castle keeps
Fortress central towers
A castle keep is the central fortified tower of a medieval castle, typically the strongest and most defensible structure within the walls.
It served as the lord's residence and final refuge during siege.
The term appears almost exclusively in the plural when discussing castle architecture generally: The castle keeps of Norman England were built to intimidate.
- turretsSmall projecting towers
- lordsMen of high rank
- noble familiesLineages of aristocratic rank
- coat of armsHereditary symbolic emblem
- strongholdsFortified places of strength
parapets · feudalism · Norman conquest · fortifications · stone masonry · stone walls · knights · bastions · spiral staircases · crenellations · guardrooms · vaulted ceilings · legends · historical novels · fairy tales · damsel in distress · sieges · epic poetry
- medieval museumsilluminated manuscripts, illuminated texts, Tower of London, Bayeux Tapestry, guild halls
castle keepscurtain walls
Non-load-bearing exterior barriers
barbicans · gatehouses · moats · ramparts · palisades
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