Water goes into the sink from a tank above called a cistern. The center of the castle is called the Inner ward, which is the inner curtain or the innerpart of the wall. The barracks are off to the right of the inner ward. The barracks are where the knights stay. The stables are below the barracks. From the 13th century, castles were usualy built with rings of stone, one inside the other. These are called concentric castles. The outer wall was pretty close to and a little lower than the inner wall. Sometimes the outer wall was so low that it seemed no more than a wall of protection against attacking machines, such as catapults. But it meant that archers on the inner walls could shoot over the heads of those on the outer, bringing more fire power on an enemy. If attackers broke through the outer wall, they would still be faced with the inner wall. In older castles the great tower and curtain wall were sometimes given an outer ring of walls, making three lines of defense. That's a pretty good way to fight off your enemies!

MEDIEVAL CASTLES | knights | weapons | parts of a castle | armor | ranks | quiz

MJHS THINK QUEST JR. 2001

Brady, Matthew, Anthony
Date Last Modified: 3/8/01