The Study On The Castle's Regional Influence Of Western Europe In Middle Ages

Castle is a unique kind of construction which is connected to the Western European society in the Middle Ages.It represents authority of feudal lords.It was a weapon used by lords to dominate territories in long period time in the Middle ages.Before the 11th century,due to material shortage and lack of architectural technology,castles in western Europe were made by earth and woods with simple structure.Facing cavalries and other soilders,even this kind of primary castle could be a effective defence.They protected lord's family and retinues in siege war.In the 11th and 12th century,castles were built by stone.They became more massive.During the Crusades,western Europeans learnt techniques form the East and optimized the construction of castle.These techniques strengthened the castle and expanded the area where dominated by the castle,protecting lord's family and peasants live around the castle.A small part of garrisons could guard the castle well.Weapons installed on the castle gave it a chance to initiative attack instead of passive defence.In that unsafe society,the monarchy was week.It's the best way to build a castle to control the territory newly conquered,so lords built castles one after another.At time of pease,lords exercised their power of politics,economy and military affairs in castle.It was the centre of these power.Usually,castle was under the jurisdiction of lord himself,however,if he possessed many castles,he would set castellans to help him to administrate it.In early Middle Ages,due to the lord-vassal system,the power broke into pieces,feudal lords were self-supporting and self-sufficient.As a form of architecture the number of castle was increased.In the 13th century,with the development of agricultural productivity and commodity economy,lord's interests got from manors were decrease,the degree of freedom in peasant community was increase.Medieval cities appeared.In order to get industrial products,luxury goods and ensure their economic sources,lords accelerated the progress of urban development.Initially,some cities rose near the castle because safe condition and perferential polities offered by lord,castles and cities associate with each other gradually.In the 14th century,firearms were used in Western Eurpe.Facing of this new weapon,the castle was no longer a solid construction.Its ability of military defense and regional controlling reduced.Nobilities transformed the castle because of the trend of modernistic life style in the late Middle Ages.Castle occupants began to pay more attention to livable degree,so the castle became livable and luxury.The castle was not regarded as the centre of military affairs,politics,economy in region.It became a kind of historical inheritance and symbol.