Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/354

* CASTLE. 303 CASTLE. and uncomfortable, and unlil the later period when the outer defenses were strenjrthencd, they not inlrequently sucx-uinlied to faiiiine after the outer works were carried. They ere, Ixiwcver, uncouifi)rtable as residences. This type, which has been described as "a strong post around which a fortitied camp was traced." was followed in Xor- inandy itself, at Chambois, Falaise, Nogentle- Rotrou, and Le Pin; also in the Frcncli prov- inces under Xorman inlluence, as at Chauvigny, Loclies, Pouzangcs, Montrichard, ilontbazon, Beaugency, etc. Often the keeps of such castles were supplemented during the Twelfth and Thir- teenth centuries, or even later, bv stronLier outer lines of defense than was customary when they were first built. The outer walls had been really only for the protection of the outbuildings from marauders, not to withstand an attack in force. Hitherto, even with these improveincnts, the cas- tles of this tvpe were incapable of olfensive de- fense and became thoroughly insecure. The Cru- saders had brought experience in approaching and attacking fortitications and were familiar with advanced methods of sapping and mining, with heay machines and towers or belfries, through contact with the skilled engineers and their works among the Byzantines and ilohanimedans of the East. A revolution took place in the plans of European castles, especially in France, before the close of the Twelfth Century. It is connected, however, more with royal castles built for na- tional purposes with all the resources of the State, rather than with the private efforts of feudal nobles. This movement is individualized first at La Rocheguyon, built by Philip Augustus of France, and then, even more superbly, by its greater rival Chateau Gaillard. built by Richard Cflpur de Lion, which defended all Xormandy against France. At Gaillard the Eastern methods of flanking constiiictions, by which an aggres- sive defense could be made, was first carried out; the type of sipiare donjon, which enforced ignorance of exterior operations and was weak for defense at the angles, was abandoned for the circular form; in fact, curved lines were every- where employed. Another important innovation was the double concentric line of defense of the main castle, beside the keep. This central fort had a strong, irregularly triangular advanced fort separated from it by a tren<th, and with its nose toward the narrow strip of land that was the only vulnerable point of apiiroacli. The river Seine, that Uowed by its base, and by a short curve tlicre formed a promontory, was fortified in various ways — by a fort on an island defending a bridge with a barbican at one end and a large fortified burg at the other, with another farther on. all near Ihe water-level, while above it a triple stockade barred the river. The whole system was, perhaps, the most per- fectly devised of the feudal age; in it eveiything was sacrificed to military efficiency. It was by such works that the quality of masonry was per- fected. Of the Frendi donjons, or keeps, the most important of this period, now preserved, is th-.t of Loches, still over .30 meters high. A little later was built (1-22.3-30) the famous castle of Coucy, the most wonderful of mediieval private fortresses, and exhibiting for the first time the tendency to unite artistic magnificence and comfort with perfect military strength. The new principles of Gothic architecture, with its mastery of vaulted construction, ahme made this possible. The chapels, halls of the knights, and halls of the feudal lords became structures of great size and high finisli. Such were the old Louvre of Philip Augustus, the chateaux of Clisson and of Angers, and other royal castles of the Tliirtcenth Century, L'uder Oriental in- fluence the old wooden balconies or hurdles {hourds) had long lieen replaced by stone- vaulted projections, galleries, and bartizans {madiicouU.i, echungelles), thus doing away with the main defensive weakness of ear!i<'r castles. During this ])eriod the normal form and division if the most numerous class of castle, the Xorman- Englisli. was the following: . ditch, dike, fosse, or moat, surrounding the circuit, crossed by a bridge defended by a barbican and closed by a portcullis; then the outer wall or curtain, 20 to 25 feet high, with its towers and bastions, its terraced walk with single or doul>le parapet; then the gate-house tianked with towers, leading into the outer bailey court with buildings for feeding, organizing, and li>dging the garrison; then a second and higher inner line of defense with its fo.sse and gate-liouse, within which is a second or inner bailey, at the end of which is the keep containing hall, chapel, and accomnuula- tions for the suzerain or lord. Under the Plaiita- genets a small mound, called cacalwr, was often added. .Vt this time in England, and under the Valois in Fr;ince, a great change in arrangement took place, characteristic of the increasing lux- ury of the Fourtcentli Century. The inner court or bailey, instead of being merely a part of the defeiisie system culminating in the keej). be- came a centre of architectural splendor which now showed itself for the first time on the ex- terior. This culminated in such famous royal structures as Pierrefonds and La Ferte-JIilon in France, and in such ])rivate castles as that of VitiC. Prominent English castles were Rochester, Winds(u-, and Alnwick. An entirely distinct line of development had been meanwliile in jirogress in Italy, where it was not neccssar_v, as in the north, to start from nothing. The feudal class established or en- couraged by the Carlovingians could usually for- tify themselves in ancient ruins of great strength, and they had before them Roman and Byzantine models which they carefully imitated. The Tenth Century saw the founding of many feidal houses; and the great monasteries such as Farta, Subiaco, and .Monte Cassino, in the ft>rtresscs by which they defended their possessions, furnished models to the barons. The Roman nobles were among the earliest to develop a type of castle; families like the Crescentii and Pierleoni, and later the Vico, Orsini, Colonna, etc., erected strongholds Ihronghout the Roman province that far surpassed in size and inagniliceiice any of the Norman or Rhenish castles, and were equaled only by the French and English castles of the Thirteenth Century, Such were Borglicllo and Marozza, The dark, narrow, and unlivahle Xorman keeps would have seemed insutlicient to families that held as their city fortresses such great antique buildings as the Colosseum, the Theatre of Marccllus, the ^Mausoleum of Augustus or of Hadrian, and the Circus Flami- nius, Unfortunately, nobcjily lias ever studied this phase of Roman architecture. In most other parts of Italy the establishment of the free oommunes led to the destructi<m of such castles during the Twelfth and Thirtwiith centuries, as