The towering castles that dot England’s landscape symbolize power, conquest, and control. For centuries, they have been viewed as monuments to the Norman elite who reshaped the country after 1066.

It is estimated over five hundred motte-and-bailey castles were built in the two years after the Norman conquest. Stone keep castles were often built on the same site as motte-and-bailey castles.

They began to build castles and have mounted knights ... explored by Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales), himself of both Norman and Welsh descent. In his Description Of Wales (1193), he ...