Castle: The Mighty Stronghold - HISTORY OF MANKIND DOCUMENTARY

A castle (from Latin: castellum) is a type of prepared structure built in Europe and the Middle East throughout the Middle Ages by the aristocracy. Historians discuss the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the personal prepared residence of a god or noble. This is distinctive from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence-- though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied with time and has been put on structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with various features, although some, such as drape walls and arrowslits, were widespread.
A European innovation, castles come from the 9th as well as 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire caused its territory being divided amongst specific lords as well as royal princes. These nobles developed castles to regulate the location immediately surrounding them, and were both offensive as well as defensive structures; they supplied a base where raids can be launched as well as protection from enemies. Although their military beginnings are often emphasised in castle researches, the structures additionally worked as centres of management and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to regulate the local population as well as important travel paths, and also rural castles were commonly situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills and abundant land.