Early 13th century cylindrical keep (Rouen, France)

The 14th century residential keep at Largoët

A keep is a strong central tower which normally forms the heart of a castle. Often the keep is the most defended area of a castle, and as such may form the main habitation area, or contain important stores such as the armoury or the main well. An earlier word for a keep, still used for some medieval monuments, especially in France is donjon; a derivative word is dungeon. In Germany, this type of structure is commonly referred to as a bergfried. Keeps come in a remarkable variety of shapes and sizes. They can be of 'square' variety, generally found on the British Isles, cylindrical, octagonal, regular and irregular polygonal forms, or a combination or several of these features. Some castles were effectively, in fact, no more than a keep. Often these are simply referred to as tower houses. Keep may refer to: Keep, a strong tower Keep (Dune), the headquarters of Paul Atreides in the Dune fictional universe Henry Keep (1863–1905), Australian politician KEEP-FM, an FM radio station located in Johnson City, TX The Keep is a novel by F. Paul Wilson. ... Donjon is an independently published role-playing game by Clinton R. Nixon, published by Anwilwerks. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (768x1024, 385 KB) Rouen, tour Jeanne dArc. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (768x1024, 385 KB) Rouen, tour Jeanne dArc. ... Rouen (pronounced in French, sometimes also ) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) région. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1728x2592, 922 KB) Castle of Largoet in Elven, France. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1728x2592, 922 KB) Castle of Largoet in Elven, France. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Castle (disambiguation). ... The term habitat comes from ecology, and includes many interrelated features, especially the immediate physical environment, the urban environment or the social environment. ... The Royal Armoury, Leeds An armory (Armoury) is a military depot used for the storage of weapons and ammunition. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... The dungeons of Blarney Castle. ... This article describes the archipelago in north-Western Europe. ... Clononey castle in Co. ...

Development

Early keeps were often simply square towers with very thick walls, scarcely more than a residential hall, such as Langeais. This structure later developed into the more recognizable rectangular residential keep by the 11th Century. Main entry. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ...

The form and function of the keep changed with time and depended on the region. As the keep was a defensive structure, the shaping trend changed to accommodate for the developments in weapon technology. For example, the round or cylindrical keep was first introduced as a defense to the battering ram. A battering ram could cause severe damage to a square tower but would merely glance off the side of a rounded one. Also, a round corner is much harder to successfully undermine than a square one. Rounded towers also have the advantage of less "dead ground", or areas not visible from the tower summit.

By the early 12th Century, cylindrical keeps had become popular, and remained prominent in France until the end of the medieval period (e.g. Montlhéry, Rouen). Variations on the rounded type began to appear at the same time. These included towers with triangular, prow-like projections (like Chateau Gaillard); polygonal keeps such as at Orford or "multi-lobed" keeps like Clifford's Tower. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Montlhéry is a commune of the Essonne département, in France. ... Rouen (pronounced in French, sometimes also ) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) région. ... (Redirected from Ch teau Gaillard) For the commune in the Ain d partement, see Ch teau-Gaillard, Ain. ... Orford Castle is a castle in Suffolk England, located 20 kilometres northeast of Ipswich. ... A view from the outside of the tower York Castle is part of the city of York. ...

From the early 13th Century onwards many castles were designed without traditional keeps, instead preferring a plan in which the defences were concentrated in the walls and towers of the enceinte, or in a gatehouse. Early examples can be seen at Boulogne, France and Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire, and later at Conwy Castle, and The Bastille). In some castles the gatehouse took over the funtions of the keep, serving as refuge, residence, and command post, such as at Harlech Castle. Enceinte (Lat. ... A gatehouse is a feature of European castles and mansions. ... The Château de Boulogne-sur-Mer is a castle in the French seaport of Boulogne-sur-Mer, in the Pas-de-Calais département. ... Bolingbroke, now called Old Bolingbroke, is a village near Boston in Lincolnshire, England. ... Conwy Castle in its present state. ... This article is about the building. ... A gatehouse is a feature of European castles and mansions. ... Harlech Castle, located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a concentric castle, constructed atop a cliff close to the Irish Sea. ...

As great lords became more interested in grand halls and comfortable living quarters, the keep lost its domestic role. Though keeps continued to be used and built, there is evidence that many had a reduced role, such as lack of residential amenities in the tower plans (latrines, chimneys). In Western Europe, the defensible residential keep experienced a resurgence before the end of the medieval period, as towers were built to securely house great lords and their retinues, at a very high level of comfort and luxury (e.g. Raglan Castle, Ashby-de-la-Zouche, Chateau de Vincennes, Largoët). This type was particularly popular in late medieval Scotland up until the 1600s (e.g. Craigievar Castle). Another word for this type of keep is the tower house. The front of Raglan Castle, showing the main gatehouse. ... Categories: UK geography stubs | Castles in England | Leicestershire | English Heritage ... Categories: Stub | Castles in France ... View of the keep and the Round Tower from the lake The Château de Largoët, also known as the Tours d’Elven (Elven Towers), is a medieval castle in Elven, in the Morbihan département of France, 13 km from Vannes. ... This article is about the country. ... Many inventions and institutions are created, including Hans Lippershey with the telescope (1608, used by Galileo the next year), the newspaper Avisa Relation oder Zeitung in Augsburg, and Cornelius Drebbel with the thermostat (1609). ... Craigievar Castle is a pinkish harled castle six miles south of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. ... Clononey castle in Co. ...

Notable types

An archetypical form for the keep in the British Isles is the Norman keep, so-called because they were built all across England and Ireland by Norman lords. Norman keeps usually have several distinguishing features in common and the type was very popular during the 11th and 12th Century. Most have towers at each corner, which usually extend above the main keep to form watchtowers. In many cases spiral staircases were contained in or near these corner towers. Another common feature was the forebuilding, which contained the entryway to the keep- its most vulnerable point. This structure extended from the side of the keep, and was often approached by stairs as the entryway was usually above ground level. Sometimes a drawbridge guarded the top of the stairs. Inside, there is usually a central dividing wall that cuts the interior in two parts. The living quarters for the lord or castellan of the castle were usually at the top of the keep, with the great hall(s) below and storage rooms at the bottom. Keeps on this general plan can be seen all across England and Ireland, with many examples in France as well, where they are known by the names donjon carre (square keep) or donjon romain (romanesque keep). Examples include the Tower of London and Rochester Castle in England and Domfront and Loches in France. A castellan was the governor or caretaker of a castle or keep. ... South transept of Tournai Cathedral, Belgium, 12th century. ... The White Tower, as seen from the South West, showing the original - but now externally much altered entrance at ground level The White Tower The White Tower is a central tower at the Tower of London. ... Rochester Castle seen from the cathedral door, showing the four-turreted keep. ... The Château de Domfront is a ruined castle in the town of Domfront, Orne, in the Orne département of France. ... The chateau, as seen from the front. ...

The shell-keep at Gisors on the top of a motte

A unique form of keep is the shell-keep which essentially a masonry 'fossilization' of a palisade lining the top of a castle defensive mound or motte. In a shell-keep a strong wall was built around the top of the motte, and the domestic buildings were built against it, leaving a round courtyard in the middle. These are different than most keeps in that they are not a tower, but a defensive enclosure, though their purpose as a last refuge, as well as living quarters, is similar. Good examples are Restormel Castle in Cornwall and Gisors Castle in Normandy. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 82 KB) (All user names refer to fr. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 82 KB) (All user names refer to fr. ... Palisade and Moat A palisade is a Medieval wooden fence or wall of variable height, used as a defensive structure. ... A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle. ... Restormel Castle Restormel Castle is situated on the River Fowey near Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ... Gisors is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. ... For other uses, see Normandy (disambiguation). ...

Famous keeps

The keep of Vincennes protected by its own isolated enceinte

One of the most famous keeps in Europe is the celebrated White Tower of The Tower of London, constructed by William the Conqueror in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest. The cylindrical donjon of Rouen, shown at right, is all that remains of the large city fortress where Joan of Arc was imprisoned during her trial for heresy. The tallest keep in existence is the donjon of Château de Vincennes in a suburb of Paris. The title was held previously by the donjon of Coucy in Picardy. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x2251, 658 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Keep Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x2251, 658 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Keep Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Enceinte (Lat. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The White Tower, as seen from the South West, showing the original - but now externally much altered entrance at ground level The White Tower The White Tower is a central tower at the Tower of London. ... The Tower of London, seen from the river, with a view of the water gate called Traitors Gate. ... William I ( 1027 – September 9, 1087), was King of England from 1066 to 1087. ... Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest of England was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... Rouen (pronounced in French, sometimes also ) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) région. ... For other uses, see Joan of Arc (disambiguation). ... The chapel of Château de Vincennes (2005) The Château de Vincennes is a massive 14th and 17th century French royal castle in the town of Vincennes, to the east of Paris, now a suburb of the metropolis. ... Chateau of Coucy, watercolor, ca 1820 (Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris) The Château de Coucy is a French castle in the commune of Coucy Le Château Auffrique, in the département of Aisne, built in the 13th century and renovated by Viollet le Duc in the 19th. ...

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Keeps