Medieval Castle Information Booklet. Aim: To produce an information booklet about a medieval castle of your choice. The booklet will contain a mixture of information about the castle you have chosen and information about the general changes made to medieval castles over time. Some information will be special to your castle and sometimes it will be about castles in general – this is fine. If you follow the boxes below, it should be straightforward. Presentation: You can present your work in a variety of ways: writing, pictures, diagrams and maps – there is no right or wrong way of doing this, simply present the information in your favourite way. The work must be handed in clearly named and with the teacher and teaching group also clearly indicated. All pages need to be secured either with either staples, paper clips, spine binder or be in a soft wallet-style folder. Please, no hard backed folders. Please do not ‘cut and paste’ information from the internet. The questions have been designed in such a way that ‘cutting and pasting’ information will not answer them. You may however cut and paste pictures and diagrams. Task One: Choosing a castle to study. (Max. 35 minutes) Using the library or the internet to choose a medieval castle to study. Pick a castle that has plenty of information about it – some even feature on ‘You-Tube’. Choosing a local castle is a good idea. You could even visit it as part of your investigation. Our local suggestions are: Bodiam Castle, Canterbury Castle, Dover Castle, Rochester Castle or Tonbridge Castle. (Do not do Leeds Castle as it is very complicated ) Task Two: Introduction. (Max. 35 minutes) General: In the introduction you need to describe / explain why and where castles were built. Think about the new king and the problems he had to deal with. You can include a map to show where he built them. Special to your castle: At this point you can introduce your castle, saying where it is and when it was built. Optional challenge: You may see a pattern to when and where the castles were built. You could comment on this and include your thoughts and opinions about what you see. Task Three: Stages of development (Max. 35 minutes) General: You will find that the first castles were motte and bailey castles, none of which have survived. Describe a motte and bailey castle, include their key features and their advantages and disadvantages (good and bad points). You could include a clear labelled diagram to help you. As no motte and bailey castles have survived it is unlikely that your castle is this type of castle, so you will need to describe and explain the next types of castles: the stone keep castle and the concentric castle. Say what their key features were and why they had them. Special to your castle: At this point you need to decide which type of castle your castle is. Say which type it is and what clues there are to make you think your castle is that type. It is a good idea to provide some evidence to prove this. You could label a picture of the castle to show the key design features. You could comment of the usefulness of the design. Optional challenge: You may see that some things have gone, some have stayed the same and others have been improved over time. You could comment on these and include your thoughts about them. Why did the design of castles keep changing? Optional Double challenge. Where did the builders get their new ideas from? Task Four: Defending a castle (Max. 35 minutes) General: Start with the motte and bailey castles, stone keeps and then concentric castles. How were they designed to protect the people inside? Make sure that you have mentioned the following: arrow slits, drawbridge, crenulation (battlements), gatehouse, moat, murder holes, palisade and spiral stairs. Pick at least three to explain how they worked. Diagrams or labelled pictures are always helpful. Special to your castle: Look closely at your castle. How does your castle keep the people inside safe? Did it ever have to protect the people inside, if so, how did it do so? Optional challenge: You could compare some of these features and say which ones you think were the better at keeping the people inside safe. You can also consider why the castle designs kept changing and which design you think was the best for keeping the people inside safe / the hardest to get into. Do any features stay the same? Task 5: Attacking a castle (Max. 35 minutes) General: Look back at the three main types of castle again and describe / explain how each type could be attacked. Remember to mention the following weapons and methods of attack: siege tower, trebuchet, mangonel, long bow, battering ram, scaling ladder, cross bow, mining and siege. Pick at least three to explain in detail. Special to your castle: Was your castle ever attacked? If so, when and what happened? What did the people inside do? Who won? How did it get attacked? Optional challenge: Give your opinion as to which weapons worked best on which type of castle. What were the advantages and disadvantages of some of these weapons? Optional Mega Challenge: Is it possible that the changes in weapons and the changes in castle design are linked? Which do you think are the cause and consequence – did the change in design cause new weapons to be invented or did the new weapons mean that new castle designs were needed? Task 6: Living in a castle (Max. 35 minutes) General: Research the type of people who lived and worked in a castle. A castle had many functions; it was a home as well as a fortress. Most castles were the home of a local lord, from which he controlled the land around the castle. Some were royal castles, while others simply held a garrison of soldiers. You may want to say what and how they ate, how and where they slept, entertained, bathed, kept themselves warm and even how they went to the toilet! Special to your castle: In this section you can tell us about the people who lived in your castle, who were they and any ‘stories’ about them. Optional challenge: You may want to divide this section into those who lived in the castle and those who worked in the castle. You could compare the lives of the rich to those of the poor, of men to women. Who would you have liked to have been? Task 7: The decline of the castle (Max. 35 minutes) General: In this section you need to think about the reasons why castles are no longer used. Most have crumbled into ruins and those that are still used now tend to be used as tourist attractions, very luxurious homes, hotels or wedding venues etc. Can you give an explanation why this may have happened? Special to your castle: What happened to your castle? How is it being used now? Optional Challenge: Which reason do you think was the most important reason for the decline of castles? How are castles being used today? Task 8: Evaluation and Conclusion (Max. 35 minutes) How similar or different was your castle to other medieval castles? Did it surprise you in any way? Do you feel you understand the role and importance of your castle more than you did before? .