CASTELLAN/CHÂTELAIN
. Commander of a castle. Originally the deputy of a superior, the castellan became largely
independent during the proliferation of castle building after the year 1000. Behind the
protection of their walls, they could defy superiors and subjugate the local rural
population within their district. By the end of the 11th century, castellans, with the help
of warrior bands often garrisoned in the castles, exercised extensive judicial and
economic authority (bannum) over the surrounding region. They constituted a middle-
level aristocracy between the dukes, counts, and viscounts on the one hand and the milites
(knights) on the other. For the remainder of the Middle Ages, the title of castellan could
indicate anything from a local lord to a petty official (similar to a prévôt) to a courtly
sinecure.
Richard Landes
[See also: CASTLE; FEUDALISM; KNIGHTHOOD; NOBILITY;
SEIGNEUR/SEIGNEURIE]
Aubenas, Roger. “Les châteaux forts des Xe et XIe siècles.” Revue historique du droit français et
étranger 4th ser. 17 (1938): 548–86.
Beech, George. “A Feudal Document of Early Eleventh Century Poitou.” In Mélanges d’histoire
médiévale dédies a René Crozet. Poitiers: Centre d’Études Supérieures de Civilisation
Médiévale, 1966. Vol. 1, pp. 203–13.
Bouchard, Constance. “The Origins of the French Nobility: A Reassessment.” American Historical
Review 86 (1981):501–32.
Debord, André. La société laique dans la Charente. Paris: Picard, 1985.
CASTLE
. Fortifications were ubiquitous throughout medieval Europe, but “castle” (Fr. château
from Lat. castellum) generally applies to a specific type of fortification that first appeared
in France in the 10th century. The development of castles was linked to the changes in
society during the “Feudal Age” following the breakup of Carolingian power. Growing
out of the military needs of the great princes and seigneurs, castles were not simply
fortresses but centers of political, economic, and social life as well. They profoundly
influenced the development of the French countryside during the high Middle Ages.
Originally, the most common fortifications of the early Middle Ages were the massive
walls of Roman cities, such as Poitiers and Le Mans, fortified in the 3rd century. Smaller
fortifications were constructed throughout the Merovingian and Carolingian periods,
many of them to serve as temporary refuges for the rural population. The Carolingians
claimed a monopoly on military construction, but the collapse of Carolingian power led
to the need for local defense and the proliferation of a new type of fortress.
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