Medieval castles were built from the 11th century CE for rulers to demonstrate their wealth and power to the local populace, to provide a place of defence and safe retreat in the case of attack, defend strategically important sites like river crossings, passages through hills, mountains, and frontiers, and as a place of residence.
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Timeline
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967The castle of Baños de la Encina, Jaén, Spain is built by the Moors.
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c. 1000The tower keep is built at Ivry-la-Bataille Castle, Normandy, France.
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c. 1000The castle and tower keep of Langeais, central France, are built.
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c. 1020The tower keep of Loches Castle, central France, is built.
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1066William the Conqueror begins construction of Dover Castle in southern England.
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Oct 1066The Normans introduce motte and bailey castles to Britain.
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1067 - 1090The first Great Hall of Chepstow Castle is built.
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c. 1067Earl William FitzOsbern begins the construction of Chepstow Castle in Wales.
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1068Exeter Castle, Devon, England is built.
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1068A motte and bailey castle is built at York, England.
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1068A motte and bailey castle is built at Warwick, Warwickshire, England.
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1069A second motte and bailey castle is built at York, England.
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c. 1070The Normans build the motte and bailey Pickering Castle, Yorkshire, England.
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c. 1070William the Conqueror builds a motte and bailey castle at Windsor.
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c. 1072The tower keep of Chepstow Castle, Wales is built.
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c. 1074The tower keep is begun at Colchester Castle, Essex, England.
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c. 1078 - c. 1100The White Tower of the Tower of London is built, a project begun by William the Conqueror.
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1080A motte and bailey castle is built at Launceston, Cornwall, England.
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1080A motte and bailey castle is built at Totnes, Devon, England.
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1087 - 1089Construction of the first stone version of Rochester Castle in England.
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c. 1093A motte and bailey castle is built at Caernarfon in Wales by the Normans.
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1095 - 1115The hall keep is added to Norwich Castle, Norfolk, England.
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c. 1100The motte and bailey Restormel Castle, Cornwall, England is built.
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c. 1105Corfe Castle, Dorset, England is built.
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1122Carlisle Castle, Cumbria, England is built.
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c. 1125The tower keep of Arques Castle, Normandy, France is built by Henry I of England.
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1127 - 1136The tower keep is built at Rochester Castle, England.
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1127Construction begins of Scarborough Castle, Yorkshire, England
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1130Etampes Castle is built, near Paris, France. The tower keep is circular on the outside and square inside.
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1131The castle of Bari, southern Italy is built by Count Roger I.
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1136The Knights Hospitaller are given the castle of Beth Gibelin, Jerusalem.
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c. 1138Castle Rising Castle, Norfolk, England is built.
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c. 1138The tower keep of Farnham Castle, Surrey, England is built.
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c. 1142A tower keep is added to Hedingham Castle, Essex, England.
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1144The Knights Hospitaller acquire the castle of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria.
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c. 1150A stone shell keep is built at Cardiff Castle, Wales .
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1150 - 1175The Caesar's Tower castle keep at Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, England is built.
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1157 - 1169The tower keep of Scarborough Castle, Yorkshire, England is built.
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1157The castle of Eltz, Germany is built by the counts of Eltz.
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1165 - 1173Orford Castle, Suffolk, England is built and has a circular tower keep with attached rectangular turrets.
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1168 - 1178A tower keep is added to Newcastle Castle, England.
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c. 1170 - 1189Henry II extends Dover Castle in southern England, adding outer walls and a keep.
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c. 1170Henry II builds the Round Tower of Windsor Castle, England.
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1174The castle of Munzenberg, Hesse, Germany is built.
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1180 - 1190The tower keep is built at Conisbrough Castle, Doncaster, England.
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1180The Castle of the Counts of Flanders, Ghent, Belgium is built.
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c. 1180 - 1205Carrickfergus castle, Northern Ireland is built.
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1186The Knights Hospitaller gain control of Marqab (Margat) castle in Syria.
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c. 1190Sir William Marshal begins rebuilding Chepstow Castle in Wales.
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c. 1190 - 1200The castle of Trim, the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland is built.
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1198Chateau Gaillard in Normandy, France is built by Richard I of England.
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1199 - 1219Sir William Marshal adds a circular tower keep to Pembroke Castle, Wales.
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c. 1200The tower keep of Barnard Castle, County Durham, England is built.
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1202An earthquake damages the castle of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria which is then rebuilt and enlarged by the Knights Hospitaller.
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1205Philip II of France adds a tower keep to Chinon Castle, France.
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1206A round tower keep is built into the curtain walls of Gisors, Normandy, France.
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c. 1207 - c. 1214King John adds towers to the walls of Dover Castle in southern England.
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1216The castle of Calatrava la Nueva, Castile is built by the Order of Calatrava.
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1218The Château Pèlerin ("Pilgrim Castle") is built in Israel by the Knights Templar.
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1222 - 1235The Great Hall of Winchester Castle is built.
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1223Work is begun on Montgomery Castle, Wales by Hubert de Burgh.
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c. 1225A circular tower keep is built at Chateau de Coucy, northern France
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1230 - 1240The curtain walls and round towers of Angers Castle, central France, are built by Louis IX.
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1233Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II rebuilds the castle of Bari, southern Italy.
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1240Dirleton Castle, East Lothian, Scotland is built with a massive circular tower keep.
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1245Clifford's Tower shell keep is built at York, England on the site of a former motte and bailey castle.
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1250 - 1265A double-towered gatehouse is added to Tonbridge Castle, Kent, England by Richard de Clare.
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1250 - 1260The castle of Najac in southern France is built.
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1268Construction of Caerphilly Castle in Wales is begun by Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester.
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1282 - 1289Harlech Castle in Wales is built by Edward I of England.
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1282The Castel Nuovo of Naples, southern Italy is built by the Angevins.
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1283 - 1292Conwy Castle in Wales is built by Edward I of England.
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1283 - 1330Caernarfon Castle in Wales is built, a project begun by Edward I of England.
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1283 - 1330Harlech Castle in Wales is built by Edward I of England.
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1285A new Great Hall is completed at Chepstow Castle.
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c. 1287 - 1293The Marten's Tower is added to Chepstow Castle, Wales.
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1290The castle of Falkenberg, Bavaria, Germany is built.
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1295Beaumaris Castle in Wales is built by Edward I of England.
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1322The Castle of Sarzanello, Pisa, Italy is built by Castruccio Castracane.
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1341The Great Hall is built at Penshurst Castle, Kent, England.
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c. 1350The Caesar's Tower is built at Warwick Castle, Warwickshire, England.
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1354Scalliger Castle, Verona, Italy is built by Can Grande II della Scala.
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1380The Castello della Rocca of Cesena, Italy is built.
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1385The Castello d'Este, Ferrara, Italy is built.
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1385Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, England is built.
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1390 - 1400The castle of Pierrefonds, northern France is built by Louis D'Orleans.
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1412The Castello Sforzesco, Milan - the largest castle in Italy - is built by Francesco Sforza.
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1450The castle of Peñafiel, northern Spain is built.
