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| Norman Castle (Naples) |
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| Gerace, Calabria |
I was trying to include my new found interest in 'The Normans' in other posts, but I kept coming up with more information about them. So they will have their own. They deserve at least that much.
10 Interesting Things about the Normans:
1) Originally pagan barbarian pirates from Demark, Norway and Iceland.
2) French King, Charles the Simple gave the Normans Normandy, to halt their plundering.
3) The Normans (William the Conqueror) in 1066 took over England.
4) Winchester Cathedral, Colchester Castle, Mont Saint Michel (France),Windsor Castle,
Tower of London, Monreale Cathedral (Sicily) and 1000's more castles across southern Italy,
Sicily, Ireland, France, Malta, Cyprus, Canaries and Scotland were built by the Normans.
The White Tower in London is a quintessential Norman keep.
Tower of London, Monreale Cathedral (Sicily) and 1000's more castles across southern Italy,
Sicily, Ireland, France, Malta, Cyprus, Canaries and Scotland were built by the Normans.
The White Tower in London is a quintessential Norman keep.
5) Between 1066 and 1087 in England the Normans built 86 stone castles in 21 years.
6) The Doomesday Book and the Bayeux Tapestry was created by the Normans
7) The Normans moved into Sicily and Southern Italy as mercenaries. They had previously been
Crusaders.
8) Queen Elizabeth is the 22nd granddaughter of William the Conqueror.
9) The Normans introduced stone castles to England.
10) Chivalry stems from the Norman codes of conduct on the battlefield.
Here in Calabria and in Sicily the Normans are still visible what with the keeps, castles and towns that still stand. Initially my interest in the Normans was due to where the castles/keeps were built. Inhospitable areas, on the peaks of mountains, with sheer cliffs surrounding the buildings (this is now, imagine what it would have looked like in medieval times?) How did they get all that stone up the sides of cliffs? Prisoners and ruled under the feudal system.
When available, stone and brick was taken from existing structures. In England many Roman roads and buildings were pillaged and the brick reused. The sites of the castle were important as they were built to act as fortified posts for the military, frighten the locals (in the town below), govern the area without getting too close to the frightened locals, build on the highest ground, often where rivers joined. The Keep was the initial structure surrounded by ditches, banks and later moats. The rivers were used to transport stone, hence the location near rivers. I imagine the fact there was fresh water close by might be good for a castle and its residents. The Keep was the most protected part of the castle. Medieval towers and cranes were created for building purposes and a Barbican was built at the large stone gateways. Capturing stone castles required specialized equipment, they often used siege engines and dug under the castle. Seige engines? They pounded the wall with stone missiles or huge arrows.
A few different kinds of seige engines:
1) The Ballista
2) The Mangonel
3) The Trebuchet
4) The Battering Ram, in many sizes
The moats were created to stop the miners/diggers. The Normans and their enemies fought by ramming doors, walls and digging tunnels to the corners of the castle building (a weak point that led to the creation of round stone castles) where they set fire to brush and tinder thereby collapsing the corners of the castle.
While the miners and rammers were busy working the Normans would defend the castle:
1) Throw, fire, toss - arrows, stones, fire and boiling liquids down to the attackers, as they dug
tunnels, climbed the stone walls, busy ramming or just negotiating the ditches, embankments or
moat
2) Boiling liquids, called Greek Fire, was any liquid made from molten metal or oil
What was the key/keys to their success?
The Normans saw themselves as a warrior society. Which is likely no different a society then how their enemies, saw themselves. The medieval world was a violent place to live. It seems though that the Normans had inherited warrior genes, they retained many of their viking traits.
Restlessness, recklessness, a love of fighting, courage and a craftiness and; cunning that went hand in hand with outrageous treachery. In their expansion into other parts of Europe, the Normans compiled a record of astonishingly daring exploits in which often a mere handful of men would vanquish an enemy many times numerous. An unequaled capacity for rapid movement across land and sea, the use of brutal violence, a precocious sense of the use and value of money - these are among the traits traditionally assigned to the Normans
Unbridled character and capacity of quick and fruitful imitation and adaptation. Many of the most powerful and successful secular potentates of their age in western Europe in their ability to create political institutions that were both stable and enduring.
the Normans began as pagan destroyers and ended up by the 11th century as one of the most highly feudalized states in western Europe.
The Normans were seafaring warriors that because of their trait of imitation became masters of cavalry warfare, leadership and luck. The leaders possessed capable and charismatic personalities, Iron Fisted -William of Normandy, Robert Guiscard whose epitaph begins "Here lies the terror of the world..", and Rollo the Walker, called that because he was such a giant that no horse was strong enough to carry him.
Information on The Normans taken from a variety of sites. Wikipedia, The Normans and Battles of the Normans.
Marg.
6) The Doomesday Book and the Bayeux Tapestry was created by the Normans
7) The Normans moved into Sicily and Southern Italy as mercenaries. They had previously been
Crusaders.
8) Queen Elizabeth is the 22nd granddaughter of William the Conqueror.
9) The Normans introduced stone castles to England.
10) Chivalry stems from the Norman codes of conduct on the battlefield.
Here in Calabria and in Sicily the Normans are still visible what with the keeps, castles and towns that still stand. Initially my interest in the Normans was due to where the castles/keeps were built. Inhospitable areas, on the peaks of mountains, with sheer cliffs surrounding the buildings (this is now, imagine what it would have looked like in medieval times?) How did they get all that stone up the sides of cliffs? Prisoners and ruled under the feudal system.
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| Entrance to Norman castle, Naples |
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| Nice stonework, Norman castle |
When available, stone and brick was taken from existing structures. In England many Roman roads and buildings were pillaged and the brick reused. The sites of the castle were important as they were built to act as fortified posts for the military, frighten the locals (in the town below), govern the area without getting too close to the frightened locals, build on the highest ground, often where rivers joined. The Keep was the initial structure surrounded by ditches, banks and later moats. The rivers were used to transport stone, hence the location near rivers. I imagine the fact there was fresh water close by might be good for a castle and its residents. The Keep was the most protected part of the castle. Medieval towers and cranes were created for building purposes and a Barbican was built at the large stone gateways. Capturing stone castles required specialized equipment, they often used siege engines and dug under the castle. Seige engines? They pounded the wall with stone missiles or huge arrows.
A few different kinds of seige engines:
1) The Ballista
2) The Mangonel
3) The Trebuchet
4) The Battering Ram, in many sizes
The moats were created to stop the miners/diggers. The Normans and their enemies fought by ramming doors, walls and digging tunnels to the corners of the castle building (a weak point that led to the creation of round stone castles) where they set fire to brush and tinder thereby collapsing the corners of the castle.
While the miners and rammers were busy working the Normans would defend the castle:
1) Throw, fire, toss - arrows, stones, fire and boiling liquids down to the attackers, as they dug
tunnels, climbed the stone walls, busy ramming or just negotiating the ditches, embankments or
moat
2) Boiling liquids, called Greek Fire, was any liquid made from molten metal or oil
What was the key/keys to their success?
The Normans saw themselves as a warrior society. Which is likely no different a society then how their enemies, saw themselves. The medieval world was a violent place to live. It seems though that the Normans had inherited warrior genes, they retained many of their viking traits.
Restlessness, recklessness, a love of fighting, courage and a craftiness and; cunning that went hand in hand with outrageous treachery. In their expansion into other parts of Europe, the Normans compiled a record of astonishingly daring exploits in which often a mere handful of men would vanquish an enemy many times numerous. An unequaled capacity for rapid movement across land and sea, the use of brutal violence, a precocious sense of the use and value of money - these are among the traits traditionally assigned to the Normans
Unbridled character and capacity of quick and fruitful imitation and adaptation. Many of the most powerful and successful secular potentates of their age in western Europe in their ability to create political institutions that were both stable and enduring.
the Normans began as pagan destroyers and ended up by the 11th century as one of the most highly feudalized states in western Europe.
The Normans were seafaring warriors that because of their trait of imitation became masters of cavalry warfare, leadership and luck. The leaders possessed capable and charismatic personalities, Iron Fisted -William of Normandy, Robert Guiscard whose epitaph begins "Here lies the terror of the world..", and Rollo the Walker, called that because he was such a giant that no horse was strong enough to carry him.
Information on The Normans taken from a variety of sites. Wikipedia, The Normans and Battles of the Normans.
Marg.
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| Rocella's Norman castle |
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