Engineering in the World between 1000-1500

The castle is a unique phenomenon. Most buildings are created to fulfill a single, specific purpose like a church, a house, a factory, a school, etc. A castle could be a military base, a seat of government, a court, and a stronghold for the surrounding region. Castles have fascinated generations of people even after they outlived their usefulness. Their remains still put people in awe today. The design of medieval castles in England changed during 1000…

…had no military role or importance in and after the War of the Roses. Finally, the castle became inadequate militarily for two reasons. First, it was not built with artillery in mind. Second, the maintenance and defense of the castle never fully broke away form the feudal structure of society. Control of castles was local, and the national emergencies which arose in the sixteenth century called for general, not local measures to deal with them.