<b>Castles<b>

Fortifications and earthworks had been employed for defense since the Stone Age.
True castles did not appear in Europe until the ninth century, however, partly
in response to Viking raids and partly as a manifestation of decentralized feuda
l political power. From the ninth through the fifteenth century, thousands of ca
stles were constructed throughout Europe. A 1905 census in France counted more t
han 10,000 castle remains in that nation alone.
During the feudal period, local nobles provided law and order, as well as protec
tion from marauders like the Vikings. Castles were built by the nobles for prote
ction and to provide a secure base from which local military forces could operat
e. The obvious defensive value of a castle obscures the fact that it was primari
ly an offensive instrument. It functioned as a base for professional soldiers, m
ainly cavalry, which controlled the nearby countryside. At a time when the centr
alized authority of kings was weak for a number of reasons, a network of castles
and the military forces they supported provided relative political stability.