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Medieval Castle Life

The central Castle keep tower was one of the most important parts of a medieval castle.

The Castle Keep was usually right in the centre of the castle grounds and was surrounded by the castle walls.

A medieval castle keep was where the king/Lord lived and it was the most protected part of a medieval castle.

The Lord would usually live at the top of a Castle Keep Tower in a medieval castle, the Lord and his lady would have the best rooms in the castle, there would be a bedroom area and an area called the solar which was like a living room adjacent.

The Lord of the castle would control the castle and his kingdom from his quarters. From the medieval castle a Lord was safe and able to plan his affairs, the Lord would keep law and order and would arrange tournaments and feasts in his medieval castle.

Medieval castle Life – The Great Hall

Below the living quarters of the Lord in the medieval castle keep was the Great Hall. In the Great Hall of a medieval castle the Lord would entertain his guest with lavish feasts and banquets taking place on a regular basis.

Medieval life of Peasants working the Fields growing food for Medieval Castle

Life in a Medieval castle – Chapel

On the same floor as the Great Hall would usually be a Chapel where people could pray, this was usually decked out in the same way as a small medieval church.

Guarding the medieval castle

You would often find medieval soldiers walking up and down the castle steps often on their way to the roof of the castle where they would be on the lookout for enemies in the distance. The castle guards also had their own eating area inside the castle and their own toilets.

Life in a Medieval castle- Castle kitchens

Most of the servants and service staff were located at the bottom of the castle and the kitchen was usually below the Great Hall, all the food for a medieval banquet was prepared here and taken up to guests in the Great Hall.

Life in a Medieval castle – Medieval Castle Storeroom

Below the medieval castle kitchens was usually a storeroom that was in the cool part of the castle. The medieval castle storeroom was where all the food was stored before being prepared and cooked in the medieval castle kitchens

Medieval Castle Dungeons

Most medieval castles especially in the later medieval periods had a dungeon, here political and religious prisoners were held.

Prisoners held in medieval castle dungeons who were sometimes tortured and released and other times tortured to death. Close to the medieval castle dungeons was a water well.

Medieval Castle Life, The Medieval Castle Great Hall was where banquets were held in their medieval Castle life

Grounds around the Castle Keep Tower

There was a lot of activity going on in the area that surrounded the castle keep tower.

In this part of the medieval castle were stables for horses, and Doves were kept in a building called The Dovecote.

Life in a Medieval castle – Castle Tradesmen

A number of skilled craftsmen were on hand for any work that needed doing in the medieval castle in the area around the castle keep tower, Medieval craftsmen such as Blacksmiths, Knife Grinders, Soldiers and even Bakers could be found in this part of the castle going about their business.

Life in a Medieval castle – The layout of the medieval castle

The important parts of medieval castle were the drawbridge and Gatehouse at the front of the castle.

A moat was usually the first line of defence for a medieval castle. The castle walls usually had watchtowers where soldiers could watch out for enemies and visitors to the medieval castle.

There was usually an outer bailey courtyard and an inner bailey courtyard. Usually right in the centre of the layout of the medieval castle was the castle keep in which the medieval lord lived.

Life Inside a medieval castle summary

As we can see there were numerous parts of a medieval castle that went to make a complete castle structure, each part of the castle was very important and also the people and tradesmen who lived in and around the castle served important purposes of keeping the castle running smoothly.