Castle

Castle has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning. It is usually regarded as being distinct from the general term fortress in that it describes a building which serves as a residence and commands a specific territory. more...

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Despite this, "castle" sometimes denotes a citadel (such as the castles of Badajoz and Burgos) or small detached forts d'arrêt in modern times and, traditionally, in Britain it has also been used to refer to prehistoric earthworks (e.g. Maiden Castle).

Definition

Castle comes from the Latin word castellum meaning "fortress". This is a diminutive of the word castrum, which means "fortified place". The word "castle" (castel) was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this new type of fortress, then new to England, brought in by the Norman knights. In Spain, a fortified dwelling on a height for the administering authority retains its Moorish name of alcázar, whilst shiro also figure prominently in Japanese history, where the feudal daimyō inhabited them.

A French castle is a château-fort, for in French a simple château connotes a grand country house at the center of an estate. When European castles were opened up and expanded into pleasure dwellings and power houses from the late 15th century, their "castle" designations, relics of the feudal age, often remained attached to the dwelling, resulting in many un-castlelike castles and châteaux.

In Germany there are two names for what would be called a castle in English, Burg and Schloss. A Burg is a medieval structure of military significance, while a Schloss was built after the Middle Ages as a palace and not for defensive purposes. However, these are not usually palaces in the French style, but instead are styled on medieval mountain castles and fairytale notions, and from all appearances are often castles to an English speaker.

Caer is the Welsh term for a fort or a castle, seen in the place names Caernarfon and Caerphilly. Irish dún and Scots Gaelic dùn are used to refer to early forts (see dun), although Scots Gaelic uses the term caisteal for a castle.

Purpose

Castles were built not only as a defensive measure and offensive weapon, but also as a home. They were used for the storage of food and the detention of prisoners. A castle would be also be a social place where a knight or lord could entertain his peers. Castles were expensive, and were built to look impressive, increasing the perceived power of the builder or occupier. Castles were made by their owners for specific purposes, but often evolved new purposes over time. Some of the larger castles would have the entire village within their battlements. Although castles were associated with nobility and most peasants lived outside the castle walls, however in times when the lands were under invasion, all people were taken in the castle in order to provide their protection.

Read more at Wikipedia.org