How Important Was The Construction Of Castles To W

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How important was the construction of castles to William’s submission of his rebellious subjects? The Normans use castles to make their mark and to show they were there to stay. William used them for many reasons such as military and admin base, to station troops and many other military reasons. However there were other reasons such as the forest laws and the feudal system. They were all reasons as to how he got his rebellious subjects to submit. Castles may have been the main reason as they showed such a strong mark, and showed that the Normans were strong enough to build them and show their strength through them. William was famous for building the Motte and Bailey castles. These were typical Norman castles as they were the main ones William built. They had the motte hill, the timber tower on top of the motte where the Chief would live and watch from, on the bailey would have been stables and barns and sometimes they had houses for peasants/servants and also they had the fence going the whole length round and the stone tower gate. The bridge they had going around the mote was used to block the gate off if an enemy was coming towards the castle. The Norman castles were used for many reasons such as entertainment. Also they were used to show strength and wealth, in a few years after the first castle was built they became a routine structure to them and they were being built within 2 weeks every castle. Examples of these castles were Eye Castle in Suffolk, Brecon Castle in Wales and many many more castles built by William. These castles were built every time William invaded or took over a city, therefore they were a sign of his strength and that he and his army were there to stay and to take over. It also showed the pride he had for his country. However, there are also downsides to castles as it meant that the cavalry could not be used in the towns, also they
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