Entry #5 - Tues 7/14

The Dark Ages. We merely mentioned it in class. Since I am a "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" fan, we have to look deeper. There are many castles that make appearances in the film made in 1975 by the absurdly hilarious brits, John Cleese, Eric Idle, et. al. In the "Tale of Sir Lancelot" segment, a king and his castle are depicted at the real-life Bodiam Castle in Kent.


Built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight under the renowned Edward III and with the permission of Richard II (as Edward's reign ended in 1377) as a fortification against possible French attacks. Ironically, the design was inspired by the French castles that Sir Edward the Knight had seen in his military escapades in years past. This castle's design was also well-suited for imprisoning captured rich dignitaries.


It is a quadrangle castle with cylindrical towers on the four corners, two square towers on the East/West walls, and two entrance gate towers on the North/South walls. It is also surrounded by a moat to protect from advancing enemies. However, the castle is thought to have been built more for show & comfort instead of defense. The towers have too many windows to be militarily effective, the walls were not very thick (2 ft would not hold against the primitive cannon), and the moat was considerably shallow.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodiam_Castle