Counter-castle
Counter-castles were built in the Middle Ages to counter the power of a hostile neighbour or as a siege castle, that is, a fortified base from which attacks could be launched on a nearby enemy castle.
Purpose
In castle science, and according to mediaeval usage, a counter-castle was a type of castle that was built to secure a territorial lord's claims to power or to
A counter-castle is often used to describe a castle that was built at a greater distance from enemy fortifications and castles. It did not support the immediate siege of a castle, but was constructed as a base in an area of rival power in order to prevent enemy attempts to expand their influence and control.
Siege castles are only evident from the period of the Late Middle Ages onwards. They were usually built as a temporary fortifications using wood and earth above the castle to be captured and within sight and the range of their guns. From this location the target would be bombarded.
Sometimes only a trebuchet position was established instead of a masonry or wooden siege castle. A favourable point in the terrain, within range of the besieged castle, was levelled and lightly fortified. From this position, the enemy castle could be engaged relatively safely with a trebuchet or catapult and its occupants psychologically ground down. Such a position may be seen today about 430 metres northeast and above Thurant Castle on the Moselle.
Trebuchets were used in sieges from the early 13th century. Large catapults had a range of about 400 to 500 metres. However, only wealthy feudal lords could finance the use of such a large, costly siege engine or even the construction of a counter-castle.
Only occasionally did the attackers have the time and financial resources to build their fortress of stone. Rare examples are
In the majority of known cases, siege castles were abandoned after the fighting and fell into disrepair. Sometimes the lord of the formerly besieged castle was given the counter-castle in a peace agreement or even took it over as a
The few surviving stone counter or siege castles generally show evidence of less careful construction. In order to build the fortification quickly, clay was mixed with the lime mortar. These defences are therefore dangerous today in view of their condition and can be made safe through painstaking renovation.
Academic research has only investigated counter and siege castles to any great extent since the end of the 20th century. After scholars like Joachim Zeune had concerned themselves in the 1980s and 1990s more with the symbolism of medieval fortifications, subsequent research began to be more critical of the then established theses. As part of the new focus on the functional and military aspects of military architecture, the counter castle became more of a focus of military historical interest.
Early Norman occupation castles in England
The
During the invasion numerous simple 'occupation castles' were built, the first,
These castles can be made out on the famous
The Welsh occupation castles of Edward I of England
Right at the start of his conquest of Celtic Wales, the English king, Edward I, ordered in 1277 the construction of several castles at strategically important places. Among these early English castles of occupation were those in Aberystwyth, Builth, Flint and Rhuddlan.
The outbreak of new unrest in 1282 caused the king to initiate a huge construction programme. The English Army was accompanied by 355 carpenters, 70 stonemasons, and 1,000 stone breakers and earthworks builders. In addition, 1,700 lumberjacks were gathered from the whole of England. After a year this force was increased by 25 carpenters and 100 stonemasons.
Within a short period of time a complete network of the most modern fortifications sprang up, which are today seen as the epitome of mediaeval
Among the most important English occupation castles were those of built by
.Siege and counter-castles in the Holy Land
During the siege of larger, fortified cities and towns castles were sometimes built as protection against
During the
In 1103
As well as siege castles, counter-castles were also built at greater distance from the besieged towns. For example, in 1117, King Baldwin I built a counter-castle "ad coercendum praedictam urbem" (to conquer the aforementioned town) of Tyre near İskenderun. Despite this siege Tyre did not fall until 1124.
The king also attempted to monitor the important
In 1142, construction started on the mighty fortress of Kerak (Krak de Moab) in northern Transjordan, to which a harbour on the Dead Sea belonged. From here Raynald of Châtillon undertook numerous raids in the surrounding area. In retaliation, Sultan Saladin attacked the Frankish crusader states.
Between 1136 and 1142 four strong castles (at
German terminology
In the Holy Roman Empire, the term Trutzburg was commonly used to describe the defensive character of a castle that defied all attacks. The word is also used in German as a metaphor for things that are especially durable and resistant.
Where the Trutzburg was built specifically with the object of besieging enemy fortifications it was also known as a Gegenburg ("counter castle"), Okkupationsburg ("occupation castle") or Belagerungsburg ("siege castle"). These terms are used today by modern castle scientists and researchers in preference to the more generic Trutzburg.
See also
References
- ^ Hill, Rosalind (1962). The Deeds of the Franks and the Other Pilgrims to Jerusalem. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons LTD. p. 30.
Literature
- ISBN 3-15-010547-1.
- Daniel Burger: Burgen der Kreuzfahrer im Heiligen Land. In: Hans-Jürgen Kotzur (ed.): Die Kreuzzüge - Kein Krieg ist heilig. Mainz, 2004, ISBN 3-8053-3240-8.
- Georg Ulrich Großmann: Burgen in Europa. Regensburg, 2005, ISBN 3-7954-1686-8.
- Michael Losse: Kleine Burgenkunde. Regionalia, Euskirchen, 2011, ISBN 978-3-939722-39-7.
- Olaf Wagener (ed.): … wurfen hin in steine - grôze und niht kleine … Belagerungen und Belagerungsanlagen im Mittelalter. Frankfurt am Main, 2006, ISBN 3-631-55467-2.
- Joachim Zeune: Okkupationsburgen. In: Horst Wolfgang Böhme, Busso von der Dollen (et al., eds.): Burgen in Mitteleuropa, Band II - Geschichte und Burgenlandschaften. Stuttgart, 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1355-0, pp. 79–81.
External links
- DBV Seminar zur Burgenforschung 2003/II: Überlegungen zu Belagerungen und Gegenburgen anhand von Beispielen des südwestdeutschen Sprachraums (PDF; 3.7 MB) (in German)