Editing Castle (section)

==Definition==

===Etymology===
[[File:Tower of London viewed from the River   Thames.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|alt=A keep seen from a river, rising behind a gate. The keep is large, square in plan, and has four corner towers, three square and one round, all topped by lead cupolas.|The [[Norman architecture|Norman]] [[White Tower (Tower of London)|White Tower]], the [[keep]] of the [[Tower of London]], overlooking the [[River Thames]]. It exemplifies all uses of a castle including city defence, a residence, and a place of refuge in times of crisis.]]

The word ''castle'' is derived from the [[Latin]] word ''castellum'', which is a [[diminutive]] of the word ''[[castrum]]'', meaning "fortified place". The [[Old English]] ''castel'', [[Occitan language|Occitan]] ''castel'' or ''chastel'', French ''[[château]]'', Spanish ''castillo'', Portuguese ''castelo'', Italian ''castello'', and a number of words in other languages also derive from ''castellum''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Creighton|Higham|2003|p=6|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8A1_Z1DTgYYC&pg=PA6 chpt 1]}}</ref> The word ''castle'' was introduced into English shortly before the [[Norman Conquest]] of 1066 to denote this type of building, which was then new to England.<ref>{{harvnb|Cathcart King|1988|p=32}}</ref>

===Defining characteristics===
In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is "a private fortified residence".<ref name="Coulson 16">{{Harvnb|Coulson|2003|p=16}}</ref> This contrasts with earlier fortifications, such as [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[burh]]s and [[Defensive wall|walled cities]] such as [[Constantinople]] and [[Antioch]] in the Middle East; castles were not communal defences but were built and owned by the local [[feudal]] lords, either for themselves or for their monarch.<ref>{{Harvnb|Liddiard|2005|pp=15–17}}</ref> Feudalism was the link between a lord and his [[vassal]] where, in return for military service and the expectation of loyalty, the lord would grant the vassal land.<ref>{{harvnb|Herlihy|1970|p=xvii–xviii}}</ref> In the late 20th&nbsp;century, there was a trend to refine the definition of a castle by including the criterion of feudal ownership, thus tying castles to the medieval period; however, this does not necessarily reflect the terminology used in the medieval period. During the [[First Crusade]] (1096–1099), the [[Franks|Frankish]] armies encountered walled settlements and forts that they indiscriminately referred to as castles, but which would not be considered as such under the modern definition.<ref name="Coulson 16"/>

[[File:Windsor Castle at Sunset - Nov 2006.jpg|thumb|alt=A castle, seen at the end of a long avenue, lit pink and red by the sunset. The castle gives an impression of tremendous size, and has an imposing, twin-towered gatehouse and, to the left, a large round keep.|[[Windsor Castle]] in England was founded as a fortification during the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]] and was one of the principal official residences of Queen [[Elizabeth II]] during her reign.]]

[[File:Baba Vida Klearchos 1.jpg|thumb|The medieval [[Baba Vida|Vidin Castle]] built in the 9th century on the banks of the [[Danube]] in the old capital city of [[Vidin]].]]

Castles served a range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, and domestic. As well as defensive structures, castles were also offensive tools which could be used as a [[Headquarters|base of operations]] in enemy territory. Castles were established by Norman invaders of England for both defensive purposes and to pacify the country's inhabitants.<ref>{{Harvnb|Friar|2003|p=47}}</ref> As [[William I of England|William the Conqueror]] advanced through England, he fortified key positions to secure the land he had taken. Between 1066 and 1087, he established 36&nbsp;castles such as [[Warwick Castle]], which he used to guard against rebellion in the [[English Midlands]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Liddiard|2005|p=18}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Stephens|1969|pp=452–475}}</ref>

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, castles tended to lose their military significance due to the advent of powerful cannons and permanent artillery fortifications;<ref name="Duffy 23-25">{{harvnb|Duffy|1979|pp=23–25}}</ref> as a result, castles became more important as residences and statements of power.<ref>{{Harvnb|Liddiard|2005|pp=2, 6–7}}</ref> A castle could act as a stronghold and prison but was also a place where a knight or lord could entertain his peers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cathcart King|1983|pp=xvi–xvii}}</ref> Over time the aesthetics of the design became more important, as the castle's appearance and size began to reflect the prestige and power of its occupant. Comfortable homes were often fashioned within their fortified walls. Although castles still provided protection from low levels of violence in later periods, eventually they were succeeded by [[country house]]s as high-status residences.<ref>{{harvnb|Liddiard|2005|p=2}}</ref>

===Terminology===
''Castle'' is sometimes used as a catch-all term for all kinds of [[fortification]]s, and as a result has been misapplied in the technical sense. An example of this is [[Maiden Castle, Dorset|Maiden Castle]] which, despite the name, is an [[Iron Age]] [[hill fort]] which had a very different origin and purpose.<ref>{{Harvnb|Creighton|Higham|2003|pp=6–7}}</ref>

[[File:Lisbon BW 2018-10-03 11-13-42.jpg|thumb|[[São Jorge Castle]] in [[Lisbon]], Portugal, with a bridge over a moat]]

Although ''castle'' has not become a generic term for a [[manor house]] (like ''[[château]]'' in French and ''[[Schloss]]'' in German), many manor houses contain ''castle'' in their name while having few if any of the architectural characteristics, usually as their owners liked to maintain a link to the past and felt the term ''castle'' was a masculine expression of their power.<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|1987|pp=1–2, 158–159}}</ref> In scholarship the castle, as defined above, is generally accepted as a coherent concept, originating in Europe and later spreading to parts of the Middle East, where they were introduced by European Crusaders. This coherent group shared a common origin, dealt with a particular mode of warfare, and exchanged influences.<ref>{{harvnb|Allen Brown|1976|pp=2–6}}</ref>

In different areas of the world, analogous structures shared features of fortification and other defining characteristics associated with the concept of a castle, though they originated in different periods and circumstances and experienced differing evolutions and influences. For example, [[Japanese castles|''shiro'']] in Japan, described as castles by historian [[Stephen Turnbull (historian)|Stephen Turnbull]], underwent "a completely different developmental history, were built in a completely different way and were designed to withstand attacks of a completely different nature".<ref name="Turnbull5">{{harvnb|Turnbull|2003|p=5}}</ref> While European castles built from the late 12th and early 13th&nbsp;century onwards were generally stone, ''shiro'' were predominantly timber buildings into the 16th&nbsp;century.<ref>{{harvnb|Turnbull|2003|p=4}}</ref>

By the 16th century, when Japanese and European cultures met, fortification in Europe had moved beyond castles and relied on innovations such as the Italian ''trace italienne'' and [[star fort]]s.<ref name="Turnbull5"/>