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 Castles England & France
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| Author | Topic: Castles England & France |
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Don Potvin Member |
posted 03-18-2000 05:02 PM
  
What are the differences in castles in England and in France as far as how they are built. This is to help my son on a school project. |
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Philip Davis unregistered |
posted 03-19-2000 08:59 AM
In terms of building technique I can not think there are any differences. Motte castles were made of layers of compacted earth (or earth on layers or rough cut stone) and stone castles were made of local stone and lime morter with finishing bits it finer quality stone from various quarries. All were built by hand using simple tools, wooden scaffolding etc. Both societies were feudal and catholic. I imagine the major difference would be that the french workers drank wine with their bread and cheese and english workers drank beer with their bread and cheese. I somehow have a feeling this is not the question you are really asking? ------------------ [This message has been edited by Philip Davis (edited 03-19-2000).] |
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Don Potvin Member |
posted 03-20-2000 06:27 PM
Thanks for the reply. Believe it or not, that is the question that my sons English teacher want him to answer. All of his research so far baks up what you have said. In fact some early English kings even built castles in France to try to protect areas that they had captured. It seems as time went on both England and France copied ideas from each other to make their castles bigger or stronger. The only other difference we found was that many French castles were built along rivers or on open countryside but English castles were built on high bluffs or sea shores. Thanks for your insight. |
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Levan Moderator |
posted 03-21-2000 03:00 AM
In the strictest sense of the question, 'in so far as how they are built' I agree with the other replies. However, if the question really means to ask about differences in architectural features and decorative items, then it is possible to detect some minor diffences in emphasis. This is particularly true if one considers chronological aspects of how decorative fashions developed and spread. Undoubtedly there were elements of French design that spread to Britain and visa versa. This is especially evident in Scotland where sympathies with Catholic France were stronger. The effect of 'fashion' upon castle building also becomes more significant later on when castles become more about symbolic representations of government and wealth rather than simply defensive structures. The kind of features that come to mind are the addition of 'Disney' turrets, cap-houses, orial windows and such like. These are common in both Scotland and France; meanwhile in relatively wealthy England, the practice was simply to abandon castles as Lordly residences and build grand houses and palaces instead. I appreciate that these comments over-simplify things somewhat, but might prove a starting point for further investigation! Levan [This message has been edited by Levan (edited 03-21-2000).] |
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Philip Davis unregistered |
posted 03-21-2000 11:38 AM
The period when the castles were built also has some effect. In the 11th and 12th centuries the great landowners in France and England were very often the same people. The King of England had rights to more of France than the King of France. As Leven says the variations in style tend to be later in the middle ages. There certainly were some stylistic variations as outlined by Leven which became even more pronounced in the 16th and 17th centuries domestic buildings, with the French still building mock chateaux like Chambois. There are a few examples of 17th century English castles the most notable being Bolsover in Derbyshire, but they are exceptional (Military building started to look very much the same in response to effective gunpowder artillery; low, squat and angular). As to the variations on places where castles were built my experience does not hold with your conclusions. There may be more castles on sea shores in England and Wales but this just reflects the higher relative percentage of shore line in England compaired to France rather than a particular theme or practice. Similarly Northern France is general less hilly than England (and certainly less hilly than Wales) so the choice to build on hills wasn't an option for french castles. Southern France which is hilly has several notable hill top fortresses and fortified villages. Castles built on high hills tend to be a bit useless, since they are somewhat cut off from the rest of the land, and are difficult to live in. I can think of several such castles which were abandoned in favour of more suitable, lowland, sites. Elmley in Worcestershire, for one, was abandoned for Warwick castle. By the way the Bayeau Tapestry has a section which includes some men building a motte castle. It clearly shows an antler pick, a pointed digging spade and a rounded shovel. It also shows how the motte was built in layers. Several sites have the Tapestry online. ------------------ |
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