other: Castle (disambiguation)

Roman forts and hill forts were the main antecedents of castles in Europe, which emerged in the 9th century in Carolingian France. The advent of cannon and gunpowder changed the needs of warfare in Europe, limiting the effectiveness of the castle and leading to the rise of the fort.

Similar constructions in Russia (Kremlin) and feudal Japan (Shiro) are also considered castles.

Definition

Castle comes from the Latin word castellum. This is a diminutive of the word castrum, which means "fortified place". The word "castle" (Castell) was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this type of fortress, then new to England, brought in by the Norman knights. In Spain, a fortified dwelling on a height for the administering authority retains its Moorish name of alcázar, whilst shiro also figure prominently in Japanese history, where the feudal daimyō inhabited them.

A French castle is a Château-Fort, for in French a simple château connotes a grand country house at the heart of an estate, with non-military, purely residential function. When European castles were opened up and expanded into pleasure dwellings and power houses from the late 15th century, their "castle" designations, relics of the feudal age, often remained attached to the dwelling, resulting in many non-military castles and châteaux.

In Germany there are two names for what would be called a castle in English, Burg (Burh) and Schloss. A Burg is a medieval structure of military significance, while a Schloss was built after the Middle Ages as a palace and not for defensive purposes. However, these are not usually palaces in the French style, but instead are styled on medieval mountain castles and fairytale notions, and from all appearances are often castles to an English speaker.

In Celtic countries, Caer or castell (Welsh), dún and caisleán (Irish), dùn and caisteal (Scots Gaelic) are used.

In spite of the generally accepted definition, the word "castle" is sometimes used to mean a citadel (such as the castles of Badajoz and Burgos) or small detached forts d'arrêt in modern times and, traditionally, in Britain it has also been used to refer to prehistoric earthworks (e.g. Maiden Castle). The use of the Spanish equivalent castillo can be equally misleading, as it can refer to true castles and forts (eg. Castillo de San Marcos); terms such as Fortaleza ("fortress") are in similar situations.