Powder and Stone. Or, Why Medieval Rulers Loved Castles

Summary

Thesis: Castles created the modern state. Part 1 of the series explores the technology and why it was so important to medieval Europeans. It answers, “But why castles?”Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published In any specific action, in any measure we may undertake, we always have the choice between the most audacious and the most careful solution. Some people think that the theory of war always advises the latter. That assumption is false. If the theory does advise anything, it is the nature of war to advise the most decisive, that is, the most audacious. Theory leaves it to the military leader, however, to act according to their own courage, according to their spirit of enterprise, and their self-confidence. Make your choice, therefore, according to this inner force; but never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.— Clausewitz, Carl. “Principles of War.” Military Service Publishing Company, 1942. Accessible hereMedieval rulers would have heartily disagreed with von Clausewitz. Their constraints and dogma would have led them to say, “why not both?” Why not have your cake and eat it too? The most careful solution and the most daring one at the same time?What if you could have defense and offense in a single, elegant solution?Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published Historians have wondered for a long time where lords acquired their powers of justice and command. […] Others have seen the origin of seignorial power in the droit de ban - the right to command, coerce, and punish originally delegated.by the king to his officers and then increasingly appropriated by them. […] Current research leads us, to think that without the instrument represented by the motte and bailey castle, the final appropriation of the droit de ban by the king’s officers or the usurpation of this power by the wealthiest landowners would never have taken place. The motte accelerated the tipping of the b...