This section takes you on a journey back in time to visit the castles and cathedrals of Britain. These awe-inspiring constructions form a fascinating chapter in Britain's history and let us trace the changing nature of the societies that inhabited them. Some castles were built by wealthy landholders to assert their power over the peasants and townspeople, other castles were built by kings to defend their kingdoms. Like the castles, Britain's cathedrals represented the power of the rich-although the architects designed and built them, it was the kings and lords who funded their construction.
\IThis section includes text from Castles and Cathedrals, a Cambridge University Press publication by David Aldred.\i
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"Contents of Castles and Cathedrals: The Architects of Power",2,0,0,0
\BChapter 1\b - \JIntroduction: Henry Yeveley\j
\BChapter 2\b - \JRise and fall of the Castle\j
\BChapter 3\b - \JGreat churches, The\j
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"Introduction: Henry Yeveley",3,0,0,0
\BChapter 1 of Castles and Cathedrals: The Architects of Power\b
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"Medieval Architects",4,0,0,0
\BBuilding in the image of God\b
Many different people were involved in building medieval castles and cathedrals, but without the architect nothing could have happened. His genius conquered the problems of design and construction.
A castle had to be a fortress and a home; cathedrals and monasteries had to soar up to the sky, look beautiful but be strong. The architect had to understand \Jgeometry\j. He had to be able to find and organise the workforce of masons, carpenters, smiths, glaziers and all the other craftsmen and their labourers. In his work people believed he reflected the work of God, the Great Architect, who had designed the world.
\BHenry Yeveley\b
We know the names of nearly 2,000 British architects who lived between 1050 and 1550 but the most famous was probably Henry Yeveley from Staffordshire.
Born in about 1325, he rose from being the son of a humble stone mason earning ten shillings (50p) a month, to become 'the Master Mason of the King's Works throughout England', earning over ú3,000 each year. When he died in 1400 he owned many houses in London, and even a brewery!
Henry Yeveley learnt his craft in Staffordshire but because of the shortage of craftsmen after the Black Death, he - like many other masons - made his way to London to seek his fortune. Unlike most of the others however, he was successful. In 1360 he was working for King Edward III on the Palace of Westminster and the Tower of London. Later he worked on old St Paul's Cathedral and when Richard II died in 1399, it was Henry Yeveley who was asked to design the King's tomb.
Although architects like Henry Yeveley needed rich patrons to provide the huge sums of money which such buildings cost, the architects were the creators who designed the work and we can still admire their achievements today.
\BNicholas de Biard\b
Not everyone felt that architects or master masons should be respected.
'Master masons with a rod and gloves in their hands say to others "cut it for me this way" and work not themselves but take higher pay.'
From a sermon by Nicholas de Biard, 1261
\BMonuments to feudalism\b
Castles and cathedrals represent power and authority. They were built by people at the top of the feudal system. Many castles still exist today even though most medieval buildings have disappeared. Who had the wealth to build them?
Castles were introduced to Britain by the Normans. They were private strongholds, built by kings or powerful landholders to protect themselves and their families while they ruled their lands.
A cathedral was a church containing the chair, or \Icathedra,\i of a bishop. It was built for the worship of God, for saying prayers and as the place from which the bishop ruled his bishopric diocese. Twenty cathedrals already existed in 1066.
\BPower and wealth\b
In Roman and \JAnglo-Saxon\j times fortifications had been built around communities not individual families. After the Norman Conquest, castles and cathedrals towered over the surrounding countryside as signs of the power of the kings, lords and bishops. They were the patrons who had the wealth to hire architects like Henry Yeveley to build such magnificent designs. The poor peasants and townspeople, who worked for the lords and made them rich, have no such monuments to their lives.
\BKing William\b
King William was a very good example of a rich and powerful lord who built castles, cathedrals and monasteries.
'1068: When the King was told that the people in the north had rebelled against him, he marched to \JNottingham\j and built a castle there, and so on to York, and there built two castles, and also in Lincoln.
1087: On the very spot where God granted him the conquest of England he built a great abbey, and put monks in it and give it rich gifts. During his reign the great cathedral at Canterbury was built and many others throughout England.'
\IThe \JAnglo-Saxon\j Chronicle
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"Castles and Cathedrals: The Construction Processes",5,0,0,0
Castles and cathedrals were the largest buildings of the Middle Ages. Large numbers of workmen using only muscle power and simple machinery toiled over long periods of time to create strong fortresses and beautiful churches.
\BThe planning\b
Castles and cathedrals were carefully planned by architects using their own experience and perhaps helped by hand-written books of designs. They first drew a plan on parchment or on the ground and some architects made models of churches.
It was important to choose a good site. Castles needed a dominant position and solid foundations. Most cathedrals were built on the site of earlier churches because these were already holy places. First the site had to be levelled. Then, by using \Jgeometry\j, the plan was marked out on the ground and the foundations were dug. In soft ground, wooden posts were driven into the ground so that the walls had a good base. Stones were poured in for the foundations and only then did the walls rise out of the ground.
\BThe cost of building\b
The main problems facing the architects were hiring a workforce and obtaining building materials. This is where most of the money was spent and, as castles and cathedrals became larger and more elaborate during the Middle Ages, fewer and fewer people could afford to pay for them.
Hundreds of small motte-and bailey castles were built by the Norman lords shortly after 1066 but 450 years later only Henry VIII could afford to build new castles. No new cathedral was started after 1350 and none was even being rebuilt by 1550.
\BThe workforce\b
This needed great organisation. So many people were needed they often came from all over Britain. The architect usually had to rely on the master craftsmen - the masons, carpenters and smiths - to find their own skilled workers.
The workers stopped work frequently. Little work was done on Sundays and religious feast days or during most of the winter. But no work meant no pay, as you can work out from the Dover Castle accounts in Wages Paid at Dover Castle. Wages increased after the Black Death, but no craftsman could earn the fees that architects like Henry Yeveley demanded.
\BWages Paid at Dover Castle\b
A list of wages paid to workers at Dover Castle from 26 March to 3 May 1227.
In the wages of Master Adam the mason, Ralph of Popes Hall, master ditch digger, Thomas the clerk and Hugh the smith, for 40 days, to each 3d (1.5p) a day.
In the wages of Hogge Pollard supervising the labourers for 18 days 3d (1.5p) a day.
For a suit of clothes for the said Ralph, master ditch digger 13s4d (67p).
In the wages of master William the carpenter 4d (2p) a day.
To Elias the plumber (roofer) and his man for 28 days, 6d (3p) a day.
To 264 labourers working on the ditches, and helping the masons, ú20 3s 6d (ú20 18): some at 2 1/2d (1p) a day; some at 2d (1p) some at 1 1/2d (1/2p); others less.
H.M. Colvin, \IThe Building Accounts of King Henry III,\i 1971
\BBarrels of money\b
Paying wages to large numbers of workers caused problems. At the end of the thirteenth century, one and a half million silver pennies were sent in barrels to pay six months' wages to the workers at Beaumaris Castle in north Wales - paid for by taxes demanded by King Edward I.
\BThe materials\b
The Normans first built castles in wood but by the year 1100 stone castles were becoming more common. Cathedrals were always built of stone. Huge quantities were needed. Most stone was local but some stone was taken long distances because it was special - marble from Purbeck in \JDorset\j, high-quality \Jlimestone\j from Caen in Normandy.
Transport was a problem. In 1237 stone which cost 3s (15p) at the quarry in Bath cost 22s (110p) to carry to Marlborough thirty miles away. But stone was not the only material needed. Vast quantities of sand, lime and water were needed for the mortar; timber was needed for floors and ceilings, for doors, shutters and lavatory seats; lead was needed for roofs; iron and steel for nails, hinges and firegrates; walls were plastered and painted; cathedral windows needed glass.
\BThe Tower at Beverly Minster\b
Enlarging the tower at Beverley Minster in Yorkshire led to disaster, which could have been avoided.
'The craftsmen who were in charge of the work were more concerned with beauty than with strength. They neither made the bases nor the columns strong enough to carry the enormous weight of the wonderful construction and, although their weakness could easily be seen by the gaping cracks and by the splitting of some marble columns, yet they did not stop. At last, from fear, the priests and the people refused to enter the church. In October a priest, unable to sleep, rang the bell for matins an hour too soon. When all the priests assembled a number of stones fell from the tower. They had hardly returned home when the whole tower collapsed.'
\IHistory of the Church of York,\i about 1200
\BWas the building always successful?\b
Many medieval castles and cathedrals are still standing today but the builders were not always successful. Things sometimes went badly wrong. On the night of 19 October 1360 a tremendous gale blew down the nave of Edward III's abbey at Vale Royal in Cheshire. It had taken a century to build! Nothing now remains of such accidents and we would know nothing about them if the events had not been recorded for us by the chroniclers.
\BMaster James of St George\b
Master James of St George was another great architect. He was hired by King Edward I to build his castles in north Wales. He came from Savoy in southern \JFrance\j and brought new ideas with him, such as spiral scaffolding. The holes can still be seen at Conwy Castle.
\BHow long did the building take?\b
It is difficult to answer this question because building and rebuilding continued for years. Castles could be built quickly - Conwy Castle in north Wales was built in five summers (1283-87) - but the mixed architectural styles of cathedrals tell us they were often rebuilt several times between 1066 and 1500. Generations of monks at Canterbury or Chester lived on building sites and work was constantly interrupted by their services!
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"Castles: The Rise and Fall 1066 - 1087",6,0,0,0
The first type of castle was the motte-and bailey castle. A wooden tower stood on motte - a steep-sided mound of earth - and looked down on a bailey. The bailey was a level area protected by a ditch and a bank with a fence on top. The wooden tower was relatively safe but there was very little living space inside it. By 1087 William also had castles with stone towers, or keeps, in Colchester, Exeter and London.
\B1087 - 1154\b
Stone castles then became more common. Mottes could not support square stone keeps and most were abandoned. If the motte was kept, the wooden wall on top of the mound was replaced by a stone wall known as a shell keep. The stone walls of the keep provided greater safety and bailey walls were heightened to protect against the battering ram and siege tower - ideas brought back from the First Crusade in 1096.
\B1154 - 1216\b
Keeps were strengthened further by having rounded corners or being built completely round, to prevent the battering or undermining of their weakest parts. When the bailey fence was built of stone it was called a curtain wall. As the bailey defences became stronger, there was less need for the motte or the keep to protect the people in the castle. However, motte-and-bailey castles were still being built by the English in Ireland around 1171 when Henry II tried to conquer that country. Historians have calculated there were 327 castles in England by 1216.
\B1216 - 1277\b
Designers concentrated on improving the defences of existing castles. Gateways were protected by drawbridges, portcullises and heavy doors. Sections of the top of the castle walls, called machicolations, jutted out. There were holes in the floors of these sections through which the defenders could fire or drop things on their attackers. Wall towers were better designed. They became rounded so the defenders had an even better field of fire. Sometimes the towers could be defended even if the rest of the castle had fallen.
\B1277 - 1330\b
The most sophisticated of all castles were built in north Wales after Edward I defeated the Welsh princes in 1277 and 1282. Caernarfon and Conwy had high walls, rounded towers and strong gate-houses. Concentric castles were encircled by more than one wall, the inner walls being higher than the outer walls. Both walls had towers from which defenders could fire. The men on the inner walls fired over the heads of the soldiers on the outer wall. This meant that attackers had to break through two walls, all the time being fired on from all angles.
\B1330 - 1550\b
Even before the cannon had been invented, the castle was no longer needed so much. Comfort had become more important to the people living in the castle, as the times had become less violent. Some castles were built as fortified stately homes but few people could afford to build castles by this time. In 1538 Henry VIII feared a French invasion. The castles built on the south coast were the last to be built. They were forts rather than homes.
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"Rise and fall of the Castle",7,0,0,0
\BChapter 2 of Castles and Cathedrals: The Architects of Power\b
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"Castles: The Changing Style",8,0,0,0
Most castles were altered several times during the Middle Ages. Kings and barons were always trying to impress other people and would rebuild in the latest style to protect against new weapons of attack. It is possible to use the different styles of \Jarchitecture\j to work out when castles were changed. Plans of castles are also useful.
Chepstow Castle is a very good example of a castle that has been changed several times since it was first built. It stands on a cliff looking down on the River Wye on the border of England and Wales.
\BPhase 1 1067-1075\b
The first castle was built by one of William's knights, William Fitz Osbern, as a base for the Normans to conquer south Wales. He built the parts we now call the Great Tower, or keep, and the upper and middle baileys.
\BPhase 2 about 1200\b
Two towers were added by a new owner - a powerful baron called William Marshal.
\BPhase 3 1219-1245\b
William had five sons who changed the castle again. They added another storey to the keep and increased the area of the castle.
\BPhase 4 1270-1300\b
None of William's sons had any children and so the castle passed through William's daughter to Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, an advisor to King Edward I. He built a fine new block of rooms in the lower bailey and turned Marten's Tower into his own private castle within the castle.
\BPhase 5 1525-1550\b
There was little change until the Tudor period when the large household of the Earls of Worcester lived here. New windows were put into the gate-house and houses were built along the east curtain wall.
\BPhase 6 1640-1660\b
Cromwell's armies twice captured Chepstow easily in the Civil War. The south wall was thickened against cannon-balls, and openings for muskets were made, but the castle was never attacked again.
The castle gradually crumbled away although people lived in parts of it until the 1950s when it was given to the government as a historic monument.
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"Castles: Their Many Purposes",9,0,0,0
When you visit a castle you can gain some idea from its position why it was built on that particular spot, but just examining the site will not tell you very much about the need for the castle in the first place. In the twelfth century William of Newburgh called the royal castles 'the bones of the kingdom'.
\BSymbols of power and authority\b
Castles were built by rulers: kings and queens, barons, bishops and knights. They were built to dominate town and country so their owners could literally look down on the common people, who were thus always reminded of their lowly place in the feudal system. Today's ruins were once alive as signs of the power and authority of the few over the powerlessness of the many.
\BRoyal castles\b
Royal castles were built to defend kingdoms. When William the Conqueror built the first castles they defended England against attack from Scotland and the north; when Henry VIII built the last castles, they defended England against attack from \JFrance\j in the south. Royal castles were also used to control the monarch's lands and as places to stay on their journeys through their kingdom. In 1214 there were 93 royal castles.
\BBaronial castles\b
Other castles were built by barons and knights; some were built by bishops. They were built in the same way as the royal castles and they were usually built to control the lords' estates. The owners stayed in them as they travelled round their lands. In 1214 there were 179 baronial castles.
\BThe importance of the site\b
The site was carefully chosen so the owner could impress as well as defend. Hilltops were ideal places but good sites could be created artificially, by Mottes, ditches and moats, particularly where castles were built in towns. Remember the houses and shops around the site would have looked very different in the Middle ages compared to today.
\BBeeston Castle, Cheshire - a case study\b
Ranulf, Earl of Chester, was a very powerful baron who not only held the whole of the county of Cheshire for the king, but also had land in fifteen other counties and held twenty-three castles. His main castle was at Chester, from where he was supposed to protect England against attacks from Wales.
He fought many skirmishes with the Welsh prince, Llywelyn the Great, until they signed a treaty in 1218. Two years later Ranulf went to \JEgypt\j on a Crusade. In 1225, after his return, he started building Beeston Castle on an isolated hill fifteen miles from Chester.
He planned it with a huge outer bailey nearly surrounding the inner bailey as he had seen on the \JCrusades\j. He planned very few buildings inside the inner bailey but there was plenty of space for soldiers to camp within the walls. He never quite finished it, and when his son died in 1237 it passed to King Henry III, who used it in his campaign against the Welsh as fighting had again broken out.
\BKeys to the land\b
Castles were built to protect people and their property. If opponents wanted to destroy the owner's power and authority, and take the land, the castle had to be captured. Attackers used a number of different methods.
\BThe castle as a stronghold\b
The development of the castle was closely linked to changing methods of attack. Designers of castles were always looking for new ways of making life difficult for would-be attackers.
\BThe attack\b
There were two main methods of attacking castles: batter down the defences, or besiege the site until the defenders gave in. When battering the defences the attackers used a variety of siege engines.
Castles could be attacked in other ways:
ò Mining involved tunnelling under a wall so that it would collapse. You can still see a mine of 1547 at St Andrew's Castle in Scotland, where the defenders successfully countermined and drove out the attackers.
ò Diseased animal carcasses were hurled into castles to spread diseases; heads from prisoners were sometimes hurled in to demoralise defenders. Occasionally attackers successfully climbed up the lavatory chutes.
ò From 1326 cannons were used but they were not reliable. In 1460 King James II of Scotland was killed when his own cannon blew up whilst attacking Roxburgh Castle in \JNorthumberland\j.
\BWhich side was successful?\b
Sometimes the defenders were successful and sometimes the attackers. Defenders had the advantage of strong walls and towers from which they could fire down on their attackers. Defensive features such as the barbican, which crowded attackers into a small space under concentrated fire, and machicolations made the assault on the castle even more hazardous for the attackers.
Sieges sometimes failed because the attackers could not afford to pay for the wages, food and supplies of their army but in the end any castle would fail if the siege was long enough. In 1266 Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire fell to King Henry III, who had been able to afford a six-month siege.
\BThe Siege of Dover Castle in 1216 - a case study\b
Even after Magna Carta in 1215, fighting continued between King John and some of his barons. The barons invited Prince Louis of \JFrance\j to be king of England, and in May 1216 he landed in England with an army of several thousand men. He immediately attacked Dover Castle, which was defended for King John by the Constable, Hubert de Burgh, with only one thousand soldiers.
\BAn Account of the Seige\b
This is a description of the actual attack on Dover Castle by Prince Louis and his men.
'Louis, with a powerful force of French knights and soldiers, laid siege to Dover castle. He brought a mangonel and other siege engines in front of the castle, and began to batter the walls continuously; but Hugh de Burgh, a brave knight with a hundred and forty knights and a large number of soldiers who were defending the castle, destroyed many of the enemy until the French retreated further from the castle.
At this Louis was greatly angered and swore he would not leave the place until the castle was taken and the garrison hung. Therefore, to fill them with terror, the French built a number of shops and other buildings in front of the main entrance to the castle so that the place looked like a market, for they hoped that they could force them to surrender by hunger and siege, as they could not defeat them by weapons. When Louis heard of the death of King John he was greatly pleased, as he confidently expected he now had the Kingdom of England in his own power.
He summoned Hugh de Burgh, constable of Dover castle, to a conference and said to him, "Your lord King John is dead and you cannot hold this castle against me for long, therefore give it up and become faithful to me and I will give you many honours". To this offer Hugh is said to have replied, "Although my lord is dead he has sons and daughters to succeed him. As to surrendering the castle I will discuss it with my fellow knights".
He then returned to the castle and told his friends, who all refused to surrender in case they were charged with \Jtreason\j for so cowardly a surrender. When this was announced to Louis he decided to go to attack the weaker castles in the kingdom, leaving the strongest till they had been captured.'
Roger of Wendover, \IFlowers of History,\i about 1230
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"Castles: A Part of Medieval Life",10,0,0,0
When people visit castles today, only echoes resound around the roofless walls, towers and empty kitchens, but once castles were alive with the sounds of people living their daily lives in the security of the stronghold. We need to use our imaginations carefully to re-create life in the castle.
\BWho lived in castles?\b
The only people who lived permanently in a castle were servants under the constable. The castle owners travelled around their different castles, staying only for short periods until the food and drink available locally had been used up. When they arrived great preparations were needed. They brought many people and their own furniture - trestle-tables, benches, chairs, chests and linen, beds and bedding.
\BDinner time\b
People often imagine that nobles spent all day feasting. This is not totally accurate, but dinner was a very important meal, which started in late morning and sometimes lasted several hours. The only other regular meal was a light supper before bed.
Dinner was important because it was a chance for the lord to show how important he was. Here guests were well fed and entertained. The hall was alive with bustle and noise, warmth and welcome.
\BWhat did people do during the day?\b
Lords and ladies spent much of the day instructing their servants and entertaining guests. The lord or his steward also held courts to collect rents and punish criminals. In summer and winter they sometimes hunted deer and wild boar. Occasionally the castle grounds came alive with the colour and noise of a tournament.
If they had time, ladies embroidered. Children played with toys made of wood or with their pets - dogs and cats, or perhaps monkeys and magpies. Officials and servants spent their day making sure the castle was running smoothly. Preparing dinner was an important part of this. Most food was boiled or baked in the kitchen using an open fireplace and oven. This was often a long way from the halls where it was served.
\BFeasting\b
Bartholomew the Englishman wrote an encyclopaedia in the thirteenth century. This is what he said about what went on at a feast in a large castle hall.
'At feasts, first the meat is prepared and shown to everyone. Benches, tables and stools are put out, and cloths and towels made ready. Guests sit with the lord at their own table. When knives, spoons and salt are laid out, drink and bread and other dishes are brought.
The guests enjoy the sound of lutes and harps. Then wine and dishes of meat are brought. Finally fruit and spices appear. When they have eaten, the cloths and trestle-tables are taken away. Guests wash and wipe their hands. Grace is said and people thank the lord. Then for gladness and comfort more drink is brought.'
Bartholomew the Englishman, \IThe Nature of Things,\i about 1260
\BPreparing Peacock\b
The food served was one way of impressing guests. Peacocks and swans were tough to eat but looked good on the table. This is a medieval recipe.
'Take a peacock, break his neck and cut his throat. Flay him (i.e. take off the skin with the feathers attached); gut him like a hen; keep the bone of the neck; then roast him. Put the bone back into the neck; let him cool and then bind the skin and feathers back around the body and add the tail. Serve him as if he were alive.'
Unknown writer, about 1450
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"Castles as Strongholds",11,0,0,0
William the Conqueror was the first king of England who tried to rule other parts of the British Isles. Castles were used as signs of English power in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but they were not the only castles built in those places.
\BThe kingdoms of Britain\b
The kingdom of England, which William took in 1066, was smaller than England is today. Beyond the River Humber in the north lay areas ruled by great earls. In Wales the princes ruled. Ireland was split into several kingdoms. The king of Scotland ruled the Central Lowlands but the Highlands were governed by chieftains of the clans. The king of \JNorway\j ruled the Western Isles till 1266 and kept control of Orkney and Shetland for much longer. The British Isles formed a patchwork of different lands and rulers.
William was also Duke of Normandy. From a heartland of Normandy and southern England the influence of the kings of England spread outwards to Ireland, Scotland and Wales and to other parts of \JFrance\j. Sometimes this happened peacefully by marriage, at other times violently by the sword. Occasionally the king even fought his own barons, as happened in Ireland in 1172.
The history of these lands in the later Middle Ages is a complex story of victories and defeats on all sides, but gradually England emerged as the strongest kingdom. Even so, by 1550 only Wales and a small part of Ireland were firmly under English control.
\BBuilding the castles\b
Wherever lords ruled, castles were built. The kings of England and Scotland built royal castles; so too, did the Irish kings and Welsh princes. Great nobles built their own strongholds. Depending upon their wealth, their castles were built according to the fashions of the day.
After successful military campaigns, the English kings and barons built their castles in other parts of the British Isles. They were often attacked but most survive to provide us with clues about the ways castles were used in attempts to unite the British Isles under the kings of England. Castles were built by kings and powerful lords who ruled lands in various areas of the British Isles.
\BCaernarfon Castle - a case study in imperialism\b
When William was defeating Harold at Hastings, Wales was ruled by Welsh princes. In 1276 the last native Prince of Wales, Llywelyn the Last, fought against Edward I. Although defeated he fought again in 1282.
This time Edward built several large castles around Llywelyn's mountainous heartland of \JGwynedd\j. North Wales still has the most spectacular concentration of castles in the British Isles. At Caernarfon Edward built a town for the English and a magnificent royal castle intended for his son, Edward, whom he made the first English Prince of Wales in 1301.
Caernarfon became a sign of English rule in Wales. In 1294 it was captured by Madog ap Llywelyn, a cousin of the last Welsh prince. In 1403 and 1404 it was attacked by the Welsh leader Owain Glyndwr in the last attempt by the Welsh to drive out the English. He failed.
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"Castles: The Decline",12,0,0,0
In Western Europe cannons were first used in the early fourteenth century. Cannon-balls could knock down the strongest walls. Castle building ended in the mid-sixteenth century.
When Herstmonceux Castle was being built, some castles had already become ruins. Instead of moving around the countryside, the great lords tended to establish their homes in one of their main castles, which they then made more comfortable to live in. By the time that iron cannon-balls were introduced in the middle of the fifteenth century, styles of fighting had changed.
More battles took place in the open countryside than around castle walls. It is a popular idea that because castles declined \Iafter\i \Jgunpowder\j came into widespread use, the decline in castles was \Icaused\i by the development of cannon. The reasons for the decline of castles are complicated.
\BReasons for the Decline\b
A popular book on castles suggests there were many reasons for the decline of castles.
'It was impossible that the standard set by Edward I's castles in North Wales could have been kept up. They were never fully used and were too expensive to garrison. The development of great siege cannon is only one small part of a complicated process of change. Privacy and luxury became more important than defence.'
M. Prestwick, \ICastles, A History & Guide,\i 1980
\BEarly Cannons\b
Early cannon were not always effective. They could also be very unreliable.
'In 1460 King James II of Scotland besieged the castle of Roxburgh in \JNorthumberland\j and on St. Lawrence Day before he had heard Mass he would have fired a great gun to shoot the castle, but the chamber of the gun blew up and slew him.'
Anon, \IAn English Chronicle,\i written before 1471.
\BHerstmonceux Castle\b
Herstmonceux Castle in Sussex was built by the king's treasurer in the 1440s. This was over a century after cannons had first been used. Castles built at this time were more like stately homes than fortresses.
\BDeal Castle\b
Deal Castle was built in the 1530s by Henry VIII as part of a plan to prevent a French attack on the south coast. It was built nearly a century later than Herstmonceux Castle.
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"Castles Today",13,0,0,0
Most castles today lie in ruins. There is no longer a need to defend land as in the Middle Ages, and because people want to live in greater comfort, medieval castles which were built more for defence than for luxury have been allowed to decay. In a few cases, however, families still live in them.
\B'Slighting' the castles\b
Most castles were not destroyed in the Middle Ages but in the 1640s and 1650s after the English Civil War, when they were 'slighted' - or damaged so they could no longer be defended. Some castles had already been converted into stately homes. Kenilworth is a very good example.
\BThe oldest inhabited castle in England\b
Since 1153 Berkeley Castle in \JGloucestershire\j has been one of the homes of the Berkeley family. Today it is visited by over 50,000 tourists each year. Many come to see where King Edward II was murdered and how a medieval castle has been converted into a modern home.
\BThe Household of Berkely Castle\b
From 1420 to 1421 Elizabeth Berkeley, Countess of Warwick, ran the household because her husband Richard was away serving the king. Her steward kept very careful accounts, including a list of the people in the household, which we can compare with today's workers at the castle.
\B1420-21\b
The Countess
Three daughters
Six ladies-in-waiting
Three ladies' maids
Nine gentlemen
Two advisers to the Countess
Five superior servants
Fifteen grooms and lesser servants
Eleven unnamed lesser servants
\BToday\b\IResident\i
The four members of the Berkeley family -
\I(September to April)\i
The custodian and his wife
\INon-resident
Permanent:\i
Two office staff
Three gardeners
Three cleaners
\ITemporary (April to September):\i
Five workers in the ticket office and shop
Ten workers in the tea room
Sixteen guides
#
"Great churches, The",14,0,0,0
\BChapter 3 of Castles and Cathedrals: The Architects of Power\b
Click on the \INext Page\i button to begin reading this chapter.
#
"Churches: Architecture Throughout History",15,0,0,0
Most great churches are a mixture of architectural styles because each time they were altered the latest style was used. If we know about these style we can work out how the great churches changed over the centuries.
\BThe nave of Durham Cathedral\b
William the Conqueror built new churches, just as he built castles, to show the English they had a new king. By 1100 over thirty great churches were being built or rebuilt. No great Saxon church survived this change. These early Norman churches were themselves rebuilt later. At Durham only the nave of the cathedral survives of the original Norman church built between 1100 and 1130, but it remains a very good example of \IRomanesque\i \Jarchitecture\j.
\BSalisbury Cathedral\b
At the end of the twelfth century another style of \Jarchitecture\j came from \JFrance\j. Over seventy-five great churches were rebuilt in the new Gothic style called \IEarly English.\i They were much taller than the Norman buildings, with pointed arches and slender graceful pillars. They had larger windows and seemed to soar up towards heaven. Such designs were made possible by the use of new building techniques such as flying buttresses and rib vaulting. Salisbury Cathedral was built from new in thirty years after 1220 although the spire was not added till the end of the next century.
\BWest front of Exeter Cathedral\b
By the middle of the thirteenth century the Early English style had become more elaborate and is called the Decorated style. The designers covered every available wooden or stone surface with intricate carvings. Exeter Cathedral shows this ornate style. Many great churches were rebuilt in the next century in this style before the Black Death reduced the wealth of the churches.
\BBath Abbey\b
In the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries the Gothic style developed further into the \IPerpendicular\i style. The strong vertical lines in the windows and panelling give this style its name. The roofs are often supported by intricate fan vaulting. Many great churches had new towers added in these years. Bath Abbey was completely rebuilt in this style just before the dissolution of the monasteries.
#
"Cathedrals: Centres of Prayer and Power",16,0,0,0
Most cathedrals in use today were either built or greatly rebuilt between 1066 and 1540. From them we can learn about the importance of the Church at that time.
\BPolitical importance\b
Cathedrals were built to rule dioceses. They still look powerful today. Their walls have battlements; their towers look like keeps. Many were built on prominent sites. Both castles and cathedrals represented the power of the rich. Ordinary people, who were usually kept out, had their own parish churches to meet their religious needs.
William the Conqueror knew the importance of churches as well as castles in controlling people's lives. From 1070 his new \JArchbishop\j of Canterbury, Lanfranc, organised the rebuilding of the Saxon cathedrals. In places the site of the cathedral was moved: from Selsey to Winchester, from Dorchester near Oxford to Lincoln.
Medieval rulers were crowned in a cathedral. By the fifteenth century fifty-two abbots and eighteen bishops sat in the House of Lords. Not surprisingly, in times of war, cathedrals and abbeys became targets for attack.
\BReligious organisation\b
A cathedral is a church, which contains the chair or \Icathedra\i of a bishop. From there he rules his diocese. Until Henry VIII closed the monasteries, there were two types of cathedral in the Middle Ages - secular cathedrals and monastic cathedrals. In a secular cathedral a group of \Jclergy\j called canons, who were under the authority of the dean, worshipped and prayed on behalf of the outside world.
\BSecular cathedrals\b
The canons usually lived in houses near the cathedral but although the \Jclergy\j of a secular cathedral were not as separated from the community as the monks, there was still a wall surrounding the cathedral, the church lands and the homes of the \Jclergy\j. The gates were open by day to receive visitors but closed at night. This enclosed area was called the cathedral close and can still be seen today in places like Wells.
\BMonastic cathedrals\b
In monastic cathedrals, monks did the work of the canons and the bishop was also an abbot. The monks were organised by a prior and lived in a closed community. The cathedral was built in the monastery grounds, which were enclosed by a wall. Although many of their buildings were destroyed when the monasteries were closed, some still survive. Worcester is a good example. When Henry VIII closed the monasteries these monks became canons and there was no longer any difference between the monastic and secular cathedrals.
\BEconomic importance\b
Cathedrals and monasteries were important in the daily lives of ordinary people because the bishops and abbots were their landlords and owned nearly a third of the land of England and Wales. Just like the king or the nobles, the bishops controlled large estates. They granted land to peasants and received rent and work in return. Bishops held courts and passed laws relating to religion. Many bishops were the sons of the kings and nobles and were, themselves, extremely powerful people.
\BA Survey of Bolton Manor\b
Cathedrals and monasteries kept careful records of their estates. Historians have used them to build up pictures of life on the medieval manor. In 1183 the Bishop of Durham had a survey made of his nearby manor of Boldon. This is part of it.
'In Boldon there are 22 villeins, every one of whom holds 60 acres of land and pays 2s 6d (12 1/2p) of corn tax and 16 pence (7p) of annual tax and 5 wagonloads of wood and 2 hens and 10 eggs, and works throughout the whole year 3 days in the week, except Easter and Whitsun week and 13 days at Christmas-tide, and in his works he does in the autumn 4 boondays of reaping with his entire household, except the housewife.'
Boldon Book, 1183
\BA Pension\b
This extract illustrates another side of the economic importance of monasteries. In this charter a corrody (pension) is granted to two tenants from a manor belonging to Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire. The tenants received all this in return for a payment to the nunnery at Lacock.
'Notification by Beatrice, abbess of Lacock, that she is bound to Walter, son of the priest of Woodmancote and Mabel his wife to provide them a suitable house in Lacock and to keep it in repair and roof it at her own cost as long as they shall live. She is also bound to provide each day two white loaves and two gallons of nuns' beer, and a dish of food from her kitchen. And 6s (30p) a year for their clothes and other things and four cartloads of wood a year.
Lacock Abbey Cartulary, 1257-83
\BArt and technology\b
Cathedrals and monasteries were centres of both prayer and power. They were also masterpieces of art and \Jarchitecture\j, of technology and \Jengineering\j as medieval masons became even bolder in overcoming problems of design. What they built often survives to help us understand the later Middle Ages better.
#
"Monks and Nuns in the Middle Ages",17,0,0,0
Monks and nuns attended eight church services every day and in between, their lives were filled with work and study. They were supposed to live according to strict rules but they were often criticised for failing to do so.
\BWere the monks and nuns different?\b
Monks and nuns had to make a solemn promise or profession. This made them different from the rest of the population.
Monks and nuns had to promise these things:
ò stability - to remain in the same monastery for the rest of their lives;
ò conversion of life - to remain poor and never to marry;
ò obedience - to obey their superiors and God
Any male from a free peasant family or higher could become a monk, but nuns were nearly all from richer families who found it cheaper to give a daughter to a nunnery than provide her with a marriage dowry.
How many monks and nuns were there?
(Refer to Table)
\BWhat was daily life like?\b
Each day had a regular pattern based on the eight services, but the times changed. One reason was that the day started at sunrise and ended at sunset, so there was less time in winter for work and reading.
\BThe Rules of St Benedict\b
In 1066 all the monks and nuns were meant to follow the rules written by St Benedict. They worshipped seven times during the day and once at night. The rest of their day was filled with work.
'Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brothers should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.'
Rule of St Benedict
\BNew religious orders\b
Many people gave land and money to the monks and nuns so they would pray for them when they died. This made many monasteries very rich and by 1100 a new religious order - the \JCistercians\j - had been formed to try to bring simplicity back into monastic life. They settled in the countryside away from the towns. Another new order - the Gilbertines - allowed monks and nuns to live in double monasteries without meeting. Their church was divided down the middle!
Unlike monks and nuns, friars travelled round preaching. The idea came from St Francis of Assisi, and the friars first arrived in England in the 1220s. They owned no land but relied on charity. They became popular preachers but, as time went on, many people thought they were more interested in collecting money than in saving souls.
\BSt Bernard of Clairvaux\b
One of the founders of the \JCistercians\j was a monk called St Bernard of \JClairvaux\j. This is part of his criticism of existing monasteries.
'Being a monk myself, I ask other monks, "You say you are poor, why do you need gold in a holy place?" The sight of these fancy decorated churches encourages visitors to give money rather than to pray.'
St Bernard of \JClairvaux\j, \IApologia,\i early twelfth century
\BThe Carthusian Order\b
The strictest reforming order was the Carthusian order which was founded at La Grande Chartreuse in the French Alps in 1084. Only a few monasteries followed the Carthusian rules. This description of life in a Carthusian monastery shows how strict they were.
'There were thirteen monks. They all have cells of their own round the cloister where they work, sleep and eat. On Sunday they receive their food for the week, that is bread and vegetables which is cooked by each of them in his own quarters. Fish and cheese they use on Sundays and holy days. They almost never speak, for if anything necessary is wanted, it is got by sign. They are clad in hair shirts next to their skin, and the rest of their garments are very poor.'
The remains of Mount Grace Priory in north Yorkshire shows how the Carthusian monks were different. Visitors were kept out of the monastic cloister; instead they stayed in the guest house, now the mansion. The church was small because the monks seldom met together.
The life of a Carthusian monk was different from that of other orders and the remains of Carthusian monasteries show this clearly. There was no refectory or dormitory. Instead each monk lived in his own cell - a small two-roomed house with a garden which he tended himself. For much of the day he studied, worked and ate alone. In a Carthusian monastery the church and communal buildings were small and simple but the cloister was large because all the cells were arranged around it.
\BPeople in the monastery\b
Many monks and nuns had special jobs. The prior was second to the abbot and had to keep order. The sacristan made sure the church was ready for the services. New monks or nuns were looked after by the novice master.
Until the fourteenth century Cistercian monasteries had lay brothers (servants who lived in the monasteries) to do the manual tasks, but they were gradually replaced by hired servants as in other monasteries. At Glastonbury in 1190 sixty-five monks employed eighty-three servants. At St Radegunde's in Cambridge there were only twelve nuns in 1450 but they employed three chaplains, three male and four female domestic servants and six male farm servants. Normally there were stewards, who looked after the monasteries' lands, and bailiffs who collected the rents.
\BLearning and letters\b
Monasteries were centres of study and learning in the Middle Ages. Some monks were skilled in writing or illuminating manuscripts written on parchment or \Jvellum\j. Illumination is the term which describes the brilliantly coloured ornate decorations, which were added to the manuscript after the writing, had been done.
\BThe Nuns at Kington St Michael\b
A description of the work of the nuns at Kington St Michael in Wiltshire was written by a seventeenth-century historian, John Aubrey, who visited the site a hundred and fifty years after the nunnery was closed.
'There young maids were brought up where they had examples of piety and humility, modesty and obedience to imitate. Here they learned needlework, the art of confectionery, surgery, writing and drawing. This was a fine way of bringing up young women.'
John Aubrey, 1696
\BCommunal life\b
The remains of monasteries can tell us much but not everything about life in them. Other sources are needed to make the empty walls live again with monks and nuns They weren't always very holy!
\BThe Nuns of Godstow in Oxfordshire\b
There are many examples of monks and nuns not following the Rule of St Benedict. In 1279 the \JArchbishop\j of Canterbury sent this order to the nuns of Godstow in Oxfordshire.
'We order that nuns shall not leave the convent except for necessary business which cannot be performed by any other persons. We condemn for ever those nuns who go to houses of friends to escape the discipline of the convent.'
Episcopal Register of Peckham
\BAn Account of a Football Match\b
'At Shouldham Priory in 1321 one of the canons, playing football, killed another player, a layman, who collided with the canon's sheathed dagger in a tackle.'
L Butler and C. Given-Wilson, \IMedieval Monasteries of Great Britain,\i 1979
\BA Visit to Bardney Abbey\b
Monasteries were regularly visited by bishops and abbots of other houses. These extracts come from the visitation of Bardney Abbey in Lincolnshire in 1438, when monastic life was becoming less strict.
'Brothers Henry Lincoln and William Croyland are charged with the habit of drinking after compline, which they deny.
Brother Richard Parteney is charged with buying private goods, which he denies.
The same brother Richard is charged with playing dice, which he humbly confesses he has done.
He is required to repeat the first nine psalms of David during the next fortnight.
It is ordered no monks eat or drink in the town of Bardney or bring any women, however honest, into the cloister.'
Visitations of the Religious Houses in the Diocese of Lincoln by Bishop William, 1438
#
"Pilgrimages in the Middle Ages",18,0,0,0
Today cathedrals need tourists to bring in money to keep the buildings in good repair. In the Middle Ages cathedrals and monasteries attracted pilgrims for similar reasons. They acquired holy relics which many believed had the power to perform miracles or forgive the pilgrims' sins. Then, as now, people had different opinions about relics.
\BTourists and pilgrims\b
Modern tourists, like medieval pilgrims, visit churches, spend money and buy souvenirs, but medieval pilgrims expected to come away from the church changed for the better. Even if a miracle did not take place, they believed they came away with their sins forgiven and higher hopes of reaching heaven.
\BWhere did they go?\b
Pilgrimages to the centres of \JChristianity\j, \JRome\j and the Holy Land were considered the best, but few pilgrims from Britain travelled abroad, and there were plenty of shrines in Britain.
\BThomas Becket\b
Possibly the most famous shrine was that of Thomas Becket, the \JArchbishop\j of Canterbury, who was murdered in 1173 by followers of King Henry II. The shrines of martyrs like St Thomas were especially popular. So many pilgrims flocked to his tomb that a special shrine was built in 1220. Pilgrims who went to visit it were promised 540 days off their souls' punishment in \Jpurgatory\j before it went to heaven.
As pilgrimages became more popular, more relics were 'found'. The monks at Canterbury 'found' the bed of the Virgin Mary and some of the clay from which God made Adam.
\BWhat happened to the shrines and relics?\b
Few medieval shrines and relics survive today because they were broken up during the reign of Henry VIII. Since that time some Protestant historians have continued to attack shrines, relics and pilgrimage as the superstitious beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church which Henry VIII broke away from in 1535. In recent years historians have tried to concentrate on trying to understand the importance of shrines and relics for medieval people.
\BThe Canterbury Tales\b
The pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer were all on their way to Canterbury to visit the tomb of St Thomas Becket. One of the pilgrims is the Pardoner who made money by selling the relics of saints. This is how Chaucer introduces him:
'For in his trunk he had a pillow case
Which was, he said, Our Lady's Veil.
He had a fragment of the sail
St Peter had, the time when he was bold
To walk the waves till Jesus Christ took hold.
He had a cross of metal set with stones,
And, in a glass, a pile of pig's bones.'
Geoffrey Chaucer, \IThe Canterbury Tales,\i 14th century
\BThe Importance of Relics\b
This is the opinion of a modern historian on the importance of relics
'In the Middle Ages people were more religious than today. They were afraid their eternal soul would go to hell rather than to heaven. They believed that relics would bring them into closer contact with someone - a saint, the Virgin or even Christ Himself, who would plead for their soul and help its journey to heaven. Just because most people today do not believe this, that does not mean historians should ignore the subject. It can tell us what people in the Middle Ages thought was important.'
Professor Christopher Dyer, Birmingham University, 1993
\BThe Holy Blood of Hailes - a case study\b
Hailes Abbey was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1245 at the foot of the Cotswold Hills in \JGloucestershire\j. In 1270 it was given a small glass phial said to contain the blood of Christ from the cross. Hailes became one of the most important centres of pilgrimage in England.
Pilgrims were encouraged to visit it by the pope. People, then and since, thought it was a fake. These sources have been chosen to show you some of the problems faced by modern historians in trying to decide the real importance of the Holy Blood of Hailes.
It will help you if you try to separate fact from opinion and try to work out the motives of the different writers.
\BFinding the Relic\b
A monk at Hailes describes how the blood was found by a nephew of Henry III. His father, who was the Earl of Cornwall, also had the title "King of the Romans"
'Edmund, the young son of Richard King of the Romans, (founder of Hailes) discovered the Holy Blood amongst precious relics in a secret room, whilst playing in a castle in Germany.'
From the \IAnnals of Hailes,\i thirteenth century
\BViewing the Relic\b
This is the only detailed account to survive describing what happened at the shrine. It was written after the monastery had been closed.
'The priest showed the blood in a cabinet of crystal both sides of which seemed alike, yet one side was thicker than the other. Until the pilgrim had paid for as many masses as the priest thought were needed, the side with the thicker crystal was shown, so nothing could be seen. When he had paid to the priest's satisfaction the thin side was shown and to his great joy he saw the blood.'
Anonymous, about 1540
\BAn Examination of the Relic\b
The blood was examined just before the monastery closed.
'We have examined the supposed relic called the Blood of Hailes and judged it to be an oily, coloured gum which appears red in the glass but when taken out shines yellow like false gold.'
Certificate of the king's commissioners, October 1538
\BThe Contents of the Relic\b
Some people said that it was duck's blood, others that it was honey. These stories were used later by Protestant historians to attack the Roman Catholic Church, but they may not provide reliable evidence.
'The relic may not have been what it was supposed to be but we cannot trust the sensational statements made at the time of the Dissolution , and afterwards, as to what its nature really was.'
The archaeologist who first excavated Hailes Abbey, W. St Clair Baddeley, 1908
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"Monasteries: Their Dissolution",19,0,0,0
No new medieval cathedral or monastery was built after the Black Death in 1348-49. Just two hundred years later all the monasteries were closed on the orders of King Henry VIII and his chief minister Thomas Cromwell. Historians call this the dissolution of the monasteries. This was one of the most important events in English history.
\BWere the monks and nuns enemies of the king?\b
In 1535 Henry VIII made himself head of the Church in England. Henry feared that the monks and nuns might try to lead the English Church back to the Pope, but in fact very few of them protested at the dissolution. Some Carthusian monks and a handful of abbots and other religious leaders were executed for objecting. So too were the leaders of an uprising in 1536 in the north of England called the Pilgrimage of Grace, which tried to stop the changes.
\BWere the monks and nuns behaving badly?\b
In 1535 Thomas Cromwell started to send commissioners round the religious houses to find reasons to close them. They concentrated on finding monks and nuns who were not living holy lives.
\BThe Abbot at Langdon Monastery\b
Langdon monastery in Kent was visited in 1535.
'I myself went alone to the abbot's lodging which lies next to the fields and wood. I spent a good time knocking at the abbot's door but no person appeared except the abbot's little dog which barked. Then I found a small pole-axe behind the door and with it I dashed the abbot's door in pieces, and took it around the house with me, for the abbot is a dangerous, desperate knave.
But in the end his whore, alias his gentlewoman, stirred herself and after I had questioned her, I took her to Dover to the mayor to put her in prison for eight days, and I brought holy father abbot to Canterbury and here I will leave him in prison.'
Letter from Dr Richard Layton to Thomas Cromwell, 1535
\BCatesby Nunnery in Northamptonshire\b
Catesby nunnery in \JNorthamptonshire\j was visited the following year.
'The prioress is a wise and very religious woman with nine nuns as religious, devout and obedient as we have seen in times past, or are likely to see.'
Letter from George Gifford to Henry VIII, 1536
\BDid Henry need the monasteries' money?\b
Henry was spending more than he could afford on royal palaces and foreign wars. His annual income was ú100,000. In 1535 he organised a survey of the wealth of the monasteries and found their income was ú160,000 from land and gifts. All this became his by 1540 after the last monasteries had been closed.
\BWhat were the results of the dissolution?\b
All the monks and nuns were given annual pensions. Some abbots and priors became rich enough to buy country estates. Twenty of them became bishops and continued to live comfortable lives. Most monks and many friars became parish or family priests, but many nuns just returned to their families. Ten years later the law was changed to allow them to marry.
The power of the Church became much less and people stopped going on pilgrimages. Although some monastic churches became parish churches, most were quickly destroyed. Lands were soon sold to rich local people and to the officials who had helped in the dissolution. Beautiful \Jarchitecture\j, books, stained glass, metalwork and jewellery were lost. But the number of cathedrals increased because Henry made six monasteries into new cathedrals.
The profit to the King from the dissolution was not as great as may be imagined. Because of the heavy cost of the war against \JFrance\j, together with the burden of paying pensions, the seizure of religious property did not add greatly to the wealth of the crown in the long term.
\BShakespeare\b
Some ruins became romantic places to visit. William Shakespeare later described them as 'bare ruin'd choirs where late the sweet birds sang.'
#
"Downside Abbey",20,0,0,0
You can find medieval monasteries and cathedrals surviving today in many forms. Today there are over 1,000 monks and nuns in Britain living in nearly one hundred monastic houses. One of the largest is the Roman Catholic Benedictine Abbey of Downside near Bath in Somerset. A visit there can help us compare life in a monastery today with that in the Middle Ages.
\B'In touch with the tradition of the past'\b
Father Philip Jebb, the Prior of Downside, is proud of the house's history because it has an unbroken link with medieval monasteries. In 1607 the last surviving monk from Westminster Abbey blessed two young Englishmen training to be monks in \JRome\j. They joined up with other English monks in \JFrance\j, where many lived until the French Revolution.
They then had to flee, and in 1814 finally arrived at Downside to begin building a new monastery. Just like medieval monasteries, building and rebuilding took many years. Most of the church was build by 1925 but it is still not completely finished.
\BThe monastery today\b
Forty monks belong to Downside but not all of them live there; one is a chaplain in \JBoston\j, USA. At Downside there is still an abbot, a cellarer (called the bursar), hospitaller (or guestmaster), infirmarer, sacristan and novicemaster. These roles were also carried out in the Middle Ages.
Prayer and study are still very important. So too are pilgrims who visit the shine of Oliver Plunkett, which is at Downside. He was the last person in England to be hung, drawn and quartered for his Roman Catholic beliefs. However, most of the income comes from Downside School, a boarding school for boys, where many of the monks teach. The monks also own a farm and publish books. Their library has 100,000 books and is world famous.
The monastery today is a large organisation. So were medieval monasteries.
