Internal Features
Bodium Castle was originally a home with about three to 4 floors. Evidence to support this is the beam holes in the walls left by original floorboards and fire place holes indented in the walls. There was a large kitchen on the lower floor with a large cooker. Below was a well were the garderobes were. Here food could be stored as this floor was cool and meant it would take longer for food to rot here.
Also on the lower floor were the lord and ladies quarters. From the height of the doors and other heights of rooms it was evident that the people who lived there at the time were shorter than today’s generation. In addition to the lord and ladies quarter on the lower floor was the chapel. This was apparent due to the shape and size of the window on one side. Religion played a big part in earlier centuries because of plagues such as the Black Death and so it was essential for the castle to have a large chapel.
Castle Development
Motte and bailey castle were built all over England and Wales and were the first developed castles because they were quick, easy and cheap to build Below is a picture of the first type of Motte and Bailey castle
However the did have some down falls. Due to that fact that they were made from wood they were subject to being set on fire or for the wood to begin weathering.
The next castles to be built were stone keeps. This was a natural extension of Motte and Bailey Castles. As the faults of Motte and Bailey castles were discovered so were the developments found. Some wooden keeps were replaced with stone. Those who owned the stone keeps believed it showed power and authority. The optimistic point of these castles was that they were unlimited to size and they were permanent structures built to last. But like the castle before it, it had downfalls. Stone keeps took much longer to build and were also subject to being undermined.
Again like most things that happen in life mistakes were made lessons were learned and progression was made. Now the stone keeps were built in circular structure rather than the traditional square shape that had originally been used. This meant builders needed more skills and the construction work became more expensive, but on the plus side they were harder to undermine and as they had no corners it was harder for arrows or bullets to damage the corners of the castle.
This means that Bodium was very late in castle development as it has features similar to those of the latest developed castle, round towers is not subject to being undermined but could be catapulted or damaged by a cannon.
Document Sources
Source A- An information pack form The Tower of London
This source tells us how castles in the 11th centuries were structured and who they were introduced by. This source is important because it shows how castles prior to the 14th century were built and therefore we can compare the two. However it doesn’t give us accounts of any other castles in the coming centuries and therefore lacks valubility there.
Source B- Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry
This source informs us about the Norman invasion on England. The Normans strongly believed in building durable castles that had high-quality defence but within a short period of time so they could build more. This source is not very valuable as it doesn’t describe the position or structures of castles; it simply tells us that castles were built rapidly over England and with high defence due to the Norman invasion.
Source C- The Tower of London information pack.
Source C tells us that by the 12th century castles were now beginning to be built of stone and the defensive system it consisted of. The source is highly valuable because if you link it with source a you can see how castles developed between the 11th and 12th century but on its own it still does not answer the key question as it has nothing to do with Bodium castle or any other castles leading up to the 14th century.
Source D- A map of castles built between1066 and 1071.
This source shows a map of castles built over England and Wales between1066 and 1071. This source is valuable because you can see that the development of castles were so good at that time in history that they had been built all over the two countries and in such a short space of time. However where the source is from is unknown and could lead it to be entirely false.
Source E- A leaflet on the building of the Tower of London.
This shows the step by step progression and gradual expansion the tower between 100 and 1300. This source is valuable because it shoes how over just 200 years, castles were being made for protection and to show status (e.g. the bigger your castle the richer and more powerful you are) rather than just a home where people live. However this source lacks valubility like all the other sources because it doesn’t show the progression of all castles up to the 14th century, it only shows us one caste and therefore doesn’t help us to answer our question, but we can use the source with previous sources to help answer the question.
Source F- Blueprint of Layout of a Castle
This source show us the layout of a Motte and Bailey castle
This is another unknown source of information. This shows a thorough labelled diagram of a Motte and Bailey castle. This source shows legitimacy as we’re shown the full layout of the full castle. Also we are made known of the defence system by using ditches, which is similar to source E. The negative point of this source is that it is unknown therefore lacks reliability.
Source G- Detailed description of the building of The London Tower.
This source is almost exactly the same as source except it goes into detailed description of the defence system and at what times in history it was expanded. We cannot be totally reliant on this source because it is not clear where it has come from, also it still bases its information only on the Tower of London and not all castles of the era.
Source H- Ordericus Vitalis Ecclesiastical History Book IV c.1125
This source tells about the purpose for castles being built. In this case it was for protection, but it does not tell us the development of the castle itself. However it is painting a picture that by 1068 castles were more for protection than just living quarters.
Source I- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
This source tells us that the Lord of the castle or king of the land wanted his castle and status to be the highest in the land and so robbed the villagers of their riches. Although the source tells use how the castle was used to manipulate villagers it doesn’t tell us its purpose or the purpose of any other castle.
Source J- Siege of William De Mohan at Dunster Castle, Somerset by king Stephen De Tracey 1139. Deeds of Steven.
As war or siege had become a common factor of life for Kings, they began to secure their castles with higher defence systems: e.g. ‘unconquerable fortifications, two strong tower walls…’. The source helps us in our quest to answer the key question as it describes in brief detail the security measures that were put forward to ensure safety, however this development is only for one castle not all castles up to the 14th century.
Source K- Tower of London Information Pack
Source k shows the security measures that were being stepped up because of experience of attack from the late 12th century and is valuable because it show exactly how the structure of castles have been developed from rectangular to circular, nevertheless it only describes to us the defensive features of castles after the late 12th century but nothing else about the development of castles.
Source L- Written description of Late Medieval Castles.
Source L tells us that as technology developed so did weapons and by 1400 heavy siege cannons which no stone wall could withstand were introduced. Although defensive features were still in use they became useless. This source is valuable because it helps us understand that although a new building structure was discovered nothing could stop cannon balls. but the source lacks information on the further development of castle structures.
From these 12 sources alone, I cannot see how castles had developed by the 14th century as they all lack some source of information and they cannot be linked to the key question as none of the sources are about the development of the Bodium castle.
As a whole however the sources that we know where they are from are highly valuable and do show us some sort of development of castles by the 14th century.
‘Bodium Castle shows today more than any other document, the way in which castle buildings in England had developed by the 14th century.’
I do not think that this statement is true because this essay is only aimed at one the Bodium castle and not all castles that were built in the 14th century and therefore does not have much ground to stand on.
Conclusion
Bodium castle does not show today more than any other document the way in which castle buildings in England had developed by the 14th century, for the reason that Bodium as source on its own does not hold enough evidence about castles up until the 14th century. Bodium was built in the 14th century and therefore has no prior history and so cannot inform us about castle development.
As historians we can use the sources about other castles in the previous centuries and bring them together with the evidence we have gathered about Bodium and use it to conclude the development of castles in the 14th century.
Documentary sources describe in detail castle development over time and some of the key elements that helped to progress castle development. For example Bodium castle was fortified because of fear of attack form the French. Bodium however can also paint a picture that no documentary sources can show us. It shows the physical state in which the castle is left in and was made in.
All sources both physical and documentary, when put together, show us how early castles made of wood and built in a traditional square shape slowly progressed into later rounded, stone fortified castles such as Bodium Castle.