Byzantine Studies

Ammianus Marcellinus writing about sieges: Was there a literary formula?

Ammianus Marcellinus wrote a great deal about sieges in his Res Gestae. Sometimes these are short, pragmatic accounts which place the strategic result of the battle above anything else. Sometimes they are profoundly detailed and convey the real emotion and terror of siege warfare. This paper will look at the more literary aspect of these descriptions, with the hope of drawing out a formula for describing sieges by de-constructing at the works which Ammianus would have had access to.

We know castles to have been a definitive element of medieval life. We also know of at least one, Cubbie Roo’s, built by the Norse in Scotland. But what evidence is there for further Norse castles?  If there were more, what did these castles mean to the societies in which they appeared in the mid-12th-13th centuries? This paper argues for a closer examination of Norse castle sites in Caithness, Sutherland, the Northern and Western Isles, placing them in the context of contemporary social and political trends in the North Atlantic world.

This paper examines the evidence for timber towers as a medieval building type in response to a lack of discussion over how to imagine the form and processes of erecting motte towers. The image of motte towers as unsubstantial and flimsy structures – derived from excavations at Abinger motte in the 1950s – has endured in assessments of motte-top archaeology. Creighton, Higham and Barker have done much to undo the persistence of the Abinger motte tower reconstruction drawing in the minds of archaeologists and historians. By bringing together evidence for timber castles they have revised our understanding and opened avenues for fresh interpretation. By reflecting on how these structures appeared, were managed and made, this paper finds it is possible to gain renewed appreciation of timber castles and to undertake an evidence-based assessment of the archaeological evidence.

Though evidence for motte towers from art, documents, archaeology and architecture is slim and already studied, similar evidence for two other tower types, church bell-towers and siege towers has not been closely compared. The results of this approach provide further insight into motte towers’ medieval context. It also confirms that these timber towers in the medieval era were similar in construction, inherent building expertise and the expectations of their builders. What emerges is a visual palette of medieval timber towers, from the Abinger-type watchtower to those substantial and enduring buildings akin to church bell-towers and siege towers. Visual and written descriptions of these should now form part of the interpretative
package for imagining motte towers.

Scotland in a time of change was Scotland in a time of castles. The years of the 11th-14th centuries saw the emergence of a new kind of building which began to alter and in turn were altered by a whole range of dynamics - political, social, economic and environmental – governing and shaping the lives of those who lived in Scotland. This paper seeks to ask whether it possible to talk in comparable terms about the diverse cultures and their castle structures being built, adapted, moved and destroyed in Scotland. For instance, is it appropriate or even desirable to talk about a Scandinavian fortified house alongside a Norman motte-and-bailey? In assembling evidence from modern survey and excavation work, alongside a documentary assessment of materials pertaining to these early years of Scottish castles, a select number of case studies for sites illustrative of larger trends are presented. This paper argues for a unified interpretation of different cultures’ castles as a way of better understanding the formative 11th-14th centuries.

Scottish Medievalists, 61st meeting, Croy - Jan 2018.

Research into Scottish castles in the central middle ages has not been subject to a comprehensive review of sites which incorporates more recent excavation and survey work. This paper presents selected results from a systematic assessment of castles and lordship centres in Scotland, part of the author's PhD thesis. This is intended to offer an insight into macro-level trends of occupation and investment in lordly architecture across six centuries (10th-16th).

The database used Canmore [<canmore.org.uk>] as its chief source of information on determining construction and occupation at a large body of sites, supplemented with additional material. The typology of sites included in this study were chosen to reflect the thesaurus labels ascribed to them on Canmore falling within the traditional remit of castle studies (e.g. 'castle', 'motte') as well as sites whose later forms ('tower house', 'bastle') might conceal earlier evidence. Additionally, sites of traditionally prehistoric or early medieval construction and occupation ('broch', 'crannog', 'dun') were also examined, as scholarship strongly suggests phases of medieval occupation at many of these sites.

The results go some way to echoing recent research in castle studies. There is evidence for medieval occupation of typologically older sites (brochs, crannogs, duns) across the 10th-16th centuries. A similar trend is apparent in greater volumes in the occupation evidence for mottes and motte-and-baileys. These two sets of sites also bear out an apex in terms of first medieval occupation evidence in the 12th century, suggesting that the importance of that century in Scottish history should not be defined in cultural terms (e.g. Anglo-Norman settlement, the 'Davidian revolution') but via broader narratives of change in Britain, Ireland and Europe. The database hints at a sharp decrease in the growth of castles bearing first evidence of occupation in the 14th century, perhaps reflecting major challenges to political stability and economic and social wellbeing of that century. The paper concludes that the use of typology as a tool for understanding castles is useful and effective, but represents a means to an end. It argues that an understanding of Scotland's lordship centres must put chronology ahead of typology to properly reflect larger patterns of continuity or change.

The seventy-nine castles in the care of English Heritage Trust (EHT) are some of the most visually stunning and historically important in the world. In recent years, EHT has explored new ways of sharing the histories and stories of these properties with local communities and with domestic and international visitors. This paper presents a review of these approaches, outlining the ways in which the Trust has applied different methodologies to castles within certain areas of operation, such as Interpretation; Digital Content ; and Conservation. It assesses the self-reflection of EHT staff members from some of the organisa-tion's operations as to how certain strategies and approaches have met the expectations of both the EHT and its target audiences. It outlines approaches to sharing our passion for these properties which were not heavily reliant on significant monetary investment, for instance examining how to re-interpret castles in the context of a challenging economic climate. It assesses some of the philosophies behind the decisions made as well. These reflections are examined in the context of a new castle interpretation project currently underway , at Warkworth Castle in Northumberland, England. They are presented to our international colleagues with the explicit desire to share our experiences and improve our industry's approach to the interpretation of humanity's rich castle heritage.

Errata
p. 993, col. 2, l. 19, 'Robert', corr.  'Roberta.'
p. 996, col. 1., l. 2, '(Fig. 2y Fig. 3)', corr '(Fig. 2 and Fig. 3)'

[In lieu of an abstract] This paper discusses the early history of Richmond Castle (North Yorkshire, England). It presents a new interpretation of a vaulted passageway beneath the east end of residential-ceremonial quarter of the castle centered on Scolland's Hall. It argues that the evidence hints the gateway may have been referencing a burhgeat, an architectural element of high-status complexes in England in the 11th century. The paper moves a century later, to discuss a new interpretation of the 12th-century Great Tower, emphasizing its ceremonial qualities above all others.

ISBN 978-1-904180-23-4

*Open Access Paper*

This paper outlines some of the challenges to the public curation of the medieval past at castles, as experienced in the author’s curatorial capacity at English Heritage. Echoing the work of recent scholarship on the heritage presentation of castles, this paper contends that the breadth of narratives explored on such sites has been limited to a national, male-dominated legacy. This paper outlines key stakeholders in the public curation of castles, as well as the media at the disposal of English Heritage curators, before presenting an approach which centres the historical narrative around people. It argues that, by placing people, past and present, at the centre of the public curation of medieval castles, obstacles and limitations from previous approaches can be overcome. This paper concludes with a critical reflection, outlining some ways in which these challenges have been overcome using this approach at a recent project at Warkworth Castle (Northumberland). The article emphasises the capacity of traditional curatorship interplayed with creative endeavours, to bypass obstacles to telling a compelling but also challenging public history of medieval castles.