Castles were built as symbols of power, security, control and wealth. But, castles weren’t only for defense against the foreign invaders; they were also served as a basic tool in preserving the king’s and noble’s power over the land. This essay will be proving the hypothesis that medieval castles changed dramatically over 400-500 years due to the development of weapons used to destroy or capture them. Firstly, it will talk about the Motte and Bailey castle, outlining a range of problems within it and why it eventually became redundant. Secondly, it will confer about the stone keep castle that replaced the motte and bailey castle, the problems it outlined and why it also leveled out. Then, it will discuss about the concentric castle that took over the stone keep castle and why they became inessential. After that, it will talk about why castles eventually became redundant as a form of defense. Finally, it will briefly go over the overall essay and state how the hypothesis was proven.

The Motte and Bailey castles were the first castles built by the Normans but a few errors within them made castles redundant. The Motte and Bailey castles were built in 1066 after the Normans invaded England. Motte and Bailey castles were quick and easy to build because they were made out of wood. There were two main sections of the castle, the Motte and the Bailey. The Motte was an enormous man-made hill formed by the earth’s soil. A very distinguished example of the Motte and Bailey would be