Cultural realities and reappraisals in English castle-study
Charles L. H. Coulson
Surveying a selection of publications on English castles, particularly since the writer's ‘Structural symbolism in medieval castle architecture’ (1979),1 1 C. Coulson, symbolism’, Journal British Archaeological Association, 132 (1979), 73-90. The following notes are severely selective. problem military determinism is reviewed. Historical experience, differing from French and German, has made castellology heavily technological until recently. cultural method architectural art history, archaeology, rarely extended to castles been too learned modify perceptions. Neglect aristocratic ethos manifested castellated fortified style wide range ‘domestic’, so-called ‘military’ ‘religious’ buildings, prior early modern classical revival, damaging. Expecting ‘true castles’ (compare château-fort) be ‘seriously defended’ forced them into anachronistic mould ‘military architecture’, imposing post-medieval stereotypes, Britain most grievously. Narrow specialism impeded appreciation fusion state, security. As socio-political study develops so will risk making ‘display’ ‘prestige’ new bandwagon, especially simplistic literature far starved scholarly infrastructure. By drawing together here some strands interplay elements material metaphysical essential ‘fortification’, progress may, it hoped, stimulated.
Journal of Medieval History