Why did powerful people build castles?

They built them for a lot of reasons. Warlords in ninth-century France constructed the first castles – little more than wooden forts surrounding their homes – to protect their families and the local farmers from pillaging Vikings. From the 11th through the 14th centuries (part of a period known as the Middle Ages, or the medieval era), kings built castles to show off their power and wealth. It was a time when land was more precious than gold, and kings rewarded their most loyal supporters by granting them pieces of the realm and noble titles. These “lords” and “ladies” then built castles and hired their own supporters, such as knights for defense and peasants to farm the lands outside the castle (a system of government known as feudalism). No matter who you were in this feudal society, the castle loomed large in your life. Castles weren’t cheap! The massive castle Caernarfon in Wales cost an estimated $50 million in today’s dollars to construct.

 

Picture Credit : Google