What were the key features of the keep castle?

The stone keepwas a central feature of the castle, a stone tower built on the highest point. It was typically very tall with thick stone walls and is where the owners would have lived. Not all keeps were the same, but there would have typically been: Battlements- on the top of the keep to provide defence.



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The drawbridge is one of the most important parts of a castle and one you've probably heard of before! A drawbridge was a type of bridge between the gatehouse and the opposite side of the moat. During raids, the drawbridge would be raised to keep invaders out.

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Since the 16th century, the English word keep has commonly referred to large towers in castles. The word originates from around 1375 to 1376, coming from the Middle English term kype, meaning basket or cask, and was a term applied to the shell keep at Guînes, said to resemble a barrel.

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What other rooms were there in a Medieval castle? At the time of Chr tien de Troyes, the rooms where the lord of a castle, his family and his knights lived and ate and slept were in the Keep (called the Donjon), the rectangular tower inside the walls of a castle. This was meant to be the strongest and safest place.

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A good way of attacking a stone castle was through mining. Attackers would dig a tunnel underground up to the castle walls, under the gatehouse if possible. They would then set a charge and make an explosion which would make the walls crumble and collapse.

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keep, English term corresponding to the French donjon for the strongest portion of the fortification of a castle, the place of last resort in case of siege or attack. The keep was either a single tower or a larger fortified enclosure.

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Converted into a donjon around 950, Château de Doué-la-Fontaine in France is the oldest standing castle in Europe.

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barbican • \BAR-bih-kun\ • noun. : an outer defensive work; especially : a tower at a gate or bridge.

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