The medieval castle spotted the landscape of the middle ages and are probably the most iconic and recognisable feature of this period, but why were they built in the first place?
I have a topic request. What happened after the battle? Where the dead left there? Was the armor scavenged? And if so by whom? Was this an organized effort? I thought this might be ( even if it is a bit morbid) a good group topic for you, Medatron and Lindybiege. Each with his perspective areas of study.
It depends. Corpses were only left as they fell, if there's no time to deal with them, or if they are already in a state where you don't want to touch them any more. If you got the time, you would want to strip them of their equipment and valuables. Militia were easy to replace back then, but their weapons were more expensive than the poor bastards wielding them. If you had no use for them, you'd dump them into the deepest water or bury them secretly. The corpses might get buried in mass graves, or dumped into the river to prevent diseases and animals coming to close to your men (or you simply move on). Moreover, you could even get ransom from a corpse, if the corpse was still identifiable. People back then thought that you would never find peace, if you aren't buried properly. Thus they rather pay then watching your men dragging the corpses by horse around the castle or doing other grisly things...
i'd reckon it also depended on the cultures involved in the battle's, as well as the reason behind the war, if it's a holy war, chances are your enemy isn't going to respect you enough to grant you burial, if it's more a civil war/pretender chances are after a battle both sides are going to be buried, should the opportunity be there
This is precisely why castles are everywhere in Japan but completely absent in China. The closest thing to a Chinese medieval castle was the Buddhist monastery, which trained its own fighters. During the Sui dynasty collapse, one particular monastery notably protected a prince of the Tang kingdom from a vastly larger fighting force (120 monks + 1k rear guard vs ~10k troops). Later, that prince became Tang Taizong, arguably China's best emperor of all time, and the monastery was given the right to eat meat by order of the emperor. That was Shaolin Monastery.
Rufei I mean, the castle is generally considered to be a European creation. I don't think the Japanese "castles" actually fit the traditional definition, rather the name has been retrospectively applied to them.
Japanese castles protected a feudal lord who administered a region, loosely adherent to the dictates of the emperor or shogun (whoever was in power). They were fortified against invasion and had garrisons. Seems to walk, quack, and taste like a castle to me.
Rufei Yes but were most of them built as castles or where they fortress that were later occupied by feudal lords or, fortified cities with residences within them. Or manor houses that increasingly fortified until they resembled castles? That's my point, there is actually much debate as to whether Japanese castles fit the definition of castles, since a castle must be built to be a fortified home for a ruling Lord from the get go, not start as a fort or regular house. Look into man, it's interesting reading. As I said, castles do originate in Europe, around 9th century, if they do appear in Japan, it's not till significantly later , but again whether these actually count as castles is hotly debated, maybe not for the average Joe, but from a historical perspective. The evolution of the shiro and the characteristics of their design vs the castles of Europe and the Middle East are actually fairly distinct.
Some of the more manor-like "castles" in Japan resemble the siheyuan, the standard Chinese architectural layout of a family's residence. This comes as no surprise since Japan copied most of its cultural relics from Chinese culture, especially Tang Chinese culture. What's interesting is how walled and defensive the siheyuan already is - a typical rich siheyuan would have a main door and another internal door offset from the main door, with that area being a sort of receiving area for guests. It would be relatively easy to convert such a format into a more castle-like design afterwards. It is possible that Japan didn't have certain technologies until later in history. Through most of its history, it has been a backwater place, playing a very minor role in the region compared to the China region. I would only expect it to have European technologies if it effectively bordered it, which was not the case until at least the age of sail. Since China was imperial by 200 BC, there really wasn't any need to develop feudal defenses. What may be interesting to look at is the lack of Japanese city walls. You'd think that they'd copy that feature from Chinese cities if they wanted defensive structures. However the feudal system of Japan prohibited such construction, ergo we have to expect _some_ defensive structure for the lords of a domain. If you look south to Ryukyu Kingdom, castles were plentiful. They are all in ruins now except for one, but it definitely demonstrates that the region had feudal defensive structures designed to protect lords. If the Ryukyu kings made them and they waged war with Satsuma Domain for quite a while, you'd expect Japanese lords to do the same thing. Certainly they had novel characteristics, but they had to serve the same purpose, no?
Rufei That's what I'm saying, it's complicated. I've just found that if you look into the history of many prominent "castles" in Japan, a lot of them were actually built as military installations and then later occupied by lords or manor buildings gradually fortified as the feudal era developed. So calling them "castles" might be convenient for the average Joe, but actually applying a European label to a style of building in a completely different cultural setting with a distinct technological evolution, is somewhat lazy in my opinion.
Shad, try to take into consideration social reasons and not only physiology. I understand that Orcs would make an excellent heavy infantry clad in heavy plate and armed with halberds but where'd they get all these goodies and more importantly how would they be able to field and sustain all of this?
There's a lot more you could have gone into. For instance: Looking impressive. While this may seem vain it was pragmatically very important. Having a big looming keep that can be seen for miles around helps establish mental authority over your people. Presenting security means merchants feel safe moving large amounts of goods through your land, generating tax. Being able to awe visiting dignitaries is helps in negotiations, and having the appearance of strength can avoid a war entirely by making the enemy think it's not worth the effort of trying to take you.
Its not just looking impressive, its a matter of status. The new studies, at least here in Germany, tend to see castles, especially smaller castles built by the lower nobility, more as status symbols than as defence works. Not always and not solely as such but still it plays an important part. The castle shows whos the boss and it serves as an visible border of status between the feudal lord and his subjects. Besides the defence parts and other important functions like generating tax...well, im just 2 years too late for this comment :D
One other drawback you left out of just raiding around the castle rather than conquering it: If you do eventually end up conquering the land, it's doubtful that the people living there will like you at all and will want to go back to their old lord who didn't burn and pillage and rape their homeland
Shad, I just wanted to say this, I am trying to make a fantasy world and your videos are helping me make an accurate world, on top of being overall good videos. Thank you for your indirect help
Same here. I've gone back and re-written a couple of chapters in the past couple of weeks because I made egregious errors in castle design. Cheers, Shad, for saving me from humiliation at the hands of my historian friends.
It's funny, but as a result of all of the historical youtube channels I have been watching I've started to notice, even in writers that I greatly admire, the gross misuse of physics in fictional architecture. For example, the considerable amount of time Shad dedicates to speaking about medieval and gothic architecture allowed me to identify when authors make the mistake of describing enormously heavy upper floors - like entire city blocks - supported by mere wooden supports. Because of the low compressive strength in wood, this would of course be preposterous. Wood is only feasible as a load-bearing support when talking about discrete structures with very few additional floors and where those floors are limited in size - probably no more area than a few hundred square meters. Furthermore, if stone is used to support stone floors, any hollow volume - for example a great hall or wine cellar - has to include vaulted ceilings to avoid putting shearing force on the stone, which is dangerous. Vaulted ceilings and archways leverage the compressive strength of stone, which is enormous.
I was actually hoping to get a video on the subject since there doesn't seem to be one anywhere on the internet. So if you could squeeze it into your schedule i would much appreciate it if you made a video
I never really though about the hit and run raid by the Castles defenders as a key portion of how it worked before. its also makes the idea angry peasants could get rid of lords almost impossible. He can go back to the castle send to one of his cousins for help while whittling away at their strength with raids by his heavily armored knights.
Another excellent video, Shad! I love listening to your videos in the background as I preform other tasks throughout the day. Always have been a massive fan of history and enjoy listening those who share that interest.
And turning the locals against you, making it easier for the lords of the castles to rally troops against you and even if you eventually take the land, there will be rebellion.
Whenever I read a title of your videos that contains the word "castle", I can't help but to say it in my mind in that strong way that you do when you say it.
Thank you so much! As one of the people that commented about this, I'm absolutely satisfied by this video. The one thing I'll say is that I'd like to learn a little more about the interplay between topography and function - not with regard to the defensibility of the castle, but with regard to its usefulness as an instrument of government and power. Like, why a castle on an island off the coast doesn't help you control the population of the mainland unless you also have a powerful navy - at which point you've probably turned the island itself into a powerful port town which takes economic precedence over the nearby mainland. On why castles aren't commonly on the top of huge mountains tens of miles from large cities. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that. Also, one thing I've been wondering is if you could list any sources where you got this information? If you're anything like me you don't always remember where you read everything you know, but if, when making your videos, you know of a good source for the information you're giving, it would be great to be able to dig a bit further. As always, thanks for the great content, Shad, and keep it up.
>On why castles aren't commonly on the top of huge mountains tens of miles from large cities. Well, this one's kinda obvious when you ask MrBtongue's question.
I don't recall which TV program it was, but some years ago I heard the perfect metaphor for a castle on a TV series. Castles were medieval aircraft carriers. A carrier without its air wing is basically just a big boat. A castle without its cavalry is basically just a big wall. The idea isn't for the castle itself to do most of the fighting, but for the castle to send out parties of horsemen to patrol, attack the enemy, oppress some peasants, etc, and for the castle to provide a secure base where the soldiers can rest, resupply, and coordinate. And like a carrier, if your castle is actually being attacked, something's gone horribly wrong.
Shad, this video also reminded me of one old castle in Serbia I saw few times. It is near the city of Uzice, and was important medieval stronghold, and it is said that control of that castle brought huge power to the local lord after the kingdom/empire collapsed, so much that Bosnian king had to ally with smaller Serbian lords to kill him. And this is as I later understood due to the position of the castle. It is on top of the hill and lowest tower is leveled with the main road that was used by traders from Ragusa (Dubrovnik) to reach Belgrade and it is obvious how easy it was for owners of the castle to rain arrows on someone on the road and there was no protection, so they had to pay the toll for pass or be destroyed. So this is just one more reason many castles were built, to control trade on main rivers and roads. Image of the castle: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Uzice-fortress-by-pedja-supurovic-09.jpg
I absolutely love your channel good video.😀 but I do have a question will you ever do videos on ancient Egyptian,Babylon or Greek that would be cool. I feel you could make pretty cool videos on these civilizations
You don't want to attack a castle in winter, and Winter is Coming. It's interesting looking at the few sieges in Game of Thrones, Theon loses Winterfell, Stannis tries to take it but fails, Ramsey is confident they can hold the castle for the winter, but thenJon just smashes the gate with a giant. In other scenario Blackfish Tully holds Riverrun, saying they have food for two years. Which is a big puzzle to me in Game of Thrones. It's amazing sieges work at all, their Winters last years and years, they must have massive food supplies somewhere.
I have to thank you, Shad; like Sche I'm in the process of creating my own story world, which I plan to write a novel in. Like him, I have to thank you for indirectly helping me along the way, especially with the castles and all...with my favorite type of humour to help me in frustrating times. Thanks, mate; long live Shadiversity!
another interesting vid, makes me want to go and look at other things around what you are telling me. i.e. further details about the battle of agincourt
Send out a messenger at nighttime via the sallyport. Would he get seen? not really. Night provides good cover and the besieging army needs to remain at a safe distance form the castle when not launching an assault. Castles shoot arrows after all.
Bear in mind that the common folk living near the castle have fled. If they couldn't get into their own castle at least some would run to the next castle over. Armies move slower than a 'runner' as the army has to move provisions, pack and setup tents and so on. Also once the siege began we are talking days to weeks to months of the army being outside the castle. Word gets around during that time that an enemy army is there. That enemy army might be at Castle A today but the Lord's of Castle B, C, D, E and so on know that army might come for them next season. Now is a good time to group up and teach that attacker to leave the castles of this area alone.
Don't forget, fortified settlements are a centre for recruitment. As long as that settlement is not continuously under siege, the more time for the angered local populas to reach the settlement and start being levied into the defending army. And of course, the invasion army can't possibly allocate enough resources to besiege every fortified settlement in the area.
Very excellent video! Subbed. I did disagree with you on a couple of points, but this was so well put together, and I'd love to debate out my disagreements!
Well done. You do good work. I recall a quote from William the Conqueror saying he would never have been able to take over England had it been properly castellated. At the time the Anglo Saxons had hill forts as slightly better than wooden pallisade villages though perhaps most communities were not even protected at that level. An interesting tidbit is that William brought the parts for his first castle with him. To build a motte and bailey castle to be a strong point near his landing. Perhaps you can do an episode on William's "first castle in england".
Hello Shad and community! I recently started watching this channel and found it really intriguing. I like to see someone's thoughts and perspectives on things like these while also being someone who appreciates the more hypothetical side of things. On that note, I was wondering what a Jedi, Sith, or any person who uses a lightsaber as a primary weapon, would pick if they were somehow shipped back in time. My first thought was a rapier as it has a similar balance to a lightsaber, weight primarily near the hand. Then I realized that these people would be used to a "cutting" edge from all directions without need of using the appropriate angle, so maybe a double edged sword, or a curved sword as edge alignment is not as much an issue. Of course, their previous fighting style would play a part as someone who is a master at Makashi would probably pick a rapier and a master at Soresu would most likely pick a two handed sword, but what about masters of more unconventional styles such as the acrobatic Ataru or the force reliant Niman? I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.
to allow access to more advanced units,expand your borders,increase you suply count if equipped with the storage room upgrade,damage and armor upgrades ;)
Dude, you make it sound like castles and fudalisim developed in England as a result of William conquest. I'm sure that's not what you wanted to say, but that would it sounds like. The Castle is an evolution of the Roman Villa (not Anglo-Saxon hill forts), and it was the fall of Charlemagne empire and it's centralized government that prompted the fortification of Villas and the building new Castles, the Normans just imported the practice of building (wooden) castles and the feudal system from Frankia. the Feudal system evolved out of the tradition of Germanic chiefdom, in Frankia, not in England, and it was well established in France by William's time. William just important the way the french used to govern in France at the time, with feudal estates and castles as their centers of governance. sure it helped them maintain control over the Anglo-Saxon population, and in hindsight that could be an explanation for why the Normans managed to keep control of England while the Norwegian kings of England failed...but the point is, the castle weren't a special adaptation the Normans came up with to control the larger English population, it the way they were used to from Normandy. Some times you have to remind English speaking people that European history is not just the British Isles. sorry for all the Brits, but historically, in the early middle ages, France was much more important then England, they set the tones.
@Gad Yariv - I am a Brit, and I agree. Feudalism and Castles were not created or invented in England after the Norman Conquest. They were already established institutions in France that were imported into England by the Normans. You need to go back earlier than 1066 to look for the origins of feudalism and castles. Feudalism operated a bit differently in England than in the homeland of France - in England it was a more centralised system where the vassals were more clearly subordinate to the power of the King, so despite the lack of centralised standing armies and the pyramidal power structure, you still had a more centralised and unitary state. In France, many of the King’s vassals were essentially as powerful as the King, so the overlordship of the king was largely symbolic, with each major lord governing as he saw fit in his own territory. Same pyramidal power structure with military force based on the feudal levy, but more effectively implemented (at least from the perspective of the central power/the King) in England.
Very interesting series. Would you be able to assess defensive values of Oxenfurt, Novigrad or Kaer Trolde from the Witcher 3 or La Valette Castle and Loc Muinne from the Witcher 2? I am very curious about your opinion on them. Same as your opinion about Japanese Castles.
It's funny how castle sieges in Mount and Blade are almost the exact opposite of actual historical sieges in the sense that it's fairly easy to take a castle as the attacker
Hey Shad, can you make video on War Scythes? I know they aren't technically medieval, but i fell like they fit with medieval fantasy, more so than traditional over-sized inwards facing scythes we often see
Sun Tsu actually advices to leave fortifications unattacked as it poses a lot of financial and military risk and cost. Plundering or maybe even occupy the surrounding lands gives you access to supplies or loot. On the other hand controlling the surrounding areas can eventually starve the turtling defenders. That is sensible in that way, that someone imprisoned in his own fortification has few abilities to raise troops. That is different if there are allies you can count on.
Hello Mr. Shad ( I hope You do not mind me calling you that ). Like the others me and my friend are writing a novel and your channel has become very useful. We are fans and I thank you for the work you do as we can use it as reference Now you said you are no expert and you do make mistakes, I hope you can inform me about more about the medieval ages more particularly the 11th or 12th Century. Your reply would be much appreciated
Excellent channel. I always wanted to learn more about the properties of the castle. But I would like to learn something else. What about siege weapons? I played in many games of the Total War series, and there the presence of siege weapons made the presence of any fortifications virtually meaningless. A few ballistae or catapults there destroy entire sections of the wall or tower in just a few direct hits. But, I would like to know if these siege weapons were really effective against the castle in reality. And why, instead of using them, many preferred to set aside a long siege?
When I was visiting Dunluce Castle in Northern Ireland in January, I remember thinking that it would've been difficult for attackers to sit around sieging there during winter since it was pretty cold and windy; the defenders would have solid buildings with fireplaces on the other hand. Similar for the old ring fort Ailech in Donegal. I did also think...it was so windy, how would either attackers or defenders effectively fire arrows without them being blown off course into the next kingdom?
+Shadiversity Maybe you could do a castle review for the following: Castle Acorn Valdek's Dark Fortress(Lego) Royal Palace of Eternia(He-man and the Masters of the Universe(20xx)) The Castle of Morcia(Lego) The Castle of Dracula(Castlevania) The Palace of Del(Deltora Quest)
You did cover most of the import points, but missed a few points. As a personal residence, it functioned as a secure compond. It must of been nice knowing one's family was safe from chiverous knights doing chiverous things. Chiverous things like kidnapping. Another point is castles and fortified cities were centers of commerse and trades. Much of the wealth that would pay for one's war was inside the castle. The more important tradesmen were also in the castle.
Thx for your awsome content its very educational and intertaining. I wonder if you would like to make a video about king Henry the 8ths turnament armour (the realy realy protective one not the one with the dress thing I forget what its called. anyway the one that has like a full bum plate, forgive me i dont know how else to describe it anyway I could find out the tournament it was for if your interested.) Anyway this is the armor that makes me think of the armor of legend that you couldnt slip a needle through or however its said I just thought it would be a realy cool thing to make a video about. The armor Im talking about was so well made that NASA studied it for designing astronaut suits. I also think it would be cool to co-op this topic with all your CZcams budies. The content request before mine sounds sweet too hope they can both be addressed in the futer thanks for your consideration.🙂
If I was building a castle in the medieval period, I'd build a bridge with several gatehouses, which would funnel the attackers where I want them, and just rain death down on them.
Great video. Wouldn't be starving a castle logistically very difficult? A lot of suplies would be needed to keep the army feed and stable, which might left it specially vulnerable for such skirmishes. I guess that when armies got low in resourcess they would be difficult to command, and propense to raiding. I think the management of resources in marching armies is a very interesting topic, i guess that the leaders has to make sure to fit to a schedule based on the remaining resources and the time they could mantain thee army in specific conditions.
Another reason for castles was that bypassing them was risky. Each castle acted as a center for sorties who could attack foraging parties, communications and reinforcements that passed near them. This often required an invader to leave parts of their army to invest but not necessarily besiege hostile castles in the rear. The lords of castles were more loyal to the own lands so if your feudal lord failed to show up and relieve your castle you had a right to negotiate with the invaders to switch sides or tor hand over the castle.
I have a topic request. What happened after the battle? Where the dead left there? Was the armor scavenged? And if so by whom? Was this an organized effort? I thought this might be ( even if it is a bit morbid) a good group topic for you, Medatron and Lindybiege. Each with his perspective areas of study.
bump. This is an excellent question.
Bleach Well he follows his original topic eventually.
It depends. Corpses were only left as they fell, if there's no time to deal with
them, or if they are already in a state where you don't want to touch
them any more. If you got the time, you would want to strip them of their equipment and valuables. Militia were easy to replace back then, but their weapons were more expensive than the poor bastards wielding them. If you had no use for them, you'd dump them into the deepest water or bury them secretly.
The corpses might get buried in mass graves, or dumped into the river to prevent diseases and animals coming to close to your men (or you simply move on). Moreover, you could even get ransom from a corpse, if the corpse was still identifiable. People back then thought that you would never find peace, if you aren't buried properly. Thus they rather pay then watching your men dragging the corpses by horse around the castle or doing other grisly things...
Larry Lewis Tolkien has a short story set in the aftermath of a battle: _The Homecoming of Behortnoth_.
i'd reckon it also depended on the cultures involved in the battle's, as well as the reason behind the war, if it's a holy war, chances are your enemy isn't going to respect you enough to grant you burial, if it's more a civil war/pretender chances are after a battle both sides are going to be buried, should the opportunity be there
This is precisely why castles are everywhere in Japan but completely absent in China. The closest thing to a Chinese medieval castle was the Buddhist monastery, which trained its own fighters. During the Sui dynasty collapse, one particular monastery notably protected a prince of the Tang kingdom from a vastly larger fighting force (120 monks + 1k rear guard vs ~10k troops). Later, that prince became Tang Taizong, arguably China's best emperor of all time, and the monastery was given the right to eat meat by order of the emperor.
That was Shaolin Monastery.
Rufei I mean, the castle is generally considered to be a European creation. I don't think the Japanese "castles" actually fit the traditional definition, rather the name has been retrospectively applied to them.
Japanese castles protected a feudal lord who administered a region, loosely adherent to the dictates of the emperor or shogun (whoever was in power). They were fortified against invasion and had garrisons. Seems to walk, quack, and taste like a castle to me.
Rufei Yes but were most of them built as castles or where they fortress that were later occupied by feudal lords or, fortified cities with residences within them. Or manor houses that increasingly fortified until they resembled castles? That's my point, there is actually much debate as to whether Japanese castles fit the definition of castles, since a castle must be built to be a fortified home for a ruling Lord from the get go, not start as a fort or regular house. Look into man, it's interesting reading. As I said, castles do originate in Europe, around 9th century, if they do appear in Japan, it's not till significantly later , but again whether these actually count as castles is hotly debated, maybe not for the average Joe, but from a historical perspective. The evolution of the shiro and the characteristics of their design vs the castles of Europe and the Middle East are actually fairly distinct.
Some of the more manor-like "castles" in Japan resemble the siheyuan, the standard Chinese architectural layout of a family's residence. This comes as no surprise since Japan copied most of its cultural relics from Chinese culture, especially Tang Chinese culture. What's interesting is how walled and defensive the siheyuan already is - a typical rich siheyuan would have a main door and another internal door offset from the main door, with that area being a sort of receiving area for guests. It would be relatively easy to convert such a format into a more castle-like design afterwards.
It is possible that Japan didn't have certain technologies until later in history. Through most of its history, it has been a backwater place, playing a very minor role in the region compared to the China region. I would only expect it to have European technologies if it effectively bordered it, which was not the case until at least the age of sail. Since China was imperial by 200 BC, there really wasn't any need to develop feudal defenses.
What may be interesting to look at is the lack of Japanese city walls. You'd think that they'd copy that feature from Chinese cities if they wanted defensive structures. However the feudal system of Japan prohibited such construction, ergo we have to expect _some_ defensive structure for the lords of a domain.
If you look south to Ryukyu Kingdom, castles were plentiful. They are all in ruins now except for one, but it definitely demonstrates that the region had feudal defensive structures designed to protect lords. If the Ryukyu kings made them and they waged war with Satsuma Domain for quite a while, you'd expect Japanese lords to do the same thing. Certainly they had novel characteristics, but they had to serve the same purpose, no?
Rufei That's what I'm saying, it's complicated. I've just found that if you look into the history of many prominent "castles" in Japan, a lot of them were actually built as military installations and then later occupied by lords or manor buildings gradually fortified as the feudal era developed. So calling them "castles" might be convenient for the average Joe, but actually applying a European label to a style of building in a completely different cultural setting with a distinct technological evolution, is somewhat lazy in my opinion.
For anyone wondering, of course I'm still continuing my 'best weapons for fantasy creatures' series. Orcs will be out next week ^_^
Could you make "best weapons for 4-handed creatures"? It would be quite nice
Shadiversity 7:09 Is it polite to pause the video to bask in the beauty of this?
Shad, try to take into consideration social reasons and not only physiology. I understand that Orcs would make an excellent heavy infantry clad in heavy plate and armed with halberds but where'd they get all these goodies and more importantly how would they be able to field and sustain all of this?
Hi Shad! Please make review of Vergen from The Witcher 2. Or La Valette castle?
it will be interesting to see what variant of orc you go for. i have seen orc that are bruisers and i have seen orc that are more goblin like.
so that princesses can be imprisoned duh....
By Lecherous dragons.
Yes.... but in a different castle
Surrounded by lava
There's a lot more you could have gone into. For instance:
Looking impressive. While this may seem vain it was pragmatically very important. Having a big looming keep that can be seen for miles around helps establish mental authority over your people. Presenting security means merchants feel safe moving large amounts of goods through your land, generating tax. Being able to awe visiting dignitaries is helps in negotiations, and having the appearance of strength can avoid a war entirely by making the enemy think it's not worth the effort of trying to take you.
Its not just looking impressive, its a matter of status. The new studies, at least here in Germany, tend to see castles, especially smaller castles built by the lower nobility, more as status symbols than as defence works. Not always and not solely as such but still it plays an important part. The castle shows whos the boss and it serves as an visible border of status between the feudal lord and his subjects. Besides the defence parts and other important functions like generating tax...well, im just 2 years too late for this comment :D
@@Nivalyr It's never to late. Thanks for info and ideas! C:
One other drawback you left out of just raiding around the castle rather than conquering it: If you do eventually end up conquering the land, it's doubtful that the people living there will like you at all and will want to go back to their old lord who didn't burn and pillage and rape their homeland
but what if the old lord previously conquered them by pillaging and raping their motherland?
@@ballom29 They probably will still turn on the conqueror.
Shad, I just wanted to say this, I am trying to make a fantasy world and your videos are helping me make an accurate world, on top of being overall good videos.
Thank you for your indirect help
It's a pleasure.
Same here. I've gone back and re-written a couple of chapters in the past couple of weeks because I made egregious errors in castle design. Cheers, Shad, for saving me from humiliation at the hands of my historian friends.
Good luck world builder! If you are interested, check out the world building subreddit on Reddit, /r/worldbuilding.
And /r/fantasywriters is a good place for getting critiques and writing advice.
It's funny, but as a result of all of the historical youtube channels I have been watching I've started to notice, even in writers that I greatly admire, the gross misuse of physics in fictional architecture. For example, the considerable amount of time Shad dedicates to speaking about medieval and gothic architecture allowed me to identify when authors make the mistake of describing enormously heavy upper floors - like entire city blocks - supported by mere wooden supports. Because of the low compressive strength in wood, this would of course be preposterous. Wood is only feasible as a load-bearing support when talking about discrete structures with very few additional floors and where those floors are limited in size - probably no more area than a few hundred square meters. Furthermore, if stone is used to support stone floors, any hollow volume - for example a great hall or wine cellar - has to include vaulted ceilings to avoid putting shearing force on the stone, which is dangerous. Vaulted ceilings and archways leverage the compressive strength of stone, which is enormous.
how did people combat different parts of castles? how did they deal with murder holes, drawbridges, portcullises, etc.?
With great difficulty. I know you want more than that but it's a subject for a whole video and I can't really do it justice in a comment reply.
I was actually hoping to get a video on the subject since there doesn't seem to be one anywhere on the internet. So if you could squeeze it into your schedule i would much appreciate it if you made a video
Yes, please. I would love a video or series on that.
Love your new intro shad! And the music adds SO MUCH of an atmosphere!
I never really though about the hit and run raid by the Castles defenders as a key portion of how it worked before.
its also makes the idea angry peasants could get rid of lords almost impossible. He can go back to the castle send to one of his cousins for help while whittling away at their strength with raids by his heavily armored knights.
Another excellent video, Shad! I love listening to your videos in the background as I preform other tasks throughout the day. Always have been a massive fan of history and enjoy listening those who share that interest.
Glad I came across your channel! A nice mix of real and fantasy medieval works is awesome!
Fantastic artwork, and a great discussion. Thank you Shad.
also when you raid the lands around the castle... YOU RUIN THE LANDS YOU WANT TO TAKE
And turning the locals against you, making it easier for the lords of the castles to rally troops against you and even if you eventually take the land, there will be rebellion.
So it looks like Robert Baratheon had nothing to fear from the Dothraki after all.
I find your videos about castles really interesting and entertaining! I never knew I had any interest in them until I stumbled upon your channel ^^
YAAAY!! New video from Shad!! You have made me very happy
Love this Channel!!!! Thank you so much!!
My pleasure mate ^_^
Whenever I read a title of your videos that contains the word "castle", I can't help but to say it in my mind in that strong way that you do when you say it.
Very nice and helpful. Great video as always :)
Can't stop watching your videos. They are informative and very entertaining ! Thank youfor your brilliant output!
Thank you so much! As one of the people that commented about this, I'm absolutely satisfied by this video. The one thing I'll say is that I'd like to learn a little more about the interplay between topography and function - not with regard to the defensibility of the castle, but with regard to its usefulness as an instrument of government and power. Like, why a castle on an island off the coast doesn't help you control the population of the mainland unless you also have a powerful navy - at which point you've probably turned the island itself into a powerful port town which takes economic precedence over the nearby mainland. On why castles aren't commonly on the top of huge mountains tens of miles from large cities. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.
Also, one thing I've been wondering is if you could list any sources where you got this information? If you're anything like me you don't always remember where you read everything you know, but if, when making your videos, you know of a good source for the information you're giving, it would be great to be able to dig a bit further.
As always, thanks for the great content, Shad, and keep it up.
>On why castles aren't commonly on the top of huge mountains tens of miles from large cities.
Well, this one's kinda obvious when you ask MrBtongue's question.
I don't recall which TV program it was, but some years ago I heard the perfect metaphor for a castle on a TV series. Castles were medieval aircraft carriers.
A carrier without its air wing is basically just a big boat. A castle without its cavalry is basically just a big wall. The idea isn't for the castle itself to do most of the fighting, but for the castle to send out parties of horsemen to patrol, attack the enemy, oppress some peasants, etc, and for the castle to provide a secure base where the soldiers can rest, resupply, and coordinate. And like a carrier, if your castle is actually being attacked, something's gone horribly wrong.
Shad, this video also reminded me of one old castle in Serbia I saw few times. It is near the city of Uzice, and was important medieval stronghold, and it is said that control of that castle brought huge power to the local lord after the kingdom/empire collapsed, so much that Bosnian king had to ally with smaller Serbian lords to kill him. And this is as I later understood due to the position of the castle. It is on top of the hill and lowest tower is leveled with the main road that was used by traders from Ragusa (Dubrovnik) to reach Belgrade and it is obvious how easy it was for owners of the castle to rain arrows on someone on the road and there was no protection, so they had to pay the toll for pass or be destroyed. So this is just one more reason many castles were built, to control trade on main rivers and roads.
Image of the castle: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Uzice-fortress-by-pedja-supurovic-09.jpg
Now, this is the kind of video you're good at. Good analysis. Awesome video.
Another good video, as always m8!
I genuinely always look forward to your videos ! I get excited when I see new ones on my feed :D
Brother, I need you to keep these videos going! Love them!
Good Video and interesting as always!
I love the videos. Great qualaty, but i wish you could make more...
Me to but time is always an issue unfortunately.
At the moment I'm a fulltime carer for my wife.
Really liked all the different Castle illustrations
Can you do a comparative video between mid-evil European castles and the castles of feudal Japan. Please like if you agree so shad can see this
I absolutely love your channel good video.😀 but I do have a question will you ever do videos on ancient Egyptian,Babylon or Greek that would be cool. I feel you could make pretty cool videos on these civilizations
Nicely done... I enjoyed it
Great video. It really gave a great insight on castles and the rise of feudalism
This is awesome. I've been wondering about "taking land" and what it means. Thank you for making this.
Good stuff Chad. Currently sharing this on the KCD Discord.
You don't want to attack a castle in winter, and Winter is Coming. It's interesting looking at the few sieges in Game of Thrones, Theon loses Winterfell, Stannis tries to take it but fails, Ramsey is confident they can hold the castle for the winter, but thenJon just smashes the gate with a giant. In other scenario Blackfish Tully holds Riverrun, saying they have food for two years. Which is a big puzzle to me in Game of Thrones. It's amazing sieges work at all, their Winters last years and years, they must have massive food supplies somewhere.
I have to thank you, Shad; like Sche I'm in the process of creating my own story world, which I plan to write a novel in. Like him, I have to thank you for indirectly helping me along the way, especially with the castles and all...with my favorite type of humour to help me in frustrating times.
Thanks, mate; long live Shadiversity!
Makes my day ^_^
When are you planning on writing it? What will it be about
Your points are true for Mount and Blade too!
another interesting vid, makes me want to go and look at other things around what you are telling me. i.e. further details about the battle of agincourt
thank you for this video i really liked it
I like your videos so much :)
The important part: How would a smaller castle call for reinforcements under siege?
Send out a messenger at nighttime via the sallyport. Would he get seen? not really. Night provides good cover and the besieging army needs to remain at a safe distance form the castle when not launching an assault. Castles shoot arrows after all.
Bear in mind that the common folk living near the castle have fled. If they couldn't get into their own castle at least some would run to the next castle over. Armies move slower than a 'runner' as the army has to move provisions, pack and setup tents and so on. Also once the siege began we are talking days to weeks to months of the army being outside the castle. Word gets around during that time that an enemy army is there. That enemy army might be at Castle A today but the Lord's of Castle B, C, D, E and so on know that army might come for them next season. Now is a good time to group up and teach that attacker to leave the castles of this area alone.
Did they use homing pigeons in the medieval ages?
They would probably send messengers before the siege even began.
African or European?
With this video, concepts in Mount&Blade:2 Bannerlord made perfect sense. Thanks for this very informative video!
due to your videos, i am now a castle snob when i see inaccuracy in films or games
Aaah. The old offensive castle rush strategy. Works every time just make sure you reach the castle age first.
Don't forget, fortified settlements are a centre for recruitment. As long as that settlement is not continuously under siege, the more time for the angered local populas to reach the settlement and start being levied into the defending army.
And of course, the invasion army can't possibly allocate enough resources to besiege every fortified settlement in the area.
Please more about castles :D
Dude! Awesome new intro!
"Taxes, collecting taxes, in the name of the king."
"King? I didn't vote for him."
"You don't vote for kings, now pay up! *beats him over the head*"
In democracy its your vote that counts, in feudalism its your count that votes.
This is fascinating!
I would love to see you play Stronghold! (castle building strategy videogame for those who don't know it)
Love the new intro! :D
some awesome castles depicted. is it possible, if you give the names of these castles in future videos?
Very excellent video! Subbed. I did disagree with you on a couple of points, but this was so well put together, and I'd love to debate out my disagreements!
This video is very interesting, i like a lot to know more about this history time
Love the new intro!
Well done. You do good work. I recall a quote from William the Conqueror saying he would never have been able to take over England had it been properly castellated. At the time the Anglo Saxons had hill forts as slightly better than wooden pallisade villages though perhaps most communities were not even protected at that level.
An interesting tidbit is that William brought the parts for his first castle with him. To build a motte and bailey castle to be a strong point near his landing. Perhaps you can do an episode on William's "first castle in england".
B1 Laxson Is castellated an actual word? Honest question. 😆
Hey Shad, I love your content, just fascinating, can you recommend any books on this topic? I'd really appreciate it!
brilliant! Thank you
Hello Shad and community! I recently started watching this channel and found it really intriguing. I like to see someone's thoughts and perspectives on things like these while also being someone who appreciates the more hypothetical side of things. On that note, I was wondering what a Jedi, Sith, or any person who uses a lightsaber as a primary weapon, would pick if they were somehow shipped back in time. My first thought was a rapier as it has a similar balance to a lightsaber, weight primarily near the hand. Then I realized that these people would be used to a "cutting" edge from all directions without need of using the appropriate angle, so maybe a double edged sword, or a curved sword as edge alignment is not as much an issue. Of course, their previous fighting style would play a part as someone who is a master at Makashi would probably pick a rapier and a master at Soresu would most likely pick a two handed sword, but what about masters of more unconventional styles such as the acrobatic Ataru or the force reliant Niman? I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.
Hey Shad, thanks for the great video as always, may I ask what exactly the music is you're playing? Thanks
to allow access to more advanced units,expand your borders,increase you suply count if equipped with the storage room upgrade,damage and armor upgrades ;)
Dude, you make it sound like castles and fudalisim developed in England as a result of William conquest.
I'm sure that's not what you wanted to say, but that would it sounds like.
The Castle is an evolution of the Roman Villa (not Anglo-Saxon hill forts), and it was the fall of Charlemagne empire and it's centralized government that prompted the fortification of Villas and the building new Castles, the Normans just imported the practice of building (wooden) castles and the feudal system from Frankia.
the Feudal system evolved out of the tradition of Germanic chiefdom, in Frankia, not in England, and it was well established in France by William's time. William just important the way the french used to govern in France at the time, with feudal estates and castles as their centers of governance. sure it helped them maintain control over the Anglo-Saxon population, and in hindsight that could be an explanation for why the Normans managed to keep control of England while the Norwegian kings of England failed...but the point is, the castle weren't a special adaptation the Normans came up with to control the larger English population, it the way they were used to from Normandy.
Some times you have to remind English speaking people that European history is not just the British Isles.
sorry for all the Brits, but historically, in the early middle ages, France was much more important then England, they set the tones.
@Gad Yariv - I am a Brit, and I agree. Feudalism and Castles were not created or invented in England after the Norman Conquest. They were already established institutions in France that were imported into England by the Normans. You need to go back earlier than 1066 to look for the origins of feudalism and castles. Feudalism operated a bit differently in England than in the homeland of France - in England it was a more centralised system where the vassals were more clearly subordinate to the power of the King, so despite the lack of centralised standing armies and the pyramidal power structure, you still had a more centralised and unitary state. In France, many of the King’s vassals were essentially as powerful as the King, so the overlordship of the king was largely symbolic, with each major lord governing as he saw fit in his own territory. Same pyramidal power structure with military force based on the feudal levy, but more effectively implemented (at least from the perspective of the central power/the King) in England.
Thats not what I got out of it.
And sometimes you have to remind the French speaking folks to take a shower lmao.
Very interesting series. Would you be able to assess defensive values of Oxenfurt, Novigrad or Kaer Trolde from the Witcher 3 or La Valette Castle and Loc Muinne from the Witcher 2? I am very curious about your opinion on them.
Same as your opinion about Japanese Castles.
the new intro is epic ^^
Yeah, I'm loving it ^_^
Big thank you for information.Now want to learn more about castles as I am traveling and making videos about castles in UK🏰👍🙂
It's funny how castle sieges in Mount and Blade are almost the exact opposite of actual historical sieges in the sense that it's fairly easy to take a castle as the attacker
Awesome 🤘🏻
Can you do a review on Novigrad and Beauclair? It'd be awesome
Have you ever considered doing a video on the defensive capabilities of some of the famous dwarf strongholds in fantasy?
I Bought Dragons Dogma after your video on the castle in it...I don't regret it xD
That intro was awesome
Thanks mate, I'm very happy with it ^_^
Shadiversity And the big castle at the beggining is Huniazilor's Castle in west Romania ! yey !
Hey Shad, can you make video on War Scythes? I know they aren't technically medieval, but i fell like they fit with medieval fantasy, more so than traditional over-sized inwards facing scythes we often see
Sun Tsu actually advices to leave fortifications unattacked as it poses a lot of financial and military risk and cost.
Plundering or maybe even occupy the surrounding lands gives you access to supplies or loot. On the other hand controlling the surrounding areas can eventually starve the turtling defenders.
That is sensible in that way, that someone imprisoned in his own fortification has few abilities to raise troops. That is different if there are allies you can count on.
Sun Tsu was Chinese and didn't know castles.
Hello Mr. Shad ( I hope You do not mind me calling you that ). Like the others me and my friend are writing a novel and your channel has become very useful. We are fans and I thank you for the work you do as we can use it as reference
Now you said you are no expert and you do make mistakes, I hope you can inform me about more about the medieval ages more particularly the 11th or 12th Century. Your reply would be much appreciated
Indeed
Excellent channel. I always wanted to learn more about the properties of the castle. But I would like to learn something else. What about siege weapons? I played in many games of the Total War series, and there the presence of siege weapons made the presence of any fortifications virtually meaningless. A few ballistae or catapults there destroy entire sections of the wall or tower in just a few direct hits. But, I would like to know if these siege weapons were really effective against the castle in reality. And why, instead of using them, many preferred to set aside a long siege?
it remind me of the "turret spam" taktik in classic RTS)
Shad can you make a video on if a titanium sword could work
When I was visiting Dunluce Castle in Northern Ireland in January, I remember thinking that it would've been difficult for attackers to sit around sieging there during winter since it was pretty cold and windy; the defenders would have solid buildings with fireplaces on the other hand. Similar for the old ring fort Ailech in Donegal. I did also think...it was so windy, how would either attackers or defenders effectively fire arrows without them being blown off course into the next kingdom?
+Shadiversity Maybe you could do a castle review for the following:
Castle Acorn
Valdek's Dark Fortress(Lego)
Royal Palace of Eternia(He-man and the Masters of the Universe(20xx))
The Castle of Morcia(Lego)
The Castle of Dracula(Castlevania)
The Palace of Del(Deltora Quest)
You did cover most of the import points, but missed a few points. As a personal residence, it functioned as a secure compond. It must of been nice knowing one's family was safe from chiverous knights doing chiverous things. Chiverous things like kidnapping.
Another point is castles and fortified cities were centers of commerse and trades. Much of the wealth that would pay for one's war was inside the castle. The more important tradesmen were also in the castle.
A castle is a kind of force multiplier....and it keeps the occupant rulers immune from the consequences of their rule
Could you do a video on how things like cannons brought downfall to castles ?
I feel like I'm in Skyrim with that music.
Thx for your awsome content its very educational and intertaining. I wonder if you would like to make a video about king Henry the 8ths turnament armour (the realy realy protective one not the one with the dress thing I forget what its called. anyway the one that has like a full bum plate, forgive me i dont know how else to describe it anyway I could find out the tournament it was for if your interested.) Anyway this is the armor that makes me think of the armor of legend that you couldnt slip a needle through or however its said I just thought it would be a realy cool thing to make a video about. The armor Im talking about was so well made that NASA studied it for designing astronaut suits. I also think it would be cool to co-op this topic with all your CZcams budies. The content request before mine sounds sweet too hope they can both be addressed in the futer thanks for your consideration.🙂
Mercyful Shad, I desperately need the source of the image at 2:51, the elderly lords-looking rad dudes. Pretty please with machicolations on top.
If I was building a castle in the medieval period, I'd build a bridge with several gatehouses, which would funnel the attackers where I want them, and just rain death down on them.
Nice picture of Vindictus, in there
what did people use to combat the different parts of a castle? how did people deal with draw bridges and portcullises, etc.
Could you make an analysis of Castel Sant'Angelo?
Do a video on the defferences between medieval castles and Roman forts plux.
"Winter is approaching!" - House of Versity motto
Could you do a review on the castles in mount and blade: war band, at some point?
Could you do a review on the castles in mount and blade: war band?
Great video. Wouldn't be starving a castle logistically very difficult?
A lot of suplies would be needed to keep the army feed and stable, which might left it specially vulnerable for such skirmishes. I guess that when armies got low in resourcess they would be difficult to command, and propense to raiding. I think the management of resources in marching armies is a very interesting topic, i guess that the leaders has to make sure to fit to a schedule based on the remaining resources and the time they could mantain thee army in specific conditions.
Can you make a video on seasons and warfare. It would be interesting to here why you shouldn't wage a war in winter.
Another reason for castles was that bypassing them was risky. Each castle acted as a center for sorties who could attack foraging parties, communications and reinforcements that passed near them. This often required an invader to leave parts of their army to invest but not necessarily besiege hostile castles in the rear. The lords of castles were more loyal to the own lands so if your feudal lord failed to show up and relieve your castle you had a right to negotiate with the invaders to switch sides or tor hand over the castle.
Wow! You must've bought a new microphone, cause everything sounds much more professional! Like your intro as well. :)
Indeed I did, eventually. All things in due time ^_^
"A small number of defenders can effectively defend a castle from a large number of aggressors"
Like Shad just did in Conan Exiles :D