Mediæval Military Architecture in England, Volume 1 (of 2)Clark, George Thomas
History
Mediæval Military Architecture in England, Volume 1 (of 2)
Clark, George Thomas
Architecture -- England; Architecture, Medieval; Military architecture
In the reign of Henry also began to be constructed fortified
dwelling-houses, embattled and usually moated, but not regular castles.
The invasion of the prerogative, under Stephen, led to its enforcement
with strictness in the subsequent reigns, but as there were few
new castles, it was chiefly in favour of fortified houses that the
_licentia kernellare_ was applied for and granted. The earliest extant
licence of this character dates from this reign, and about a score
altogether appear to have been issued by Henry. Of these, six only were
applied for by considerable barons, and in only two cases for castles
of consequence, namely, Dudley and Belvoir.
CHAPTER XII.
OF THE EDWARDIAN OR CONCENTRIC CASTLES.
Every castle, if more than a solitary tower or peel, and having more
than a single line of defence, has more or less of a concentric
character, but in most, even of the largest of the earlier castles, the
secondary defences were of small extent and confined to works for the
protection of the entrance, as at Richmond and Coningsborough, and such
cannot, with any propriety, be called in a general sense concentric.
At Richmond, for example, the original castle was an enclosure within
a fortified wall of which the keep formed a part, a small barbican
covering the entrance, and so of the purely Norman part of Corfe, of
Coningsborough, of Brough, of Bridgnorth, and probably of the original
Tower of London. None of these were originally concentric, nor can the
term be correctly applied to the original castles of the early part of
the reign of Henry III., nor even to some of those built by his son.
White Castle, Grosmount, Cilgerran, and even Caernarvon and Conway,
are mere enclosures, strengthened and fortified by mural towers and
gatehouses upon a single line of wall. Salisbury was concentric by
necessity, the earthworks leaving the builders no choice in the matter.
The concentric arrangement has been supposed to have been introduced
by Prince Edward from Syria. That so able a soldier, and so shrewd an
observer, added to his knowledge of the military art by what he saw in
Palestine is probable enough, but the system of defence for which his
reign became celebrated was in truth introduced into England before the
death of Henry and before Edward returned from the East. Caerphilly,
one of the most complete examples of the concentric lines of defence,
was constructed just before Henry’s death, and was the work, not of the
sovereign but of a subject. Nevertheless, so great was Edward’s fame,
that the system which, though he did not invent, he adopted, has been
designated by his name, and the term Edwardian has been applied to that
style of fortress, that took the place both of the round tower and of
the walled enclosure, and carried forward the art of fortification
from the Early English to the Decorated period of English architecture.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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