- 5 hours ago
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Miraculously preserved, restored or in ruins, castles always fascinate the public.
00:12The Middle Ages is an era of builders.
00:15They left us extraordinary monuments which are important to our identity.
00:21Centuries after their appearance on the landscape,
00:24they remain with cathedrals, symbols of the Middle Ages,
00:27and the power of those who built them.
00:29Their lords or sovereigns.
00:33For Philip II, the construction of castles was a tool with which to restore the authority of the King of France.
00:41Their construction accompanied the political and cultural evolution of the medieval period.
00:47Hundreds were built in Europe and up to the gates of the Middle East.
00:52But their shape, layout and characteristics evolved considerably over time.
00:58There's innovation, but there's also competition to build the best, most perfect, most original, newest castle.
01:06From the first stone towers erected in a few months, to the colossal sites of Carcassonne and Chambour,
01:12for five centuries between 1000 and 1500 AD, these constructions shaped the landscape of a nation in the making.
01:22From then on, numerous powers are centered around the castle.
01:26For both sides of the castle, border fortresses such as the Greek and Roman Empire.
01:29This castle giant castle castle saints, these buildings will have three functions.
01:31Commodation, defense and a statement of prestige.
01:33The grand heritage of the Church of theό overarching world is a miracle that is known as the century in the Bazin.
01:38They're the markers of a world in constant mutation.
01:42Together, they tell the tale of 500 years of the Middle Ages.
01:51The appearance of castles in Europe owes nothing to chance.
01:56During the long period of Roman peace in the first centuries of our era,
02:00a few castra, or fortified villas, had been built at the empire's border.
02:05Nothing more.
02:06In Latin texts, we see the term castrum.
02:10So castrum, or castellum, gradually becomes castle.
02:14Castellum simply means village. It's a very generic term.
02:19And during the 9th and 10th century,
02:21we gradually see the meaning changing from a stronghold,
02:25which can be a very large, fortified city,
02:28to gradually become what we understand as a place that is indeed fortified,
02:33but is also a residence.
02:34And not just anyone's residence, but the residence of a person with power.
02:41In the 9th century, the partition of Charlemagne's empire plunged Western Europe into chaos.
02:47The authority of the king, but also that of his vassals, the counts, is considerably weakened.
02:53The fortified villas have to make way for new types of constructions.
02:59Especially since from the 8th and 9th century,
03:01this vast region, which isn't yet France, is beset by numerous invasions.
03:08Hungarians to the east, Vikings to the north and west,
03:13Saracens to the south.
03:15To impede their progress, Europe covers itself with castles.
03:20First in the west and south of France, then in Normandy, Germany, and England.
03:31Feudalism is on the rise.
03:33The lords, emancipated from a weakened monarchy, set out to conquer territory.
03:38But they then need to protect it.
03:41They create fortifications that can be built in record time, around three months.
03:46Mott and Bailey castles, set on artificial mounds.
03:50To symbolise and concretely entrench their castle,
03:56they had to artificially create an elevation,
03:59in order to see far away, and be seen from far away.
04:03The average size of these cone-shaped mounds is about 30 metres in diameter at the base,
04:08and 10 at the top.
04:10The height varies from 6 to 12 metres,
04:13creating a slope of 35 to 55 degrees.
04:16Upon this stands a keep, between 15 and 25 metres tall.
04:22Below it is a courtyard, which is usually circular or oval.
04:26It's surrounded by a ditch, and a rampart surmounted by a wooden fence.
04:32A wooden gatehouse defends the entrance.
04:36This is where the service buildings, stables, ovens, wine presses, and forges are located.
04:42It's something simple, that's technically very easy to build.
04:47It can be made from materials taken from the ditch,
04:50using the workforce that you have at your beck and call.
04:53So you don't need real technicians to build this structure.
04:58Mott and Bailey castles will multiply over the 10th and 12th centuries.
05:02Their defence rests on a succession of obstacles, ditches, embankments, wooden fences,
05:09and the ability to withstand a siege.
05:13The keep, often accessible by a simple ladder,
05:16is a sign of the Lord's prestige and authority.
05:20This is where he lives with his family.
05:23Ardre, in the Pas-de-Calais, built about 1120, has four levels.
05:28A partially buried ground floor, acting as a cellar and granary.
05:34Topped with an upper floor, consisting of a hall and the Lord's bedchamber.
05:40Above this was the room reserved for the Lord's children, and that assigned to the guards.
05:47Finally, at the very top, was the Lord's private chapel.
05:50Once again, this is a symbol, to show the rest of the population,
06:00and the rest of the aristocracy, that you've made your mark on the landscape.
06:09At this time, the Lords are clashing in private wars,
06:13in order to expand and assert their power.
06:16Mott and Bailey castles spread in Western Europe, and into England.
06:22They represent authority and power,
06:25and allow the domain to be protected from enemy raids.
06:29These first wooden structures,
06:32effective against small troops of infantrymen and horsemen,
06:35nonetheless have a weak point, fire.
06:37During the 10th and 11th centuries,
06:42defensive installations will be reinforced by the use of stone.
06:47Some stone defences being built in place of the old wooden fortifications,
06:51like Restormor Castle in southern England.
06:55In France, the architecture of the first fortifications is influenced by the Normans,
07:02firmly implanted over a vast area they now see as a kind of nation
07:06they have to protect from their neighbours' appetites.
07:10It's a constant risk in the feudal system,
07:14losing one's legitimacy by being swallowed up by someone stronger.
07:17So they defend themselves by keeping others out.
07:20In this constant quest for protection,
07:24masonry will strengthen the defence system of castles
07:27from the start of the 11th century.
07:30The most powerful and wealthy lords
07:31replace the wooden keeps with large stone towers.
07:35The most famous of these lords,
07:38Fulknera, who became Count of Anjou at only 17,
07:42will have 30 or so fortresses built,
07:44including Loche in André-Loire,
07:47one of the oldest and most imposing stone keeps.
07:51With this construction,
07:53Fulknera establishes himself in everyone's eyes as the king's equal.
07:58He has a choice between two kinds of construction.
08:01It can be strategic,
08:02but it can also be a kind of ostentatious castle palace
08:06that's the expression of both his power
08:08and his taste for pomp as a great lord.
08:11So, for example, a keep like Loche isn't a tool of war.
08:15It's built entirely of stone and dressed stone, what's more.
08:20Set back from the more recent fortifications,
08:25the rectangular keep at Loche measures about 25 by 15 metres.
08:30It is 37 metres tall.
08:32There is a door on the least vulnerable side.
08:34The windows are splayed and narrow on the outside.
08:39On the third floor,
08:41wider openings probably gave access to an overhanging wooden gallery,
08:46making it possible to change aim
08:48or to drop stones on attackers reaching the base of the walls.
08:52We see signs of residential keeps from around 900 in France,
09:00generally with one lower room or two levels of lower rooms,
09:05and a great hall, which often also led to the tower,
09:09which is a multifunctional reception room on the first floor.
09:12Above that is a space called the camera,
09:16the bedchamber, for example, which is more private,
09:19and then often a defensive floor in the upper part,
09:23which is a guard's room and also serves as a watchtower.
09:26The defence of such a fortress is purely passive.
09:33The wider and deeper the castle's ditches,
09:37the higher its walls,
09:40the better its defence from incursions.
09:45That's passive defence.
09:50This passive defence is combined with deep defence.
09:54Most fortresses from the Roman period
09:58are located in particularly inaccessible places.
10:02At the crossroads of strategic communication routes,
10:05numerous obstacles prevent the attacker from approaching the keep.
10:10Ditches, ramparts or wooden fences.
10:15The castle is built in a naturally well-defended place,
10:18on a hill surrounded by a river,
10:21forming natural obstacles to a potential enemy's advance.
10:25They slow down the enemy's advance.
10:28They isolate and protect themselves
10:30and design the castle as a refuge.
10:34That doesn't mean they do nothing at all,
10:36because we know that at the top of the castle walls,
10:39there were wall walks,
10:41from which they could shoot and keep watch.
10:44But it's still relatively passive.
10:48Obstacles, walls, ditches, natural defences.
10:51Many keeps built during the 11th century
10:54adopted the old square design that was easy to construct.
10:59The Anglo-Norman model of this type of building
11:02is the Tower of London,
11:04built around 1070 by William the Conqueror,
11:07or the large keep of Chateau de Falaise in Normandy,
11:12built at the start of the 12th century.
11:16But square keeps soon show their defensive limits.
11:21Their badly defended corners, creating blind spots,
11:25are easily accessible to attackers.
11:27They can dig saps, tunnels underneath the foundations
11:31of the keeps or walls,
11:33which are then stuffed with flammable material
11:35to bring down the wall and allow access to the keep.
11:39These square keeps will soon disappear
11:44in favour of round ones,
11:46better suited to the art of war.
11:49This will be the great widespread innovation
11:51of the 12th and 13th centuries,
11:53but it won't happen until the reign of the builder king,
11:57Philip II.
11:57From the early 12th century,
12:11the castle represents much more than just a fortification.
12:15It is also a place for everyday life.
12:18The peasants come there to work,
12:20maintaining the walls, clearing the ditches,
12:23or farming the Lord's land, his domain.
12:27The master of the house lives there
12:29with his large family,
12:31brothers, sisters, cousins.
12:34The knights move into the fiefs
12:36granted them by their lord,
12:37where they build fortified homes.
12:40But this sudden independence
12:42has an effect on their relationship
12:44with the lord to whom they're bound.
12:49There are two great rituals,
12:52the oath of fealty and the act of homage.
12:55You swear an oath,
12:57something spiritual and mysterious,
12:59which is over your head,
13:02and you promise not to harm your lord.
13:06You are part of his court.
13:10It's a society where a man's worth
13:12is measured by the number of people
13:14he has around him, serving him.
13:16From there, there are numerous powers
13:19centered around the castle.
13:20When the prince is away,
13:21homage is paid to the castle.
13:23In the same way,
13:25the king of France now demands
13:26that the great lords pay him homage
13:28and swear to give him military support and advice.
13:31This organization of the relationships
13:33between the vassals sums up the feudal system.
13:37The pyramid of power rebuilds itself.
13:40Medieval society evolves.
13:41The king, who had lost everything,
13:45gradually recovers his rights,
13:48recovers the ban,
13:49the power to command and punish.
13:51And from now on,
13:52his courts are the only ones
13:54that can dispense justice.
13:56This process involves new castles,
13:59or in any case,
14:00conquering lords' castles
14:01and adapting them with new techniques.
14:04Castles are more beautiful,
14:05more sophisticated in military terms,
14:08even more impregnable,
14:10marking the recovery of a territory
14:12by the monarchy.
14:13Especially since in the 12th and 13th centuries,
14:16a period known as the Golden Age of Castles,
14:19France and England are fighting a merciless war,
14:23a conflict in which castles play a vital part.
14:27We have political entities
14:28that are becoming more powerful,
14:31entering into open war in the 1180s and 1190s.
14:35And this inevitably leads
14:38to the construction of new castles
14:40and, as a result, to strongholds.
14:44There's innovation,
14:45but there's also competition
14:47to build the best, most perfect,
14:49most original, newest castle.
14:52When Philip II descends the throne in 1180,
14:55the Kingdom of France is hardly bigger
14:57than the current Ile-de-France.
15:00Normandy, Anjou, Maine,
15:02and even Touraine are under the thumb
15:05of King John of England.
15:09Philip II extends his kingdom
15:11at the expense of the Anglo-Norman rulers,
15:15the Plantagenets.
15:16He restores his influence
15:18in all the provinces held by the great vassals.
15:22He sets up an administration
15:23to run the kingdom.
15:27Benefiting from the growth
15:28of the cities he rallied to him
15:30and the weakening of the lords,
15:32impoverished by the First Crusades,
15:35Philip II, like his Capetian predecessors,
15:38embarks on a vast initiative
15:40to restore royal power.
15:42But he won't stop at territorial gains.
15:45He covers the kingdom
15:46with military infrastructures,
15:48at the forefront of which are castles.
15:51For Philip II,
15:53the construction of castles
15:55was obviously as a tool of war
15:58and confrontation,
16:00a stronghold,
16:00but it was also a special tool
16:02in the service of his power,
16:04his authority,
16:07his image.
16:08For him,
16:09it was a tool with which
16:10to restore the authority
16:11of the King of France.
16:13In all,
16:15about 30 buildings
16:16bear the King's mark
16:17throughout the kingdom.
16:18When he hadn't built them himself,
16:21he gave them a round tower,
16:23a symbol of his authority.
16:26In June 1204,
16:29Philip II was made King of France
16:31and no longer King of the Franks.
16:34In order to defend his kingdom
16:36and keep it from the ferocious appetites
16:38of the Plantagenet sovereigns,
16:40the new king builds fortresses
16:43with standardized plans.
16:45A square enclosure,
16:47ramparts flanked by circular towers
16:49at the corners
16:50and semicircular towers in the middle,
16:53a keep in the center,
16:55but which soon moves to the corner.
16:58Walls with crenellations,
17:00a walkway around the tops of the walls,
17:03running from one tower to another,
17:05and finally,
17:07a gatehouse and guardroom,
17:09solidly built at the entrance.
17:11The show castle
17:12and model for all others
17:14is in Paris.
17:15The Louvre,
17:16which wasn't the French king's residence,
17:19that was the Palais de la Cité.
17:21The Louvre was built in the 1190s
17:24and it's the ultimate castle
17:27that introduces a new model,
17:31which will be called the Philippine castle
17:32in reference to constructions by Philip II
17:35and which is the result of a great deal of thought
17:39around a standard plan.
17:42The Louvre occupied the southwest corner
17:45of the current square courtyard.
17:47After 12 years of work,
17:49the great tower, the keep, is completed.
17:5131 meters tall,
17:54it is surrounded by a circular moat
17:56around 7.5 meters in width and depth.
17:59The fortress walls,
18:01forming a square measuring 78 by 72 meters,
18:05are reinforced by 10 towers.
18:08A ditch filled with water
18:09completes the defenses.
18:12The main door is to the south,
18:14while a smaller door faces the city.
18:16The west wall is reinforced,
18:20being more vulnerable to attack.
18:22Against the west and south walls,
18:24two buildings house the soldiers,
18:26animals and equipment
18:28necessary to withstand a siege.
18:30The other two walls are simply crenellated.
18:35A deep well and a cistern
18:37provide the water supply.
18:39Castles built to Philip II's plan
18:45employ concepts that have existed
18:47since ancient times.
18:49That's to say, quadrangular plans,
18:51segments of walls built fairly high,
18:55and crowned with walkways
18:56and regularly flanked,
18:58so protected by defensive towers,
19:01the whole thing being surrounded
19:02and isolated by ditches.
19:04That's an old idea,
19:07but one that's evolving,
19:08because we now have towers
19:10with increasing numbers
19:11of active defense elements.
19:14That's to say, arrow loops.
19:16These standards,
19:17typical of Philip II's architecture,
19:19can be found in Dourdain, in Essonne,
19:22the most accomplished
19:23and best-preserved fortress of its kind.
19:27Curtain walls with battlements,
19:30walkways running around the walls,
19:32a door equipped with a portcullis
19:35and other iron and wood grills,
19:37a solidly built gatehouse
19:38defending the main entrance,
19:41arrow slits in the towers and walls,
19:45towers at the corners of the ramparts,
19:48and a keep that gradually supplants
19:50the massive square towers,
19:52and then disappears in the 13th century,
19:55the Lord willingly moving
19:56into a building in the inner courtyard.
20:02Although this standardization
20:04of castle architecture
20:05lasts nearly two centuries,
20:07it comes up against the development
20:09of devastating catapults
20:11and then artillery.
20:13The architecture will have to adapt once again
20:16and adopt even more defensive forms.
20:19By that time,
20:20the towers, standardized by the king,
20:22will feature in all new fortifications.
20:25During the 12th century,
20:36following the model initiated
20:37by Philip II,
20:39medieval architects would favor round
20:41rather than square towers,
20:43because the siege engine projectiles
20:46brought back by the crusaders
20:47ricochet more easily off their surfaces.
20:50The crusades,
20:55and more generally,
20:56exchanges with the east,
20:58had a considerable influence
21:00on the construction of castles
21:02at the end of the 12th
21:04and the beginning of the 13th century.
21:07Because military engineers
21:09were vying with each other
21:11to find new techniques
21:13for attack and for defense,
21:16they went back
21:17to the large Greco-Roman siege engines,
21:22such as the giant crossbow
21:24and trebuchets,
21:26so counterweight devices.
21:29Capable of firing blocks of stone
21:31weighing over 100 kilos
21:32against castle walls and towers,
21:35this impressive siege engine
21:36was still let down
21:38by its lack of maneuverability
21:39and slow rate of fire.
21:42The trebuchet is also an example
21:44of medieval biological warfare.
21:48While the defenders dropped
21:49foul waste and excrement
21:51onto the attackers
21:52from the wooden hoardings,
21:55trebuchets were used
21:56to project animal entrails
21:58and infected corpses
21:59into the besieged castle
22:01in the hope of contaminating
22:04its garrison.
22:05whatever their size,
22:14counterweight or firing system,
22:16these machines required
22:17a large number of men
22:19to operate them.
22:20They also required
22:22the knowledge to make them
22:23and above all,
22:25the money to buy them.
22:26The largest siege engines
22:28were therefore beyond
22:29the reach of lesser lords,
22:31often impoverished upon their return
22:33from various crusades.
22:36So, there's an effort
22:38to attack the castles,
22:40the strongholds,
22:42and in return, of course,
22:44an effort to defend them.
22:47The walls are made thicker,
22:49new defences are created,
22:52walkways with machiculations,
22:55systems to drop projectiles
22:57on the attackers' heads,
22:58which are found
22:59in some 12th-century castles
23:01in the West,
23:02such as Chateau Gaillard,
23:06but that we only see developing
23:07at the end of the 14th century.
23:10Chateau Gaillard in Normandy,
23:12considered impregnable,
23:14was the pride
23:14of Richard the Lionheart.
23:16The English king
23:17accomplished the feat
23:18of having it built
23:19in only two years.
23:21It was the last obstacle
23:22destined to stop Philip II
23:24in his advance upon Rouen.
23:26It is only after
23:27a very long siege
23:28in the spring of 1204
23:30that he manages to capture it
23:32because Chateau Gaillard
23:34is equipped from very early on
23:36with the most effective form
23:38of active defence.
23:40It has to resist attack,
23:42so replacing the wooden hoardings
23:45with stone machiculations
23:46in Chateau Gaillard
23:47was a very novel thing
23:49to do in the West.
23:50There were stone machiculations
23:52on arches at the top of the tower
23:55and the walls were thicker.
23:58The walls of Chateau Gaillard
24:00are very thick.
24:02There's great mechanical resistance
24:03to ballistic impact.
24:05The spur was there
24:06in case of ballistic fire
24:08to deflect projectiles
24:10and stop them from landing,
24:11while the scalloped edge
24:12is also to repel ballistic fire
24:15to make the projectiles
24:16ricochet off
24:17and minimise the impact.
24:19The thicker walls
24:20and the shape are a real solution.
24:23In the 12th and 13th centuries,
24:25simple entrenchment
24:26is no longer enough.
24:28With the architecture
24:29of Philip II,
24:30defence becomes active.
24:34The castle can now protect
24:36all of the land surrounding it
24:37because men posted on its wall walks
24:40or hiding in its guardhouse
24:42can actively defend the building
24:45thanks to new defensive mechanisms
24:47in the towers and walls
24:48and their ability
24:50to move along the curtain walls.
24:53Advances in the art of construction
24:55have made the fortifications
24:56even stronger
24:57and harder to approach.
25:00During the 13th century,
25:02the wooden hoardings,
25:04vulnerable to fire,
25:05gradually disappear
25:06to be replaced
25:07by cobalt constructions,
25:09pratises,
25:10small rectangular structures
25:12with openings
25:12and machicolations,
25:15stone galleries
25:16running along the tops
25:17of the walls.
25:18To better protect the outer wall,
25:20from the middle of the 12th century,
25:22the towers are used
25:23as firing positions.
25:25The key element
25:27of active defence
25:28is the archer tower.
25:30In a semicircular tower,
25:31you make arrow loops
25:32on the sides and front,
25:34but on the floor above,
25:35they're in a different place.
25:37That way,
25:38all the firing angles
25:39are covered,
25:40leaving no blind spots
25:42because staggering
25:43the arrow loops
25:44at different levels
25:45in a fan shape
25:46allows the archer
25:47to defend
25:48almost every angle
25:50actively from the tower.
25:53This is really implemented
25:54from the late 12th century
25:56and Philip II
25:57will do this systematically.
26:01Progress is such
26:03that fortresses
26:04can now be built on plains,
26:06on flat, open ground.
26:07The architecture of Philip II
26:10will influence English rulers
26:12for several centuries.
26:14Dover Castle,
26:15on the English coast,
26:17defends the port
26:18closest to France.
26:20Henry Plantagenet
26:21made it considerably larger
26:23between 1179 and 1188
26:25by adding a splendid palace keep.
26:29In south-east England,
26:31Bodium Castle,
26:32built in 1385
26:34in the middle of the Hundred Years' War,
26:36is an archetypal French fortress.
26:39It's built on a square base
26:40but doesn't have a keep.
26:52Additions, improvements,
26:54or real creations,
26:55the principles
26:56of the fortification of architecture
26:58initiated by Philip II
27:00evolve further with his successors,
27:02his son, Louis VIII,
27:04and his grandson,
27:05Louis IX,
27:06who ceaselessly expand
27:07the royal domain.
27:10Louis IX,
27:11or Saint-Louis,
27:13who had to fight
27:14especially in the south of France
27:16against the Count of Toulouse,
27:18had castles,
27:19strongholds built.
27:22These eventually became places
27:24from which to exercise
27:26royal power.
27:27In 1248,
27:30the Treaty of Courbet
27:31fixed the border
27:32between France and Aragon.
27:35A few years earlier,
27:37several fortresses
27:38perched at the top
27:39of impressive cliffs
27:40had been bought
27:41by Louis IX
27:42to mark the kingdom's
27:43new borders.
27:44Their names were
27:45Éguilar,
27:46Quéribus,
27:47Pépateuse,
27:49and Puy-lauron.
27:50Among these vertiginous citadels,
27:53Pépateuse in the Haute
27:54is the most impressive.
27:57The fortress,
27:58dating from the late 13th century,
28:01runs along a 300-metre ridge
28:03and stands 500 metres
28:05above the valley.
28:06The complex is in three parts,
28:09two castles
28:10and a vast central esplanade.
28:13The old keep
28:13includes a dwelling
28:14and a Romanesque church,
28:17while a second fortress,
28:19erected further up in 1242,
28:21allows total autonomy
28:23in case of siege.
28:24Although impressive,
28:26these citadels
28:27only have very small garrisons.
28:29This is particularly the case
28:31with Puy-lauron
28:32perched on its limestone spur.
28:35The fortress is defended
28:36by 20 infantrymen
28:37and a pack of dogs.
28:40What could so few men have done
28:41in case of invasion?
28:44Would they only have had time
28:45to go down into the valley
28:46they overlooked?
28:48In fact,
28:48these vertiginous citadels
28:50aren't just fortresses.
28:51They're mainly political constructions,
28:55weapons in a psychological war.
28:58They symbolize the will
28:59of the Capetian kings
29:00to make their mark
29:01on the kingdom they govern.
29:04The Albigenasian crusade
29:06is an opportunity
29:07for Capetian power
29:09to establish a strong foothold
29:11in territories far from the royal seat.
29:14It's true that these castles,
29:16known as border castles,
29:18because they're coveted territories,
29:20are very often the synthesis
29:22of old fortifications,
29:24old places of power,
29:26which are taken, retaken,
29:27and strengthened by various people.
29:29Carcassonne is the prime example.
29:32It dates back
29:33to the late Roman Empire.
29:35On top of this infrastructure
29:36is a double wall
29:37built to fill it the second standards
29:39with new forms,
29:41for example,
29:41the use of bossage,
29:43stones given a rough,
29:44rustic appearance.
29:46The towers are a little bit bigger,
29:48but it's built on Philip's model
29:50with circular towers
29:51and arrow loops,
29:53and it has to be very beautiful,
29:56so therefore very expensive.
29:58But what counts
30:00is that the beauty
30:00and the final form
30:02of the architecture
30:02are proof of the power,
30:05the authority of the Capetian king
30:06over these areas.
30:10Carcassonne castle,
30:11bristling with nine towers,
30:13is an architectural gem.
30:16The city's fortifications
30:17are a monumental complex
30:19with three kilometers of ramparts
30:21interspersed with 40 towers
30:23equipped with two large doors.
30:27This huge acropolis
30:28towers 50 meters
30:30above the right bank
30:31of the river road.
30:32The loveliest fortified city
30:34in Europe,
30:35Carcassonne has two walls
30:37crowned by a wall walk.
30:39The first inner wall
30:41sits on the ancient foundations.
30:43The second is protected
30:45by 14 towers.
30:46It's a considerable financial investment
30:51because it's built in dressed stone
30:54and designed for active defense.
30:57There are archer towers,
30:59immense towers
31:00with arrow loops
31:01up to two to three meters long.
31:04We know very well
31:06that arrow loops
31:07don't actually need to be
31:08two to three meters long
31:10to be more effective.
31:10So there's an ostentatious element
31:14and also an element
31:15of demonstrating
31:17royal authority
31:18through these constructions,
31:20which are also, obviously,
31:22strong constructions.
31:24The criteria for choosing
31:26the site of a castle
31:27were strategic,
31:29political
31:29and also environmental.
31:32The site had to be close
31:34to a quarry
31:34and a forest,
31:36which had to provide
31:37the materials for the site.
31:39After the forest
31:42has been cleared,
31:43the land is surveyed.
31:45Using a rope
31:46with 13 knots
31:47divided into 50 cm cubits,
31:50the master mason
31:51marks out
31:52the future building.
31:53Stakes are planted
31:54at the center of the towers,
31:56then connected by ropes,
31:58determining the lines
31:58on which the curtain walls
32:00will stand.
32:03The building work
32:04is done by specialists
32:05with specific functions
32:07and skills.
32:08stonecutters,
32:09masons,
32:10carpenters
32:11and blacksmiths
32:12divided into guilds.
32:14The cost of this work
32:15is high.
32:17The amount of dressed stone
32:18used to build a castle
32:19will therefore depend
32:21on the budget
32:21allocated by the Lord.
32:24The size of the castle
32:25depends on the wealth
32:27of the person building it,
32:28the land he has,
32:30the revenues he can collect
32:31and, above all,
32:33the peasants
32:34he can make work on the site.
32:35The Middle Ages
32:37is an era of builders.
32:40It's a time
32:41when a lot of wealth,
32:42a lot of capital
32:43went into building cathedrals
32:45and into building castles.
32:48It may have been detrimental
32:49to living standards,
32:51it may have been detrimental
32:52to the quality
32:53of people's health
32:55and education,
32:56but it left us
32:58with extraordinary monuments
33:00that are important
33:02to our identity
33:03and what we are today.
33:08It takes 8 to 12 years
33:10to build the castles
33:11of the early 13th century.
33:13During the whole process,
33:15the masons will keep watch
33:16over the quality
33:17of the assembly
33:18and the accuracy
33:19of the angles.
33:19they use hoisting gear
33:21such as treadwheels,
33:23some of which
33:23can lift a weight
33:24of 600 kilograms,
33:28rib vaulting,
33:30beams interlocking
33:31thanks to mortise
33:32and tenon joints,
33:34dressed stone windows,
33:35each element of a castle
33:37shows incredible craftsmanship.
33:40The site is therefore colossal,
33:42a conjunction
33:43of several skills
33:44coordinated
33:45by the master mason.
33:46We often wonder
33:49about the architects,
33:50especially when we're impressed
33:51by the quality
33:52of the buildings.
33:54There are cross-ribbed vaults
33:56and an elaborate idea
33:57of construction
33:58that echoes
33:59that of churches.
34:01Of course there are architects,
34:02but we don't have their names.
34:05Unfortunately,
34:06apart from a rare few,
34:07they're mostly unknown.
34:11Although the medieval architects'
34:13names have gone,
34:14their work,
34:15whose beauty
34:16and complexity
34:16remains uncontested today,
34:19has come down
34:20through the centuries.
34:26With the reign
34:27of Philip II
34:28and his successors,
34:29the kingdom enjoys
34:30a period of pacification
34:31and stability,
34:33but castles continue
34:35to spread
34:35over the royal territory.
34:37And although they still
34:38meet military standards,
34:40their residential function
34:42is growing.
34:43The quest for comfort
34:44becomes a major concern
34:46for their builders.
34:48The keep
34:49is eventually abandoned
34:50in favor of a specific building,
34:53a dwelling,
34:54built in the courtyard,
34:55where the lord lives
34:56with his servants.
34:58Here we see
35:00the emergence
35:00of spaces
35:01that are much more suitable
35:03as a residence.
35:04and not just anyone's residence,
35:09but the person
35:10with the power
35:11and his inner circle,
35:12his extended family,
35:14his mesmi.
35:16Throughout the Middle Ages,
35:17we have what's called
35:18the trilogy,
35:20which appears
35:21from the Carolingian era
35:22in Latin texts.
35:23The reception room,
35:28the aula in Latin,
35:30the hall,
35:30is a large room
35:31on the first floor,
35:33on the noble floor
35:34where the lord
35:34has his throne,
35:36where meals are eaten
35:37and banquets take place.
35:39It's a place
35:40for conviviality.
35:41The tables are set up
35:42on trestles
35:43and removed after meals.
35:45There's a part
35:46which is more private,
35:48the camera in Latin,
35:50the chamber
35:51and then
35:53a third place
35:54which is the chapel.
35:56The chapel is not only
35:57a place for prayer
35:58and worship
35:58but it's also
35:59a cultural place
36:00where people write.
36:02Some books are kept there.
36:04The library is in the chapel.
36:06So the castle
36:07is a residence
36:08and also a place of culture
36:10which we too often forget.
36:14Light is an element
36:15of comfort
36:16that is essential
36:17to the lord's daily life.
36:19But the first
36:20rudimentary castles
36:21have few openings.
36:23They're essentially
36:24arrow loops.
36:27In the 13th century,
36:28large arched gemmell windows
36:30are common
36:31on the less vulnerable facades.
36:33There are dwellings
36:34in the courtyard
36:35like the 12th century houses
36:37that we still see
36:38in some cities
36:39with beautiful gemmell windows
36:41which are quite large
36:43and people like
36:44to take advantage
36:45of the natural light
36:46even if there were
36:47no big windows
36:48like we have today.
36:50From early on,
36:53there were stained glass windows
36:55as well as wooden shutters
36:56and oil cloth
36:57and people also took advantage
36:59of the fireplace,
37:01torches, etc.
37:02Openings are made
37:03in large niches
37:05within the thickness
37:06of the walls
37:06and provided
37:08on the two side walls
37:09with stone benches,
37:11window seats.
37:12fireplaces are undoubtedly
37:15the elements of comfort
37:16that appear earliest.
37:18Relatively modest
37:19in the early 12th century fortresses,
37:21they become highly sophisticated
37:23in later constructions,
37:25the fireplace being synonymous
37:27with prestige.
37:29The hood is often decorated
37:30with ornaments,
37:32the Lord's coat of arms,
37:33his motto,
37:35mouldings
37:35and richly carved decorations,
37:38sometimes painted
37:39and gilded.
37:41What is surprising
37:42is that we find
37:43in some rare texts,
37:45as in archaeology,
37:46evidence of a certain luxury
37:48in castles
37:49very early on,
37:50particularly in everything
37:51concerning hygiene.
37:52There are examples
37:54in castles
37:54of private baths.
37:57There are always latrines
37:58in castles.
37:59Then there's the preparation
38:01of meals,
38:02kitchens,
38:02living spaces,
38:03so a whole organisation
38:05and layout
38:06which becomes more complex.
38:08Water is a vital necessity
38:10and one of the Lord's concerns.
38:14Indispensable to everyday life,
38:16it is even more so
38:17in the event of a siege.
38:19The fortress must be autonomous.
38:20Perched on a rocky spur,
38:23it has cisterns
38:24where rainwater is stored
38:26after being filtered
38:27through a layer of pebbles
38:28and sand.
38:30On the plain,
38:31every good castle
38:32has a well,
38:33which is another element
38:34of ornamentation
38:35and prestige.
38:37The wealthiest Lord's homes
38:39have a water supply
38:40in the kitchen
38:41or pipes bringing in spring water,
38:44sometimes from several kilometres.
38:48Such is the case
38:50in Vincennes,
38:51the ultimate royal castle.
38:53The water is piped
38:54directly from springs
38:55on the heights of Montreuil,
38:57three kilometres to the north.
39:00Arriving under pressure,
39:01thanks to the difference in level,
39:03the precious liquid
39:04is stored in a water tower
39:05before being distributed
39:07to the kitchens
39:08and baths of the fortress.
39:09The 50-metre keep,
39:14surrounded by a wall
39:15with a castellum
39:16consisting of twin towers
39:18and a moat,
39:19is surrounded by a vast outer wall
39:221,200 metres long.
39:25Typical of early 15th century
39:27military architecture,
39:29the moat is 11 metres deep
39:31and 25 metres wide.
39:33The walls are crowned
39:34with machic alations
39:35on a series of cornices
39:37overhanging the moat.
39:41Built during the Hundred Years' War
39:43from 1361,
39:45these fortifications
39:46are typical
39:47of the late Middle Ages,
39:49during which the conflict
39:50between the kingdoms
39:51of France and England
39:52went through
39:53several successive phases
39:54of high tension.
39:57During this interminable conflict,
39:59one invention
40:00would radically change
40:02the art of war
40:03and military architecture.
40:05Gunpowder.
40:09At the end of the 14th century,
40:12numerous pieces of artillery
40:13appear on the battlefield
40:15and inside citadels.
40:18The spread of artillery
40:19does considerable damage
40:21to the curtain walls
40:22and the outer walls
40:24of castles.
40:26By firing stone cannonballs
40:28from a tube
40:29which are smaller
40:30than the balls
40:30from big catapults,
40:32you can breach a wall
40:33just as effectively
40:34and the cannon
40:35is more transportable.
40:37So the castle wall
40:38also has to adapt
40:39to the emerging cannons.
40:42At first,
40:43they just enlarged
40:44the arrow loops a bit
40:45and designed openings
40:46for cannons
40:47with embrasures
40:48and cannon ports
40:50and then gun ports.
40:52Then they gradually
40:53start to design towers
40:55in which cannons
40:55can be installed.
40:56If the first stone cannonballs
41:00aren't very effective
41:01at demolishing walls,
41:03the appearance
41:03of cast iron balls
41:05in the mid-15th century
41:06changes things
41:07because their destructive power
41:09is devastating.
41:11These are balls
41:12that breach walls.
41:13Instead of smashing
41:14on the walls,
41:15they smash the walls.
41:16The strongest,
41:18most powerful cannons
41:19force a change
41:20in castle architecture.
41:22Throughout the 15th century,
41:23the fortifications
41:24start to become
41:25much more resistant.
41:27The fortresses
41:28become more squat
41:28with walls
41:29sometimes more than
41:3010 meters thick
41:32to withstand the impact
41:33of the new artillery.
41:35Castles will now be built
41:37or adapted
41:37to withstand siege artillery
41:39that's increasingly powerful,
41:41increasingly maneuverable,
41:43using balls
41:44weighing up to 200 pounds,
41:46about 90 kilograms
41:47and 42 centimeters
41:49in diameter,
41:50sometimes surrounded
41:51with an iron band
41:52or made entirely
41:54of cast iron.
41:55Adjusting the dosage
41:56of gunpowder
41:57makes the shots
41:58more consistent.
41:59From now on,
42:00the artillery can focus
42:01its fire on any point
42:03of the ramparts
42:03and thus
42:04create breaches.
42:07That's really the end
42:10of medieval stone castles
42:11as we know them.
42:14At the end of the 15th century,
42:17no wall can withstand
42:18the cannons.
42:26In New Aquitaine,
42:28Bonagil Castle,
42:30built between 1445
42:31and 1482
42:32by a megalomaniac lord
42:34on the site
42:35of a 13th century castle,
42:37will benefit
42:37from improvements
42:38made to resist
42:39the development
42:40of artillery.
42:42A massive outer wall
42:44called a barbican
42:45protects the entrance,
42:47an almond-shaped keep
42:49with a streamlined profile.
42:52More than 100 cannonports
42:54in the walls,
42:55encircled by a boulevard
42:57and protected
42:58by firing positions
42:59in the moats
43:00and the base
43:01of the ramparts.
43:02Castles adopting
43:07these architectural forms
43:08adapted for the impact
43:10of artillery
43:11with these very big
43:12artillery towers
43:13are the work
43:14of very great lords
43:15or kings.
43:17Faith in castles
43:18remains strong,
43:20but those built
43:21from the 15th century
43:22are very different
43:23from their predecessors.
43:24They're increasingly buried
43:28to stop artillery fire
43:30breaching their outer walls.
43:32The fortress of Sals,
43:34at the foot of the
43:35Pyrenees Oriental,
43:37is an example.
43:40Built at the end
43:41of the 15th century
43:42by order of the king
43:43of Spain,
43:44it defends the border
43:46with France.
43:47Its general design
43:48is highly innovative
43:49and heralds
43:50the modern fortifications
43:52of which Vauban
43:53is one of the
43:54undisputed masters.
43:56Sals is an example
43:57of a caesura.
43:58It's the end
43:59of the castle.
44:00We can no longer
44:01speak of a medieval castle
44:02even if it retains
44:04some of the features.
44:05It's already a citadel.
44:06It has big artillery towers,
44:08very thick walls
44:09and is defended
44:11by cannons
44:11inside vaulted rooms
44:13which are bunkers
44:14with ventilation systems
44:16so that the gunners
44:17aren't poisoned
44:18by the fumes
44:19from their guns.
44:20It's very solid.
44:22We're evolving
44:22towards forms
44:23that are stockier
44:24or resistant.
44:26The war walk
44:27has also been designed
44:28to accommodate cannons
44:29and the horseshoe-shaped towers
44:32are detached
44:33from the fortress
44:34like advanced defense posts.
44:37The walls,
44:38widened at their base,
44:39are 14 meters thick
44:41and sunk into the moat
44:42in order to protect them
44:44from direct hits
44:45by attackers
44:45with only the part
44:47needed by the artillery
44:48emerging from the sloping banks.
44:51The moats are protected
44:52by gun ports
44:53in the base
44:54of the curtain walls.
44:56In elevation,
44:57it's nothing like
44:58a medieval castle.
45:00There are no tall towers.
45:01The towers are buried.
45:03There are very thick walls
45:05against which
45:06the cannonballs
45:07will die
45:08rather than shatter
45:09the masonry.
45:10So we have buried fortifications,
45:14the beginning
45:15of what will be called
45:16bastian architecture,
45:18so earth constructions,
45:19a staggering
45:23of the defenses.
45:25There are several lines
45:26of defense.
45:27The cannons are pushed
45:28back a long way,
45:30but its architecture
45:31and function
45:32is no longer
45:32that of a medieval castle.
45:34The fortress of Salse
45:38embodies the end
45:39of an era.
45:41Castles will disappear
45:42from the landscape
45:43of increasingly
45:44centralized nations.
45:46Their decline
45:47also symbolizes
45:48the death throes
45:49of the feudal system.
45:52The castle's demise
45:53is due to peace,
45:55peace within
45:56the kingdom of France.
45:57Once the 100 years war
45:59is over
46:00in the 16th century,
46:02there are still
46:03religious wars,
46:04but there will be
46:05gradually less need
46:06for defended castles.
46:09So the emergence
46:11of royalty,
46:12the birth of the feudal monarchy
46:14gradually pacifies
46:16the territory,
46:17and the castles,
46:19in their most military aspect,
46:21die their death.
46:25Once more,
46:26the doing of the prince
46:27who orders its construction,
46:29the castle is transformed
46:30into a palace
46:31a royal residence,
46:33its architectural splendors
46:35symbolizing the prestige
46:37of its royal owner.
46:40Chambour,
46:40built under the supervision
46:41of Francis I
46:43from 1519,
46:44is a perfect example.
46:47When you visit Chambour,
46:49which is seen
46:49as the ultimate castle,
46:51one of the greatest castles
46:53of the Renaissance,
46:54it's not a fortified
46:55medieval castle at all.
46:58It's a castle
46:58in its own right.
46:59Some defensive attributes
47:01have been kept,
47:03such as the keep,
47:04battlements,
47:06machiculations,
47:07but they become decorative,
47:09a symbol of political power.
47:12Yes, Chambour is a royal residence,
47:15like all the castles in the Loire,
47:17superb castles,
47:19to which the king
47:19also brings craftsmen from Italy.
47:22Leonardo da Vinci stayed in these castles
47:25at the request of the great lords
47:27and the French royalty.
47:29It's a completely different context.
47:33These are areas
47:34that are completely peaceful for centuries.
47:37At the same time,
47:38the kings continue
47:39to demolish the fortresses.
47:42Henry IV has several demolished
47:44to avoid,
47:45as he says,
47:46their being used
47:47by the enemies
47:48of royal authority.
47:49This says it all.
47:51The castles
47:51and all-powerful lords
47:53are gone from their land.
47:55Much of the life of nobles
47:56will now take place
47:57close to their sovereign,
47:59at court.
48:00And Louis XIII,
48:03then Louis XIV,
48:05will continue
48:05their work of demolition.
48:08Louis XIII,
48:09Louis XIV,
48:11Richelieu,
48:11are all great destroyers
48:13of castles
48:14because they want
48:15to end the religious wars
48:17and to restore monarchical order.
48:20There's a desire
48:21to bring down
48:23all these symbols,
48:24which are also the symbols
48:25of a bygone time.
48:28Often,
48:29it was enough
48:29to dismantle the battlements,
48:31the symbols of defense.
48:33In other cases,
48:35the castles
48:35were completely demolished
48:37and the stones
48:37used elsewhere.
48:40During the revolution,
48:41all the symbols
48:42of seigneurial authority
48:44are destroyed.
48:45The castles were abandoned,
48:47some were used as quarries,
48:48feeding the 19th century fashion
48:50for romantic ruins.
48:59In the 19th century,
49:05the castle becomes mysterious
49:07or lugubrious.
49:09Under the pen
49:10of the romantic writers,
49:11a whole fantasy develops
49:13around the moss-covered ruins,
49:15overrun by vegetation.
49:17The vision
49:17of an idealized
49:19and fictional Middle Ages,
49:20the fairy tale castle
49:22projects its gothic silhouette
49:24onto lithographs
49:25and paintings.
49:27In the 19th century,
49:29many scholars
49:30with an interest
49:31in history
49:31discover not only castles,
49:34but churches,
49:35their heritage,
49:36and have a very romantic
49:37and idealized view of them.
49:39The Middle Ages
49:40becomes fashionable
49:41in a cliched form
49:43because some well-to-do families
49:46build themselves Neo-Roman
49:47and then Neo-Gothic castles.
49:50From 1837,
49:51the year in which
49:52the Historical Monument Commission
49:54was created in France,
49:55a conservation movement developed.
49:58Castles are restored
49:59in the national interest.
50:01Just like Pierre Fon
50:03in the Waz,
50:04which illustrates
50:05the poetic fervor
50:06of the romantic fashion.
50:08Dismantled by order
50:10of Louis XIII,
50:11it will be completely rebuilt
50:12by the architect
50:13Viollet-le-Duc
50:14from 1857.
50:18It's a royal construction
50:20that has marked
50:21the history of royal castle architecture.
50:23But at the same time,
50:25we have to look
50:26for the original castle
50:27and take into account
50:29the restorations,
50:30reconstructions
50:31of the 19th century,
50:32including its reinterpretation
50:34by Viollet-le-Duc.
50:36It has to be read in two ways.
50:38Viollet-le-Duc
50:39was a real genius.
50:41On the outside,
50:42he did a very faithful
50:43reconstruction
50:44of the superstructure
50:45and the top of the towers.
50:47And inside,
50:48he showed a great deal
50:50of creative freedom.
50:52It's a perfect balance
50:53between a faithful reconstruction
50:55and a creation
50:56that's well-researched
50:58by a cultivated man
50:59who was also an art
51:01and architecture historian.
51:03These imposing ruins,
51:06which became a tourist destination
51:07for the aristocracy,
51:09are restored
51:09by order of Napoleon III,
51:11who wants to turn it
51:12into an imperial residence.
51:14The architect
51:15Viollet-le-Duc
51:16will apply his fantasy vision
51:18of the Middle Ages to it.
51:19This building
51:21is a fusion
51:22of architectural styles,
51:24freely inspired
51:25by the medieval period,
51:27double ramparts,
51:30watchtowers,
51:31arrow loops
51:32covering the wall walk,
51:34the keep,
51:34and the castle's eight towers,
51:36rub shoulders
51:37with strangely shaped gargoyles,
51:40extravagant porticos,
51:42and labyrinthine corridors.
51:44It has a gothic side
51:48in the savage sense of the term.
51:50It's very gory,
51:51very Dracula.
51:52It's part of our
51:53contemporary imagination,
51:55which comes from
51:56romanticism around castles.
52:00At the same time,
52:01Viollet-le-Duc
52:02and the great restorers
52:04of the 19th century
52:05had a very positive view
52:07of the Middle Ages,
52:08a bit like Chateaubriand.
52:10It was our roots.
52:12It was a glorious period.
52:14A sense of honour,
52:16a sense of nation,
52:17the spirit of chivalry.
52:18All of this is part
52:20of the same fantasy.
52:21And there's this desire
52:23to rebuild
52:23the neo-Gothic churches,
52:25but also castles
52:27like Pierre Fond,
52:28which remind us
52:30that the Middle Ages
52:31is also an era of builders,
52:33which has probably
52:34produced the greatest
52:35constructions we've ever had
52:37in the West,
52:38at least since Roman times.
52:41There are 500 years
52:43of medieval architecture here,
52:45condensed into a building
52:46owing more to myth
52:48than historical reality.
52:50Pierre Fond
52:50is a neo-Gothic décor
52:52of a fairy tale.
52:54For half a millennium,
52:55sovereigns and lords
52:56have built fortresses
52:58whose beauty,
52:59complexity,
52:59and incredible longevity
53:01fascinate us still.
53:04They are witnesses
53:04of an era of technological
53:06progress and creativity.
53:09These buildings
53:10will remain forever
53:11the symbol of the Middle Ages.
53:14Their architectural majesty
53:15and the testimony
53:17they provide
53:17about an era
53:18still full of mystery
53:19still arouses
53:21the public's curiosity.
53:23Proof that castles
53:25still fuel
53:26our imaginations.
53:27We'll see you next time.
53:57in the next day.
53:59.
53:59.
54:00.
54:00.
54:00.
54:01.
54:03.
54:04.
54:05.
54:05.
54:05.
54:06.
54:06.
54:06.
54:06.
54:06.
54:06.
54:06.
Comments