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Show (OA YF F2A3B77+ This castle, built in the Middle Ages, was strategically situated in the middle of a stream. Its only entrance was over the bridge, where a portcullis could be raised and lowered. Around the outer edge of the castle was a continuous platform where the defenders of the castle could be effectively deployed. it would have just outside its massive walls, which were sometimes twelve feet thick or more, a deep ditch called the moat, which could be filled with water. At the entrance to the castle there would be a bridge over this moat which could be raised or lowered by pulleys. The chief part of The Bettmann Archive the castle was the donjon or keep, which constituted the home of the lord. It might be built in the form of a tower. A castle could be attacked only by the kind of machines which the ancient Romansknew for throwing big stones or other missiles. To make the inmates safer, few windows or openings were left in the walls, and these few were narrow. Occupants of a castle could throw stones, boiling oil, or other uncomfortable things upon an attacking party. A castle could hold provisions enough for a considerable group for six months or more, so thatif it were well stocked before an enemy attacked it, the enemy might be starved out perhaps sooner than the inmates. Gunpowder practically ended the security of the castle. “The ruins that we can see in so many European countries today tell us what it could do to castle walls. Pictures of beautifully situated castles may suggest that life in them was attractive. But do not be too sure. They might be damp and cold. Even the few windowslet in considerable wind. Though somecastles had elaborate furniture, with tapestry hung on the walls, others were rather cheerless. Criminals or captured rivals might be kept in a dark, wet, HOW PEOPLE LIVED IN THE MIDDLE AGES 189 filthy underground prison. One maystill see, too, in somecastles the instruments of torture used to make accused people confess or to punish criminals. Accommodations somewhere in the castle or yard were also providedfor servants, fighting men,or relatives of the lord and his family. Sometimes a castle near the ford of a river or on some much-traveled highway was used as the headquarters of a “robber baron” who plunderedtravelers or merchants and then took refuge within his castle walls. The dining room was a big feature of many a castle. Feudal lords and their associates could accommodate a good deal in the way of food and drink. gravy. There were spoons, but only for soup or Ifa diner wanted piece of meatpie, he took with his own hands whatever he thought he could eat and then wiped his fingers on a piece of bread (because there were no napkins) which after being used was thrown to the dogs hanging around waiting for such dainties. For amusement kings andlords kepta “fool,” or jester, who was expected to makefun bytelling stories or doing stunts. Traveling minstrels sometimes went around from castle to castle, singing songs or distributing gossip. For those who liked to exercise their minds the chief sport was chess. If you are acquainted with the pieces used in this game, you can see howdirectly it is related to feudal times. Many feudal nobles seemed to consider the right to fight one of their chief joys in life. Time after time crops were ruined by the hoofs of the horses of fighting men. Church leaders tried to reduce this ruinous practice by establishing rules forbidding it at certain times. For instance, by the so-called “Truce of God” it was declared that there should be no private fighting from Wednesday evening of any week until the next Monday, or on religious holidays. ‘They also tried to prevent personal warfare which would do harm to women, persons connected with the Church, or other defenseless persons. Learning how to fight was a part of the training of all young men of rank. A son of a nobleman would becomea page in the family of a relative or friend, where he might be a sort of errand boy and learn howto behave in “‘polite society.” When he was fourteen years old, and had become a “squire,” he began to learn 190 THE MAKING OF TODAY’s WORLD |
