CASTLE (Sax. eastel; Lat. castellum, dimin. from castrum), a building constructed for the purpose of repelling, attack. The root of the word is the sante as that of cash, a little house or hut, and probably means a driving off or repelling; and it is worthy of notice. in confirmation of this view, that in Welsh the radical syllable ems signifies a C., separated, and also hatred, malice, etc. The castella, left by the Romans in Britain and elsewhere, were constructed on the general model of their stationary encampments (astra stativa), (see CAMP and ENCA)PMENT); and though they may have suggested the castles of the middle ages, they differed from them in being designed for military pur poses only, and not also as places of permanent residence. Even Burgh castle, in Suf folk, the ancient Garamonium, and Richborough castle, in Kent, the ancient Rutupiat, were encampments or fortresses, rather than castles.
Besides these monuments of the military occupation of the island by the Romans, traces are found in various parts of the country of encampments or castles, which are ascribed to its aboriginal or early inhabitants. These are generally situated on the tops of hills; as, for example. the Herefordshire beacon, on the Malvern hills; Noel Arthur, in Flintshire; Chem castle. in Cornwall; the Maiden castle, in Dorsetshire; the Cater thuns, near Brechin, in Forfarsliire; the Barnikin of Eat. in Aberdeenshire. It is probable that the Saxons adapted the Roman castles to a certain extent to their modes of defense, and traces of Baton and even Norman werkmansbip are found in struc tures which are believed to have been originally Roman. One very frequent change i consisted n raising a mound of earth on one side of the walls on which the keep or citadel was erected. The Deemmin and Praetorian gates were also, as at Portchester, converted into the fortified entrances peculiar to the castellated structures of the middle ages. But of castles designed for residence as well as defense, there are few or none which are of higher antiquity than the conquest. They were part of the organization of the feudal system—castle-guard being one of the duties which the tenants were taken bound to pay in return for their lands; and till that system was developed by the Nor mans, the residences of persons of importance were probably guarded only by their domestic retainers, or, in extraordinary circumstances, perhaps by the national militia. The absence of strongholds is said to have been a reason why William the conqueror so easily became master of the kingdom; and it was as a protection against the resentment which the conquest occasioned, that most of the great Norman castles of England were built. As these castles grew in strength by the additions and improvements of each gen• eration, they afforded their possessors the means not only of security from their fellow subjects, but of independence as regarded the central government. The lord of every C. became a petty tyrant; and no small portion of the history of England, and, indeed, of Europe altogether, during the feudal period, consists of an account of the attempts which were made by the monarch to extirpate what Matthew Paris has emphatically designated as " these nests of devils and dens of thieves." Of castles of this descrip tion, it is said that in England, in the reign of Stephen (1135-54), no fewer than 1115 were built.
The Norman C., which was the most complete structure of the kind, was generally surrounded by a moat or ditch; and in order that the ditch might be readily filled with water, the site chosen was usually either on the banks of a river, or on a peninsula running into a lake. In the latter case, the ditch was of course merely a deep cut made through the neck of land, by means of which the C. and its surroundings were converted into an island. On the inner side of the ditch, mounds were constructed, which were sur mounted with walls and towers, both of which, but particularly the latter, were supplied with battlements and bastions. The entrance-gates were also protected by towers,
which were usually of great strength. The communication was by a bridge, sometimes of stone, but usually of wood, which was made to draw up and down; and the entrance, in addition to thick folding-doors, wus protected by a portcullis (q.v.), which was dropped down through grooves in the masonry at the sides. The gateway, in castles of the larger sort, was further defended by a barbican (q.v.). On passing the external wall, you entered the bailey (q.v.), which sometimes consisted of several courts, and contained the barracks, magazines, well, a chapel, and sometimes even a monastery. The only portion of the C. which was always spoken of as distinguished from the bailey, was the keep (q.v.) or citadel, which corresponded to the praftorhun of the Roman fortification. The keep was a species of internal 0., more strongly defended than any other portion of the fortress, and placed in the most advantageous position, so as to afford a- last chance to the garrison when driven from the external works. As the keep had the same design as the C. itself, it contained most of its appliances, even to a chapel, when large and complete. The keep was also called the dungeon or donjon (q.v.). An excellent example of a keep is seen at Rochester castle. The best known is proba bly thnt at Windsor, which forms so prominent an object in the surrounding land scape. The protection which the walls of his C. afforded to the retainers of a baron in a state of society in which life and property were extremely insecure, naturally led to the construction of houses around the moat, and to this custom a very large number of the towns. both in England and on the continent of Europe, owe their origin. Along the banks of the Rhine, this process of town-formation may be seen in all its earlier stages; from the few peasants' houses and the village church nestling under the ivy-covered ruin on the cliff, to the large and prosperous city of Coblenz. Strange as it may seem, the existence of these castles may be regarded not only as a cause, but as an effect of a certain feeling of security on the part of the surrounding pop ulation; for where a country was thoroughly insecure, the risk of the castles falling into the hands of the enemy, and thus proving a source not of protection but of oppression, was so great as to prevent their erection. It is on this ground that sir Walter Scott explains the slight character of the fortresses on the Scottish border, notwithstanding centuries of warfare. " It was early discovered that the English surpassed their neigh. boys in the arts of assaulting and defending fortified places. The policy of the Scotch, therefore, deterred them front erecting upon the borders buildings of such extent and strength, as being once taken by the foe, would have been capable of receiving a per manent garrison. To themselves, the woods and hills of their country were pointed out by the great Bruce as their safest bulwarks; and the maxim of the l3ouglases, that was better to hear the lark sing than the mouse cheep.' was adopted by every border chief." For these reasons, " we do not find. on the Scottish borders, the splendid and extensive castles which graced and defended the opposite frontier. The Gothic grandeur of Alnwick, of Rabv, and of Naworth, marks the wealthier and more secure state of the English nobles." The residence of the Scottish chieftain, " was commonly a large square battlemented tower, called a keep or peel, placed on a precipice, or on the hanks of a torrent, and, if the ;round world permit, surrounded by a moat. In short, the sit nation of a border-house, encompassed by woods, and rendered almost inaccessible by torrents, by rocks and morasses, sufficiently indicated the pursuits and apprehensions of its inhabitants."—Min8trelv of the Sottish Border, Introduction.