Ancient castles still amaze the imagination of not only romantics and dreamers, but also quite pragmatic people. Next to these magnificent buildings you feel the breath of the past and involuntarily marvel at the skill of architects. After all, even centuries of war and siege did not level their walls with the earth. And the safest place of every castle, its heart, was the dungeon - this is the most fortified inner tower.
A bit of history
During the time of William the Conqueror (XI century), one of the most important types of construction was the construction of castles that belonged to the Norman nobility. Perhaps the most famous and ancient dungeon was erected by this king - this is the white building of the Tower of London (completion of construction - 1078). It was one of the most impregnable strongholds of Europe, built by the Normans to strengthen its rule over the Anglo-Saxons. This is where the term donjon came from - it’s the man’s tower, literally translated from French. Of course, for other nationalities this type of structure has its own name, but the essence remains the same.
What is a dungeon in a medieval castle?
Despite the external diversity, all the castles are built according to approximately the same plan. Most often they are surrounded by a strong wall with massive square towers at each of the corners. Well, inside the protective belt is the donjon tower.
Initially, they had a quadrangular shape, but over time, polygonal or round structures began to appear in order to increase their stability. After all, one of the few ways to take an impregnable fortress was undermining, followed by undermining the foundation at the corner of the building.
Some towers have a dividing wall in the middle. Access to various levels and parts of the castle is provided by passages and spiral staircases built into thick walls. This form of stairs is due to the fact that they spin clockwise, which means that it will be convenient for defenders to hold the sword in their right hand, and the movements of the attackers will be constrained.
Ancient architects knew that their creation would sooner or later be subject to attack by the enemy. Therefore, they deliberately made uncomfortable walkways, protruding stones on the stairs, steps of different heights and depths, as well as other “surprises”. The defenders of the castle were accustomed to them, and the attacker could stumble, which in the heat of battle would have cost his life. An additional level of protection was the grilles, powerful doors and strong locks. Donjons were very carefully thought out.
Unapproachable giants
Such towers were built of stone. Wooden fortresses could no longer provide adequate protection from fire, throwing and siege weapons. In addition, the stone structure was much better suited to the nobility - the opportunity appeared to make large and safe rooms that were well protected from the weather. They could make huge fireplaces that would heat cold stone rooms. A wooden building made it possible to make only a small hearth.
Architects always took into account the terrain during construction and chose the most advantageous places for defense for future castles. Donjons, in turn, rose high even above the level of the fortress, which not only made it possible to improve visibility and gave the archers an advantage, but made them practically inaccessible to wooden siege stairs. As a rule, the construction of the fortress began precisely with the main tower, and only then it was overgrown with other structures.
The internal structure of the dungeon
There was only one entrance to the tower. He was raised above ground level and arranged a ladder or even a moat with a drawbridge, so that the attackers could not use the ram. The room immediately after the entrance was sometimes used to disarm visitors, because the donjon is the holy of holies of the castle, it was impossible to allow the possibility of an armed enemy penetrating into it. There was also a guard. On the side of the wall there were alcoves with a small through hole, which was used as a toilet. A similar device was on every floor. Food was stored in the basement of the tower, and it was also one of the safest places to store the treasures of the nobility. However, he also had more prosaic functions - prison cells and a drain pit were located here .
On the second floor there was a hall for meetings and feasts. Since the area of the premises was small, the kitchen was most often located outside the dungeon. Also here or a floor above was a small chapel. As a rule, each fortress had its own church, but the owners of the castle and their titled guests could pray separately.
On the top floor were the rooms of the castle mister and his entourage. That is, they were removed as far as possible from the entrance to the tower in order to provide them with the best protection.
Above the master’s bedroom there was directly a roof, along the circumference of which there was a gallery for the guard, sometimes additional small turrets were attached.
The disadvantages of stone strongholds
But, despite their obvious advantages, such fortresses had two huge drawbacks. The first was that the dungeon is an extremely expensive building. The construction of the castle could only afford kings and very wealthy nobles, and the destruction or loss of the fortress could lead to the financial collapse of a noble house. And even with such costs, castles were built 5-10 years. Their content was also not cheap.
Well, the second, no less important drawback - no matter how sophisticated the castle builders, sooner or later, defensive innovations were inferior to new weapons or strategies of an experienced attacker.