Development of Concentric castles

After completing these activities your students should be able to:

• Describe a Concentric Castle.
• Explain why concentric castles were developed.
• Explain what the major defensive strengths of a concentric
  castle are.
  A concentric castle is a much larger construction than Motte and bailey o Stone keep castles. Concentric Castles, such as Beaumaris and Caerphilly Castles, make best use of angles in a castles design, providing the defender with more opportunity to hurt any attacking force. Essentially a concentric castle is a series of defensive structures. The typical design, as outlined in the image below, has two curtain walls, the outer one lower than the inner one. Each of the walls has a variety of rounded towers from which a defender has a number of vantage points over his assailant. In addition to the number of curtain walls and towers the castle was, usually, surrounded by water, making attack even more perilous.Activity
  (1) Why would attacking a Concentric Castle be harder than attacking a Motte and bailey or Stone keep Castle?
  (2) Explain why the outer curtain walls were lower than the inner curtain walls.

PDF Worksheet:

• • Aimed at Students studying at UK GCSE or equivalent
  • Free to download
  • Use as you wish in the classroom or home environment
  • Structured study guide and challenging questions.