There are some very nice, short videos available online related to Medieval living. One of those videos describes the defensive features of castles using video of existing castles throughout Europe. Other topics include: 
The Knights Templar, The Nobility, Shipyards of Portugal, The Crusades, Castle Walls, and Exploring the Renaissance. Part of the How Stuff Works website, these are some very nicely done (although of minimal duration) videos of interest to Medieval ere enthusiasts. Hope you enjoy!
Archives for Medieval Castles category
Before one could really contemplate building a Medieval castle, spending some time learning about Medieval castles in general would be an important first step. If your plan is to copy an existing castle, then of course you would study that castle. But if you were wanting to make a unique structure, then learning about the details of castle design and construction is a must. A good place to start is Medieval-Castles.com. This site has alot of basic information on castles, their history, construction, life within the castle walls, and castle defenses, among many other topics. Many good photos as well! Soooo . . . if you’re planning on building your own fortress to defend against the dark forces of modern times, visit this very nicely done website.
Well . . . sad to say, matching only one number on the lottery doesn’t net enough to build a castle . . . actually, it doesn’t net anything at all! Anyway, last night after showing my latest blog to my daughter, she told me about another site – one that shows modern-day castles built in the US. Titled appropriately “Castles in the United States“, this site features a state-by-state run down of contemporary castles in the US. My understanding is that the couple who own the site, have been building their own castle, block by block, for the past 10 years or so.
One Block At A Time!
Very cool pics – I wish them the best of luck. (This pic is from their site – hope they don’t mind that I borrowed it to show all of you what they are doing there.) Guess if you have the land and don’t have plans on moving in right away, you CAN build your own castle . . . without hitting the lotto first! Very cool!
So you want to build a castle, eh? Who doesn’t? I mean, after all, most people who are reading articles about Medieval times have at least a passing fantasy of living in their own castle. And hey, I’m included! What a wonderful thing, to design, build, and live in your very own castle. If I win the lottery tonight . . . yeah, I think building a castle will be very near the top of things to do with the gazillions of dollars that would fill my coffers. And let’s say I did come into a substantial amount of money . . . where would I suddenly find the skills needed to build such a wonderful project?\
Well thanks to the internet, some of those resources are readily available. Let me introduce you to “An Old Castle Shop“, a website that provides some wonderful lists of internet resources available for just this very project. In fact, they include a link to a group of people who are doing just that – building their very own castle! Sweet!
The Castle Builders' Favorite Castle
From stonecutting and masonry work to timber framing, the folks at An Old Castle Shop provide some truly useful links. If you’re interested in the Medieval Castle Builders Project click here.
If you don’t hear much from me for a few days, it could be that tonight was the night!!! Or it could be that I’m just too depressed from not seeing the winning numbers . . .again. *sighs*
