Here you can read about the development of castles throughout the ages, from ancient times to the modern day.

Castles have evolved in line with weapons technology, but the principals of attack and defence have remained unchanged. Many modern military techniques are just modernised traditional techniques.

We can often castles just by looking at them . A Norman keep or a concentric ground plan, or architectural features are invaluable clues. Most castles were continually being updated - arrow loops being converted into gun ports for example. To further complicate matters some features such as battlements were replicated in later times even when they were no longer needed, but with a bit of practice, you can almost always immediately spot a modern replica.

From the sixteenth century magnates started building for comfort rather than defence, at least in the more secure areas of Europe, giving rise first to great country houses and then to romantic and decorative castles.

First a word about Medieval castles.

Medieval Castles - Châteaux Forts

The term Medieval Castle is something of a "catch-all" as no two castles are identical. Styles varied from period to period and region to region, and builders would often incorporate features at will, drawing on their knowledge of existing castles.

Historians have found great difficulty in defining the word castle at all, but nevertheless try to categorise Medieval Castles, depending on factors such as whether there is a free-standing keep or a keep built into the curtain walls, or no keep at all.

For present purposes a castle is defined as a Medieval Castle if it is a large structure, built for defence before the use of gunpowder became common.

More on Types of Castle and History of Castles

Click on any of the following links to learn more about specific types of castle

• Ancient Castles: The basics of attack and defence
  • Early European Fortifications
  • Oppida
  • Roman Forts.
• Castles Around the world
  • European Castles
  • Asian Castles
  • Japanese Castles
• Motte & Bailey Castles European castles around 1000 AD
  • Mottes
  • Baileys
  • Examples
  • Photos
• Norman Castles The first significant European castles with stone keeps.
• Crusader Castles & Concentric Castles Evolution of design due to lessons learned in the Levant.
• Cathar Castles Distinctive hilltop castles of the Languedoc
• Japanese Castles
• Town Fortifications - Defensible villages and towns
  • Castra
  • Fauxburgs
  • Circulades
  • Bastides
• Fortified Houses Defensible Manors and other defensible houses.
  • Tower Houses Defensible Towers.
  • Peel Towers Defensible Towers in the Scottish Borders.
  • Bastle Houses Defensible Scottish Houses.
  • Irish Fortified Houses Defensible Irish houses.
  • Defensible Manor Houses Defensible English houses.
• Star Forts Castle design affected by the rising power of fire arms and the innovations of de Vauban
  • Post-gunpowder castles
  • de Vauban
  • Design
• Stately Homes - New Great Country Houses
  • Country Houses
  • Châteaux
• Palaces - Around the world
• Romantic & Decorative Castles. Looking like romanticised castles and built for comfort, notably:
  • Loire Valley Châteaux
  • Ludwig II's Castles
  • Neo-Gothic Castles & Follies
  • Scottish Baronial Castles
  • Follies
  • Castles in the USA
• Manors
  • Manor Houses
  • French Manoirs
  • Mansions / Maisons de Maîtres
• Town Houses
  • Big Houses in capitals, cities & towns
  • Famous Townhouses
  • Hotels Particuliers
  • Hotels Particuliers - Photographs