The Donjon is an impregnable tower inside the castle. Dungeon in the medieval castle, history, internal structure

Ancient castles still amaze the imagination of not only romantics and dreamers, but also people quite pragmatic. Next to these magnificent buildings you feel the breath of the past and involuntarily marvel at the skill of architects. After all, even centuries of wars and sieges have not leveled their walls to the ground. And the safest place of each castle, his heart, was the donjon - this is the most fortified inner tower.

A bit of history

In the days of William the Conqueror (XI century), one of the most important types of construction was the erection of castles that belonged to the Norman nobility. Perhaps the most famous and ancient dungeon was erected by this king - this is the white building of the Tower of London (completion of construction - 1078). It was one of the most impregnable strongholds of Europe, built by the Normans, to strengthen its dominion over the Anglo-Saxons. Hence the term donjon - this is the manor tower, if translated literally from French. Of course, for other nationalities this type of structure has its name, but the essence remains the same.

What is a dungeon in a medieval castle?

Despite the external diversity, all the castles are built around the same plan. Most often they are surrounded by a strong wall with massive square towers on each of the corners. Well, inside the defensive belt is the tower of the Donjon.

Initially, they had a quadrangular shape, but over time, polygonal or round structures began to appear in order to increase their stability. After all, one of the few ways to take an impregnable fortress was a tunnel with the subsequent undermining of the foundation on the corner of the building.

Some towers have a dividing wall in the middle. Access to various levels and parts of the castle is provided by transitions and screw stairs, built into thick walls. This form of stairs is due to the fact that they twist clockwise, which means it will be convenient for the defenders to hold the sword in the right hand, and the movements of the attackers will be constrained.

The ancient architects knew that their creation would sooner or later be subject to enemy attack. Therefore, they deliberately made inconvenient passages, protruding stones on stairs, steps of different heights and depths, as well as other "surprises". Defenders of the castle were accustomed to them, and the attacker could stumble, that in the heat of the fight it would be worth living. An additional level of protection was the grilles, powerful doors and strong locks. The dungeons were very carefully thought out.

Inexhaustible giants

Such towers were built of stone. Wooden fortresses could no longer provide adequate protection against fire, throwing and siege weapons. In addition, the stone structure was much better suited nobility - it was possible to make large and safe rooms that were well protected from bad weather. They could make huge fireplaces that would heat cold stone rooms. A wooden building allowed only a small hearth.

Architects always took into account the terrain in the construction and chose the most advantageous places for defense under future castles. The dungeons, in turn, rose high even above the fortress level, which not only allowed to improve the survey and gave the archers an advantage, but made them practically inaccessible to wooden siege ladders. As a rule, the construction of the fortress began precisely with the main tower, and only then it was overgrown with other structures.

The interior of the donjon

The entrance to the tower was only one. He was raised above the ground and staged a ladder or even a ditch with a lifting bridge so that attackers could not use the ram. The room immediately after the entrance was sometimes used to disarm visitors, because the dungeon is the holy of holies of the castle, it was impossible to admit the possibility of the penetration of an armed enemy into it. Here was the guard. Side of the wall arranged an alcove with a small through hole, which was used as a toilet. Such a device was on each floor. In the basement of the tower were stored food, and also it was one of the safest places to store the treasures of the nobility. However, he also had more prosaic functions - here were the cells of prisoners and a dump pit.

On the second floor, there was a lounge for meetings and feasts. Since the area of the premises was small, the kitchen was most often outside the dungeon. Also here or a floor above there was a small chapel. As a rule, there was a church on the territory of each fortress, but the owners of the castle and their titled guests could pray separately.

On the top floor were the rooms of the castle and his entourage. That is, they were as far from the entrance to the tower as possible to provide them with the best protection.

Above the gentleman's bedroom was directly the roof, along the circumference of which there was a gallery for the guard, sometimes additional small turrets were attached.

Disadvantages of stone strongholds

But, despite their obvious advantages, such fortresses had two huge drawbacks. The first was that the donjon is an extremely expensive structure. The construction of the castle could afford only kings and very wealthy nobles, and the destruction or loss of the fortress could lead to the financial collapse of a noble house. And even with such costs, locks were built 5-10 years. Their content was also not a cheap one.

Well, the second, no less important drawback - no matter how sophisticated locks builders, sooner or later defensive innovations were inferior to new weapons or the strategy of an experienced attacker.