Introduction
Task
Maps
Castles
Medieval Towns & Villages
Medieval Cultures
Creatures
Magic
Conclusion
Adults Page
Image Credits
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Castles
Create Your Own Castle...
Your world will need several castles, so you will need to repeat this
process. Your world may have larger castles inhabited by kings and
queens, and smaller castles or fortified structures inhabited by
lesser nobility such as Dukes, Earls, or Barons. If you are using this
world for writing fantasy or for role playing games, you will probably
only need to know those few that are central to the experiences of your
characters or the stories you create in detail. Let's start with just
one..
What You Need To Do:
- Use the web sites listed below to learn about medieval castles from
different cultures and different times within the medieval era.
- Examine
blueprints or diagrams of a few castles that
interest you, to learn more about their design.
- Keep
notes on things you may want to include in your castle and where you
found them.
- Design your own castle, to be used in your world. You will need to
draw a picture and some basic plans (like blueprints or 3-D diagrams)
showing the layout of your castle. You can use paper or your favorite
computer graphics program.
- Many of the web sites below have sections describing castle life
and the people who lived in medieval castles. Explore these sections
to learn about castle life.
- Make a list of the people who will live in your castle.
Aside from the king and queen, or lord and lady, who lives in the castle?
Are there knights or other warriors who live there? Are there artisans
or craftsmen who live and work in the castle? What servants are
needed to keep the castle running? Make notes about each type of
person you will need and what they do.
You will need to include the following items in your
design:
- Description of Building Materials
- Castle Defenses
- Fires for Warmth and Cooking (and some way for the smoke to escape
such as chimneys)
- Kitchens (are they attached to or separate from other buildings?
separating them can help to prevent the spread of fires)
- Living Quarters (in earlier days many people slept in the main hall,
and servants often slept in the rooms or buildings where they worked)
- Main Hall
- Chapel
- Workspace for Artisans (people who work at a craft that they are
know a lot about and are skilled at)
- Smithy (a smith is a metal-worker, a smithy is his workshop)
- Privies (medieval toilets; personal quarters may also have chamber
pots)
- Water Source (having a deep well can be very important to the people
in a castle during a siege)
- Fields and an Orchard
- Stables and Animal Pens
Look at castles from different areas of the world to get an idea of how
castle designs varied from culture to culture. Your world will need
several cultures, there should be some cultural differences (and
similarities) in building styles.
Look at castles from different time periods to get an idea of changes
in castle building technology over time. Castles take several
years to build, and are often added on to in later periods. So your castle
may have some sections that were built earlier and others that were later
additions. Just be careful and remember to put the initial sections and
the additions
in their proper order, otherwise people will find your castle a bit odd!
Resources:
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