Castles: A History of Fortified Structures: Ancient, Medieval & Modern

by Charles Stephenson (consultant_editor)

While the word "castle" conjures up an image of the classic medieval stone edifice, resplendent with towers and turrets, battlements and barbicans, and the odd oubliette, the impulse to build defensive works is as old as civilization itself; and the evolution of such architecture not only encompasses global cultures but is also a physical expression of the changing face of military tactics and technology. Castles takes a uniquely architectural approach to deconstructing all forms of fortification, showing how the work of architect, stonemason, and engineer evolved to repel the increasingly destructive power of an attack, from siege engine to artillery. While the medieval castle is analyzed in detail, the book addresses a broad chronology of defenses--from the earliest fortresses and walled cities of the ancient world through to the point in the 19th century when modern weapons forced armies underground. Castles uses stylish two-tone engravings to dissect a wealth of examples from both western and eastern cultures; "anatomies" that annotate the classic structures for both their architectural and military significance; and "Then and Now" features that offer unique comparisons between castles in their pomp as depicted in illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, maps, and paintings, and matching color photographs of those same castles as they appear today. This architectural review of soaring towers and redoubtable walls provides both a fascinating narrative and an essential visual reference for the general and military historian.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Architecture

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2011

Reviews

[Matthew Iden · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many books in this category are either mind-numbingly erudite or little more than picture books, but Stephenson has put together an engaging project that weaves exactly the right balance of academic knowledge with layman's explanation.

The book is richly illustrated and has rough floor plans for the curious. Quotes and historical anecdotes keep the interest high, while little known facts will raise an eyebrow more than once. The structure of the book is logically divided chronologically into epochs and then by region (largely European), then noteworthy castles are given an in-depth description over a page or two.

The paperback is also nicely put together, with a high quality paper and binding and is a real joy to flip through at random. All in all, a beautiful book and one any amateur historian of medieval Europe should have.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

It pains me a little to say this, because it seems obvious to me that a fair amount of money/time went into making this book, but it could have been much better. There was no real cohesiveness to the chapters. An extraordinarily brief introduction opens each chapter, which consists of two page summaries of individual castles, one and a half pages of which is artist's renderings. The summaries reference persons, wars, techniques and specialized vocabulary as if the reader should know and fully understand the impact of these things already.

It walks a narrow edge between being a coffee table book and a light research book. But there was too little information, and not well explained, for it to truly teach me anything, and there were extremely few (and extremely small) pictures of castles in their modern setting for me to put this on my coffee table for browsing. It's plain to me after reading that this is as complex a subject as any piece of history and that a better job could have been done putting the information together.

[Jon · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's called Castles. There are castles in it. I shouldn't be able to complain. Yet, I found myself looking at a lot of unlabeled diagrams wondering "what is that," and reading accompanying text and wondering, "why are you telling me this?" It gave me nothing of what I wanted in 2 page chunks that never let me get my feet planted. Where I wanted pictures, I got history, where I wanted explanation, I got jargon. All the while, grinding gears.

[Constant Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on castles. I love the pictures and info!

[Katherine Cowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caught my eye because of the title and the beautiful photographs and illustrations throughout. I read the introduction and have flipped through the book, and it looks to be an excellent read, exploring the architecture, war strategy, and cultural history of ancient, medieval, and modern castles from both the East and the West. I plan to read this book but it will have to wait as I am currently reading several other nonfiction works.