it possible to conduct effective observation of the besieged from its walls and, if the distance allowed, to fire at them from throwing guns.

View of the castle Eltz from the counter-castle Trutz-Eltz.

The war against castles had its own specifics. After all, any more or less high stone fortification was a serious obstacle for conventional armies. Direct infantry attacks on the fortress could well have been successful, which, however, came at the cost of heavy casualties.

That is why a whole range of military measures was necessary for the successful capture of the castle (it was already mentioned above about the siege and starvation). Undermining was one of the most time-consuming, but at the same time extremely successful ways to overcome the protection of the castle.

Undermining was done with two goals - to provide troops with direct access to the courtyard of the castle, or to destroy a section of its wall.

So, during the siege of Altwindstein Castle in Northern Alsace in 1332, a brigade of sappers of 80 (!) People took advantage of the distracting maneuvers of their troops (periodic short attacks on the castle) and for 10 weeks made a long passage in solid rock to the southeastern part of the fortress .

If the castle wall was not too large and had an unreliable foundation, then a tunnel broke through under its foundation, the walls of which were reinforced with wooden struts. Next, the spacers were set on fire - just under the wall. The tunnel collapsed, the base of the foundation sagged, and the wall above this place crumbled into pieces.

Storming of the castle (miniature of the 14th century).

Later, with the advent of gunpowder weapons, bombs were planted in tunnels under the walls of castles. To neutralize the tunnel, the besieged sometimes dug counterdigs. Enemy sappers were poured with boiling water, launched into the tunnel of bees, poured feces there (and in ancient time Carthaginians launched live crocodiles into Roman mines).

Curious devices were used to detect tunnels. For example, large copper bowls with balls inside were placed throughout the castle. If the ball in any bowl began to tremble, this was a sure sign that a mine was being dug nearby.

But the main argument in the attack on the castle were siege machines - catapults and battering rams. The first ones were not much different from those catapults that were used by the Romans. These devices were equipped with a counterweight, giving the throwing arm the greatest force. With proper dexterity of the “gun crew”, catapults were quite accurate weapons. They threw large, smoothly hewn stones, and the combat range (on average, several hundred meters) was regulated by the weight of the shells.

A type of catapult is a trebuchet.

Sometimes barrels filled with combustible materials were loaded into catapults. To deliver a couple of pleasant minutes to the defenders of the castle, catapults threw the severed heads of captives to them (especially powerful machines could throw even whole corpses over the wall).

Assault the castle with a mobile tower.

In addition to the usual ram, pendulum ones were also used. They were mounted on high mobile frames with a canopy and were a log suspended on a chain. The besiegers hid inside the tower and swung the chain, forcing the log to hit the wall.

In response, the besieged lowered a rope from the wall, at the end of which steel hooks were fixed. With this rope, they caught a ram and tried to lift it up, depriving it of mobility. Sometimes a gaping soldier could get caught on such hooks.

Having overcome the shaft, breaking the palisades and filling up the moat, the attackers either stormed the castle with the help of ladders, or used high wooden towers, the upper platform of which was on the same level with the wall (or even higher than it). These gigantic structures were doused with water to prevent arson by the defenders and rolled up to the castle along the flooring of the boards. A heavy platform was thrown over the wall. The assault group climbed up the internal stairs, went out onto the platform and with a fight invaded the gallery of the fortress wall. Usually this meant that in a couple of minutes the castle would be taken.

Silent glanders

Sapa (from the French sape, literally - a hoe, saper - to dig) - a way of extracting a moat, trench or tunnel to approach its fortifications, used in the 16-19 centuries. Flip-flop (quiet, secretive) and flying glanders are known. The work of the throwing glanders was carried out from the bottom of the original ditch without the workers coming to the surface, and the flying glanders were carried out from the surface of the earth under the cover of a pre-prepared protective mound of barrels and bags of earth. In the second half of the 17th century, specialists - sappers - appeared in the armies of a number of countries to perform such work.

The expression to act "on the sly" means: sneak, slowly, imperceptibly go, penetrate somewhere.

Fights on the stairs of the castle

It was possible to get from one floor of the tower to another only through a narrow and steep spiral staircase. The ascent along it was carried out only one after another - it was so narrow. At the same time, the warrior who went first could only rely on his own ability to fight, because the steepness of the turn of the turn was chosen in such a way that it was impossible to use a spear or a long sword from behind the leader. Therefore, the fights on the stairs were reduced to single combat between the defenders of the castle and one of the attackers. It was the defenders, because they could easily replace each other, since a special extended area was located behind their backs.

In all castles, the stairs are twisted clockwise. There is only one castle with a reverse twist - the fortress of the Wallenstein counts. When studying the history of this family, it turned out that most of the men in it were left-handed. Thanks to this, historians realized that such a design of stairs greatly facilitates the work of the defenders. The strongest blow with the sword can be delivered towards your left shoulder, and the shield in your left hand covers the body best from this direction. All these advantages are available only to the defender. The attacker, on the other hand, can only strike to the right side, but his striking arm will be pressed against the wall. If he puts forward a shield, he will almost lose the ability to use weapons.

samurai castles

Himeji Castle.

We know the least about exotic castles - for example, Japanese ones.

Initially, the samurai and their overlords lived on their estates, where, apart from the watchtower “yagura” and a small moat around the dwelling, there were no other defensive structures. In case of a protracted war, fortifications were erected on hard-to-reach areas of the mountains, where it was possible to defend against superior enemy forces.

Stone castles began to be built at the end of the 16th century, taking into account European achievements in fortification. An indispensable attribute of a Japanese castle is wide and deep artificial ditches with steep slopes that surrounded it from all sides. Usually they were filled with water, but sometimes this function was performed by a natural water barrier - a river, a lake, a swamp.

Inside, the castle was a complex system of defensive structures, consisting of several rows of walls with courtyards and gates, underground corridors and labyrinths. All these buildings were located around central square honmaru, on which the feudal lord's palace and the high central tenshukaku tower were erected. The latter consisted of several rectangular tiers gradually decreasing upwards with protruding tiled roofs and gables.

Japanese castles, as a rule, were small - about 200 meters long and 500 wide. But among them there were also real giants. Thus, Odawara Castle occupied an area of ​​170 hectares, and the total length of its fortress walls reached 5 kilometers, which is twice the length of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin.

The charm of antiquity

Castles are being built to this day. Those of them that were in state ownership are often returned to the descendants of ancient families. Castles are a symbol of the influence of their owners. They are an example of an ideal compositional solution that combines unity (defense considerations did not allow picturesque distribution of buildings across the territory), multi-level buildings (main and secondary) and the ultimate functionality of all components. Elements of the castle's architecture have already become archetypes - for example, a castle tower with battlements: its image sits in the subconscious of any more or less educated person.

Saumur French castle (14th century miniature).

And finally, we love castles because they are simply romantic. Knightly tournaments, ceremonial receptions, vile conspiracies, secret passages, ghosts, treasures - in relation to castles, all this ceases to be a legend and turns into history. Here, the expression “walls remember” fits perfectly: it seems that every stone of the castle breathes and hides a secret. I would like to believe that medieval castles will continue to retain an aura of mystery - because without it they will sooner or later turn into an old pile of stones.

We have indicated before how the churches adapted themselves to the needs of defense, and also what obstacles were created on bridges and roads against the advance of the enemy army; According to the most important monument of military architecture are city fortifications and castles.

The city's fortifications consist of a wall and a citadel, or castle, which is both a defense against the enemy and a means of keeping the population in subjection.

The fence of the city is reduced to curtains, towers and gates, the location of which depends on the terrain and the details of which we have already described. Let's proceed to the review of the lock device. The castle was almost always located closer to the city wall: in this way, the lord better protected himself from rebellion. Sometimes they chose a place even outside the city fortifications - such was the location of the Louvre near Paris.

Just as the fortifications of the city consist of a fence and a castle, so the castle, in turn, is divided into a fortified courtyard and the main tower (donjon), which served last stronghold for the defenders, when the enemy had already taken possession of the rest of the fortress.

In the beginning, living quarters played no role in defense. They were grouped at the foot of the main tower, scattered in the fence of the courtyard, like pavilions in the fence of a villa.

Choisy's opinion that at first the feudal lord's dwelling was outside the donjon tower, at its foot, is wrong. In the early Middle Ages, in particular in the 10th and 11th centuries, the donjon combined the functions of defense and housing for the feudal lord, while the donjon housed outbuildings. See Michel, Histore de l "art, vol. 1, p. 483.

Choisy refers loches castle to the 11th century, while this castle has an exact date: it was built by Count Fulke Nerra in 995 and is considered the earliest surviving castle (stone) in France. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

In the castles of the 11th century, like Lanzhe, Beaugency, Loches, the entire defense force was concentrated in main tower not to mention some secondary structures.

Only by the XII century. extensions are combined with the main tower to form a defensive ensemble. Since then, all structures are located around the courtyard or at the entrances to the courtyard, opposing their walls to the attack. The new plan finds application for the first time in the Palestinian constructions of the crusaders; here we see a courtyard surrounded by fortified buildings with the main tower - a donjon. The same plan was used in the castles of Krak, Mergeb, Tortoz, Ajlun and others, built during the 70 years of Frankish rule in Palestine and representing the most important buildings of the military architecture of the Middle Ages.

Also in the fortresses of Syria, the Franks for the first time used the device of defensive structures, in which the main fortress wall was surrounded by a lower line of fortifications, representing the second fence.

In France, these various improvements appear only in the last years of the XII century. in the castles of Richard the Lionheart, especially in the fortress of Andeli.

At the end of the XII century. in the West, the formation of military architecture is coming to an end. Its most daring manifestations date back to the first quarter of the 13th century; these are the castles of Coucy and Chateau Thierry, erected by major vassals during the period of civil strife, in the infancy of St. Louis.

From the beginning of the 14th century, the era of disaster for France, there are very few monuments of military architecture, as well as religious architecture.

The last castles that can be compared with castles of the 12th and 13th centuries are those that protect the royal power under Charles V (Vincennes, Bastille), and those that the feudal lords oppose to it under Charles VI (Pierrefonds, Ferte Milon, Villers Coterray).

On fig. 370 and 371 are shown in general terms the castles of the two main eras of feudal claims: Cusi (Fig. 370) - the period of infancy of St. Louis, Pierrefonds (Fig. 371) - the reign of Charles VI.

Consider the main parts of the building.

Main tower (donjon). - The main tower, which sometimes constitutes a whole castle by itself, is arranged in all its parts in such a way that it can be defended independently of the rest of the fortifications. So, in the Louvre and in Coucy, the main tower is isolated from the rest of the fortress by a moat dug in the courtyard itself; the main tower in Kusi was supplied with a special supply of provisions, had its own well, its own bakery. Communication with the castle buildings was maintained by means of removable gangways.

In the XI and XII centuries. the main tower was often located in the center of a fortified fence, on top of a hillock; in the thirteenth century she is deprived of this central position and placed closer to the wall so that she can be helped from outside.

The idea of ​​changing the position of the donjon tower in the castle of the XII and XIII centuries. due to military-defense considerations, it is not substantiated by Choisy. The central position of the donjon tower in the castle, or rather inside the castle wall, in the 11th-12th centuries, as well as the change in this position in the 13th century, can be explained not only by defense considerations, but also by architectural, artistic order. In such. the position of the donjon in the XI and XII centuries. one can see the presence of compositional features of the monuments of Romanesque art (architecture, painting, etc.), where we often see the coincidence of semantic and compositional centers with geometric ones. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

Square towers are found in all eras, and from the XI and XII centuries. there are no others left (Loches, Falaise, Chambois, Dover, Rochester). The round tower appears in the 13th century. Since that time, round and square towers have been built on a par, with or without corner turrets.

It is believed that round donjons begin to appear only in the 13th century. and that from the 11th and 12th centuries. only square towers survived - wrong. From the 11th and 12th centuries. kept donjons both square and oblong shape - rectangular. Usually, vertically arranged flat and wide buttresses (or blades) went along the outer walls; a square turret with a staircase adjoined the walls. In the earlier towers, the stairs were attached, leading directly to the second floor, from where it was already possible to get through the internal stairs to the upper and lower floors. In case of danger, the ladders were removed.

By the XI-XII centuries. French castles include: Falaise, Arc, Beaugency, Brou, Salon, La Roche Crozet, Cross, Domfront, Montbaron, Saint Susan, Moret. The later ones (XII century) include: Att Castle in Belgium (1150) and French castles: Chambois, Chauvigny, Conflans, Saint-Emillion, Montbrun (c. 1180), Montcontour, Montelimar and others.

At the end of the XI century. there is a polygonal tower: by 1097, the hexagonal donjon of the Gizor castle (Héré department) belongs; it is possible that this tower was rebuilt. This also includes the polygonal donjon of the 12th century. v. Carentane (now in ruins), as well as a slightly newer donjon - in Chatillon. The donjon of the Saint Sauveur castle has the shape of an ellipse. Round donjon towers have castles of the 12th century. Chateaudin and Laval. By the middle of the XII century. includes the donjon of the castle in Etampes (the so-called Ginette tower), which is a group of four round, as if fused towers; The donjon of Houdan Castle, built between 1105 and 1137, is a cylinder with four round turrets adjoining it. Chateau Provins has an octagonal keep with four round turrets adjoining it. Some castles have two donjons (Nior, Blank, Verno). Of the donjons of the second half of the 12th century, which retained a rectangular shape, we note Niort, Chauvigny, Chatelier, Chateaumur. Finally, in the XII century. appear in the enclosure of the keep of the turret. See Michel, op. cit., vol. 1, p. 484; Enlart, Manuel d "archeologie francaisi, vol. II. Architecture monastique, civile, militaire et navale, 1903, p. 215 ff.; Viollet le Duc, Dictionnaire raisonne de l" architecture francaise, 1875. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

The main round tower - Kusi; square shape - Vincennes and Pierrefonds. The main towers at Etampes and Andely have a scalloped shape (Fig. 361, K).

In the XIII century. the main tower serves exclusively as a shelter (Kusi), in the XIV century. it is adapted for habitation (Pierrefonds).

The evolution of the purpose of individual structures of the castle went from the combination in the donjon of the functions of housing, defense and household (more precisely, the functions of storage, storerooms) - in the period of Romanesque architecture, to the differentiation of these functions - in the Gothic era. Later, towards the end of the Gothic-beginning of the Renaissance (from the end of the 14th century), due to a shift in all areas of culture, in particular in connection with the advent of artillery, a new redistribution of functions takes place. The donjon and other fundamental buildings of the castle are given over to housing, that is, the castle begins to turn into a palace, and the defense is transferred to the approaches to the castle - walls, ditches and bastions. Finally, in the era of absolutism, the castle is completely (or with very few exceptions) deprived of defensive functions, ceases to be a fortress and finally turns into a palace or a manor house; along with this, the fortress gains its independence as a military-defense structure, which is part of a single system of offensive and defense of the noble and noble-bourgeois state. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

Rice. 372 shows a section of the main tower at Kusi. For defense, they serve: a ring-shaped fence around the tower, encircling a wide ditch and including a gallery for counter mines, at the top - stocks of projectiles for mounted firing, laid on the upper platform. The walls are not cut through with loopholes, like the walls of ordinary towers, and the halls, located inside the floors, are barely lit; this tower is neither suitable for permanent habitation nor for defense by light weapons: this is a redoubt where, obviously, small means of defense were neglected and everything was prepared for the last defensive effort.

Castle buildings. - The buildings located in the fence are the barracks for the garrison, a large gallery that serves as a place for court and meetings, a hall for festivities and gala dinners, a chapel and, finally, a prison.

Gallery, " Big hall", - this is the main room. The arches make it vaulted with ice, the thrust of which throughout is perceived only by vertical walls, would be fragile when digging with glanders; the large hall is covered only with a wooden roof (Kusy, Pierrefonds).

When the hall is two-story, then for the same reasons that we spoke about the towers, vaults are allowed only on the lower floor.

To make the expansion of the vaults the least dangerous, it is reduced by the introduction of intermediate abutments; these abutments never have supporting elements in the form of buttresses protruding outward, which could facilitate access for the enemy. If there are buttresses, they are placed from the side of the courtyard. From the outside, a blank wall serves as a support.

The chapel is located in the courtyard of the castle: this location reduces the inconvenience resulting from its vaults. In the castle of Coucy and in the palace in the ancient part of Paris (Palais de la Cite), the chapels were two-story, with one floor being on the same level as the living quarters.

Prisons are usually placed in cellars; in most cases, these are dark and unhealthy rooms.

With regard to the halls and wells for torture, only in a few cases can this purpose be established with accuracy: usually, torture rooms are mixed with kitchen buildings, and simple cesspools are mistaken for rooms for imprisoned.

In residential premises, as well as in fortifications, the architect strove primarily for the independence of individual parts: as far as possible, each room has a separate staircase, which completely isolates it. This independence, combined with the well-known complexity of the plan, which is easy to confuse, served as a guarantee against plots and surprise attacks; all complex transitions were made intentionally.

Rice. 370.

Rice. 371.

Rice. 372.

The convenience of housing has long been sacrificed for defense. The living quarters were cramped, had no external windows, except for small openings that looked out into the courtyard, gloomy from the high walls.

Finally, in last years 14th century the need for comfort takes precedence over the precautions of defense: the lord's dwelling begins to be illuminated from the outside.

The lighting of the dwelling (castle) of the seigneur with windows pierced in the outer fortress wall is explained not only by the fact that the feudal lords' need for comfort received in the XIV century. superiority over the precautions of defense, and a change in the defense system - when earthen fortifications begin to be erected in front of the castle, etc., to which the main functions of defense are transferred when artillery is put into action. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

In the castle of Coucy, both large halls were redone under Louis d'Orleans: windows were made in them to the outside. The same lord who built the castle of Pierrefonds, gave the living rooms, located in the main tower, a convenient location.

The Louvre, built under Charles V by the architect Raymond du Temple, was one of the first castles - with a library and a monumental staircase.

The plan of the Château de Vincennes seems to be mainly for defensive purposes. Castles Chateaudun, Montargis - at the same time I am comfortable dwellings and fortresses. Such are the palace in the ancient part of Paris, built under Philip the Handsome, the palaces-residences of the Dukes of Burgundy in Dijon and Paris, and the palace of the Comtes de Poitiers.

Krak des Chevaliers Castle (French Crac des Chevaliers - "Castle of the Knights"). Syria

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEFENSE SYSTEM IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Let us return to the review of fortresses in the proper sense of the word. We have already considered them from the point of view of the defense system; we will try to establish precisely the origin of this system and the changes that it is going through as we approach the new time, when firearms also begin to take part in the attack.

Origin. - The most ancient fortresses, which sharply differ in their appearance from the monuments of the Byzantine Empire, are located in Normandy or in areas subject to its influence: Falaise, Le Pen, Donfront, Loches, Chauvigny, Dover, Rochester, Newcastle.

There are reports of the existence of wooden fortifications-castles in the territory of France and Germany in the 9th and 10th centuries, i.e., in the so-called Carolingian time, but we have no reason to consider them a product of Byzantine influence and talk about their similarity with the corresponding structures of Byzantium IX-X centuries, especially all. Choisy wants to establish three stages in the development of Western European fortifications, taking as a basis a very shaky and methodologically incorrect criterion for borrowing.

Linking the appearance of early castles in Western Europe with the influence of Byzantine culture, Choisy reflects the theory that existed in Western European science, which recognized the influence of Byzantine culture and art as the main or essential factor in the formation of Romanesque art. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

These castles are from the 11th and 12th centuries. consist of only one square tower (donjon), surrounded by walls. It is the embodiment in durable materials of those palisadeed blockhouses which Norman pirates erected as shelters and strongholds on the coasts where they made their pirate raids.

Although the Norman fortresses impress with their size, at the same time they testify that the art of military defense was at that time in its infancy. Only towards the end of the XII century. in the fortresses built by Richard the Lionheart, skilful designs first appear.

Andely Castle creates an era in Western military architecture. It implements a skillfully designed plan of the tower without "dead corners"; in it we find the earliest application of the machicolation idea, which took another two centuries or so to become widespread.

The time of the construction of Andeli Castle coincides with the return of Western European chivalry from the Third Crusade, that is, with the era of the formation of defensive art in Syria.

Krak and Margat even earlier than Andeli Castle had fences with double lines of fortifications, methodically coordinated, walls with machicolations and an impeccable system of flank cover. The fence of the castle of the Counts of Ghent, built in 1180, as Dieulafoy noted, is reminiscent of Iranian art with its architectural details. Dieulafoy sees in these rapprochements proof of Eastern influences; and everything seems to confirm this continuity.

Choisy is a supporter of the theory of borrowings and influences, which, in the field of medieval culture and art, stood, in the person of its largest representatives, on orientalist positions: these researchers were looking for the sources of the emergence and development of medieval culture in the East. From the point of view of the conclusions of this theory, they are trying to resolve the issue of the origin and formation of the medieval castles of Dieulafoy, and after it Choisy. Both the first and the second completely bypass the theory of the origin of the medieval castle from late Roman turres or burgi, i.e. towers (see note 1), which had various shapes: square, round, elliptical, octagonal and complex - semicircular on the outside, but tetrahedral on the inside . Some of these towers, or rather their foundations, were used in the construction of feudal castles, some were turned into church towers, some were preserved in ruins (see Otte, Geischen. Baukunst in Deutschland, Leipzig 1874, p. 16).

The theory of the origin of the medieval castle from burgi, in terms of a number of valuable facts and interesting considerations, nevertheless suffers from schematism and does not take into account the cultural interactions with which the development of a medieval castle is associated. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

We have already given a description of a fortified front with two lines of defense. It applies equally to the French fortifications of Andeli and Karkassoya, to the Syrian castles of Krak and Tortosa, and to the Byzantine fortifications of Constantinople, or, going back to antiquity, to the fortified places of Iran and Chaldea. All data suggests that. these building techniques - as ancient as Asiatic civilization itself - were carried over by the crusaders.

local options. - However different countries, inspired by the traditional principles of the East, managed to give military architecture its own special character: just as cult art has its schools and successively changing hearths, fortress architecture also has its centers.

In the 11th century, in the era of William the Conqueror, fortification was awakening, apparently, in Normandy. From there it is transferred to Touraine, Poitou and England.

In the 12th century, when the "holy land" was conquered by the crusaders, Palestine was the classical country of fortification. Here, in the most colossal fortresses that the Middle Ages left us, the system, the principles of which were brought to France by Richard the Lionheart, apparently took shape.

Then, during the 13th century, the center moved to Ile de France, from where cult art was already spreading. Here the type of medieval castle finally takes shape, and here we find its fullest application; it was in central France that it was built in the 13th century. Kusi castle, at the end of the 14th century - Pierrefonds and Ferte Milon. The fortifications of Carcassonne and Aigues Mortes, built under the administration of the royal seneschals, belong to the same school.

Choisy establishes three stages, three stages in the development of a medieval castle: the first, as indicated, is the period of influence of Byzantium, the second is the period of spread throughout Europe of the type of castle that developed in Normandy, and finally, the third is the time of the influence of the fortifications of Syria and Palestine, even Iran; local options include the castles of Ile de France (XIII century), the type of which spreads throughout France in the XIII-XIV centuries. Thus, following Choisy, here we can talk about the fourth stage - the period of influence of Ile de France. On the continuity between the indicated structures of the XII-XIII centuries. and buildings of the 11th century. and earlier Choisy is silent, as this would contradict the theory he adopted.

The question of the origin of a medieval castle is one of the particulars of the problem of the formation of medieval architecture and should be resolved in the same plane as questions relating to the formation of other architectural types, in particular religious buildings - Western European basilicas. Mastering the ancient heritage and the heritage of various "new" peoples (in particular, the Normans) who conquered Europe, the new class - the feudal lords - adapted the remaining burgi to the needs of housing and to the tasks of defense and attack in a feudal war. Among the typological diversity of burgi or turres, the square tower begins to displace other forms, but at the same time it itself changes its shape: the type of rectangular tower with its own characteristics becomes predominant. In this essentially new type, medieval castles began to be built in the 9th-10th centuries; At first, these were predominantly wooden structures, then stone ones, which, during their development, could not but master a number of features of similar structures in other countries (cf. the change of the T-shaped basilica, the so-called early Christian, into a cruciform basilica of the Romanesque style). The successive connection (but not borrowing) of the medieval castle and the late Roman castella and burg is emphasized in the names of the castle: in Germany "Burg", in England - "Castle". approx. ON THE. Kozhin

Fortifications closest to the French type are found in the German countries: in Landeck, Trifels and Nuremberg. Flanking covers are more rare here; with this exception, the general system remains the same.

In England, the castle at first adhered to the form of a tower (donjon) of a Norman fortress. But, as the feudal regime gives way to the authority of the central government, the castle turns into a villa, the buildings of which are located in a barely fenced area and which, since the XIV century. retains only the decorative side of the defense structures.

In Italy, the fortress has a simpler appearance: the towers are usually square or octagonal, the plans are correct, as in the castle of Frederick III, known as Castel del Monte; in the latter, all buildings are inscribed in an octagonal plan, with towers at eight corners.

The Neapolitan castle was a square fort with adjoining towers. In Milan, where the dukes were related to the great builder of fortresses, Louis of Orleans, there was a castle, the plan of which, on the whole, was close to the French type. In general, Italy from the 15th century. is an agglomeration of small republics. The monuments of its military architecture are predominantly city walls and fortified municipal town halls, rather than castles.

The Milan castle, whose plan is close to a square (rectangular), is equipped with towers both in the corners and in terms of flank defense. When establishing the distance between the towers and in other features, the instructions of Vitruvius were apparently used, but taking into account the new conditions of defense in connection with the introduction of firearms. Vitruvius in "De Architectura", book 1, chapter V. says:

"2. Further, the towers must be taken out of the outer part of the wall, so that during the attack of the enemies it was possible to hit their sides facing the towers with projectiles from the right and left. why encircle it along the edge of the steep in such a way that the roads to the gates do not lead directly, but from the left. For if this is done, the attackers will find themselves facing the wall with their right tank, an uncovered shield. The outline of the city should not be rectangular and not with protruding corners, but rounded so that the enemy can be observed from several places at once.Cities with protruding corners are difficult to defend, since the corners serve more as a cover for enemies than for citizens.

3. The thickness of the walls, in my opinion, should be made such that two armed men walking along them towards each other could disperse without hindrance. Then, through the entire thickness of the walls, beams of burnt olive wood should be laid as often as possible, so that the wall, connected on both sides by these beams, like staples, forever retains its strength: for such a forest cannot be damaged by rot, bad weather, or time, but it is both buried in the ground and immersed in water, it is preserved without any damage and remains always fit. So, this applies not only to city walls, but also to retaining structures, and all those walls of them, which should be built in the thickness of city walls, being fastened in this way, will not soon be destroyed.

4. The distances between the towers should be made in such a way that they are separated from each other no further than the flight of an arrow, in order to be able to repulse an enemy attack on any of them with scorpions and other projectile weapons, shooting from the towers both from the right and from left side. And the wall adjoining the inner parts of the towers must be divided by intervals equal to the width of the towers, and the transitions in the inner parts of the towers should be made of stone blocks and without iron fasteners. For if the enemy occupies any part of the wall, then the besieged will break such a platform and, if they manage quickly, will not allow the enemy to penetrate the remaining parts of the towers and the wall without the risk of headlong flying down.

5. Towers should be made round or polygonal, because square ones are more likely to be destroyed by siege weapons, because the blows of rams break off their corners, while when rounded, they, as if driving wedges to the center, cannot cause damage. At the same time, the fortifications of the wall and towers turn out to be the most reliable in connections with earthen ramparts, since neither rams, nor tunnels, nor other military weapons are able to damage them.

For an illustration of the Milan Castle, see the book by S.P. Bartenev, Moscow Kremlin, 1912, v. 1, pp. 35 and 36. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

The Italian school seems to have had a fairly strong influence on southern France: The connection between the two countries was established by the Angevin dynasty. The castle of King Rene at Tarascon was built according to the same plan as the Neapolitan castle; the papal palace at Avignon, with its large square towers, is in many ways reminiscent of an Italian fortress.

Influence of firearms. - The defense system we have described, designed almost exclusively for assault, for undermining with grapples or for a frontal attack with ladders, seemed to have to be abandoned. From the moment when firearms made it possible to attack from a distance. But this did not happen. The cannon appears on the battlefields from 1346; but for a whole century the defense system did not take this new force into account, which may be explained by the slow development of siege artillery. The most skilful application of the medieval defense system belongs precisely to this transitional age; great era defensive art, based on battlements, coincides with a period of internal unrest in the reign of Charles VI. Pierrefond dates back to around 1400.

In the castle of Pierrefonds, as can be seen in the illustration in the book of Choisy, there is not only corner towers, but there are also towers in the walls, in the middle of each side of the fortress. These intermediate towers are essential for flank defense and give some reason to believe that Vitruvius' instructions were taken into account not only in Italy, but also in Northern Europe. approx. ON THE. Kozhin

The only innovation brought about by the new means of attack was the small earth mounds that covered the guns and were placed in front of the walls with towers and machicules.

At first glance, one method of defense seems to exclude the other, but the engineers of the 15th century. judged otherwise.

In those days, the cannon was still too imperfect a weapon to destroy walls from afar, despite the enormous size of the shells it threw out. To make a breach, separate blows are not enough, it is necessary to concentrate accurate shooting on a certain point; but the sight was not accurate, and the shooting only caused a concussion, which could destroy the parapet, but not make a breach. They fired only "bombs", and their impact on the wall was of little danger. The high walls were able to withstand the action of this rudimentary artillery for a long time. The means used at Pierrefonds were sufficient: batteries installed in front of the walls kept the attacker at a distance. If the enemy crossed the line of fire of the forward batteries, then he had to put his artillery under fire from the fortress or to dig; in the first case, the advantage of the defenders was given by mounted shooting from the crest of the fortress walls, in the other case, the Gothic fortification completely retained its significance.

The resulting combination of the two systems continues to exist until such time as firearms acquire sufficient aim fidelity to make holes at a distance.

Among the first fortresses with platforms or casemates for firing guns, it is necessary to name: in France - Langres; in Germany, Lübeck and Nuremberg; in Switzerland, Basel; in Italy, the Milanese castle, in which the bastions with casemates covered the curtains, still equipped with massive towers with machicolations.

In the XVI century. earthen fortifications are considered almost the only serious defense; they no longer count on the towers, and the further they go, the more and more wide windows are cut through in their walls. However, continue to be preserved - especially in those countries where the feudal system left its deep imprint - the external forms of the defense system, which, in essence, have already been abandoned: the castle of Amboise with massive towers was built under Charles VII, Chaumont - under Louis XII, Chambord - under Francis I.

The traditional parts of the castle are adapted, as far as possible, for another purpose: in the Chaumont castle, inside the round towers, there are more or less well-fitted square rooms; in the castle of Chambord, the towers serve as offices or stairwells; machicules turned into a deaf arcature. These are completely free decorative options based on the motifs of ancient fortress architecture.

A new society has been created, the needs of which are no longer satisfied by medieval art - it needs a new architecture. The general foundations of this new architecture will be created in accordance with the new requirements, and the forms will be borrowed from Italy. It will be the Renaissance.

August Choisy. History of architecture. August Choisy. Histoire De L "Architecture

Medieval castles were actually not just large fortresses with massive stone walls. These were ingeniously designed fortifications that used many ingenious and creative ways to protect the inhabitants of the castle from attack by enemies. Literally everything - from the outer walls to the shape and location of the stairs - was very carefully planned to provide maximum protection to the inhabitants of the castle. In this review about the little-known secrets hidden in the construction of medieval castles.

Almost every castle was surrounded by a moat filled with water. It is generally accepted that this was an obstacle to the storming troops, however, in fact, this was not the main function of the moat.

Vischering Castle in Germany. The castle consists of an outer defensive courtyard, protective locks, a drawbridge thrown over a moat, the main building and a chapel.

One of the biggest problems for the inhabitants of a medieval castle or fortress was that the invading army could dig tunnels under the fortifications. Not only could the enemy get inside the castle underground, but the tunnels could also lead to the collapse of the castle walls. The ditch prevented this, since the tunnel dug under the ditch inevitably flooded with water and collapsed.

Nesvizh Castle. Belarus.

This was a very effective deterrent against tunneling. Often the moat was laid not around the outer wall of the castle, but between the outer and inner walls.

Concentric circles of defense

It was an extremely effective method of defense for the inhabitants of a medieval castle, and looked like a series of obstacles surrounding the castle.

Hochosterwitz Castle. Austria.

As a rule, such obstacles were (in proportion to the distance from the castle) a scorched and dug field, an outer wall, a moat, an inner wall, a donjon tower. The attacking army had to overcome each of these obstacles in turn. And it took a lot of time and effort.

main gate

The main gate of the castle was often the most dangerous place the entire structure, since, if necessary, they could turn into a deadly trap.

Eltz Castle in Germany.

They often led to a small courtyard, at the other end of which there was also another gate, equipped with an iron descending grate. If the attackers broke through the first gate and found themselves in the yard, then the grate fell, after which the aggressors found themselves in a trap.

Svirzh castle in the village of Svirzh, Lviv region. Main gate.

At the same time, there were small holes in the walls of the courtyard through which the defenders could shoot from bows and crossbows at the enemy soldiers who were trapped.

Hidden secrets of stairs

Staircases in medieval castles were actually very elaborate. First, they were almost always helical, very narrow and built clockwise.

Spiral staircase in Mir Castle. Belarus.

This meant that it was very difficult for attacking opponents who climbed up the stairs (and one at a time, because the stairs were narrow), because they had a sword in their right hand. And since there was always a wall on the right hand, they had no opportunity to swing. The defenders, on the other hand, had the wall of the spiral staircase on their left hand, so they had more opportunities to swing.

Staircase with reverse twist and uneven steps in the Wallenstein castle in Germany.

Another original feature of the stairs was that they had uneven steps: some were very high and others were low. The defenders of the castle, being familiar with the local stairs, could quickly climb up and down them, and the attackers often stumbled and fell, exposing themselves to a blow.

secret passages

Many castles had secret passages that served various purposes. Some of them were made so that the inhabitants of the castle could flee in case of defeat, and also so that during the siege the defenders would not be cut off from food supplies.

Koretsky castle in Ukraine.

Secret passages also led to secret chambers where people could hide, food was stored, and (quite often) an additional well was dug for water.

Predjama Castle in Slovenia.

Therefore, the medieval castle was much more than just a large glamorous palace with massive stone walls around it. It was a structure designed down to the smallest detail to protect the inhabitants. And each castle was full of its own little secrets.