Castle

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Castle One of the products of feudal society as it spread across Europe and into the Crusader kingdoms. Found in France from the mid-10th-c, they reached England as a result of the Norman Conquest, where they were built in large numbers by the new Norman elite. The earliest English castles were normally earthen mounds surrounded by ditches and topped by wooden towers. In 12th-c England, castle-builders increasingly used stone for towers and walls, and in the 13th< Edward I built a fine series of castles in Wales (eg Caernarfon, Conwy, Harlech). Castles served as residences, seats of justice, administrative centres, and symbols of lordly authority. Later, especially in England, increasing emphasis was placed on their non-military roles, with greater concessions to domestic comfort and ornamental display. >>

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