Castles and landscapes
By: O.H. Creighton.
Series: The archaeology of medieval Europe, 1100-1600
Publisher: Continuum
Published: 2002
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 270
Subjects: Castles -- England; Landscape -- England; Landscape archaeology -- England; Archaeology, Medieval -- England; England -- Historical geography; England -- Antiquities
Description: "Castles were among the most dominant features of the medieval landscape, and many remain impressive structures to the present day. This new study looks at castles in a new light, using the theories and methods of landscape studies. For the first time, castles are examined not as an isolated phenomenon, but in relation to their surrounding human as well as physical landscapes.

Taking a thematic approach, the study examines a broad range of evidence - archaeological, documentary and topographical - to put castles back into the medieval landscape and assess their contribution to its evolution. Far more than simply a book about castles, this is a study of the impact of power and authority on the landscape. The imprint of castles on the human landscape was powerful and often long-lived. As imposing icons of status and lordship, castles re-shaped the landscape in the minds of contemporaries, while as estate centres and manors they were closely connected with their surrounding hinterlands.

The settlement landscape was also deeply affected by castle building as their powerful aristocratic owners fostered new towns and villages, while other communities were disrupted by their construction. The types of sites chosen for castles are also examined, as are the features that often accompanied them, including churches, mills, monasteries, deer parks, fishponds and gardens.

Throughout, this book challenges many of our perceptions about medieval castles and presents some new avenues for future research."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [233]-260) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 1 Introduction 1; title: 2 Castles and Their Contexts 9; title: 3 Castle Siting and Distribution 35; title: 4 The Castle as Icon: Landscapes of Status and Symbolism 65; title: 5 The Castle as Estate Centre: Tenurial Landscapes 89; title: 6 Power, Patronage and Parish: Castles and Ecclesiastical 110; title: Landscapes; title: 7 Castles and Urbanism 133; title: 8 Castles in the Countryside 175; title: 9 Overview 223.