Castlesanswers

MEDIEVAL CASTLES

Name: _________________________ Group: _________________________

Castles

1.- What is a Castle?

A Castle is a fortified building use to defend their lands against invaders. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

2.- Discuss with your Group mates, If you had to build a castle where would you do it? Why? The best place to build a castle is a hill, because it is easier to defend. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

3.- Who lived in a castle?

Kings, Queen, their families, Lords, Knights and servants. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

4.- What are castles made of?

They are made of stone and wood. ______________________________________________________________

5.- What is the great hall?

The great hall is the most important room of the Keep. There they have meetings and feasts. ______________________________________________________________

6.- Did the castles have toilets?

Yes, they did. The dirty water went to the moat.

Read the definitions below and try to label the castle at the following page. After, look at the dictionary and write down the translation of each word.

Moat: a deep, trench surrounding a castle, usually filled with dirty water. Fossat Portcullis: a gate of iron bars that slides up and down in front of a door to prevent passage. Raseta Drawbridge: a platform that can be raised or lowered over a moat to permit entry into a castle. Porta Caladissa Keep: The strongest and most secure place in a castle. The main tower where they lived. Torre d’homenatge.

Rampart: a high wall from which to protect a castle by shooting arrows and launching stones. Muralla Battlement: the open space in a castle wall from which to launch weapons at the enemy. Espitlleres Dungeon: a dark, underground prison. Masmorra.

Barbican: a tower at a gate bridge. Barbacana Bailey: This is a courtyard or open space surrounded by walls. Pati d’Armes.

PARTS OF A CASTLE Keep

Rampart

Bailey

Battlement Moat Dungeon

Portcullis Drawnbridge

Barbican

Cut out the following castles and place them in their correct countries with an arrow.

Bodiam Castle.

England

Bourscheid Castle Lusxemburg

Carcassonne Castle. France

Trujillo Castle. Spain

Chillon Castle Switzerland

Zvolen Castle Slovakia

BECOMING A KNIGHT

The path to becoming a knight began at the age of seven when the son of a nobleman would be sent to a lord’s house to serve him as a page. A page was expected to help his lord dress, put on heavy armour and was taught manners and skills in serving food.

A page would also play training games which included sword practice with wooden swords to help in his quest for knighthood. At the age of 14 the page became a squire – which was a personal attendant to the knight. As a quire he learned riding and all the skills of war as well as hunting, hawking and other sports.

Squires were allowed to carry a sword and shield

- a sign of the rank he had achieved.

When a squire reached 18- 21 years of age, a man who had completed his training was made a Knight in a religious ceremony.

KNIGHTS Knights existed between the year 800 a.d. and the end of the fifteenth century until modern means of fighting and weaponry replaced them.

Training to become a knight was hard work and involved many hours of practice.

After reading the passages about knights, complete the following sentences.

a) The path to becoming a Knight began at he age of Seven when the __son____ of a nobleman would be sent to a lord’s ____house_____ to serve him a s a ___page________.

b) A ___page______ was expected to help his lord ____dress__, put on _____heavy____ armour and was taught__manners____ and skills in __serving__ food.

c) __Squires___ were allowed to carry a __swords_____ and ____shield___ - a sign of the ___rank______ he ___had________ achieved.