158 castles and fortifications
castles and fortifications The castle has long been
considered one of the most enduring symbols of the
Middle Ages. Castles had a continuous history from
Roman imperial forts to the massive complexes of the
15th century. In one of their myriad forms castles were
ubiquitous across Europe and represented the relative
strength of public or private power and autonomy. There
was no simple concept of what they were then; nor is
there now. The most basic idea was that they were the
symbolic and real strongholds of power, and often the