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The Great Hall

The castle layout is baileys and mottes.  There is an inner and outer bailey which is inside the motte, surrounded by a wall.  There are also other things like walls and gates but here you will be learning about the Great Hall, the center of castle life, which is in the mottes and baileys.  It does not actually look like a hall because it has two or more floors and is more square than rectangular and had a large ceiling.  The king transacted business with a steward, ate, sleepy and socialized in the Great Hall with a ton of other guests but just in a bigger room.  There are two versions of the Great Hall, a wooden version and a stone version.

As you could guess the wooden version came first just because it is simpler and cheaper to make.  On the top floor guests rooms were built for special guests the king had over and commoners, common people if you couldn’t tell by the name.  Also on the upper floor, the king and his family would sleep in one room that is just the same size as all the other guests.  If I was the king I would protest against that!  On the bottom floor there were kitchens, where the king would order food from, servant’s quarters (they had to sleep somewhere.)  There were also stables where the animals were kept and then, chop, they are magically in the kitchen.  Another room in the lower floor is the store houses where they would store all the food and drinks.  On this type of castle the Great Hall is in the motte and bailey.

This is the dining room in the Great Hall.

On the other type of castle, the ones made with stone, the Great Hall is pretty different but also kind of the same.  On the bottom floor there are cellars, boxes of clothing and spices, granaries, barrels, casks, and other household items, like spoons and forks.  On the floor above there were rooms of the residents, larders, which is food storage, pantry the bread room, and the buttery the wine and beer room.  On the very top floor were the attics, sons of the lords’ room on one side of the attic and the daughters’ side on the other side of the attic.  The king’s room is up there too.  On this type of castle the Great Hall was only in the bailey.

Delicious Foods

In medieval Europe they ate exotic foods in the castles.  Large feast were enjoyed by the king and his visitors.  The recipes though were hardly written down because they were often destroyed.  Poor people didn't record them at all, they were just passed down from generation to generation.  Broth was a very common food in the castles because they were easily made and tasty.  Other common foods included jellies; deep fried doughs, like doughnuts; roasted meats, mostly cows, with sauces; pasta; and omelets. 

Foods they don't eat are birds.  They don't eat birds because it is forbidden and their religion does not believe in eating birds.  The only birds they do eat are chicken on a holiday.  The castle life also grew wheat, oats, barley, and beans.

Art in the Castle

Castles seem like they were beautiful when they were still around.  This is because the castle was filled with art. Some of the art was tapestries.  Tapestries are a cloth that can show a story.  They used to be hung on castles but later on were painted right on the wall.  A single threader could make one of these, a meter in length, in one year.  The threads were wool, silk for light colors, silver and gold.

Another type of art in a castle is stained glass windows.  These are translucent material that are made of glass and sometimes shows a picture or story.  Later on in castle life stained glass windows became much bigger.  They let more light into churches and showed stories from the bible, gospel, and lives of saints.  

Castles Defenses

In the medieval ages castles had to be defended somehow, but how?  The medieval castle was a base of defense in which knights could strike opposing forces when they saw them.  There were look out posts where garrisons could see for miles.  Castles in the 12th and 13th century were much of medieval warfare and kings would love to conquer new castles because they were a military center.  Lots of military supplies were stored there so that the military could always be sure they could not be taken over.

One castle in particular was famous for it's defenses.  This castle is called the Dover Castle.  It was built on a sea side cliff so 50% of the Dover Castle was already protected.  Also, the Dover Castle was built on a rocky base so people couldn't dig under it.  Usually castles had the bailey in front of the motte but the Dover Castle had the motte inside the bailey surrounded by a wall and a tower in the middle.  That was a very smart thing to do. 

Some defenses on regular castles were moats, or ditches filled with water.  Also,  the walls were really high and eventually were made of stone so the walls were basically fire proof.  Two towers were built beside the gate since that was the weak spot.  Archers on the towers and men in the towers were there to charge if archers died or too many people were charging.

The Entertainment

Castles had many types of entertainment to make people laugh and dance or just cheer for their favorite team.  One type of entertainment is hunting and hawking.  This was done by having someone tying a bell to a hawk, so you can follow it.  The hawk will hunt and get some food.  Then you follow the bell noise and try to catch the hawk, and if you do then you get to keep the hawk and it shows great performance.  You carry it on your arm around the castle to show off.  The king always has a hawk if he caught it or not.

Another game is rough ball game.  It is pretty much an old version of hockey.  You would have a leather ball and hit it with a long, curved wooden stick.  There were two teams of five and they tried to hit in the goal.  You could also tackle or wrestle the person with the ball.

Another form of entertainment is musical.  One type of instrument was the Hurdy-Gurdy.  To play it you have to turn the handle on the side and then press the keys.  Another instrument is the drums.  The drums were played in a complex pattern; someone had it on their back while someone behind them played it.  A person who played an instrument is the minstrel.  He or she played a wooden pipe tied to a hollow cow horn with a leather strap.  They often wore a checkered pattern shirt.

The last type of entertainer was a jester.  His job was to make people laugh.  He wore bells around his legs and told crude jokes.  He also could say things to the king that other people dare not to say.