Author
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Topic: The keep and the donjon?
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thebull Member
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posted 09-30-2006 11:49 AM
What is the difference between the keep and Donjon? My defination of a keep is the strongest place in the castle where the damsel in distress, king etc. are kept and the Donjon is where the criminals and captured foes are kept? The donjon is usually under the keep! Am I correct? Are Dungeon and Donjon the same thing?------------------ Where there's a will there's a way thebull
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Levan Moderator
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posted 09-30-2006 12:28 PM
In the context of castles, the keep and the various spellings of Dungeon are the same thing. Mostly an issue of from which language the terms are derived. |
Maria Moderator
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posted 09-30-2006 01:26 PM
http://www.castlesontheweb.com/quest/Forum12/HTML/000059.html Look here for more information on this topic |
thebull Member
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posted 09-30-2006 01:31 PM
What type of person and/or items are kept in each? |
Maria Moderator
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posted 10-01-2006 10:49 AM
As keep=donjon, a short answer would be "the same".If when you say person, you mean prisoner, then look at the link mentioned above (post by Philip Davis). But the keep is the residential centre of the castle. So usually the lord lives there. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by items... storage cells would have kept food... |
thebull Member
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posted 10-01-2006 02:17 PM
Well the items I meant would be anything of value, like Treasury or food stores, weapons and protection equip when not in use! |
Maria Moderator
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posted 10-02-2006 02:43 PM
"The principle storage place in the castles were the basements of the keeps, which provided secure places for provisions and arms, especially supplies susceptible to pilfering. Sometimes, it could only be entered through a locked door and the keys would be held by a watchman. Some castle storage areas would be below the hall. In Pembroke Castle a cave, beneath the hall called the "Wogan", was used as storage, as well as providing access to the water for re-provisioning."http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castleza.htm This is an extract from an article called Castle provisions and storage. |
Queuxgropius Senior Member
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posted 08-13-2007 10:29 AM
What confues many people is that the English word 'dungeon'derives from the French 'Donjon' but has come to have a totally different meaning, that of a deep, dark place of incarceration. Keep=Donjon and means the central stronghold/building of the castle. Although in architectural literature you increasingly see the term "Great Tower" used instead of either. |