As a result of this, castles went from using wood from the motte and bailey to using stone and then brick. You could see the brick and stone at Raglan castle as they were both used in the site.
Also the change in luxury had increased a lot and we could see this by looking at the fireplaces and luxuries by looking at the ruins. Castles also increased in size from 1000-1599, so this allowed more luxury.
Raglan castles defensive features had developed from the motte and bailey castle. Things like arrows slits, crenellations, the round towers and machiolations had all been developed or were new ideas that had been developed or were new ideas to help defend the castle. However, the concentric castle was the most defensive castle so you can see how castles had changed and developed. Courtyard castles were said to be the last true castles that were built. They were designed after the concentric castle. It was made less defensive (due to gunpowder) and more luxurious. Raglan castles gatehouse was also a big defensive part of Raglan. The drawbridge was designed with a pit underneath to trap any attackers when the drawbridge was drawn up. Raglan castle also had a portcullis that was a major part of the defensive feature.
By looking at the sources of Raglan castle, they only showed me partly of how it helped to change and develop, but not fully as they didn’t explain the drastic change from a motte and bailey to a courtyard.
Source one shows that there was many castles situated in the south of Wales, but by looking at it I could see that there was a cluster of castles around Raglan castle. However, this source doesn’t show that there were changes of development between the 11th and 16th centuries. It simply told me that there were many castles in the area.
Source three shows a timeline of Raglan castle. It shows from 1066-1978. However, it is not reliable because it missed out the 12th and 14th centuries, which doesn’t make the source reliable enough to use, as it doesn’t show how it had developed or changed. Source two shows William the conqueriors soldiers building a motte and bailey castle. You can see that it is built out of wood. This shows more than the site of Raglan castle. However, the great tower was built on a mound. There is not much evidence of this from the site, but source two shows it and sources three in 1067-1077.
Raglan castles defensive features had developed a lot since a motte and bailey castle. Defensive features such as arrow slits had changed from 1000-1600. You can see this in source ten, with the different arrow slits. You could also see this from the site of Raglan, when you first entered the castle – at the gatehouse. They changed from just a simple line to a cross, which gave them more space to shoot. You could see these at Raglan. Raglan castle also had murder holes as cannons were used to fire the gunpowder. This is also shown in source ten, as it shows a recent picture of a cannon that was used at the time.
The 1500’s were a time when the Tudors were around, so there was no new castle built at that time. We can see this from source three as not much happened in that period of time due to it being peaceful.
To conclude, the site of Raglan castle does help in some ways to show that castles changed and developed. On the other hand, as there were six different castles during that time, Raglan castle doesn’t show us what has happened during all six. Nevertheless, if we compare the motte and bailey to a courtyard we can see a change in luxury, size, material, design and purpose. So I believe that Raglan castle does show to quite an extent that there is a big change in development of castles in 1000-1600.
To some extent, the sources showed a lot more evidence to show that change and development than the actual site of Raglan castle. For example, you couldn’t of seen from the site or Raglan that it was a probably a motte and bailey castle, but, but looking at the sources you can see that it is on a hill and by looking at the dates you could see that it used to be a motte and bailey. So, I found the site more useful and it helped to understand the change and development more than the sources.