Miraculously preserved,
restored or in ruins. Castles always fascinate the public. The Middle Ages is an era of builders. They left us extraordinary monuments,
which are important to our identity. Centuries after their appearance
on the landscape, they remain with cathedrals,
symbols of the Middle Ages, and the power of those who built them,
their lords or sovereigns. For Philip II,
the construction of castles was a tool with which
to restore the authority of the King of France. Their construction accompanied
the political and cultural evolution of the medieval period. Hundreds were built in Europe
and up to the gates of the Middle East, but their shape, layout
and characteristics evolved considerably over time. There's innovation,
but there's also competition to build the best, most perfect,
most original, newest castle. From the first stone towers
erected in a few months to the colossal sites
of Carcassonne and Chambord, for five centuries
between 1015 hundred A.D., these constructions shaped the landscape
of a nation in the making. From then on, numerous powers
are centered around the castle. Border fortresses like Salses
or royal castles like Vincennes. These buildings will have three functions:
accommodation, defense, and a statement of prestige. They're the markers
of a world in constant mutation. Together, they tell the tale of 500 years
of the Middle Ages. The appearance of castles in Europe
owes nothing to chance. During the long period of Roman peace
in the first centuries of our era, a few castra, or fortified villas,
had been built at the Empire's border. Nothing more. In Latin texts, we see the term castrum. So castrum, or castellum,
gradually becomes castle. Castellum simply means village.
It's a very generic term. And during the ninth and 10th century,
we gradually see the meaning changing from a stronghold
which can be a very large fortified city, to gradually become what we understand
as a place that is indeed fortified but is also a residence. And not just anyone's residence,
but the residence of a person with power. In the ninth century,
the partition of Charlemagne's Empire plunged Western Europe into chaos. The authority of the king,
but also that of his vassals, the counts, is considerably weakened. The fortified villas have to make way
for new types of constructions, especially since
from the eighth and ninth century, this vast region, which isn't yet France,
is beset by numerous invasions. Hungarians to the East. Vikings to the North and West. Saracens to the South. To impede their progress,
Europe covers itself with castles. First in the west and south of France,
then in Normandy, Germany and England. Feudalism is on the rise. The Lords emancipated
from a weakened monarchy, set out to conquer territory. But they then need to protect it. They create fortifications
that can be built in record time, around three months. Motte-and-bailey castles
set on artificial mounds. To symbolize and concretely
entrench their castle, they had to artificially
create an elevation in order to see far away,
and be seen from far away. The average size of these
cone shaped mounds is about 30 meters in diameter
at the base and 10 at the top. The height varies from six to 12 meters,
creating a slope of 35 to 55 degrees. Upon this, stands a keep
between 15 and 25 meters tall. Below it is a courtyard,
which is usually circular or oval. It's surrounded by a ditch and a rampart
surmounted by a wooden fence. A wooden gatehouse defends the entrance. This is where the service buildings,
stables, ovens, wine presses and forges are located. It's something simple
that's technically very easy to build. It can be made from materials
taken from the ditch using the workforce
that you have at your beck and call. So you don't need real technicians
to build this structure. Motte-and-bailey castles will multiply
over the 10th and 12th centuries. Their defense rests on
a succession of obstacles, ditches, embankments, wooden fences
and the ability to withstand a siege. The keep, often accessible
by a simple ladder, is a sign of the Lord's
prestige and authority. This is where he lives with his family. Arras in the Pas-de-Calais,
built about 1120, has four levels. A partially buried ground floor,
acting as a cellar and granary, topped with an upper floor
consisting of a hall and the Lord's bedchamber. Above this was the room
reserved for the Lord's children, and that assigned to the guards. Finally, at the very top
was the Lord's private chapel. Once again, this is a symbol
to show the rest of the population and the rest of the aristocracy that you've made your mark
on the landscape. At this time, the Lords are clashing
in private wars in order to expand and assert their power. Motte-and-bailey castles spread
in Western Europe and into England. They represent authority and power,
and allow the domain to be protected from enemy raids. These first wooden structures, effective against small troops
of infantrymen and horsemen nonetheless have a weak point, fire. During the 10th and 11th centuries,
defensive installations will be reinforced by the use of stone. Some stone defenses being built in place
of the old wooden fortifications. Like Restormel castle
in southern England. In France, the architecture
of the first fortifications is influenced by the Normans
firmly implanted over a vast area they now see as a kind of nation
they have to protect from their neighbors appetites. It's a constant risk in the feudal system
losing one's legitimacy by being swallowed up by someone stronger. So they defend themselves
by keeping others out. In this constant quest for protection,
masonry will strengthen the defense system of castles
from the start of the 11th century. The most powerful and wealthy lords
replace the wooden keeps with large stone towers. The most famous
of these lords, Fulk Nerra, who became count of Anjou at only 17,
will have 30 or so fortresses built, including Loches in Indre-et-Loire, one of the oldest
and most imposing stone keeps. With this construction,
Fulk Nerra establishes himself in everyone's eyes as the king's equal. He has a choice
between two kinds of construction. It can be strategic,
but it can also be a kind of ostentatious castle palace. That's the expression of both his power
and his taste for pomp as a great Lord. So, for example,
a keep like Loches isn't a tool of war. It's built entirely of stone,
and dressed stone, what's more. Set back from the more
recent fortifications. The rectangular keep at Loches
measures about 25 by 15 meters. It is 37 meters tall. There is a door
on the least vulnerable side. The windows are splayed
and narrow on the outside. On the third floor, wider openings
probably gave access to an overhanging wooden gallery. Making it possible to change aim
or to drop stones on attackers reaching the base of the walls. We see signs of residential
keeps from around 900 in France, generally with one lower room
or two levels of lower rooms, and a great hall,
which often also led to the tower, which is a multi functional
reception room on the first floor. Above that is a space called the camera. The bedchamber, for example,
which is more private, and then often a defensive floor
in the upper part, which is a guards room
and also serves as a watchtower. The defense of such a fortress
is purely passive. The wider and deeper the castle's ditches,
the higher its walls, the better its defense from incursions. That's passive defense. This passive defense
is combined with deep defense. Most fortresses from
the Roman period are located in particularly inaccessible places. At the crossroads
of strategic communication routes. Numerous obstacles prevent the attacker
from approaching the keep. Ditches, ramparts or wooden fences. The castle is built in a naturally
well-defended place on a hill surrounded by a river, forming natural obstacles
to a potential enemy's advance. They slow down the enemy's advance. They isolate and protect themselves
and design the castle as a refuge. That doesn't mean they do nothing at all,
because we know that at the top of the castle walls
there were wall walks from which they could shoot
and keep watch. But it's still relatively passive. Obstacles, walls,
ditches, natural defenses. Many keeps built during the 11th century
adopted the old square design that was easy to construct. The Anglo-Norman model
of this type of building is the Tower of London, built around 1070
by William the Conqueror. Or the large keep
of Chateau de Falaise in Normandy, built at the start of the 12th century. But square keeps
soon show their defensive limits. Their badly defended corners
creating blind spots are easily accessible to attackers. They can dig saps, tunnels underneath
the foundations of the keeps or walls, which are then stuffed with
flammable material to bring down the wall and allow access to the keep. These square keeps will soon disappear
in favor of round ones, better suited to the art of war. This will be the great
widespread innovation of the 12th and 13th centuries,
but it won't happen until the reign
of the builder king, Philip II. From the early 12th century, the castle represents
much more than just a fortification. It is also a place for everyday life. The peasants come there to work,
maintaining the walls, clearing the ditches
or farming the Lord's land, his domain. The master of the house
lives there with his large family. Brothers. Sisters. Cousins. The knights move into the fiefs
granted them by their Lord, where they build fortified homes. But this sudden independence
has an effect on their relationship with the Lord to whom they're bound. There are two great rituals,
the oath of fealty and the act of homage. You swear an oath,
something spiritual and mysterious, which is over your head,
and you promise not to harm your Lord. You are part of his court. It's a society where a man's worth
is measured by the number of people he has around him, serving him. From there, there are numerous powers
centered around the castle. When the prince is away,
homage is paid to the castle. In the same way
the king of France now demands that the great Lords pay him homage
and swear to give him military support and advice. This organization of the relationships
between vassals sums up the feudal system. The pyramid of power rebuilds itself. Medieval society evolves. The king, who had lost everything,
gradually recovers his rights, recovers the ban,
the power to command and punish. And from now on,
his courts are the only ones that can dispense justice. This process involves new castles
or in any case, conquering lords castles,
and adapting them with new techniques. Castles are more beautiful,
more sophisticated in military terms, even more impregnable,
marking the recovery of a territory by the monarchy. Especially since
in the 12th and 13th centuries, a period known
as the golden age of castles, France and England
are fighting a merciless war, a conflict in which
castles play a vital part. We have political entities
that are becoming more powerful, entering into open war
in the 1180s and 1190s. This inevitably leads
to the construction of new castles, and as a result, to strongholds. There's innovation,
but there's also competition to build the best, most perfect,
most original, newest castle. When Philip II
ascends the throne in 1180, the Kingdom of France is hardly bigger
than the current Ile-de-France. Normandy, Anjou, Maine,
and even Touraine are under the thumb of King John of England. Philip II extends
his kingdom at the expense of the Anglo-Norman rulers,
the Plantagenets. He restores his influence in all the provinces
held by the great vassals. He sets up an administration
to run the kingdom. Benefiting from the growth
of the cities he rallied to him, and the weakening of the Lords impoverished by the first Crusades. Philip II,
like his Capuchin predecessors, embarks on a vast initiative
to restore royal power. But he won't stop at territorial gains. He covers the kingdom
with military infrastructures at the forefront of which are castles. For Phillip II,
the construction of castles was obviously
as a tool of war and confrontation. A stronghold. But it was also a special tool in the service of his power,
his authority, his image. For him, it was a tool with which
to restore the authority of the King of France. In all, about 30 buildings
bear the king's mark throughout the kingdom. When he hadn't built them himself,
he gave them a round tower, a symbol of his authority. In June 1204,
Philip II was made King of France and no longer King of the Franks. In order to defend his kingdom
and keep it from the ferocious appetites of the Plantagenet sovereigns,
the new king builds fortresses with standardized plans. A square enclosure, ramparts flanked
by circular towers at the corners and semicircular towers in the middle. A keep in the center. But which soon moves to the corner,
walls with crenulations, a walkway around the tops of the walls
running from one tower to another, and finally, a gatehouse and guard room
solidly built at the entrance. The show Castle,
and model for all others, is in Paris. The Louvre,
which wasn't the French king's residence. That was the Palais de la Cité. The Louvre was built in the 1190s,
and it's the ultimate castle that introduces a new model
which will be called the Philippine Castle in reference to constructions
by Philip II, and which is the result of a great deal of thought
around a standard plan. The Louvre occupied the southwest corner
of the current square courtyard. After 12 years of work, the great tower,
the keep, is completed, 31 meters tall. It is surrounded by a circular moat
around 7.5 meters in width and depth. The fortress walls forming
a square measuring 78 by 72 meters are reinforced by 10 towers. A ditch filled with water
completes the defenses. The main door is to the south,
while a smaller door faces the city. The west wall is reinforced,
being more vulnerable to attack Against the west and south walls two buildings house the soldiers,
animals and equipment necessary to withstand a siege. The other two walls
are simply crenellated. A deep well and a system
provide the water supply. Castles built to Philip II's plan
employ concepts that have existed since ancient times. That's to say quadrangular plans,
segments of walls built fairly high and crowned with walkways
and regularly flanked, so protected by defensive towers. The whole thing being surrounded
and isolated by ditches. That's an old idea,
but one that's evolving because we now have towers with increasing
numbers of active defense elements. That's to say aero loops. These standards are typical
of Philip II's architecture can be found in Dordogne in Essen. The most accomplished
and best preserved fortress of its kind. Curtain walls with battlements,
walkways running around the walls. A door equipped with a portcullis,
and other iron and wood grills. A solidly built gatehouse
defending the main entrance. Arrow slits in the towers and walls. Towers at the corners
of the ramparts, and a keep that gradually supplants
the massive square towers and then disappears in the 13th century, the Lord willingly moving
into a building in the inner courtyard. Although this standardization
of castle architecture lasts nearly two centuries,
it comes up against the development of devastating catapults
and then artillery. The architecture
will have to adapt once again and adopt even more defensive forms. By that time,
the towers standardized by the king will feature in all new fortifications. During the 12th century,
following the model initiated by Philip II medieval architects would favor round
rather than square towers because the siege engine projectiles
brought back by the Crusaders ricochet more easily off their surfaces. The Crusades, and more generally,
exchanges with the east, had a considerable influence
on the construction of castles at the end of the 12th,
and the beginning of the 13th century, because military engineers
were vying with each other to find new techniques
for attack and for defense. They went back
to the large Greco-Roman siege engines, such as the giant crossbow and trebuchet,
so counterweight devices. Capable of firing blocks of stone,
weighing over 100 kilos against castle walls and towers. This impressive siege engine
was still let down by its lack of maneuverability
and the slow rate of fire. The trebuchet is also an example
of medieval biological warfare. While the defenders dropped
fowl waste and excrement onto the attackers
from the wooden hoardings. Trebuchets were used to project
animal entrails and infected corpses into the besieged castle
in the hope of contaminating its garrison. Whatever their size,
counterweight or firing system, these machines required
a large number of men to operate them. They also require the knowledge
to make them, and above all, the money to buy them. The largest siege engines were therefore
beyond the reach of lesser lords, often impoverished upon their return
from various crusades. So there's an effort
to attack the castles, the strongholds, and in return, of course,
an effort to defend them. The walls are made thicker,
new defenses are created, walkways with machicolations, systems to drop projectiles
on the attackers heads, which are found in some
12th-century castles in the west, such as Chateau Gaillard. But there we only see developing
at the end of the 14th century. Chateau Gaillard in Normandy,
considered impregnable, was the pride of Richard the Lionheart. The English king accomplished the feat
of having it built in only two years. It was the last obstacle
destined to stop Philip II, in his advance upon Rouen. It is only after a very long siege
in the spring of 1204 that he manages to capture it
because Chateau Gaillard is equipped from very early on with the most
effective form of active defense. It has to resist attack. So replacing the wooden hoardings
with stone machicolations in Chateau Gaillard,
was a very novel thing to do in the West. There were stone machicolations
on arches at the top of the tower, and the walls were thicker. The walls of Chateau Galliard
are very thick. There's great mechanical resistance
to ballistic impact. The spur was there in case
of ballistic fire to deflect projectiles
and stop them from landing. While the scalloped edge
is also to repel ballistic fire, to make the projectiles ricochet off
and minimize the impact. The thicker walls and the shape
are a real solution. In the 12th and 13th centuries,
simple entrenchment is no longer enough with the architecture of Phillip II,
defense becomes active. The castle can now protect
all of the land surrounding it because men posted on its wall walks
or hiding in its guardhouse can actively defend the building thanks to new defensive mechanisms
in the towers and walls and their ability
to move along the curtain walls. Advances in the art of construction
have made the fortifications even stronger and harder to approach. During the 13th century,
the wooden hoardings vulnerable to fire, gradually disappear,
to be replaced by cobbled constructions. Pattresses, small rectangular structures
with openings and machicolations, stone galleries
running along the tops of the walls to better protect the outer wall. From the middle
of the 12th century, the towers are used as firing positions. The key element of active defense
is the archer tower. In a semicircular tower
you make arrow loops on the sides and front, but on the floor
above they're in a different place. That way,
all the firing angles are covered, leaving no blind spots,
because staggering the arrow loops at different levels in a fan shape
allows the archer to defend almost every angle
actively from the tower. This is really implemented
from the late 12th century and Philip II,
will do this systematically. Progress is such that fortresses
can now be built on planes on flat, open ground. The architecture of Philip II
will influence English rulers for several centuries. Dover Castle on the English Coast
defends the port closest to France. Henry Plantagenet
made it considerably larger between 1179 and 1188
by adding a splendid palace keep. In southeast England,
Bodiam Castle, built in 1385, in the middle of the Hundred Years War, is an archetypal French fortress. It's built on a square base
but doesn't have a keep. Additions, improvements
or real creations, the principles of the fortification
of architecture initiated by Philip II evolved further with his successors, his son Louis VIII,
and his grandson Louis IX, who ceaselessly expand the royal domain. Louis IX, or Saint Louis,
who had to fight, especially in the south of France
against the count of Toulouse, had castles, strongholds built. These eventually became places from which
to exercise royal power. In 1248, the Treaty of Corbeil, fixed
the border between France and Aragon. A few years earlier, several fortresses
perched at the top of impressive cliffs had been bought by Louis IX,
to mark the kingdom's new borders. Their names were Aguilar,
Caribous, Peyrepertuse and Puylaurens. Among these vertiginous citadels
Peyrepertuse in the Aude is the most impressive. The fortress
dating from the late 13th century runs along a 300 meter ridge
and stands 500 meters above the valley. The complex is in three parts, two castles
and a vast central esplanade. The old keep includes a dwelling
and a Romanesque church, while a second fortress erected
further up in 1242 allows total autonomy in case of siege. Although impressive, these citadels
only have very small garrisons. This is particularly the case with
Puylaurens perched on its limestone spur. The fortress is defended by 20 infantrymen
and a pack of dogs. What could so few men
have done in case of invasion? Would they only have had time to go down
into the valley they overlooked. In fact, these vertiginous citadels
aren't just fortresses. They're mainly political
constructions weapons in a psychological war. They symbolize the will
of the Capuchin kings to make their mark
on the kingdom they govern. The Albigensian Crusade
is an opportunity for Capuchin power to establish a strong foothold
in territories far from the royal seat. It's true that these castles
known as border castles, because they're coveted territories,
are very often the synthesis of old fortifications,
old places of power which are taken, retaken and strengthened
by various people. Carcassonne is the prime example. It dates back to the late Roman Empire. On top of this infrastructure
is a double wall, built to Philip II
standards with new forms. For example, the use of bossage,
stones given a rough, rustic appearance. The towers are a little bit bigger,
but it's built on Philip's model with circular towers and arrow loops,
and it has to be very beautiful, so therefore very expensive. But what counts is that the beauty
and the final form of the architecture are proof of the power,
the authority of the Capuchin king over these areas. Carcassonne Castle,
bristling with nine towers, is an architectural gem. The city's fortifications
are a monumental complex, with three kilometers of ramparts
interspersed with 40 towers equipped with two large doors. This huge Acropolis towers 50 meters
above the right bank of the river Aude. The loveliest fortified city in Europe,
Carcassonne has two walls crowned by a wall walk. The first inner wall
sits on the ancient foundations. The second is protected by 14 towers. It's a considerable financial investment
because it's built in dressed stone and designed for active defense. There are archer towers,
immense towers with arrow loops up to two to three meters long. We know very well that arrow loops
don't actually need to be two to three meters long
to be more effective. So there's an ostentatious element
and also an element of demonstrating royal authority
through these constructions, which are also
obviously strong constructions. The criteria for choosing
the site of a castle were strategic,
political and also environmental. The site had to be close
to a quarry and a forest, which had to provide
the materials for the site. After the forest has been cleared,
the land is surveyed, using a rope with 13 knots
divided into 50 centimeter cubits. The master mason
marks out the future building. Stakes are planted
at the center of the towers, then connected by ropes,
determining the lines on which the curtain walls will stand. The building work is done by specialists
with specific functions and skills. Stonecutters, masons, carpenters
and blacksmiths divided into guilds. The cost of this work is high. The amount of dressed stone
used to build a castle will therefore depend
on the budget allocated by the Lord. The size of the castle depends
on the wealth of the person building it, the land he has,
the revenues he can collect, and above all,
the peasants he can make work on the site. The Middle Ages is an era of builders. It's a time when a lot of wealth,
a lot of capital went into building cathedrals
and into building castles. It may have been detrimental
to living standards. It may have been detrimental to the quality
of people's health and education. But it left us
with extraordinary monuments that are important
to our identity and what we are today. It takes eight to 12 years
to build the castles of the early 13th century. During the whole process,
the masons will keep watch over the quality of the assembly
and the accuracy of the angles. They use hoisting gear
such as tread wheels, some of which
can lift a weight of 600 kilograms. Rib vaulting, beams, interlocking
thanks to mortise and tenon joints, dressed stone windows. Each element of the castle
shows incredible craftsmanship. The site is therefore colossal,
a conjunction of several skills coordinated by the Master Mason. We often wonder about the architects,
especially when we're impressed by the quality of the buildings. There are cross ribbed vaults
and an elaborate idea of construction that echoes that of churches. Of course there are architects,
but we don't have their names. Unfortunately, apart from a rare few,
they're mostly unknown. Although the medieval
architects names have gone. Their work, whose beauty and complexity
remains uncontested today, has come down through the centuries. With the reign of Philip II,
and his successors, the kingdom enjoys a period
of pacification and stability. But castles continue to spread
over the royal territory. And although they still meet
military standards, their residential function is growing. The quest for comfort becomes
a major concern for their builders. The keep is eventually abandoned
in favor of a specific building, a dwelling built in the courtyard
where the Lord lives with his servants. Here we see the emergence of spaces
that are much more suitable as a residence. And not just anyone's residence,
but the person with the power and his inner circle. His extended family, his mesne. Throughout the Middle Ages,
we have what's called the trilogy, which appears
from the Carolingian era in Latin texts. Aula, Camera, Capella. The reception room, the aula in Latin. The hall is a large room
on the first floor, on the noble floor, where the Lord has his throne,
where meals are eaten and banquets take place. It's a place for conviviality. The tables are set up on trestles
and removed after meals. There's a part which is more private,
the camera in Latin, the chamber. And then a third place,
which is the chapel. The chapel is not only a place
for prayer and worship, but it's also a cultural place
where people write. Some books are kept there. The library is in the chapel. So the castle is a residence
and also a place of culture which we too often forget. Light is an element of comfort
that is essential to the Lord's daily life. But the first rudimentary castles
have few openings. They're essentially arrow loops. In the 13th century, large
arched gemel windows are common on the less vulnerable facades. There are dwellings in the courtyard,
like the 12th century houses that we still see in some cities
with beautiful gemel windows, which are quite large,
and people like to take advantage of the natural light. Even if there were no big windows
like we have today. From early on
there were stained glass windows as well as wooden shutters and oil cloth, and people also took advantage
of the fireplace, torches, etcetera. Openings are made in large niches
within the thickness of the walls and provided on the two side walls
with stone benches. Window seats. Fireplaces are undoubtedly the elements
of comfort that appear earliest, relatively modest
in the early 12th century fortresses. They become highly sophisticated
in later constructions. The fireplace
being synonymous with prestige. The hood is often
decorated with ornaments. The Lord's coat of arms,
his motto, moldings, and richly carved decorations,
sometimes painted and gilded. What is surprising
is that we find in some rare texts, as in archaeology,
evidence of a certain luxury in castles very early on, particularly
in everything concerning hygiene. There are examples in castles
of private baths. There are always latrines in castles. Then there's the preparation of meals,
kitchens, living spaces. So a whole organization and layout
which becomes more complex. Water is a vital necessity
and one of the Lord's concerns. Indispensable to everyday life, it is even more so
in the event of a siege. The fortress must be autonomous. Perched on a rocky spur. It has cisterns where rainwater
is stored after being filtered through a layer of pebbles and sand. On the plain,
every good castle has a well, which is another element
of ornamentation and prestige. The wealthiest lords homes
have a water supply in the kitchen or pipes bringing in spring water, sometimes from several kilometers. Such is the case in Vincennes,
the ultimate royal castle. The water is piped directly from springs
on the heights of Montreux, three kilometers to the north,
arriving under pressure thanks to the difference in level. The precious liquid
is stored in a water tower before being distributed
to the kitchens and baths of the fortress. The 50 meter keep, surrounded by a wall
with a castellum consisting of twin towers and a moat,
is surrounded by a vast outer wall, 1200 meters long. Typical of early 15th century
military architecture, the moat is 11 meters deep
and 25 meters wide. The walls are
crowned with machicolations on a series of cornices
overhanging the moat. Built during
the Hundred Years War from 1361, these fortifications are typical
of the late Middle Ages, during which the conflict between
the kingdoms of France and England went through several
successive phases of high tension. During this interminable conflict,
one invention would radically change the art of war and military architecture. Gunpowder. At the end of the 14th century, numerous pieces of artillery appear
on the battlefield and inside citadels. The spread of artillery
does considerable damage to the curtain walls
and the outer walls of castles. By firing stone cannonballs from a tube, which are smaller
than the balls from big catapults. You can breach a wall just as effectively,
and the cannon is more transportable. So the castle wall also has to adapt
to the emerging cannons. At first they just enlarge the arrow loops
a bit and designed openings for cannons with embrasures
and cannon ports and then gun ports. Then they gradually start to design towers
in which cannons can be installed. If the first stone cannonballs aren't
very effective at demolishing walls, the appearance of cast iron balls in the mid 15th century changes things because their
destructive power is devastating. These are balls that breach walls. Instead of smashing on the walls,
they smash the walls. The strongest, most powerful cannons
force a change in castle architecture. Throughout the 15th century, the fortifications start
to become much more resistant. The fortresses become
more squat with walls, sometimes more than 10 meters thick,
to withstand the impact of the new artillery. Castles will now be built
or adapted to withstand siege artillery that's increasingly powerful,
increasingly maneuverable, using balls weighing up to 200 pounds,
about 90 kilograms and 42 centimeters in diameter,
sometimes surrounded with an iron band or made entirely of cast iron. Adjusting the dosage of gunpowder
makes the shots more consistent. From now on,
the artillery can focus its fire on any point of the ramparts
and thus create breaches. That's really the end
of medieval stone castles as we know them. At the end of the 15th century,
no wall can withstand the cannons. In New Aquitaine, Bonaguil Castle,
built between 1445 and 1482 by a megalomaniac lord
on the site of a 13th century castle will benefit from
improvements made to resist the development of artillery. A massive outer wall called a Barbican
protects the entrance an almond shaped keep
with a streamlined profile. More than 100 canon ports in the walls
encircled by a boulevard and protected
by firing positions in the moats and the base of the ramparts. Castles adopting these architectural forms
adapted for the impact of artillery with these very big artillery towers
are the work of very great lords or kings. Faith in castles remain strong,
but those built from the 15th century are very different
from their predecessors. They're increasingly buried
to stop artillery fire breaching their outer walls. The fortress of Salses, at the foot of the Pyrenees
Orientale, is an example. Built at the end of the 15th century
by order of the king of Spain, it defends the border with France. Its general design is highly innovative
and heralds the modern fortifications, of which Vauban is one
of the undisputed masters. Salses is an example of a caesura. It's the end of the castle. We can no longer speak
of a medieval castle, even if it retains some of the features. It's already a citadel. It has big artillery towers,
very thick walls, and is defended by cannons
inside vaulted rooms, which are bunkers with ventilation systems so that the gunners aren't poisoned
by the fumes from their guns. It's very solid. We're evolving towards forms
that are stockier, more resistant. The wall walk has also been designed
to accommodate cannons, and the horseshoe shaped towers are detached from the fortress
like advanced defense posts. The walls widened at their base
are 14 meters thick and sunk into the moat
in order to protect them from direct hits by attackers, with only the part needed by the artillery
emerging from the sloping banks. The moats are protected by gun ports
in the base of the curtain walls. In elevation,
it's nothing like a medieval castle. There are no tall towers. The towers are buried. There are very thick walls against which
the cannonballs will die rather than shatter the masonry. So we have buried fortifications. The beginning of what will be called
Bastion architecture, earth constructions, a staggering of the defenses. There are several lines of defense. The cannons are pushed back a long way,
but its architecture and function is no longer that of a medieval castle. The Fortress of Salses
embodies the end of an era. Castles will disappear from the landscape
of increasingly centralized nations. Their decline also symbolizes
the death throes of the feudal system. The castle's demise
is due to peace. Peace within the Kingdom of France. Once the Hundred Years War
is over in the 16th century, there are still religious wars,
but there will be gradually less need for defended castles. So the emergence of royalty,
the birth of the feudal monarchy, gradually pacifies the territory. And the castles in their most
military aspect die their death. Once more the doing of the prince
who orders its construction. The castle is transformed into a palace,
a royal residence, its architectural splendors symbolizing
the prestige of its royal owner. Chambord built
under the supervision of Francis I from 1519, is a perfect example. When you visit Chambord,
which is seen as the ultimate castle, one of the greatest castles
of the Renaissance, it's not a fortified
medieval castle at all. It's a castle in its own right. Some defensive attributes have been kept, such as the keep,
battlements, machicolations. But they become decorative,
a symbol of political power. Yes, Chambord is a royal residence
like all the castles in the Loire. Superb castles to which the king
also brings craftsmen from Italy. Leonardo da Vinci stayed in these castles at the request
of the great Lords and the French royalty. It's a completely different context. These are areas that are
completely peaceful for centuries. At the same time, the kings continue
to demolish the fortresses. Henry IV has several demolished to a void. As he says, they're being used
by the enemies of royal authority. This says it all. The castles and all powerful lords
are gone from their land. Much of the life of nobles
will now take place close to their sovereign, at court. And Louie XIII.
Then Louie XIV, will continue their work of demolition. Louie XIII, Louie XIV, Richelieu, are all great destroyers
of castles because they want to end the religious wars
and to restore monarchical order. There's a desire to bring down
all these symbols, which are also the symbols
of a bygone time. Often it was enough to dismantle
the battlements, the symbols of defense. In other cases,
the castles were completely demolished and the stones used elsewhere. During the revolution, all the symbols
of seniorial authority are destroyed. The castles were abandoned. Some were used as quarries
feeding the 19th century fashion for romantic ruins. In the 19th century,
the castle becomes mysterious or lugubrious. Under the pen of the romantic writers,
a whole fantasy develops around the moss covered ruins
overrun by vegetation, the vision of an idealized
and fictional Middle Ages. The fairy tale castle
projects its gothic silhouette onto lithographs and paintings. In the 19th century,
many scholars with an interest in history discover not only castles,
but churches, their heritage, and have a very romantic
and idealized view of them. The Middle Ages becomes
fashionable in a clichéd form because some well-to-do families
build themselves neo-Roman and then neo-Gothic castles. From 1837, the year in which
the Historical Monument Commission was created in France,
a conservation movement developed. Castles are restored
in the national interest, just like Pierrefonds in the Oise,
which illustrates the poetic fervor of the romantic fashion. Dismantled by order of Louis the 13th,
it will be completely rebuilt by the architect Viollet-le-Duc from 1857. It's a royal construction
that has marked the history of royal castle architecture. But at the same time,
we have to look for the original castle and take into account the restorations,
reconstructions of the 19th century, including its reinterpretation
by Viollet-le-Duc. It has to be read in two ways. Viollet-le-Duc was a real genius. On the outside,
he did a very faithful reconstruction of the superstructure
and the top of the towers. And inside he showed
a great deal of creative freedom. It's a perfect balance
between a faithful reconstruction and a creation
that's well researched by a cultivated man who was also an art
and architecture historian. These imposing ruins,
which became a tourist destination for the aristocracy,
are restored by order of Napoleon III, who wants to turn it
into an imperial residence. The architect, Violet-le-Duc,
will apply his fantasy vision of the Middle Ages to it. This building is a fusion
of architectural styles, freely inspired by the medieval period. Double ramparts, watchtowers,
arrow loops, covering the wall walk, the keep and the castles eight towers, rub shoulders with strangely shaped
gargoyles, extravagant porticos and labyrinthine corridors. It has a gothic side
in the savage sense of the term. It's very gory, very Dracula. It's part of our contemporary imagination, which comes from
romanticism around castles. At the same time, Violet-le-Duc
and the great restorers of the 19th century
had a very positive view of the Middle Ages. A bit like Chateaubriand. It was our roots.
It was a glorious period. A sense of honor, a sense of nation,
the spirit of chivalry. All of this is part of the same fantasy. And there's this desire
to rebuild the neo-Gothic churches, but also castles like Pierrefonds,
which remind us that the Middle Ages
is also an era of builders which has probably produced
the greatest constructions we've ever had in the West,
at least since Roman times. There are 500 years
of medieval architecture here, condensed into a building
owing more to myth than historical reality. Pierrefonds is a neo-Gothic décor
of a fairy tale. For half a millennium,
sovereigns and lords have built fortresses whose beauty, complexity
and incredible longevity fascinate us still. They are witnesses of an era
of technological progress and creativity. These buildings will remain forever
the symbol of the Middle Ages, their architectural majesty
and the testimony they provide
about an era still full of mystery still arouses the public's curiosity. Proof that castles
still fuel our imaginations.
