An Evening Walk Under the Stars

About this drawing

A princess by the castle is pure storybook, but real castles were not built for evening strolls. They were military machines. In medieval Europe, a lord built one to protect his family, watch over his land, and let everyone know who was in charge.

The earliest versions were simple timber forts on mounds of earth. Stone came later, along with thick walls, towers, and moats. Most had a strong central tower, called a keep, where defenders could make a last stand. Narrow slits in the walls let archers shoot out while staying fairly safe inside.

Then cannons ruined everything. Once gunpowder could knock down stone walls, castles lost much of their purpose, and wealthy families moved to comfortable palaces with big windows.

The romantic look we picture today came much later. In the 1800s, Europeans fell in love with the Middle Ages all over again. King Ludwig II of Bavaria built Neuschwanstein in the German Alps as a personal fantasy, not a fortress, and its pointed towers helped shape what the whole world thinks a castle should look like. The United States has a few fairy-tale castles of its own, too. Hearst Castle in California and Boldt Castle in New York were both dreamed up by wealthy owners, long after anybody needed a moat.

• princesses
• castles
• middle ages
• night