Castles - How they benefitted the medieval world

In 1494 the armies of the French king, Charles VIII, invaded Italy to capture the kingdom of Naples. They swept through the country and bombarded and destroyed many castles. This invasion signaled the end of the castle as a stronghold of defense. For centuries it had been the dominant fortification in Western Europe for the defense of kings, nobility, and townspeople. Ancient cities were often walled to keep out invaders, and within the walls there was …

…wealth enough to pay for them. In the 1980s the sultan of Brunei, Sir Muda Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Waddaulah, opened his new palace. Named New Istana, it contains 1,788 rooms, making it one of the grandest palaces anywhere. Although castles are no longer readily built, because of the lack of money or just the lack of need, they will always be appreciated for their beauty, architecture, and most importantly the land that they helped to defend.