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Introducing the Castle of the Day |
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Who doesn't love castles? They were homes, fortresses, rallying points, and the ultimate medieval status symbols. For most of a castle's life, it served as a permanent or temporary abode for noble families, servants, laborers, and travelers. It was often the center of political and legal authority. A castle was frequently host to visiting dignitaries and the stage for seasonal celebratrions. And once, twice, perhaps more often during its long centuries, it might experience the clang and clamor of warfare, protecting its people, witnessing failure or triumph, or crumbling in defeat.
Today, nothing quite so effectively evokes the atmosphere of the Middle Ages as a castle -- even castle ruins tap our imaginations. And fortunately for us websurfers, some wonderful people are willing to share with us their visits to these fascinating remnants of our medieval past.
There are, literally, hundreds (and hundreds!) of medieval castles in Europe and Asia, and a huge number of them are featured on the web. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology -- and thanks especially to castle enthusiasts with cameras and the ability to create a web page -- these sites allow visitors from different countries and even different continents to explore these marvelous buildings. In the comfort of our homes and libraries, by the glow of the computer, we can see their layouts, notable features, and surrounding countryside, and learn about their histories and the people who dwelt there. Every castle has a story, and castle webmasters tell these stories with enthusiasm as well as with marvelous images.
In our Castle Subject Index, you can browse through castle websites according to geographic location, or use one of the megasites to find a particular castle by name. If you know what you're looking for, you'll have little difficulty finding it.
But The Castle of the Day is designed to draw your attention to castles you may not be looking for. You'll visit the obscure as well as the famous, see castles that never saw bloodshed as well as the sites of famous battles. Every day, you can virtually wander the grounds of a fortress that was home to generations of medieval people -- and, hopefully, learn a little something new.
The Castle of the Day requires Javascript to work properly. You can turn Javascript on in your browser by following the instructions below:
To Enable Javascript in Netscape:
Choose Preferences from the Edit menu and click Advanced in the left-hand portion of the dialog box. Then, click "Enable Javascript" in the right-hand screen. (Be careful not to select "Java" instead of "Javascript.")To Enable Javascript in Internet Explorer:
Choose Preferences from the Edit menu and click Web Content in the left-hand portion of the dialog box. Then, click "Enable Scripting" under Active Content in the right-hand screen.
Special thanks go out to all the castle webmasters who have so kindly shared their images, memories and knowledge of castles with us all.
For more about castles, see:
More at the Medieval History Site
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