The Development of Raglan Castle and Keeps in Late Medieval England

Abstract

Summary (1) Some of the dating hitherto accepted for Raglan Castle is inaccurate. The earliest work was erected between 1432 and 1445, but the majority of the present structure, including the keep, was built between 1461 and 1469.(2) The keep at Raglan was not built to protect the owner from attack by members of his own retinue as claimed by W. Douglas Simpson, A. J. Taylor and others, but for political reasons associated with the accession of Edward IV.(3) The view that ‘bastard feudalism’ was responsible for the development of tower-houses and keeps in late medieval England is erroneous. Furthermore, it is suggested that most keeps built in the fifteenth century were erected in response to a particular political situation confined to the second half of the century. Considerable use is made of historical as well as architectural material, for the integration of these two disciplines leads to conclusions quite different from those of previous writers who have tended to limit their field to the study of the structural evidence only.

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