The Incredible Evolution Of The British Castle Explained

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The Incredible Evolution Of The British Castle Explained

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Күн бұрын

From the earliest hill forts, through King Alfred’s burghs, the Conqueror’s castles, pleasure palaces, romantic ruins, to tourist attractions, the history of the castle in Britain is long, bloody and fascinating. Join medieval historian Matt Lewis as he takes you on a journey through the evolution of the castle from basic wooden fort to elaborate stone fortress.
Where was the first castle in Britain? What are the key components of a castle? What were the rules of castle warfare? Matt has the answer to all these questions and more.
Castles now dot the landscape of the UK that they used to dominate, but how many have you visited?
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Пікірлер: 162

@stacksmalacks8826 Жыл бұрын

I dont want it simplified lol. I want 10 to 20 hours of in depth castle talk! Bring it History Hit!

@le13579 Жыл бұрын

Agreed. 😄 Lindy Beige set the standard with 55mins just on siege ladders...

@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88 Жыл бұрын

Here here!!

@rhyswilliams4893 Жыл бұрын

@@le13579 lindy beige is legendary

@jullietmburu9672 Жыл бұрын

Agreed!!!

@davidogundipe808 Жыл бұрын

This is a lovely piece of history and castles in Britain, I would love more history on them in other parts of the world.

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@ziploc2000 Жыл бұрын

Lovely! I've visited Pendennis and Dover Castles, and the Tower of London. Fascinating to see how these castles served the UK for centuries, being pressed into service during WW1 and WW2. I took my kids to Portland Castle last Summer during a visit from the USA. They enjoyed sitting on the cannons. A day out at a Castle is always a great visit (at least for me).

@julesmorgan5986 Жыл бұрын

For a History of the castle in Britain, you seem to have forgotten the Welsh and Scottish castles. Many predating the Normans by a century or two. There were over 600 castles in Wales and 200+ still stand from ruins to residences. Do try to get over the anglocentric bias and remember there are two other countries in Great Britain.

@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

British Castles were around before the Romans. I think people are confusing medieval feudal landholding castles and keeps.

@julesmorgan5986 Жыл бұрын

@@bighands69 or they could recognise that Keeps were the earliest form of a castle. The Normans standardised the keep with Motte and Bailey, so some assume the french invaders introduced them in UK. Walled and defensive single residences were common, just smaller. Brochs and Brannocks are worth the look.

@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

@@julesmorgan5986 Iron age hill forts could qualify as well due to them having a defensive Perimeter and singular building a their center. Romans employed similar designs. Norman design clearly influenced castle's but it could also be argued that Roman fortifications influenced the normals. I suppose the key is to differentiate a walled town from that of a castle. A grand Normal castle is different from a smaller castle with a keep.

@jonroads8281 Жыл бұрын

Great video, but please do a really really long, in depth series in this! Like, the full, definitive castle series!

@williamrobinson7435 Жыл бұрын

Very well done, a huge subject to cover in a short film. Two castles I have v much enjoyed visiting are those at Pocklington in Yorkshire and Harlech in North Wales.. Really atmospheric places. Nice one team! 🌟👍

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@thomasmoye8235 Жыл бұрын

Harlech is an excellent castle!

@jenniferlevine5406 Жыл бұрын

Another awesome documentary. Really interesting history! Thanks so much!

@sarahmusk7793 Жыл бұрын

A video on Empress Matilda would be most welcome - I have always thought she sounded a very interesting woman for her age. She truly was the grandaughter of William the Conqueror.

@lisamiles8421 Жыл бұрын

I recommend checking out History Calling's recent video on her, was a good overview of her life: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m9qempqWmpm5dqs.html

@spottedreptile2671 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for being a real person to see and listen to instead of a language bot. I’d like to see a lot more from you re castles in British history. Great video, well presented and explained.

@catspaw3815 Жыл бұрын

Some of the finest castles are on the Welsh March, built for Longshanks' subjugation of Wales

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@ageingviking5587 Жыл бұрын

A lot of great photos and videos of castles. Thank you HH.

@donaldwheatoniii1809 Жыл бұрын

History Hit should really talk to the Bamburgh Research Project! Plenty of shots of the castle, but the archaeological dig going on their is absolutely fascinating! Did 5 weeks digging there during uni, definitely within the channel's purview.

@spotontheroad1 Жыл бұрын

What I'd like to see is something on who the architects were, how design ideas shared and were spread, and detail of who actually did the building, stone shaping etc. Same goes for cathedrals etc. Also how they designed them. We're there plans? Do these still exist? What were they drawn on? There must be a good story in all that.

@ineedabetterusername7424 Жыл бұрын

What I'm about to write is gross oversimplification, but generally in the Middle,Ages, castles were built by craftsmen in "guilds" (stonemasons, blacksmiths, carpenters etc.) that were hired by local rulers to build their castles. The various master craftsmen employed usually worked together based on the parameters and requirements of the terrain and overseeing ruler. For most of the middle ages, if a castle had an architect, we probably won't know who it was -- with the striking exception of Chateau Gaillard in France, which was personally designed by Richard I (The Lionheart) of England, who pushed the boundaries of technology of the day. His younger brother botched the design, however, after installing a chapel alongside the outer wall, and a toilet that opened out of the chapel. When it was besieged, some French soldiers climbed up the toilet-chute and opened the gates for the rest of them. As for the Renaissance and Early Modern periods, fortification became more entrusted to mathematical designers -- Vauban of France is considered among the pinnacle of artillery fortress designers -- but much later than the Middle Ages. Gothic Cathedrals are generally considered to have been designed by master craftsmen with heavy oversight from the Church, with the same strange kind of secrecy, apparently, as the castle-builders. Gross simplification, but that's all I've got...

@gregboyuk87 Жыл бұрын

Very much an episode of castles in England. Rarely touched on castles in Wales or Scotland. Castles may have been slighted in England but in Scotland castles were still being used during jacobite rebellions. This evolved into making fort George.

@tuvia4082 Жыл бұрын

Well done, brilliant!

@More-Space-In-Ear Жыл бұрын

So many of my ancestor's names being spoken, it's great to visualise what they wanted and fought for. My 34th great-grandfather came from North Wales on the island of Anglesea, the first of the Tudurs.

@simongee8928 Жыл бұрын

With the shots of each castle / fortified location / hillfort I this excellent video, it would be very helpful to include the locations. 😁

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@MargaretUK Жыл бұрын

Yes, I thought that too

@howardg396 Жыл бұрын

Great program, with some very interesting information that I for one never even considered. Keep up the good work.

@cgross82 Жыл бұрын

We really enjoyed touring Edinburgh Castle during our 2017 visit to Scotland and learning about its history.

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@CrawlTheWall Жыл бұрын

Your set design could probably do with a garment steamer to get those creases out of the back drop

@joansavage1857 Жыл бұрын

That was so interesting!! Thank you….

@donaldpyper4627 Жыл бұрын

This should be renamed to ‘castles of England post 1066’ as it ignores the very much earlier Brochs, Duns like Dumbarton which saw the longest recorded siege of the Viking age in Britain or the 15 century development of tower houses as minature farm castles.

@castlesandlegends Жыл бұрын

Fantastic video outlining our wonderful castle history

@MrEdmontonman Жыл бұрын

Great video. 👍👍👍

@liamcassie4538 Жыл бұрын

The artwork of the collapsing keep during the section on Goodrich Castle was actually Scarborough Castle, destroyed during the same period by the Parliamentarians using the Cannon Royal, the biggest in the country at the time.

@megangoggans1208 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for explaining this because I've found it all very confusing over the years.

@JavierArveloCruzSantana Жыл бұрын

You got a new subscriber. wonderful content.

@bigbasil1908 Жыл бұрын

There are plenty of walled towns in France that were communal castles if you class everything within the castle walls to be part of the castle.

@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

Castles existed in Britain in pre Roman era. Now their design did change and would have been influenced by continental styles.

@anthonystevens8683 Жыл бұрын

A great overview of the UK castles from build to the current state. It would be great if some content could focus on a tad more detail on some of the individual castles. For example Farleigh Hungerford.

@dave1994jones Жыл бұрын

Orford Castle in Suffolk was used as a Radar station during ww2

@54mgtf22 Жыл бұрын

Love your work 👍

@jerryjohns7358 Жыл бұрын

Great narrator!

@le13579 Жыл бұрын

Big fan of Matt Lewis, thanks!

@davidcreager1945 Жыл бұрын

Very informative video ! Loved it . But what about the dungeon ?

@VonChoker Жыл бұрын

it's odd you guys didn't even briefly mention the roman occupation of britain and their forts

@apachealpha3411 Жыл бұрын

Great video, really interesting. It’s a shame you didn’t manage to cover much of the romantic period (18th / 19th centuries) when most of the replica castles / follies were built but otherwise really interesting to watch 👍

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@SeanCSHConsulting Жыл бұрын

ugh No. The video is fine. Romance castles are trash.

@YouChwb Жыл бұрын

Who loved the Monty Python (Holy Grail) skit when the King was talking about when his castles burned down, then he built another one on top of the one that burned down, etc? 🤣🤣🤣

@joesanchez979 Жыл бұрын

Excellent video 👍

@Official_ThioJoe Жыл бұрын

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@plebcrabslayer Жыл бұрын

While understanding the need for a simplified version (e.g., as an overture meant to entice/woo/sway/attract a new audience), a rabbit-hole version seems to resonate with a bit of the commenters (and their repliers). For either type of video, I would suggest one of two things: include animations of the esoteric vocabulary mentioned (with definitions), such that viewers (including non-castleheads or members of the ESL community) might better understand the material; or hire me to transcribe the dialog and create soft subtitles for inclusion in future videos! :D

@richardstephens3327 Жыл бұрын

I have always wondered why fortifications that predate 1066 of not usually counted as castles. It seems to me that under your definition many hillforts and Roman structures could fit very well under the definition yet they are never considered such?

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@LACTATINGLEMON Жыл бұрын

I drive past maiden castle on my way to work everyday and I still can’t believe the work that must have gone into it

@Familylawgroup Жыл бұрын

It would be helpful if you would put up text boxes spelling the Castle vocabulary and providing a brief definition, in italics.

@andrewcryan1 Жыл бұрын

Does anyone know what the castle at 17:50 is called?

@WoWRoleplayGear Жыл бұрын

It's Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland.

@andrewcryan1 Жыл бұрын

@@WoWRoleplayGear Cheers, mate

@Pabst_Comandante_I. Жыл бұрын

Dont forget to dig a ditch when you build your castle, everyone :D

@le13579 Жыл бұрын

Many ditches. 😉

@Pabst_Comandante_I. Жыл бұрын

@@le13579 Once you are done with the first one then dig another ^^

@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

A slope would be far more effective with defensible positions and a clear view of the attacking points. A small garrison could hold out against a whole army with that.

@Chris-ut6eq Жыл бұрын

Interesting minor point, your anti-clockwise stair example would favor the defender's right arm swing vs the attacker's walled blocked right arm. So not sure your statement about anti-clockwise stairs helps settle anything.

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@kleinerprinz99 Жыл бұрын

In contrast on the continent: in the Holy Roman Empire the besiegers not always followed these rules: The Arch-Bishopry of Cologne were very aggressive and ruthless and expansive feudal lords: they executed the garrison despite them surrendering immediately. To this day the church is one of the biggest land owners.

@italianbirdvideos6190 Жыл бұрын

Great stuff! By your definition- single, privately owned , fortified structures- would Brochs constitute a castle? It seems they predate these examples considerably. .

@robnewman6101 Жыл бұрын

Bishop's Stortford Castle.

@NoOrdinaryRabbit93 Жыл бұрын

Having grown up in a town with the UKs second largest castle, it's funny to me how much of this was just my part of my regular History classes, not to mention the 5 minute walk to said castle being designated a school trip 😂 Not in England though btw

@Official_ThioJoe Жыл бұрын

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@ziploc2000 Жыл бұрын

Edinburgh?

@NoOrdinaryRabbit93 Жыл бұрын

@@ziploc2000 I wish but no. It has a leaning tower if that helps?

@ziploc2000 Жыл бұрын

@@NoOrdinaryRabbit93 Caerphilly! I regret despite living in the UK for over 40 years I never made it to any of the great Welsh castles. I'm going to have to make those part of a future trip. I now live in the USA, not many castles here :-(

@NoOrdinaryRabbit93 Жыл бұрын

@@ziploc2000 Yes! Caerphilly indeed. I think Caerphilly and Conwy are absolute must sees if you're doing a castle trip 👍

@stephenmudiecastles.2938 Жыл бұрын

The first castles in England were built before 1066, Norman's who came to England with the king (later known as the Confessor) Edward, were given land on which they built them. The first castle is believed to have been Clavering (or called Robert's castle) in Essex, possibly built before 1050. There are about three others built before 1066, Richard's castle, Ewyas Harold castle and Hereford castle. Clavering was a ringwork with the others being motte and baileys.

@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

A castle is a fortified position and clearly they existed in Britain before 1050 and can be seen to exist in the iron age. The idea of a singular castle building that everybody can recognise today is a later development. Most of these types of historical presentations are infused with modern politics.

@stephenmudiecastles.2938 Жыл бұрын

@@bighands69 Most castle experts including Mark Morris describe a castle as "a fortified place that was also the home of the lord". A lot of earlier fortifications do not fit into that classification, therefore the term "castle" would not fit with their description.

@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

@@stephenmudiecastles.2938 That is a feudal based castle that is part of land holding or a Baron. That is what most people think of when they are talking about a castle. Such fortifications were used in Britain in the iron age. They could include a walled perimeter with a central building at their core. They could also be a building on top of a hill or mound. Roman forts can do the exact same thing and had gate houses on their entrances and one or two buildings at their center.

@carag2567 Жыл бұрын

So what I'm hearing is that the way to overtake a castle is to intercept the letter requesting help.

@jonathanscott7372 Жыл бұрын

After living over 30 years in England with all the sleighted castles almost everywhere, I found it strange to see small castles in Europe still with a roof and inhabited. I realise they were not meant as homes, but I think martello towers could also have been included.

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@skepticalbadger Жыл бұрын

You should go to Scotland. Many beautiful quite intact castles. I recommend Creighton.

@Capt-Harpoon Жыл бұрын

It seems that castles have a too broad meaning in British English. Some castles are more of a fort in a the meaning of military garrison. Others more like a mansion (chateau) with little defensive capabilities

@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

Nope. A castle is a fortified position. They have various styles and applications of power. A medieval feudal castle would have been dominated by a keep.

@glennrichardmurphie1779 Жыл бұрын

Where on History Hit is it? I cant find it..

@robnewman6101 Жыл бұрын

Saffron Walden Castle.

@mrgallbladder Жыл бұрын

Why is this video so quiet?

@onbedoeldekut1515 Жыл бұрын

Pevensey feels somewhat forgotten.

@harrybruijs2614 Жыл бұрын

From castrum, I should think castellum is more lgical

@peterward3965 Жыл бұрын

My local castle was home to the Bishop of Winchester from 1166 to 1927, name that castle.

@NoOrdinaryRabbit93 Жыл бұрын

Wolvesey?

@davidwong9230 Жыл бұрын

Farnham Castle. I enjoyed an overnight stay there once, whilst attending a conference being held there.

@peterward3965 Жыл бұрын

@@davidwong9230 Did you encounter any of the ghosts, as the castle has several. My friend Carol worked at the castle and encountered one, like a monk figure. She was gone and handed in her notice lol 😂

@peterward3965 Жыл бұрын

@@NoOrdinaryRabbit93 Bishop Wolsey, and Bishop Morley. Apparently haunt Farnham castle 🏰

@davidwong9230 Жыл бұрын

@@peterward3965 nope, but as I’m a sound sleeper, maybe there wasn’t a ghost of a chance of that 😆 As for bumping into monks, one could get into a habit of doing that 😂

@paulboucher806 Жыл бұрын

What's a cassal?

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@skepticalbadger Жыл бұрын

An indicator that your English isn't very good.

@paulboucher806 Жыл бұрын

@@skepticalbadger I was brought up in Hampshire and we pronounced it Castle

@simongee8928 Жыл бұрын

As the word comes from the Latin 'castrum' which is spoken with a short 'a', then his pronunciation is historically correct. 😁

@sanderson9338 Жыл бұрын

I would argue that the 2000 year old Scottish brochs were the first castles

@jamest2401 Жыл бұрын

Goddamn Cromwell for destroying so many of these magnificent structures!

@neilsimpson3181 Жыл бұрын

Would not the Roman Saxon forts qualify?

@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

Yes and so do castles before that period. Now what should be differentiated is the type of castles. What the video is trying to describe in the UK is castles that were part of feudal land holdings that would have a castle keep. Britain really suffered during the dark ages while areas of Europe would have flourished. It is one of the reasons why it appears that castles were introduced from Europe when there clearly is evidence of castles pre Roman in Britain. The video is a good video in giving a sort of overview.

@Lassisvulgaris Жыл бұрын

My castle is my home....

@simongee8928 Жыл бұрын

The lack of castles in England was probably due to the country being ruled by a mix of shire lords and minor warlords who's flexible land gains and losses for various reasons didn't warrant the time, labour and expense of building a single 'power base'.

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

Britain was an Island and that acted as a barrier to invasions from outside and tended to mean that landholdings were managed differently from that of continental Europe that was a wide open flat plain. The main kingdoms that developed in Europe during the dark ages and middle ages were in the coastal regions and hilly regions near the coast. There are a few exceptions along river transports points. That meant that hordes could not sweep through the areas.

@johnrice3882 Жыл бұрын

It's still such a damn shame that we've got jolly old England's castles here in Wales, where our traditional Welsh castles are left in ruins! Nearly writing us off the historical map,IN OUR OWN COUNTRY!!! Time for a rethink with this malignant relationship with our neighbours i think. Cymru am byth!!!!

@bigbasil1908 Жыл бұрын

Ikea flat pack castles eh?

@nigeh5326 Жыл бұрын

Weirdly just after he defines the word ‘castle’ 3 times my LG tv has turned off 😳. Never had that happen before, spooky 😊

@jontalbot1 Жыл бұрын

I appreciate its simplified but it is not very informative and contains errors and omissions. There is no mention of Roman castles, no explanation of why square towers were phased out, why castles evolved into homes etc. Confining the content means the greatest castles ever built (in North Wales) where the lessons of the Crusades were applied, are omitted. TBH I don’t think this bloke knows his subject

@bighands69 Жыл бұрын

The video is really focused on medieval and feudal castles in the context that people understands them. When the Normans showed up the UK had gone through centuries of a dark period with the late saxon period being the start of the revival of Britain. Several starts before that collapsed. The castle as we understand it today is a feudal land holding with a fortified position with a keep.

@anthonyramirez9925 Жыл бұрын

Getting your castle destroyed because you don’t have a license for it, looks like Robin Hood men in tights wasn’t making it up when his castle got repossessed

@michaelwhite8031 Жыл бұрын

I can't forgive parliament for destroying all those beautiful castles.

@Jager-uq1dc Жыл бұрын

When will they be called back into military service again...?

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@jetsons101 Жыл бұрын

Left vid at the first "BCE"

@emersongarcia7128 Жыл бұрын

Talk faster. Might get done by sun-down.

@stephengraham5099 Жыл бұрын

BC not BCE !

@multifaceteduser3405 Жыл бұрын

it's so irritating people saying 'BCE' instead of BC. Just unnecessarily complicating things

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@GBScouts Жыл бұрын

Not complicated if you believe there never was a Christ!

@skepticalbadger Жыл бұрын

By one whole letter. Such a fucking hardship.

@cleverusername9369 Жыл бұрын

I'm sorry you can't handle one single letter. Your life must suck, considering E is the most commonly used letter in the English language. Bless your heart.

@MandoHalrissian Жыл бұрын

Have a fucking day off

@aaronburr3304 Ай бұрын

4 minutes in and it's off the rails. What year is BCE? Cut back on the amount of semen in your soy latte.

@JohnyG29 Жыл бұрын

Not a great presenter.

@ThatIsJustCrazyTalk Жыл бұрын

Please stop saying “BCE” and “CE”. It sounds moronic and is inappropriate and inaccurate!

@Official_ThioJoe930 Жыл бұрын

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@Plymouth888 Жыл бұрын

🙄It's been a standard for a long time. Best not cock your gun about it.

@michael7324 Жыл бұрын

I think your wrong

@ThatIsJustCrazyTalk Жыл бұрын

@@michael7324 Such an erudite comment. I bow to your wisdom. Do you know why it sounds moronic, is inappropriate, and inaccurate? Is it just a coincidence that the “Common Era” STARTS with the birth of Christ? Me thinks not. Therefore the terms “Before the Common Era” and “Common Era” are moronic, inappropriate, and especially INACCURATE! So, knowing this, who’s wrong?

@ziploc2000 Жыл бұрын

@@ThatIsJustCrazyTalk The year of Christ's birth is uncertain, the information in the gospels is contradictory.

@tonycasey3183 4 ай бұрын

The History Hit channel has a short, twenty minute video called The Incredible Evolution Of The British Castle Explained. You should watch it to understand the bits and types of castles.