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///////////////// ///////////// ///////////////// ///////////// ///// ///// ///// ///// ///////////// ///// ///// ///////////// ///// ///// ///// ///////////// ///// ///// ///////////// The Humble Guy's Humble Dox Proudly Presents Interplay's Castles Complete Game Documentation Humble Dox 7/03/91 -= STARTING THE GAME =- When the Main Menu appears, choose the desired Options. Press and release the right mouse button (or press the Z key if using the keyboard) to trigger the menu. Move the cursor to and select Labour from the menu list and then press hire until it no longer increases the number of workers. This will give you enough labour to start. Go to the Design menu and plot your castle pieces. THE Readme.Doc FILE As important changes are often made to a computer game after the manual goes to the printer, please refer to the Readme.Doc file before running the game. To view the file type: TYPE A:README.DOC KEYBOARD COMMANDS F - Flip view of castle (Front/Back) J - Toggle Joystick Off/On M - Toggle Music Off/On Q - Quit R - Repeat Message (messenger screen only) T - Show Trasury and Infantry (this works only when the messenger screen is active) [ - Slow Message ] - Speed Message 1 - 9 - Move Cursor (Numeric Pad Only) X - Left Mouse Button Z - Right Mouse Button SPACE BAR - Left Mouse Button ESC - Pause Game -= A Brief History of Medieval Castles =- Of all of the works created from human hands, few are as evocative as the great castles of Europe. Built during a time when the great civilizations of the Westem World were strugling to recover from the Dark Ages, the earliest modern castles (the motte and bailey castles) were built to defend against Viking attacks. The Vikings were very good at raiding sparsely defended coastal villages, but had great difficulty attacking these early fortresses; the decline in Viking successes after the year 1100 can be attributed in large part to the castles that were being built throughout Europe. After the Vikings ceased to be a major threat, castles entered the age of Chivalry. Europe began to be consolidated into countries and empires, each owing allegiance to a duke, or a king or an emperor. In order to consolidate their power, the great lords of Europe built castles over the tenritories they conquered. To defend themselves against the great lords of Europe, local lords also built castles. As one might expect from such a situation, the art of castle building progressed at a rapid rate, and the cost of building these huge fortresses bankrupted many noble families and nations. The era of castles came to a close by the late 15th Century, when castle walls proved to be no defense against gunpowder weapons such as cannons. For centuries these relics of medieval Europe lay in ruins, ignored by the inhabitants whose land they once defended. In the 18th Century, however, romantic poets and musicians drew upon the Middle Ages for inspiration, and castles once again became important, a symbol of romance, chivalry, and strength. Today, few symbols of the medieval period are as enduring or as powerful as castles. The purpose of this program, CASTLES, is to allow you to experience both the romance and the reality of medieval castle-building. At the zenith of castle-building, between 1280 and 1305 A.D., King Edward I consolidated his Welsh conquests by building some of the greatest fortresses ever constructed, in the hopes that the security of these castles would attract English settlers into Wales and assimilate the population. We have fictionalized the characters and changed the names of the nations involved, and added a fantasy world for those who enjoy medieval fantasy, but the castles you can build are based on the actual Welsh castles of Edward I. In this game you are placed on the throne of the kingdom of Albion, and must build your castle amidst political unrest, unfriendly neighbors, and war on two of your borders. You will make the hard decisions and face treachery, ambitious nobles, military disasters, and other things that we don't always associate with the romance of the period. You may wonder why people remember this period with any fondness whatsoever, but hopefully you will have a greater appreciation for the challenges involved in both castle-building and being a king during the medieval period. Perhaps it might even make you appreciate the complexities of engineering and politics in today's world. -= OF BASIC MATTERS =- FOR THE BEGINNER Once you have learned our interface, CASTLES is an easy game to play. However, if you are a newcomer, especially if you have never played computer games, here is some advice. A) The first screen will ask you about difficulty level. The Peasant difficulty level is designed to make the ganie Is easy as possible to play. There is virtually unlimited money, labour, food and military is already purchased, and the castle lay-out is partially done. B) There is a tutorial in this manual entitied "Sir Richard's guide to Castle-Building". Read through this tutorial carefully, and practise laying out pieces on the computer screen. KEYBOARD and MOUSE It is possible to play this game from either the keyboard or the mouse. This game is considerably easier to play on a mouse, but the keyboard is not difficult to use, with a little practise. The same letter keys "F" for flip, "M" to toggle off music, etc. will work if you are playing from the keyboard, or if you are using a mouse or a joystick. To bring up the menu when playing from the keyboard, use the "Z' key Pressing the "Z" key again will restore the screen to a full view. To manipulate the pointer from the keyboard, use the arrow keys on the computer's number pad. When you wish to click on an object, use the space bar. To play the game with a mouse, simply point to the desired object and click on it with the left mouse button. To bring up the menu, use the right mouse button. For a full list of commands, refer to the Reference card. OPTIONS After you have successfully loaded CASTLES, the first screen that you will see is the Options screen. The Options include: MESSENGERS (Yea or Nay): This determines whether you will be visited by messengers. If the answer is "Yea" you will receive a new messenger every month. If the answer is "Nay", no messengers will appear. WORLD (Fantasy or Real World: If you are interested in playing in a world where the myths and folk beliefs of the people of the British Isles in the middle ages were true: the Sidhe, dragons, ogres, the Wild Hunt, and wizards, then use the Fantasy option. If you do not wish to play in a world with these fantastic creatures, employ the Real World option. The Fantasy world becomes most evident in the message sequences; playing in a Fantasy world without messengers is something of a waste of time. LEVEL (Peasant, Duke, Prince, or King): There are four difficulty levels in the game of CASTLES. The Peasant difficulty level is a practise level, with a partially laid out castle, workers, labourers, and food, and enough money to build any castle you want. Duke, Prince, and King levels are the real game levels. Duke and Prince levels give you a higher starting money value, higher tax values, better relations with the noble factions, the Church, and the people, and easier battles. The highest difficulty level (King) gives you less access to money, less popularity, and harder battles. No one said that being a King was easy. CAMPAIGN: In CASTLES, one of the objects is to subjugate the "savage lands of the Celts" by building castles in strategically important areas. If you don't want to engage in a major castle building campaign, then choose the Single Castle option. If you wish to play a short campaign, play a Three Castle campaign. The Eight Castle campaign is the longest and most intense of all of the campaigns. See the section ("Of the Conquest of the Celtic Lands" for further details. Note: you can build more than one castle on a level; the Single Castle campaign refers to the game ending after you have conquered a single playing area. NAME: The options screen allows you to insert your name, and whether you are a King or a Queen. To determine this, click on the King or Queen to change your character's gender. CASTIE NAME: Where the Options screen says: "Building the Castle", you may insert whatever name you desire. MAIN MENU When you begin the game, click on the right mouse button. This will bring up the main menu, which includes the following options: DESIGN: This allows access to the Design submenu. When you click on this option with the left mouse button, the design window will appear, with a number of castle pieces and a slashed red circle. Refer to "Of Castle Design" for more details. LABOUR: This allows access to the Labour submenu. When you click on this option with the left mouse button, the Labour menu will appear, allowing you to click on arrows to manipulate the number of labourers at work on your castle. Refer to "Of Labourers and their ilk" for more details. TAXES: This allows access to the Taxes sub-menu. When you click on this option with the left mouse button, the Taxes menu will appear, allowing you to set your tax rate and levy taxes. Refer to "Of Taxation and Personal Safety" for more details. MILITARY: This allows access to the Military submenu. When you click on this option with the left mouse button, the Military menu will appear, allowing you to hire or fire archers infantry and dig moats where it is allowed by the terrain. Refer to "Military Matters" for more details. FOOD: This allows access to the Food sub-menu. This option will allow you to purchase a reserve of food in case of siege. Refer to "Of Food and Its Advantages" for more details. OPTIONS: This allows access to a number of functions, including Save Game Load Game, and Quit Game, Speed, and Counsel. Speed: CASTLES has three speed levels, which governs the quickness of play, Laboured allows for slow building rate, and gives the player more time to consider his actions. Steady provides for a quicker paced game, while Swift is even quicker than Steady. Counsel: Pushing the Counsel button will cause one of your counsellors to appear and give you the state of your relations with important factions in the kingdom, and some helpful (well, sometimes helpful) hints to improve your relations. -= OF CASTLE DESIGN =- In all sub-menus, the command "Main" allows you to return to the Main menu. The heart of CASTLES is its ability to design a castle, which is done from the design window. When the design window has been trigered, you will see a top-down perspective of the castle grounds. This is referred to as the blueprint. Entering the design window will bring up the top-down view of the castle, and allow you to place pieces on the blueprint. The main pieces are: Towers There are two tower types: round, and square. Square towers are the earlier form of tower; they are easier and cheaper to build, but its exposed edges render it susceptible to attack. Round towers are more expensive and take longer to build, but are less vulnerable to attack. Walls There is a single wall type in the game, with three varying thicknesses. Thicker walls provide greater protection, but all take longer to build. Walls have two accessories, arrow slits and cauldrons. Arrow slits provide protection for the archers that are stationed on the castle walls. Cauldrons are filled with boiling oil, which is poured on enemy troops that attack the wall in battle. Gates The center of the castle defense is often the gatehouse. The door is the most vulnerable point of the castle structure, and one which the enemy will likely attack first. Gates take a long time to build, which is one of the reasons why castle builders typically waited until a castle neared completion before the gates were added. Other topics of concern in Castle design include: The Keep The most important part of the castle is the Keep. This is the central area of the castle, protected by thick walls, strong towers, and sturdy gates. The Keep must be built by the player, constructed from walls and towers. It might be considered a castle within a castle. If the enemy begins to destroy the keep, one's defeat cannot be far away. The Eraser If a player makes a mistake in the blueprint of the castle, the eraser will correct it. This eraser is a red circle with a line through it; place the eraser on a piece and click on the left mouse button to remove it. -= OF LABOURERS AND THEIR ILK =- When constructing a castle, there must be a suitable mix of workers for maximum efficiency. If a master builder does not have a sufficient amount of specialized labor, work on the castle will likely slow to a crawl. In CASTLES, we have divided the work force into seven categories: six specialists and one general labourer category. In reality, medieval castle building required other types of specialized labour. Records from the building of Flint Castle in Wales has recorded payments to Plumbers, Coalers, janitors, Watchmen, and Messengers. The records also indicate that the total payments of these workers were substantially less than other categories, which indicates that only a few of individuals filled these positions in comparison with other worker types, so it is safe to ignore them. In playing CASTLES, it is easy to overlook one of the most difficult problems facing Edward I in his castle-building, logistics. The resources that were needed to build these castles were immense. Thirty-five hundred workers were hired to build Edward I's masterwork, the unfinished Beaumaris castle. In less than six months, L6500 was spent. This amounted to one and a half million pennies, the principle unit of currency in England. Transporting the wages of the workers for Beaumaris must have been a nightmare. That these magnificent fortresses were built is a tribute to the abilities of Edward I, his master builder Sir James of Savoy, and to the thousands of craftsmen who laboured over a twenty year period to build them. The types of workers employed in the game are: DIGGERS: Anyone who has tried to dig a large hole with precision knows that a digger's task is not as easy as it may seem. In castle-building, diggers had to know how to dig the foundations of the castle with precision and quickness. Diggers are more important to the early stages of castle-building than they are in the latter portions, but anyone who wants to build a moat will need to have some skilled diggers directing the operation. CARPENTERS: These men know how to knock on wood, and nails, and hammers, and put together scaffolds, and braces, and many other important castle pieces. Castle-building requires an immense amount of materials; during a five month period in 1286, work on Harlech and Conway castles required the purchase of 125,000 nails for each castle. Carpenters are an important component of a castle's work force. MASONS: Masons were the backbone of the castle-building labour force. The person who designed and oversaw the building of a castle was known as the Master Mason (or Master Builder); masons received higher wages than the other workers on the castle. Despite this elite status, a mason's life was not an easy one, as they laid stones, mixed and carried mortar, and made certain that the castle walls would be able to withstand the test of battle. QUARRYMEN: Stones for castle-building did not come easily. ]n the Welsh castle-building campaign, the quarries were dug as close to the castle as possible, but there are records of stones being brought by oxcart from quarries as far away as twenty miles. At Flint Castle, quarrymen provided over 36,000 stones during the winter and spring of 1280 and 1281. Quarrymen not only provided stones, but also valuable supplies of lime and sand. CARTERS: As mentioned above, supplies for castle-building did not magically appear on the castle site. Carters were needed to ferry supplies over both land and water; Harlech Castle did not have a nearby supply of lime or lime-sione, and these had to be ferried from Caernarvon, a voyage over water of nearly seventy miles around the Lleyn peninsula. Carters were in charge of safely delivering immense amounts of materials, travelling an estimated ten miles per day by oxcart during their journey. SMITHS: Castles were not made solely of stone and wood; a substantial amount of metal was also used in the construction. Smiths were important to working the metal used in castle-building; smithing was one of the better paid occupations in castle building. LABOURERS: Common labourers made up the rest of the castle's work force. Many labourers were peasants making up feudal obligations, and as such were unpaid, others were pressed into service by force. Others were untrained workers looking for a pence a day. Labourers were cheaper than skilled workers, but not as efficient; an over-reliance on unskilled labourers tended to slow down construction. To hire labour, use the buttons to request the number of each labourer type. A good castle relies on a mix of labour types. The Master Builder's evaluation of the efficiency of the mix is printed at the bottom of the screen; he rates a mix as Poor, Inefficient, Satisfactory, Good, I and Excellent. A Poor mix will build a castle very slowly, while an Excellent mix will build a castle very quickly. The labour menu also allows you to alter the wages of your workers. The base wages for your workforce are: Diggers L1/month/20 digger Carpenters 15/month/20 carpent Masons 16/month per 20 masons Quarrymen L1/month per 20 quuarrymen Carters L1/month per 20 carters Smiths L5/month per 20 smiths Labourers L0/month per 20 labourers Archers L2/month per 20 archers Infantry L3/month per 20 infantry Higher wages will attract more workers, and encourage them to join your workforce more quickly. Lower wages will save money, but will cause you to recruit more slowly and limit the number of workers who will want to work on your castle. -= OF TAXATION AND PERSONAL SAFETY =- A monarch Who embarks on a program to build castles must have money to pay for the supplies and the labourers The money for castle-builing comes from taxation. The rate of taxation depends on two factors: the difficulty level of the game, and the level of taxation as set by the player. The player will receive less tax money when the game is set to King level than he would at Prince level, and he would receive less tax money at Prince level than he would when the game is at Duke level. The player can decrease or increase the amount of money he will get by setting the Level of Taxation. The levels are (in ascending order): Generous, Normal, Oppressive, and Tyrannical. A king who has set his funding at a Tyrannical level will receive more funds than one who is Generous. Taxes are collected at the beginning of every fiscal year (i.e.. March 15, when building on the Castle resumes.) If a king needs money in a hurry, then they must levy taxes. Levies are taxes which are collected every month. To collect a levy, simply go to the Collect Levy area on the Taxes screen, and adjust the amount to whatever you desire, then click on the box below. At the beginning of the next month, that amount will be added to the Treasury. The maximum amount that can be levied depends on the difficulty level of the game. At Duke level, it is L400. At Prince level, it is L300, and at King level it is L200. Excessive taxation not only makes peasants angry, it also upsets the Church and the noble families, as everyone is taxed by the King. Excessive taxation can have two drawbacks. First, no one likes a tyrant. If you tax people long enough and hard enough, you will have rebellions. Second, the well eventually runs dry. Eventually, you will find that high taxes will bring a point of diminishing returns. Imposing levies on your subjects will also make them angry; imposing frequent levies on your subjects can cause the people who loved you to despise you in only a few months. On the other hand, if a monarch realizes that he is running into a problem with his peasants, and tries to be Generous, he will rarely get the results he wants. Peasants will appreciate low taxes, but never as enthusiasfically as they despise high taxes. For an overview of your taxes, call the Treasurer. He will give a report on your finances, including revenues from other castles, and will also offer warnings when you are spending money too quickly. Running out of money will bring your operations to a halt. Let the taxer beware. -= OF MILITARY MATTERS =- If you can't defend a castle, there is no sense in building it. When you build a castle in hostile territory, expect to defend it against attack. MILITARY MENU To hire troops, you must enter the Military menu. In this menu, you will be able to hire the two types of troops most commonly used in sieges in the Middle Ages: Archers, and Infantry. Archers shoot arrows at opponents. They are very poorly armored, and no match in melee range for someone with armor or a melee weapon; they will disappear when their supply of arrows have been depleted, or when they are slain. Infantry also serve as castle guards; these are the men who will be used if someone asks you for troops. Infantry are tougher than archers, but can only attack at close range. The number of troops that you can have depends on the number of pieces you have built in the castle. Small castles cannot support as many troops as a large castle. BATTLES SET-UP When a battle occurs, you will be given a chance to set up your castle before the enemy comes. Simply pick up archer and infantry pieces and place them on the blueprint, in the same way that you placed castle pieces. These pieces will attack the enemy when they appear or come within weapon range. If you are operating at less than maximum strength (500 infantry and 500 archers), you will have an option to divide your forces into 1-10 units. Stronger units will not be damaged as easily as weaker ones, buk more numerous units will allow you to spread your forces across a larger area. Beware of spreading yourself too thin. CONTROLLING YOUR ARMY Each character in the army is subject to individual control. For archers, simply click on the piece, then click on the target; the archer will concentrate its fire on that piece until it is dead, then he will choose a new target. For infantry pieces, you may click either on an enemy target, or a position. Sometimes your infantry may lose line of sight of an enemy or get caught at the edge of a moat, simply move the infantry piece to another location, and he will try to locate the enemy. THE ENEMY Trying to destroy your castle is the Enemy. The Enemy will usually be Celts, though ogres will attack you frequently in the Fantasy World setting. The enemy will march toward your keep, trying to destroy anything or anyone in their path. Ogres are particularly infamous for their blood-thirsty tendencies. The enemy has two special weapons: sapper's tents and catapults. sapper's tents contain miners who will dig a tunel underneath your castle, fill it with dead pigs, and light them afire, causng an explosion that will destroy the castle. Catapults will coninuously fire large stones at your castle walls, knocking them down after multiple hits. When most of the enemy pieces have been killed, the attack will end and you will have triumphed. If you have completed your castle, you will proceed to the next level, or to the final screen (if all castles in the campaign have been built. However, when the enemy has killed off your defenders or destroyed a large section of your castle, they will have triumphed and your game will be over. -= OF FOOD ITS ADVANTAGES =- One of the most comon tactics of an enemy, particularly if they believe that they can block your supplies, is the siege. In order to withstand a siege, a wise monarch will purchase a emergency supply of food thus when one's army is under siege, they will not starve. Food can be purchased entering the Food menu, clicking on the arrows beside "Buy" and clicking on the box underneath the Food menu. This will purchase the proper amount food. Food costs vary wildly, depending on demand availability. Food is much less expensive after the fall harvest than it is in early spring, when the needs of winter have used up most surpluses. The same needs of winter will also affect the supply of food at your castle; you will have less food after winter than you had before the winter. During a siege, depending on the number of defenders at your castle, the food supply will decrease. When it hits zero, defenders will start to die. Some sieges can be quite long, making multiple purchases of food very necesary. -= OF MESSENGERS AND DIPLOMACY =- At the beginning of the game, the player has the option of receiving messengers. These messengers will come from a variety of sources; noble families, the Holy Church, the princes of Gwynedd, the peasants, or the King of Bretagne are the most common sources of messengers. During the course of this sequence, you will have to make a decision on a problem brought to you by the messenger This problem may be as trivial as a name for a knight's newborn son, or as important as determining whether or not the kingdom goes to war. The decisions that you make will have consequences. Do not expect to insult an ambassador from another kingdom without some sort of retaliation. During the course of the decision-making process, you may find loyal vassals betraying you, you may have to arbitrate important disputes, or you may make peace with your enemies. Consider your answers carefully. Some of the things that the messengers want may not be in the best interest of the kingdom. Be careful of nobles who are trying to advance their own fortune at the kingdom's expense. On the other hand, making the nobles unhappy is usually not a good idea. Prudent judgement is essential. The best way to consider the messenger sequences is as stories that are interwoven into the game. The exploits of the Prince might be one story, the attempt by the Duke of Norshire to conquer the Picts is another story. There will always be the possibility of several stories running through the game at a time. Your responses to the messenger sequence will determine your style of rule. Brutal actions may go unnoticed for a long time, but eventually people will begin to hear stories about you. Indecisiveness in moments of crisis will give you the reputation of being a weak king. You may have to find a balance while walking a diplomatic tightrope. Still, no one said that being a king or queen was easy. To get an indication on how whether the various factions in the kingdom like you, go to the Options screen and click on the Counsel button. Sir Richard of Westhampton will appear and tell you how you're doing. -= OF THE CONQUEST OF THE CELTIC LANDS =- The ultimate goal of the original CASTLES player, Edward I, was to build a network of invincible fortresses. That is the goal of the player of this game as well. The Celtic lands are divided into eight strategic territories, or cantrefs. To conquer a cantref, the player must build a castle within the territory, and must face a battle. When the completed castle has proven its worth in battle, it will attract settlers who will build a town nearby. Eventually, the town will trade with the Celts, who will become dependent on Albion for goods and services. Thus the Celtic lands will be assimilated. There are eight cantrefs in which the conquest of the Celtic princedoms takes place. They are (in order): Rhos Arfon Penllyn Arwystli Aberffraw Gwerthyrnio Dunoding Powys RHOS This is is a broad plain with coastal area in the west and north. It is close to qarties, and has great historical value to the Celts. they will not permit you build a castle here with out a fight. ARFON This is another broad plain, with lakes, near the coast of Gwynedd. It is close to quarries. PENLLYN This is an area of interior Marsh, a quagmire that is not loved by those who work on castles. It is close quarries. ARWYSTLI The construction site in Arwystli is in a heavily wooded section. It is also an isolated area, far from the quarries. ABERFFRAW This area in Northwest Gwynedd contains substantial coastline. Its quaries are nearby, but noted for their hard stone which makes them difficult to work. GWERTHYRNION This area in South Gwynedd is known for its broad, shallow lakes, and fierce natives. It is far from any quarries, too far, as the carters will tell you. DUNODING The castle site in this wide region is in marshland, every workers least favorite terrain. Its quarries are old, and quarymen have to work harder than the once did to get valuable supplies of lime and limestone. POWYS In the center of the Celt lands is the huge region known as Powys. Once it was a rival to Gwynedd. Now it is a land of bitter resistance to the Albion conquerors. It uses the same quarries as Donoding, but they are considerably further away. As each cantref is subdued, more tax money will come to the Treasury of Albion. However, there may be occasions where the King must rush his troops, to the defense of one of his other castles, or lose that tax money. In each cantref, the rebellions will become more fierce. The land may be some distance from the quarries, increasing the cost of the castle. The subjugation of these lands is not an easy thing. The terrain of these lands are different; Arwystli and Powys are heavily forested, while Penilyn contains a great marsh. The enemy will use different approaches on these territories. When a castle has been built in all eight cantrefs, victory will have been achieved, and you will receive a summary of your relations with the various factions in your kingdom, and how historians viewed your rule (the overall score). If your reign was the Golden Age of Albion, you truly were a great king! -= A GEOGRAPHY OF ALBION AND ITS NEIGHBOURS =- Albion is based on England in the late 13th Century. Albion is an amalgamation of several Germanic kingdoms that were conquered by a French duke in the late 11th Century; this new King then eliminated the ruling families and replaced them with his own. Albion has four geographical regions. The North, which falls under the influence of the Duchy of Norshire, has sometimes belonged to Pictland, the kingdom of the Picts which lies north of Albion. The North has a rather strong independent streak, being farther from the influence of the king than the other people of Albion. The west of Albion falls under the influence of the Duke of Westhampton, a close relative of the ruler of Albion. This includes the border marches, land which once belonged to the Princes of Gwynedd and now belongs to Albion barons. The ownership of the marches has been a major source of disagreement for Albion and Gwynedd. The east of Albion falls under the influence of the duke of Warfield. Warfield is the section of the country where Parliament resides, a council of barons who has been fighting for power since they forced King John to sign the Great Charter in 1215, which limited the King's rights. This charter has usually been ignored by the King, but it has been used by barons as a weapon to limit the power of a weak king. Between north, east, and west are the Midlands. The Warfields are the most influential family here, followed by the Westhamptons. The rivalry between the noble families is caused because of disputes in the Midlands; the rivalry between the Westhamptons and the Norshires is particularly bitter. North of Albion is the Pictlands. They are a group of clans who owe allegiance to a king, a distant relative of the king of Albion. The Picts and Albion have enjoyed a long truce until recently, when the alliance between the Picts and the Bretagnese triggered a series of border skirmishes that have erupted into a full scale war. The commander of Albion's Northern forces the Duke of Norshire; he not noted for his military skill. West of Albion is the pricedoms of the Celts, of which Gwynedd is by far the most powerful. These princedoms have been at war for centuries with Albion. South of Albion is the main continent of Europe The closest kingdom to Albion is Britagne, a union duchies under a single monarch. Britagne is the historical enemy of Albion since the King of Albion once held large portions of land in Britagne and many wars were fought over that land. The lands are now controlled by the King of Bretagne, but no King of Albion has ever abandoned the dream of regaining their continental empire. The throne of Britagne is currently in dispute. The two claimants are Henry, Duke of Beel, and Charles, Duke of Clossau. The greatest state in Europe is the Teutonic Provinces, ruled by a single Emperor. The Teutonic Provinces occasionally invades Britagne, other than that, its affairs have little bearing on the current state of Albion. -= A GUIDE TO THE PERSONAGES OF THE REFIONS =- THE RULING FAMILY OF ALBION The current ruling family of Albion has been in power since the mid-12th Century. They have seen a vast empire in continental Europe dwindle to virtually nothing, civil wars, and conquest of neighboring states. Albion is considered a minor power in the politics of Europe, and the ruler of Albion is considered less important than one of the Princes of the Teutonic States. The King/Queen of Albion (aka you). Now entering middle age, the ruler of Albion is enjoying a relatively peaceful time following a tumultuous succession to the throne, when your younger brother Prince Arthur tried to take your throne. Your spouse died many years ago, leaving you with but a single heir. You have won a string of recent victories against the Celtic Princes, and hold enough territory to allow you to build castles in their lands, in hopes of holding it. Some of the Celtic Princes do not appreciate this, and rebellions are commonplace. Prince Henry: Your only child is Prince Henry, who has a well-earned reputation for irresponsibility. He is in his late teens, and causes nothing but trouble. Somehow, you hope that he will turn into a creditable king when his rime comes, but you have strong doubts. Prince Xrthur: Your rebellious brother fled the country during a small civil war that took place during your succession. He is currently in exile in the court of your enemy Charles, Duc de Clossau, who is one of the leading contenders in the Britagnese civil war. Princess Edith: Your sister was married to an important Britagnese duke to strengthen your alliance with the Britagnese ruling family. That ruling family is now dead and there is a civil war in Britagne. Princess Edith stays out of politics, is well-known for her graciousness, piety, and,charity, and is well beloved in both Albion and Britagne. NOBLE FAMILIES OF ALBION Even a government as centralized as Albion's cannot run by a king's decree alone; the feudal system gives a great deal of power to the noble families. There are three dukes in Albion, all of whom have immense political and financial importance, many earls, and many more knights who serve the earls and hold fiefs of their own. The three principle noble families are: THE WESTHAMPTONS This family is the most prominent noble family in the kingdom, a fact which does not go unnoticed with the other noble families of Albion. The Westhamptons have a reputation for chivalry, integrity, and unmatched prowess in arms. This reputation is deserved, but some Westhamptons deserve it more than others. The Westhamptons are also extremely proud, and that is not always a virtue. The Westharnptons hold large tracts of lands in West Albion, and shares their influence with the Warfields in the Midlands. The Duke of Westhampton This aging Duke was once a great knight in the days of his youth, having fought in the Crusades. He is an old friend of the ruler of Albion, though they have grown apart during the years. The Duke expects the Westh@mpton family to receive the kingdom's highest honors and privileges. The Duke despises the other noble families, and holds the Church in complete contempt, though he takes pride in defending Christian values and beliefs. Sir Richard of Westhampton The eldest of the Duke's many children, Sir Richard is one of the chief administrators in the realm, as well as one of the most trusted counsellors. Sir Richard is capable, competent, and loyal, though on occasion he holds the glory of the Westhampton family in higher regard than the welfare of the kingdom. Sir Richard is a formidable combatant, but prefers administrative duties to battle. Sir Richard's loyalty is unqueslioned. Sir Roger of Westhampton The second oldest of the Duke's sons, Sir Roger is not the most honorable member of his family, nor the most beloved. Roger takes extreme pride in being a Westhampton and will protect his family interests at all costs. Sir Roger is loyal to the throne, but his actions are not always in accord with the wishes of the ruler of Albion. Sir Phillip of Westhampton The third oldest son of the Westhamptons, Sir Phillip delights in being a warrior and displaying his martial prowness. He earned a formidable reputation during the Crusades as one of the greatest knights in Europe. Sir Phillip is a skilled commander, but would rather fight on the fields of Europe than in Gwynedd or the Pictish lands. He is extremely loyal to the throne, but his pursuit of honor in battle and tournaments sometimes goes beyond the best interests of the kingdom. THE NORSHIRES This family is the most Prominent of the Northern nobility. They are not as wealthy or as comf onable as the other great lords of the kingdom, and there is considerable enmity between them and the other ___________________________________________________ | | | O---O---O---O---O O - ROUND TOWER | | | | # - SQUARE TOWER | | | | - - WALL | | | | | - WALL | | O #---#---# O III - GATE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | O #--III--# O | | | | | | | | | | | | | | O---O--III--O---O | | | | Figure A | |___________________________________________________| noble families. The Norshires take great pride in their military ability, pride which is not always deserved. The Duke of Norshire This aging man is considered by members of many of the other noble families to by the joke of the kingdom. He is an incompetent general (rumored to be a coward), petty, vain, and proud. The Duke of Norshire believes that everything he does is in the best interest of the kingdom, but his own personal pride really comes before all else. Thomas of Norshire The Duke's teenage son Thomas is considered a reckless youth; he is the closest friend of Prince Henry of all of the Albionese nobility. Thomas has attracted notice for his martial skill, his ability to command troops, and their loyalty to him (as well for as playing pranks on the Picts). Despite their many differences, Thomas cares a great deal for his father, and holds his family's honor in high regard. THE WARFIELDS The third great family of Warfield is the Warfields, who hold a great deal of power in the Midlands and in the Southeast. The Warfields have a reputation for bullying, tyranny, overtaxing, and ill-treatment of peasants. The Duke of Warfield The Duke rules his fiefs with an iron fist. He is a cruel and intolerant lord, and his knights are little more than thugs. Nonetheless the Duke has many lords who are loyal to him, and he holds a position of great political importance. The Duke is loyal to the throne, but is also quite greedy. Sir Edwin of Warfield The eldest son of the Duke despises his father's cruelty and greed. An atypical Warfield, he is on reasonably good terms with the Westhamptons and the Norshires. He and his father are estranged. THE CHURCH The Church's influence has been in decline throughout the 13th Century; recent archbishops and bishops have been trying to increase their influence in Albion. As with the dukes, the Church provides some revenues for the Crown, and is a faction that cannot be easily ignored. The Pope The Bishop of Rome, Pontiff of the Holy Roman Church, the Pope is a man with considerable political influence. His greatest power is the power of excornmunication, which bans a person from membership in the Church and from the ritual of holy communion. In general, the Pope overuses excommunications, and they are not as great a deterrent to anti-clerical behavior as they once were. The Bishop The local bishop is an extremely proud man, far more devoted to the Church than you had hoped when you appointed him (there is a quarrel between Albion and Rome on the appointment of bishops, with Rome on losing end). The bishop is arrogant, smug, greedy, and vindictive, but he is also (unlike the popular stereotype of medieval clergy) genuinely concerned about the poor and the spiritual well-being of his followers. The Abbess of St. Martha's Also known as the Mad Abbess, she believes that supernatural forces are everywhere, conspiring to corrupt the soul of the people of Albion. The abbess has been known to make rather absurd allegations from time to time. THE CELTS West of Albion, beyond Hay's dike, is one of the historical lands of the Celts, which in our world is known as Wales. The Celts were never united, and the lands of the Celtic West is divided into a number of Princedoms: Gwynedd, Powys, and Deheubarth are the most prominent Throughout history, the Celts and the peoples of Albion have raided each other at virtually every opportunity; after the Norman Conquest, the Celts generally on the losing side of this battle. Of the Princedoms of the West, Gwyned is generally the most unified and powerful. BRETAGNE Across the Channel is the great land of Britagne, one of the great powers of Europe. A century ago, the king of Albion controlled much of Bretagne, though technically he was still the vassal of the King of Bretagne. The King of Bretagne eventually broke most of Albion's continental empire, which has resulted in decades of hostility, much of it caused by Albion's refusal to let go of its empire. The King of Bretagne recently died, naming Henry, Duke of Bee] as his lawful successor. however, many of the most powerful barons of France support Henry's cousin, Charles, Duke of Clossau. Henry, Duke of Beel Henry of Beel is the most sympathetic of the two contenders to the throne of Britagne. He was appointed by the former king as his successor, but the majority of the barons either refuse to support him, or support his rival, Charles of Clossau. Charles, Duke of Clossau Charles of Clossau is an old enemy; you knew him from a visit to the Britagnese court when you were ten, when you found him to be spoiled, ill-mannered, and contemptuous. He had similar opinions of you. Neither of you have forgotten that meeting. Charles harbored your traitorous brother, Arthur, following his rebellion, and has been his host ever since. Charles' messengers pride themselves on their wit, usually an insult at the expense of Albion. Andre, Duke of Mallardville The Duke of Mallardville is recognized as one of Bretagne's greatest knights and a paragon of chivalry He holds Albion in extreme contempt, and is a bitter enemy of Sir Phillip of Westhampton, who fought with him (and against him) in the Crusades. FAERIE (These entities will only appear in the Fantasy version of this game). Faerie is the land beyond the twilight, A magical place full of mystical beings. According to legend, Faerip is ruled by Lord Oberon and Lady Titania, and is home to many sprites, hobgoblins, ogres, and elves; fay creatures both good and evil. Most of the folk of Faerie do not involve themselves in the affairs of the world, but some of the more mischievous or evil do. The Seelie Court The Seelie Court is the court of the good elves, the beneficent elves (this is opposed by the Unseelie Court of the dark elves). The Seelic Court is worried about the interference by others in Faerie on the world of Albion, and will occasionally offer warnings regarding supernatural evils at work in Albion. The Bean Sidhe The Bean Sidhe, or Banshee, is a female spirit whose song foretells death and disaster. She is one of the most dangerous spirits of Faerie to walk in the world of the living. The Wild Hunt The legendary Wild Hunt appears in time of great un rest. The hunt is one of the guises of Death, who rides a pate horse and leads ghastly hounds in a procession, whose purpose is the gathering of souls. -= SIR RICHARD OF WESTHAMPTON'S GUIDE TO CASTLE BUILDING =- Herein, Sir Richard of Westhampton and his squire, Alain, seek to explain some of the mysteries of castle-building. SIR RICHARD: Greetings. I am Sir Richard of Westhampton, one of the foremost knights in the kingdom, as you'll probab]y notice -- over and over again. Castle building is not my field of expertise, I am an administrator for my father, the Duke of Wes- thampton, and a counsell for my sovereign, the rul of Albion. However, as mliege is busy with other matters, I have been aske to explain some of the bas secrets of castle construc- tion. I have talked with some fine master builders in my day, so it is a subjec with which I feel comfor able. But as my language is that of the court, perhaps my squire, Alain, should explain some of the essenfials of castle-building in simple terms... ALAIN: Certainly my lord. First, to start your castle-building, use your mouse. Click on the right button and bring up the main menu. SIR RICHARD: A mouse? Using a mouse as a messenger? What non-sense is this? ALAIN:'Tis the way it is done these days, my lord. SIR RICHARD: Talking mice? I have never heard of such a thing. Perhaps I am behind the times. ALAIN: The main menu is your key to commanding yofir workforce. If you wish to design your castle, click with your left mouse button on the Design window. If you wish to hire labourers, click with your left mouse button on the Labour window. If you wish to hire guards, click on the Military menu. To escape from these menus, click on the right mouse button. I would recommend spending a minute or two practising using this interface. SIR RICHARD: Interface? Common speech is indeed strange! ALAIN: They will soon find that the interface is easy to use, my lord. Now, let us continue our castle building. We will need to plot our pieces, so we must click on the Design window. In the upper right hand corner are two types of towers, a wall, a gate, and a circle with a line through it. SIR RICHARD: I had not heard of a Master Builder using this tool. It was probably developed by the Saracens. They are masters of their craft. ALAIN: Perhaps, my lord. Use these pieces to plan the layout of your castle. Remember that there are several things that can go wrong in castle building. If you are planning your castle, and your castle piece does not appear on the terrain when you place it. SIR RICHARD: As it did in that castle in Powys, the one with the large towers, if I recall... ALAIN: Yes my lord. That's because the master builder tried to build the castle on very solid stones, ones which could not be removed. SIR RICHARD: Yes. I recall the king was not very happy about paying the diggers for digging on a piece of land that was unsuitable for castle building. ALAIN: I would imagine not, my lord. Remember, do not try to build in TREES, ROCKS, HEAVY MARSH, POOLS, or too close to the SHORE. You will be unable to lay a foundation for your castle. SIR RICHARD: Of course, there is the matter of towers and walls... ALAIN: Thank-you for reminding me, your lordship. Novice castle-builders will sometimes try to plan castles whose walls are placed at different angles, such as a north facing wall trying to connect with a southeast facing wall. SIR RICHARD: They are unbuildable? ALAIN: Unsupportable. Always place a tower if you wish to change the facing of a wall. SIR RICHARD: Unsupportable? I would think that builders with our skill will be able to master such a difficult craft. A-LAIN: Surely you jest, my lord. Our builders are skilled tis true, but they cannot defy the laws of nature. If you wish a wall to build, it MUST have SUPPORT from a structure ALMOSt AS TALL, AS TALL, or TALLER THAN ITSELF Thus a WALL cannot build that is more than FOUR feet taller than either of its ADJACENT walls. It would collapse my lord. The same applies for a GATE. SIR RICHARD: I would not tell my father that this cannot be done. He believes that a Westhamptoin can do anything. ALAIN (laughing): Yes, my lord. SIR RICHARD: You have mentioned walls and gates. What of towers? Are they unsupportable? ALAIN: No, my lord. Towers are built with solid support at all stages of their building. They can rise on their own. 'Tis why they take so long to build. SIR RICHARD: Suppose I have been building a large castle, and I cannot place any more towers, walls, or gates? ALAIN: I would check on one's Resources count, my lord. If the count is at zero, then you can no longer place any more pieces. I have heard of kings who built castles beyond their means. SIR RICHARD: Yes, I know one quite well. Now, I will provide you with what the scribes calla tutorial. This will teach you the basics of castle buildiing. Here is the plan for the castle we are about to build. (See Fig. A, pg. 30) SIR RICHARD: This should be reasonably easy to follow. Just place the pieces, do not concern yourself with such things as height, number of labourers, and other considerations just yet. ALAIN: Perhaps you should tell them to find a suitable piece of land. SIR RICHARD: I thought that I had done so. ALAIN: You did not, my lord. SIR RICHARD: Oh. I apologize. Anyways, be certain that the land on which you place your castle is a broad swarth, of suitable measure for your task. Now place the castle. On the northern section, going from left to right, you should place a round tower, three segments of wall, a second round tower, three more segments of tower, a third round tower, three more segments of wall, a fourth round tower, three more segments of wall, and a final round tower, as shown below. O---O---O---O---O ALAIN: 'Tis a lot of wall segments, my lord. SIR RICHARD: Without them, the castle would soon fall to one's enemies. Now, I have mentioned the laws of building walls, that you should have adjacent structures to support it. Allow me... ALAIN: My lord, I was the one who mentioned the law of support! SIR RICHARD: Do not contradict thy liege, Alain. 'Tis against all codes of chivalry. ALAIN: My apologies, my liege. SIR RICHARD: We will make a knight out of thee yet, Alain. Now, let us look at this law in action. First hire some workers. Five hundred will be more than adequate for our purpose. Be certain to hire skilled masons. ALAIN: That is very important. SIR RICHARD: Indeed. The other workers are important, but the mason is the most skilled at the art of castle-building. Without a skilled workforce, castle-building is a labourous and unnecessarily lengthy task. Now once you have your workforce, you are ready to build the castle. Let us go to the northwest corner of the castle, and take the first section, which consists of a round tower, three wall segments, and a second round tower. We shall start on the north-west tower.. ALAIN:...Takeyour mouse and have it increase the count of labourers on a piece to its maximum. SIR RICHARD: That mouse again! ALAIN: If you had followed the previous instrutions, your tower should be building nicely on the tight-hand side of the tower should be three wall segments and another tower, as follows: T123T O---O Now, take your mouse, and increase the number of workers on wall piece number one, and wall piece number three. SIR RICHARD: I see that the report on this piece says "Waiting". ALAIN: That is because there are only a limited number of scaffolds and work crews available at a time. "Waiting" means that it is waiting for a scaffold. SIR RICHARD: Ah, the building has begun. I suppose that is why it says Building. ALAIN: Aye, my lord. And now it says Unstable It has stopped building. SIR RICHARD: Yet the work crews are still there! What lazy churls are these? ALAIN: That is because they follow your instructions only, my lord. You know the penalty for disobeying one's liege in these times, my lord. The workers will only do work where they are ordered to do so. And if a structure is Unstable, it cannot be built any further without risk of collapse. Thus the workers are not building any more. SIR RICHARD: Excuses, excuses. They are lazy, 'tis clear. Now how do we solve the dilemma, and cause these unstable walls to build? ALAIN:'Tis easy, my lord. Think not of the castle pieces as individual segments, but sections of connected walls, towers, and gates. Each piece in this section must be building for the entire structure to build. Currently, only the left tower, and wall segments Number One and Number Three have builders assigned to them, as indicated by the stars above the pieces... ** * T123T O---O SIR RICHARD: So if we were to assign workers to the pieces without stars, the second wall and the right tower, the entire piece would build without any problems? ALAIN: Let us try it. Take your mouse and click on the pieces. Their height should be four feet, and they should have no labourers assigned. SIR RICHARD: That mouse again! ALAIN: Now increase the labourers to maximum. SIR RICHARD: The entire structure is building! ALAIN: Indeed. And soon, we will have a completed section of wall, surrounded by two towers. Now that you have successfully built one section of wall, let us continue building the entire structure. SIR RICHARD: Suppose one makes an error in the planning stages. My brother Roger has done so frequently. Can such an error be rectified? ALAIN: Aye. Bring up the Design menu. This provides our blueprint. See the circle with that slash through it? SIR RICHARD: Reminds me of a Coat of Arms. ALAIN: Well, click on that symbol. Now, take the cursor to the piece you wish to delete on the blueprint. Click the left mouse button on that piece I to remove it. If you wish to replace the piece, simply click on the appropriate piece and place it on the desired spot. SIR RICHARD: That was simple. ALAIN: Indeed. Let us resume our castle building. Let us continue building the North wall We shall build slowly, a section at a time. Currently, this is what has been built: ***** O---O---O---O---O | | | | | | O O ALAIN: Wait for the number of available labourers to reach its maximum total. If five hundred labourers were hired, then five hundred labourers should be free, as labourers who finish their assigned job head directly into the Freed Labour Force to await reassignment. The "Free" count should be at 500. Once it is, click on the next three wall segments, and the tower on the right hand side of those walls. The following walls or towers should be built, or in the process of building: ********* O---O---O---O---O | | | | | | O O ALAIN: Once those wall have been completed, confinue with the next three wall segments and tower ************* O---O---O---O---O | | | | | | O O ALAIN: And then once more. The North section of the castle's outer wall should now be complete. ***************** O---O---O---O---O | | | | | | O O ALAIN: Now repeat the process for the western wall. ****************** *O---O---O---O---O *| | *| | *| | *O #---#---# O *| | | | *| | | | *| | | | *O #--III--# O *| | *| | *| | *O---O--III--O---O SIR RICHARD: I notice that you have been moving to another view to place your workers. Let us suppose we complete the front of the castle, in the same way that you did the back. Now let us try to assign workers to the inner walls... ALAIN: Hmm. It is rather hard to allocate to pieces that are concealed by portions of the castle that are already constructed. SIR RICHARD: We could tear them down and build them up again. ALAIN: That's a rather awkward solution, my lord. There are two better solutions for this problem. First, it is possible to change the perspective on the castle. Flip the castle from front to back by using the "F" key. SIR RICHARD: "F" key? I believe I once heard a minstrel talking about that. ALAIN: If you still cannot adjust the piece using a flip command, then go back to the design menu. You can adjust the number of workers from the main view and from the blueprint. SIR RICHARD: All of this allocafing of workers seems so... ALAIN-. Tedious? It can be, my lord. Fortunately, there is a shortcut. Before one builds a castle, hire your laborers immediately. Then go to the design menu, and before you put together your blueprint, allocate workers to that piece. The piece will begin to build as soon as you place it, and the number of workers assigned will remain the same for all future pieces. SIR RICHARD: That is an improvement. However, I've always found shortcuts to be rather dangerous in practise. ALAIN: Well, there are risks. If you do not have enough workers and allocate too many pieces, then the pieces will not build immediately. They will be in a state of 'Waiting". Worse, when vou have allocated pieces with more workers then you have in the available workforce... SIR RICHARD: That can be a mess. Workers will be reduced on the pieces that are being built to stretch between all of the allocated pieces. Sometimes, the number of workers on a piece will drop to zero, which may cause an entire wall section to become Unstable. The work force will lack alt coordination. ALAIN: Why do I expect that you knew everything I was talking about, my lord? SIR RICHARD (smiles): I have seen many castles rise and fall, and dealt with many master builders in my day. The study of castle building has been something of a hobby of mine. After all, if my liege has been spending many thousands of pounds on castle-building, his counsellors ought to know whether his money has been well spent. Of course, there is only one true test of a castle, and that is how well it does in battle. I think I will let my brother Phillip talk about it when he has the time... ALAIN: Yes, he would be the choice. Or Thomas of Norshire. SIR RICHARD: That pup? Surely you jest. Now, by this rime you should have a clear indication of how to place castle pieces, how to assign workers to castle pieces, and what to look for if the castle pieces are not being built. ALAIN: Perhaps you should repeat the main points, my lord. SIR RICHARD: An excel lent suggestion. First, if you cannot place castle pieces on your blueprint, it is either because you are trying to place it on land where a castle cannot be constructed, or because you have used up the maximum resources that can be assigned to the project. ALAIN: Be certain that your Resources counter is not at Zero. Also, if the number is slightly above zero, you may not be able to place certain pieces such as gates. SIR RICHARD: Second, if a castle piece has stopped building, check to see if the piece is listed as Unstable or Waiting. Unstable pieces need to be supported by the adjacent pieces. Wailing pieces need a scaffold to become available. ALAIN:'Tis true. But what of No Workers? SIR RICHARD: Ah yes. If a piece is not building, and you receive a report that says "No Workers", then you need to hire more labourers. ALAIN: Are there any other possible problems? SIR RICHARD: Not unless the monarch is so foothardy with his purse that he runs out of money. In such a case, both laborers and guards will quickly abandon the king for better paying work. Why does it always seem that the people in power are the greatest debtors? ALAIN: Perhaps because they are not spending their own money, my lord. SIR RICHARD: Hmm, that reminds me, I have business to do for my father. If you do not understand these principles, repeat this tutorial until you do. Now if you will excuse me, my father wishes me to look at his household accounts, and see how much debt he has incurred. ALAIN: And now that we have come to the end, remember, gentle folk, that if we have offended you with problems that were not explained within this discourse, use your telephones to contact us at the number listed in the Warranty section, and gladly will the wise and patient folk do their best to solve your problems. -= THE REAL WORLD CASTLES OF EDWARD I =- The reign of King John and his son Henry Ill were a disaster for England's continental empire; the vast empire that Henry II had built between Scotland and the Pyranees had crumbled. One side effect of this defeat was that it allowed England to concentrate on the subjugation of its neighbors, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The history between England and its neighbors was never a peaceful one. While England and Scotland both coalesced into centralized monarchies before the 11th Century, Wales remained a collection of princedoms, squabbling for land, raiding each other and England. Ownership of Northern England changed hands frequently The Welsh raided the English lands on their boader, and vice versa. Everyone worried about Vikings. In 1066, however the Norman Conquest changed everything. The subjugation of England by the Normans was conducted in a manner that was ruthless even by medieval standards; whole villages were destroyed, and the entire ruling class of England disappeared in twenty years, replaced by Normans. A culture as ambitious and as powerhungry as the Normans were not content to hold a single kingdom; they were constantly trying to expand, and engaged in continuous suppression of rebellious provinces, attacks against the King of France, and disgruntled family members (refer to the Tales of the Middle Ages for suitable examples). However, this did not mean that the kings of England forgot about the other nations in the British Isles. The Normans were quick to expand into Wales. However, the geography of Wales confined their advances to the valleys and lowlands of Southern Wales. Even the might of Henry II was not sufficient to defeat Welsh troops. Henry responded by recognizing the rule of Welsh lords, particularly Rhys ap Gruffyd, in return for their recognition of his overlordship. This would not be the first time that an English king would meddle in Welsh politics, nor would it be the last. In the 13th Century, Wales was finally united under the leadership of Prince Llywelyn the Great and his grandson, Llywelyn ap Cruffyd. Indeed, in the treaty of Montgomery, Llywelyn ap Gruffyd forced Henry III of England to recognize his territorial gains and his title "Prince of Wales". However, despite the triumph of the princes of Gwynedd, their glory was soon to end. Henry III relinquished most of the disputed lands in France with the Treaty of Paris in 1259. This allowed his son, Edward I, to concentrate on the conquest of Wales as no king had done since the early days following the Norman Conquest. His original plan was to overrun many of Llywelyn's lands and hand them to his more compliant brothers, Dafydd and Gruffyd. However, his campaign of 1277 was such a success that Edward realized that he didn't have to reward Dafydd. In 1282, the Welsh rebelled. Edward went to war against the Welsh, and won. Llywelyn died in an ambush, and Dafydd was captured, tried, and executed. Edward realized that he needed to consolidate his gains. He decided on a policy of building castles in strategic places. He would encourage English settlers to build towns near the castles, eventually they would trade with and assimilate the Welsh. This was the most expensive enterprise ever taken up by a King of England at that time, and eventually it would almost entirely drain the English treasury. To coordinate the building, Edward chose as his master mason a renowned architect, Sir James of Savoy, who had studied the castles built by the Moslems in the Crusades. Sir james built castles according to the needs of his master, Yang Edward, and supervised the building. There were ten castles built by Edward I, in what clearly can be considered three separate castle building campaigns. Of these ten, six castles have special importance. THE MAJOR WELSH CASTLES OF EDWARD I Castles Dates Built Flint 1277-1281 Rhuddian 1277-1281 Caernarvon 1283-1323 Conway 1283-1287 Harlech 1283-1289 Beaumaris 1295-1323 The first two castles on this list (as well as two lesser, castles, Builth and Ruthin, which were started at the same time) were built by Edward following the initial campaign. While Flint and Rhuddlan are impressive, they do not compare with the latter four castles, which are truly masterpieces of English building and military engineering. What is also impressive about the castles is their sheer variety; each castle, though constructed at the same time, stands out as an individual structure with little in common with the others. Caernarvon, Conway, and Harlech were all started following the conquest of Wales. Harlech was designed as a military fortress, standing tall on the face of a large cliff. Its central defense was designed around an extremely strong gatchouse, which was later incorporated into the second stage of building at Caernarvon. In many ways, Conway is the most visually impressive of Edward's castles, with eight huge drum towers and an inner ward surrounded with turrets. Its approaches were protected by barbicans and fortified steps. Of all of Edward's castles, Caernarvon had a highly symbolic importance that was reflected in its design. Before its construction, a rumor surfaced that the bones of Magnus Maximus, the father of the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine had been found on the site. Master James had visited the castles of the Holy Lands and may have been to Constantinople, where he would have seen the walls of Constantinople with its polygonal towers; the towers of Caernarvon were based on those of Constantinople. The great tower of Caernarvon, the Eagle Tower, was meant to have imperial connotations. In 1284, Edward's heir, the future Edward II, was born at Caernarvon. He became the first in a long line of Princes of Wales; tragically, Edward II was destined to be deposed by his wife, his barons, and his fifteen year old son in 1327. In the 1294 and 1295, a new series of revolts broke out in Wales. In 1294, Caernarvon Castle and its town fell to the rebels, and though it was soon liberated, Edward and Master James were determined that this would never again occur. The resulting rebuilding and expansion of Caernarvon included Lhe King's Gate, which included no fewer than five doors and six portcullises, with each of these secfions bolstered by arrow loops in the walls and murder holes in the ceiling. It was after the revolt of 1295 that Edward decided to begin work on the grandest and most ambitious castle of all, the beautiful Beaumaris ("beautiful marsh"). While lacking in the Christian (and Arthurian) mythological tones of Caernarvon, Beaumaris was an immensely impresive fortress based on the concentric castles of the Middle East. It had two sections, an outer curtain wall defended by over a dozen towers and strong gatehouses, and an inner wall with immense towers and extremely powerful gatehouses. The layout of Beaumaris demanded that any attacker who managed to break through the outer curtain would have to make a sharp turn under heavy fire to approach the inner curtain to attack it. For several years, thousands of men, at a cost of L13000, worked on Beaumaris, until Edward ran into financial problems. Edward's belligerent policy towards Scotland and a dispute with the French crown over Gascony caused an immense drain on the treasury of England, and Edward was a king who heavily taxed his subjects. England was building an empire of castles it could not afford. Although the construction of Beaumaris continued well into the reign of Edward II, the great castle was never finished. The towers of the inner curtain wall were never raised to their full height, the southern gatehouse remaimed unfinished, and the great hall within the inner wall was never begun. Beaumaris remained, like all too many works of art, an unfinished masterpiece. No enemy ever attacked Beaumaris; the rebellion of Owen Glendower in 1400 was the last armed attempt to restore the. Welsh nation, and it failed. The grandest human achievements, like grand works of nature, cannot be described or shown in pictures. It impossible to understand the awe inspiring scope of the Grand Canyons without seeing it in person. It is impossible to truly appreciate the Cathedral of Notre Dame without visiting it. So it is with the castles of Edward I; one cannot truly appreciate the scale of Edward's endeavor without viewing these castles in person. This is perhaps the greatest tribute that one can pay to Edward I, that and the fact that his castles have endured to inspire people long after his death. -= TALES OF THE MIDDLE AGES =- I: The Plantagenet Saga Let's imagine a soap opera about medieval royalty. We'll include: King Henry A tall, handsome man with a temper so bad that he was seen chewing on straw when he was angry. A man who ordered the murder of one of his closest friends in a fit of rage. A man whose sons and whose wife continuously plots aginst him. Queen Eleanor. Leader of a rebellion against her husband, and imprisoned for the rest of his reign. Prince Henry The eldest son. At his father's coronation, he boasted that he was the son of a king, while his father was only the son of a Duke. He led rebellion after rebellion against his father, reconciling with him after every failure. Prince Richard The second son. Betrothed to Alice, sister of his best friend, the King of France. Unfortunately, she currently in the custody of King Henry, who is enamored by her, and refuses to allow the mariage. Prince Geoffrey The third son. When his brothers rebel, he does too. Prince John The youngest son. He was born after his father's empire was carved up, and ended up with nothing, hence the derogatory title "Lackland". His father's favorite, much to the chagrin of his brothers. Later, he would become one of the worst rulers in English history. The writers of modern day soap operas would be hard pressed to find a more contentious family for their drama than the Plantagenet family of Henry II. Their history was one of treachery, combat, and enough sex to ensure that it would receive big ratings, if it was ever aire. When Henry II was crowned King of England in 1154, he held the largest empire in Western Europe He was King of England, and Duke of Normandy and Anjou, possessing as much as two-thirds of France. By 1158 he had become overlord of Wales and Scotland as well, and soon added Ireland to his empire. However, powerful men make powerful enemies. Henry Il's enemy was King Louis VII of France. Although Henry was technically Louis's vassal, Henry had more land and a much larger army than Louis. However, Louis was far from the greatest threat that Henry had; the greatest threatcame from his sons: Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, and John. In 1173, Henry the Younger demanded that his father resign either the throne of England, or the thrones of Normandy or Anjou. When his father refused, Henry the Younger fled to the court of Louis of France, followed by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey. The revolt lasted two years, after which Louis, Young Henry, and Geoffrey sued for peace. Richard tried to continue the rebellion on his own, but failed, and was forced to return to his father and ask for his forgiveness. Surprisingly, Henry forgave his sons. His wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, however, was locked up in a tower for sixteen years for her part in the rebellion. Henry gave his sons pieces of his empire, which kept them happy for nearly eight years. In 1182, Henry the Younger demanded that his brother Richard (who was named Duke of Aquitaine) pledge his loyalty to him. Richard refused, and Henry the Younger and Geoffrey marched their armies against him. King Henry, alarmed by the war between his sons, demanded that they settle it peacefully. They cheerfully ignored him, so King Henry allied himself with Richard. The rebellion ended when Henry the Younger died of dysentery in 1183. Surprisingly, Henry the Younger was so popular with the people of Rouen and Le Mans that they nearly went to war for the custody of the body Geoffrey took refuge at the court of the recently crowned King Phillip Augustus of France, until his unfortunate death in a tournament in 1186. This left Phillip without a pawn to use against the King of England, so he invited Richard to his court. Richard and Phillip soon became close friends, to the great chagrin of Henry II. In 1188, Richard and Phillip joined forces against Henry II, and captured several of Henry's towns. The pretext for this attack was Henry's unwillingness to allow Richard to marry Alice, sister of Phillip Augustus. In 1189, Henry learned that his one previously unrebellious son, John, had joined with Richard in the revolt. Henry, who loved John far more than any of his other children, fell into despair and soon died, cursing his sons with his last breath. And no one could really blame him, could they? Happy at last, Richard took the throne of England. He rewarded those who had supported him against his father by dismissing them, then joined with his friend Phillip Augustus in the Third Crusade. By the end of 1191, they were no longer friends. The greedy Prince John, who was not made regent in Richard's absence, deposes Richard's hand-picked governor, the greedy William Longchamp. Richard, through a combination of military brilliance and extreme ruthlessness (who's going to miss a few thousand hostages anyways?) secures a Christian presence in the Holy Land and visiting privileges for Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem. Richard returns home in 1192, but is captured by ne of his enemies, the Archduke of Austria. Meanwhile, brother John joined with Richard's former friend Phillip Augustus to usurp Richard's empire while Richard is imprisoned. John declared that Richard died in prison, but no one believes him, and the barons of England joined forces to oust him. The loyal barons then collect a huge sum of money to pay his ransom. John is then betrothed to the same Alice that Richard was betrothed to (who was beloved of his father Henry II), but eventually spurns her to marry the heiress of the duke of Gloucester. (Later, John decided to divorce his wife and marry the daughter of a French noble, in what proved to be the second messiest royal divorce in English history.) Richard is released from prison in 1194, and returns to England. He immediately goes to war against Phillip and John, annulling the sale of estates made in 1189 to raise money for the effort. John, wanting to get back in his brother's good graces, invites the officers of one of Phillips garrisons to an entertainment, then massacres them and returns to England. At their mother's behest, the two brothers are reconcile with each other, though Richard is noticeably cool to the arrangement. Surprisingly, John does not betray Richard for the rest of his reign. Richard spends most of the rest of his life fighfing Phillip Augustus (who nearly drowns in the river Epte after fleeing a major defeat), and quelling rebellions in Brittany and Aquitaine. Finally, Richard died from an arrow wound while trying to take a treasure from a rebellious vassal. Richard appointed the eleven year old Arthur of Brittany (son of his dead brother Geoffrey) as his successor, but the disgruntled John eventually fights his way back to the throne, losing the empire of his brother and his father in the process. In 1216, he dies, succeeded by his young son, the boy-king Henry III, who is the father of Edward 1. (Eventually, Edward III, Edward I's grandson, would invaded France to take back some of the lands lost by John, starting the Hundred Years War in the process. But that's another story.) II. Roast Rochester During the course of John's troubled reign, one of his many problems were rebellious barons. His father, Henry II, had torn down many castles in his day (in an attempt to keep his barons from developing their own centers of power), but one which had escaped his notice was Rochester Castle in England. This castle, built of small-sized stones and consisted of a huge central keep surrounded by curtain walls, was attacked by King John's troops in 1215. During the siege, the attackers dug a tunnel beneath the base of one of the corner towers, propping it up with heavy wooden beams. Into this tunnel, they placed forty fat pig carcasses. Then they set the pigs on fire. To the defenders' astonishment, the heat from the burning pigs began to crack the masonry. The corner of the tower crumbled. The besiegers then entered the keep and forced the defenders to surrender. One scribe wrote of the event: "Men no longer put their trust in castles. The scribe's assessment was soon proved to be inaccurate; not only did lords continue to build castles, but the fallen tower was later replaced. III. Devils May Care Religion was important in the Middle Ages, and the gathering of souls by the Church was considered to be one of the most important activities. Many of the clergy were highly literate, and some were exceptional scholars, providing scholarship whose influence has been felt even in the modern era. Unfortunately, not all of them were. Bishops sometimes found that both candidates and ordained priests were unable to read Latin, and therefore unable to understand both the scriptures and the ritual. Gerald of Wales spoke at length about ignorant parish priests who confused Barrabas and Barnabas, or St. Jude with Judas Iscariot, or the meaning of parables. Perhaps this might explain why priests frequently talked about devils. The Bible does not talk very much about Hell or devils, which was not reflected in the sermons of these priests. Devils, the torments of Hell that awaited the wicked, and other nasty tales were often told in church, usually with very little Biblical basis. The popular image of devils (pointed ears, forked tails, red or black skin) owes a lot more to these medieval tales than the Bible.. Priests told highly entertaining tales of sinners who were caught or tricked by the devil and who were forced to suffer for an eternity as a result. These stories endured in the form of folktales, even to the present day. Priests were not the only ones who told stories about devils. There was a popular rumor that there was demonic blood in the House of Plantagenet, as Geoffrey Greygown, Count of Anjou in the late 10th Century, was said to have married a demon. One wonders, given the gentle nature of the family how such a rumor might have started. Although England and Wales in the Middle Ages were thoroughly Christian cultures, pagan superstitions still endured in the minds and hearts of both peasants and nobles. In many ways, diabolical tales were a Christian counterpoint to these enduring pagan myths. Travelling performers often performed morality tales from the bible or the lives of saints that featured the devil; eventually the Church began to raise concerns about the accuracy of these plays. IV. Five Good Reasons Not to Be a Peasant in the Middle Ages 5. Wonderful traveling opportunities! Most peasants in the Middle Ages never travelled more than twenty miles away from their homes at any time in their (usually short) lifetime. 4. Friendly neighbours! People living on the borders between neighbouring nations had to be worried about an invasion at virtually any time. During one Scottish invasion of Northern, England, it is said that so many prisoners were taken that not one Scottish bousehold was without an English slave. 3. Great bosses! One of the more charming feudal customs was called "Jus Primae Noctis", which gave the lord of a fief a right to sleep on the first night with the newly married bride of one of his serfs. Fortunately, a serf could avoid this practise -- if he paid a fine. This practise was never common in England, and seems to have fallen out of favor on the continent by 1200 AD. 2. Great cuisine! A peasant did not have a lot of variety in their meal. Meat was rare, there was not a great variety in vegetables, water was stale (or worse), and peasants were generally undernourished. 1. Do we need any other reasons? CASTLES -= A Bibliography =- BOOKS Castle David MacCauley, Houghton Mifflin, 1977 (An entertaining and informative look at castle building). The Castle Guide Grant Boucher, Troy Christensen, Arthur Collins, and Nigel Findley, TSR Inc, 1990 English Medieval Castles R. Allen Brown, B. T Batsford, 1954, 1961 Kingdom of Champions, Phil Masters, Iron Crown Enterprises, 1990 Life in a Medieval Village Frances and Joseph Gies, Harper Perennial, 1991 (An extremely informative, yet easy to read book on life in an English viltage, providing invaluable background on the Middle Ages). Lionheart Edwin Mng, Columbia Publications, 1987 Norman Castles Derek Frank Renn, John Baker Publishers, Ltd., 1968, Oxford History of Britain Kenneth O. Morgan ed., Oxford University Press, 1988 Studies in Castles and Castle-Building Arnold Taylor, Hambledon Press, 1985 (A highly technical piece, this provides hard data on castle construction for people who are really interested in the topic) TELEVISION Castle, Unicorn Projects, 1983 (Highly entertaining animated adaptation of David MacCauley's Castles, occasionally airs (in the United States) on PBS.) Robin of Sherwood, ITV Productions, 1985-88 (While this series had its flaws (historically inaccurate for a show that tried to be "realistic") this series provides an interesting interpretation of the popular Robin Hood cycle and British Fantasyltnyths.) Wizards and Warriors, Don Rio Productions, 1982 (Long forgotten by all but a handful of fantasy fans, this series provided good production values, anachronisfic heroes, and interesting villains.) MOTION PICTURES The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 (Historically inaccurate adaptation of a 19th Century version of Robin Hood, with a delightful performance by Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone. Hollywood pageantry at its finest, wonderfully produced.) Robin and Marion, 1974 (Sean Connery is superb as an aging Robin Hood in this unorthodox telling of the popular tale.) This file once passed through --------> LSD UNITED STATES HEADQUARTERS PRAYER GATE - (501) 336-9661 your sysop is baser evil