2
CHAPTER
CASTLES & WARFARE
airy tales and fantasy stories have given us
romantic notions of magical palaces with
glittering towers and spires. In reality, medieval
castles were military fortresses built primarily for
defense against hostile invaders. Constant warfare
was a reality of life in the Middle Ages, so
a castle needed to be large enough to
protect all of the villagers under
its control, and strong enough
to hold out against long,
sustained attacks.
6
