Life is Good?
Life in a castle was generally not desirable, contrary to popular belief. Inside, they were extremely bare, cold, dark, and especially lonely. Parts of a castle include the hall (or living quarters), the kitchen, and the chapel.
The floors of castles were usually just beaten ground. Sometimes, they were made of stone or plaster. But floors were always very dirty, particularly disgusting. They often contained “an ancient collection of beer, grease, fragments, bones, spittle, excrement of dogs and cats and everything that is nasty” (Giles and Gies). The second floors of castles were almost always constructed of wood. Carpets on floors were unheard of, although they were common on walls.
Candles dimly lit up the insides of castles. Other types of lighting were used as well, such as oil lamps, flares, and rushlights. Fireplaces were the only method of heat, but did not do a very thorough job because of the massive area for which they had to provide warmth. However, through radiation of heat through stone walls, it did provide some comfort. Before there were fireplaces, a central hearth was used, in which smoke would rise through a lantern-like structure in the roof.
The hall of a castle was the living quarters, sometimes on the first floor, but often on the second floor for security reasons. Earlier castles had rows of wooden posts or stone pillars, in order to support the roof and had church-like aisles in the hall. An iron bar accompanied windows with strong shudders in a castle.
A castle kitchen was often centered around a large hearth for cooking. Kitchens were often made of wood during the 1200s. Sometimes, instead of a hearth, many fireplaces were used. For large meals, other rooms served as a temporary cooking places. People who lived in castles mostly lived off of meat, stewed in cauldrons, and vegetables and fruits grown in the castle garden.
Since those who lived in castles were often very secluded from the rest of the world, faith in God was a very important aspect of life. The church was a very important part in peoples’ lives, and the castle chapel served to give hope to the lord, lady, and other people inhabiting the castle. The morning mass took place in the chapel, in which the lord, his wife, and children attended.
The lord and his family sometimes slept in the "solar," the upper-level bedroom. The room typically only contained a wooden-framed bed, which was "portable," so that it could be taken apart during travel, then reassembled at a new location. Layers upon layers of sheets, quilts, and fur covered the bed to keep the lord and lady warm in the night. However, it was a different story for other castle inhabitants - they usually had to sleep where they worked, on hard, cold benches sometimes.
Photograph Credit (above): Lassay les Chateaux (Flickr)
Photograph Credit: The Chapel (Giles and Gies)