Now all they need is Rollo, Bjorn and Ivar the Boneless to show up on their door step.

I have at times wondered if the old castles would appear all that grand and ornate to our modern eyes. If you take the age factor away would they be the magnificent things we see them as?

Middle ages castles could be impressive but 18th century 'castles', oh yeah.

AgBQ-00 said:

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I have at times wondered if the old castles would appear all that grand and ornate to our modern eyes. If you take the age factor away would they be the magnificent things we see them as?

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The interiors are much more grand with the original artwork and tapestries, etc, lining them. I was really impressed at some of the high medieval (or early renaissance) art I saw in compounds and on city walls in northern Italy. It made the area seem much more... human, rather than the bleak impression a lot of castles and walls leave today.

......and many were expanded over the centuries from austere defensive keeps to include attached living quarters, eventually becoming a hybrid construction that is as much villa as castle. In fact, many generically labeled "castles" in Europe were never designed as military fortifications, but are large chateaus with architectural features that merely evoke a real castle.

AGnCS said:

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How long before they surrender it?

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Look up the Normans.

aalan94 said:

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It's also important to remember that they're not frozen in time. They may have been built in the middle ages, but many were used and upgraded constantly for hundreds of years.

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Totally... When, I was in Germany in July, I stayed in this crumby hotel or at least that was my opinion at first. Later, when I found out its origins dated to 1682, I changed my tune. The lifespans of many of the structures in Europe are just mind-boggling to this American.