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The Medieval Castle: Life in a Fortress in Peace and War
The influence of the castle, both on the course of history and on the lives of the people who lived in them, has never been fully explored-until now. This fascinating book examines the evolution of the medieval castle, from the rigid social structure of its society to the types of weapons, training, and tactics employed during wartime. Above all, The Medieval Castle is a book about the daily life--from clothes and food to recreation and customs--and the people who made their homes inside a military fortress.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
Philip Warner
87 books9 followersPhilip Warner (1914 - 2000) was an outstanding military historian, and for the last 13 years The Daily Telegraph's peerless Army obituarist. Indeed, he played a vital role in setting the standard for the modern Telegraph obituary. He had a relish for the piquant detail and an understanding that a good story should never be overdressed.
He was a master of the laconic, lapidary phrase. Warner's direct, uncluttered and transparent prose, was a reflection of the man. Above all, he felt deep admiration for the lives he celebrated. His own character, always strong, had been tempered by his terrible experiences at the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War.
One of the Allied soldiers rounded up and imprisoned after the fall of Singapore on February 15 1942, he spent some time in the infamous Changi jail, and worked on the Railway of Death. For every sleeper laid on the 1,000 miles of track through Malaya, Burma and Thailand, a prisoner of war was lost. Philip Warner was saved by his tough-mindedness and by his belief in the virtues of loyalty. To help his fellow prisoners forget their troubles, he organised plays, talks and debates.
Afterwards, he never liked to mention his ordeal. He felt he owed his survival to his physical condition (he performed 30 minutes of exercises every day of his life), his scrupulous hygiene (hard to stick to when one is starving), and to his strong sense of belonging to his family back in Britain. At night he would look at the moon, and think of it passing over Warwickshire.
In 1944 Warner and other able-bodied PoWs were stowed under deck in a troopship (he enjoyed the irony of being almost torpedoed by the Americans), and taken to Japan, where he worked in the copper mines, in dark, hot and dangerous conditions.
As the Americans closed in, he and his fellow PoWs had the unnerving experience of being herded into caves, while the Japanese guards set up machine-guns outside. The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki probably saved the prisoners from massacre.
At the beginning of the war Warner had weighed 14 stone; in 1945 he was 4.5 stone. In 1,100 days of captivity, he only received half a Red Cross parcel. He was never among those inclined to bestow easy forgiveness upon the Japanese. The maltreatment which he had endured increased his natural reticence. Although he set great store by loyalty, he gave his trust warily.
Once certain that he could rely on someone, he would do anything for them; should anyone abuse his trust, he was slow to forgive. "There are six billion people in the world," he was wont to say, "and when this person gets to the top of the pile again, I will give him another chance." After the war Warner taught at Sandhurst and became a prolific writer, turning out more than 50 books.
He would produce two volumes a year, not to mention up to 200 obituaries and many book reviews - all with an absolute minimum of fuss. He worked on the principle that, once he had covered a page with writing, he could always cross it out. He was a firm believer in the virtues of perseverance - "Stick at the wicket and the runs will come" - and in early starts: "One hour in the morning is worth two in the afternoon, is worth three in the evening."
In the 1970s he was seriously ill, but under his colossal labour he throve as never before. Without it, he used to say, he would have had to play golf every day; and, useful player though he was, that was not his idea of a tolerable life.
Though the last man to preach, Philip Warner set a supreme example of how to tackle old age. While eager to enjoy himself, and, still more, to see that his friends enjoyed themselves, he instinctively understood that pleasure is best courted against a background of disciplined endeavour.
Philip Arthur William Warner was born at Nuneaton on May 19 1914, the last in
He was a master of the laconic, lapidary phrase. Warner's direct, uncluttered and transparent prose, was a reflection of the man. Above all, he felt deep admiration for the lives he celebrated. His own character, always strong, had been tempered by his terrible experiences at the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War.
One of the Allied soldiers rounded up and imprisoned after the fall of Singapore on February 15 1942, he spent some time in the infamous Changi jail, and worked on the Railway of Death. For every sleeper laid on the 1,000 miles of track through Malaya, Burma and Thailand, a prisoner of war was lost. Philip Warner was saved by his tough-mindedness and by his belief in the virtues of loyalty. To help his fellow prisoners forget their troubles, he organised plays, talks and debates.
Afterwards, he never liked to mention his ordeal. He felt he owed his survival to his physical condition (he performed 30 minutes of exercises every day of his life), his scrupulous hygiene (hard to stick to when one is starving), and to his strong sense of belonging to his family back in Britain. At night he would look at the moon, and think of it passing over Warwickshire.
In 1944 Warner and other able-bodied PoWs were stowed under deck in a troopship (he enjoyed the irony of being almost torpedoed by the Americans), and taken to Japan, where he worked in the copper mines, in dark, hot and dangerous conditions.
As the Americans closed in, he and his fellow PoWs had the unnerving experience of being herded into caves, while the Japanese guards set up machine-guns outside. The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki probably saved the prisoners from massacre.
At the beginning of the war Warner had weighed 14 stone; in 1945 he was 4.5 stone. In 1,100 days of captivity, he only received half a Red Cross parcel. He was never among those inclined to bestow easy forgiveness upon the Japanese. The maltreatment which he had endured increased his natural reticence. Although he set great store by loyalty, he gave his trust warily.
Once certain that he could rely on someone, he would do anything for them; should anyone abuse his trust, he was slow to forgive. "There are six billion people in the world," he was wont to say, "and when this person gets to the top of the pile again, I will give him another chance." After the war Warner taught at Sandhurst and became a prolific writer, turning out more than 50 books.
He would produce two volumes a year, not to mention up to 200 obituaries and many book reviews - all with an absolute minimum of fuss. He worked on the principle that, once he had covered a page with writing, he could always cross it out. He was a firm believer in the virtues of perseverance - "Stick at the wicket and the runs will come" - and in early starts: "One hour in the morning is worth two in the afternoon, is worth three in the evening."
In the 1970s he was seriously ill, but under his colossal labour he throve as never before. Without it, he used to say, he would have had to play golf every day; and, useful player though he was, that was not his idea of a tolerable life.
Though the last man to preach, Philip Warner set a supreme example of how to tackle old age. While eager to enjoy himself, and, still more, to see that his friends enjoyed themselves, he instinctively understood that pleasure is best courted against a background of disciplined endeavour.
Philip Arthur William Warner was born at Nuneaton on May 19 1914, the last in
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 17, 2021
For a book about medieval castles, it spends a whole lot of time on other things skirting around the edges of the main topic, and wanders into the medieval world in general. A lot of the information is very generalised, conjecture, and wildly outdated. It is very readable however, and there are a few things of interest.
April 4, 2011
This beautifully illustrated book explains how and why castles were built in the middle ages and why they were such a dominant influence on medieval life, especially in times of war. Philip Warner recreates a complete picture of daily life in a medieval castle. How peasants and nobles lived, how men fought in tournaments and trained for combat, how castles were sited, designed, managed, attacked and defended. Even what the the people who lived in them ate, drank, and wore.
This book will also go a long ways toward breaking up some of the preconceived notions that people have about castles. One learns that the castle was not primarily a refuge. The object of the castle wasn't to retreat from conflict, but to control it. The Medieval castle was a dynamic integral part of medieval society and Philip Warner does brilliant work in showing this. Whether you're a medieval history buff or just a curious layman read this book. It will take a little effort to find it, but it's worth the time.
This book will also go a long ways toward breaking up some of the preconceived notions that people have about castles. One learns that the castle was not primarily a refuge. The object of the castle wasn't to retreat from conflict, but to control it. The Medieval castle was a dynamic integral part of medieval society and Philip Warner does brilliant work in showing this. Whether you're a medieval history buff or just a curious layman read this book. It will take a little effort to find it, but it's worth the time.
June 5, 2021
This book had an interesting subject matter but tended to suffer from having too much scope, not enough substance and a healthy habit of repetition. Details on medieval castle life and the structure of architecture were interesting but tended to lean towards conjecture and though I liked the inclusion of real life examples for context in theory , they tended to run away with themselves a bit being too overly simplified to actually justify their inclusion.
Still, it was a pretty easy read and a nice introduction for me personally to now go on and do further reading.
Still, it was a pretty easy read and a nice introduction for me personally to now go on and do further reading.
June 14, 2018
Interesting history
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March 24, 2020I read this book.
December 29, 2021
A more appropriate title for this book would be Western European Medieval Life. While it contains no shortage of interesting information, the entire approach would have been well served by better editorial guidance regarding the arrangement of such insights. I learned much in reading this book, and I enjoyed reading it, but I was frequently besieged with questions as to why the book is presented as something it is not. For example, the author knows a great deal about castles in the UK, France, Spain, and Germany, but there is scarce mention of any of the 1000s of castles in the rest of Europe. Also, I would estimate that castles as a topic make up around 60-70% of the content, the rest being anecdotes regarding nobility or etymology of various names and other terms – all interesting historical tidbits, but a stretch to fit the current title of the book.
March 25, 2018
Written with plenty of verve, but marred by overly facile generalizations, and now dated as well by 50+ years of research.
January 17, 2020
Lots of info but does have a tendency to repeat itself.
August 20, 2016
Update: I'm giving up on this book, which I never do. There are so many statements that I know are factually wrong that I can't trust anything he's written. Plus all the patronising, chauvinistic or sexist bullshit.
I've given up on learning anything from this. Appallingly unscholarly. The author is much more concerned with telling legends and hearsay than examining and questioning the sources; he also contradicts himself, sometimes on the same page. There are also a number of assertions that I've seen contradicted by more recent publications; I very much get the impression that the author is not a medieval historian but has done a general survey and condensed it into one shortish book, without editing for his biases and preconceptions. The writing tone is very gung-ho, chauvinistic, for King and Country, up-and-at-em-boys. I would have quit by now, but I hate dropping a book once I've started.
I've given up on learning anything from this. Appallingly unscholarly. The author is much more concerned with telling legends and hearsay than examining and questioning the sources; he also contradicts himself, sometimes on the same page. There are also a number of assertions that I've seen contradicted by more recent publications; I very much get the impression that the author is not a medieval historian but has done a general survey and condensed it into one shortish book, without editing for his biases and preconceptions. The writing tone is very gung-ho, chauvinistic, for King and Country, up-and-at-em-boys. I would have quit by now, but I hate dropping a book once I've started.
November 2, 2008
I've always wanted to know more about this man, what motivated him to stand up to Henry II (not only a king but a rathful one). This book gives as an answer Becket's true religious faith, and goal of protecting The Church. Possibly. I also think power and or some passion might have played a role.
December 5, 2018
Originally published in 1971, this is subtitled Life in a Fortress in Peace and War. Interesting, but nothing great. The author can’t quite make up his mind whether he wants to talk about castles, or the Middle Ages in general, or random extracts of contemporary records.
December 16, 2008
Historical fiction! Loved this book and if there are historical inaccuracies, as i'm sure people will point out in due course, i don't care. a good read is a good read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews