Curious About Castles

PODCAST 239: CURIOUS ABOUT CASTLES

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, APRIL 30TH, 2023

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  THE OLDEST BUILDING IN OUR HOME STATE OF NEW JERSEY IS A LOG HOUSE THAT WAS BUILT AROUND THE YEAR 1640.  THAT’S ALMOST 400 YEARS AGO.  IT WAS BUILT BEFORE THE UNITED STATES WAS EVEN THE UNITED STATES.  IT IS THE OLDEST SURVIVING LOG HOUSE IN THE UNITED STATES.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT SPECIAL BUILDINGS THAT WERE BUILT LONG BEFORE ANY BUILDING YOU CAN FIND NEAR WHERE WE LIVE.  

O:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

“HI, MY NAME IS HENRY AND I AM FROM ATLANTA, GEORGIA.  I’D LIKE YOU TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT CASTLES.  A CASTLE IS A FORTIFIED HOME WHERE A KING OR NOBLEMAN ONCE LIVED WITH HIS FAMILY OR AN ARMY OF SOLDIERS.  MY FAVORITE CASTLES ARE HEARST CASTLE AND NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE. 

-FROM HENRY”

“HELLO, MY NAME IS LUNA.  I’M 6 YEARS OLD.  I HAVE LOST 2 TEETH.  I’M FROM AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND.  I HAVE SOME OF YOUR PODCASTS ON MY IPOD AND I LISTEN ON MY HEADPHONES OR ON THE SPEAKER.  I REALLY LOVE YOUR PODCAST!  I’M CURIOUS ABOUT CASTLES!  I HAVE A BROTHER THAT IS JUST ABOUT TO TURN 3 TOMORROW!  KEEP MAKING COOL PODCASTS.  THANKS!

-FROM LUNA”

O:  THIS IS GOING TO BE SO AWESOME.  WE HAVE CASTLES HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT THEY ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE ORIGINAL CASTLES THAT WERE BUILT OVER 1,000 YEARS AGO.  

D:  THAT’S RIGHT.  THE OLDEST CASTLE IN THE UNITED STATES IS CALLED BACON’S CASTLE, AND IT WAS BUILT IN 1665 IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.  THE BUILDER OF THE CASTLE, ARTHUR ALLEN, LIVED THERE INITIALLY, AND THEN THE CASTLE WAS PASSED DOWN TO HIS SON.  TODAY, BACON’S CASTLE IS A MUSEUM THAT ANYONE CAN VISIT.  AS WE ARE GOING TO LEARN VERY SOON, THE FIRST CASTLES THAT WERE BUILT AROUND THE WORLD WERE NOT PRIMARILY USED AS HOMES, THE WAY BACON’S CASTLE WAS.  THEY SERVED A VERY DIFFERENT PURPOSE.  BEFORE WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT, HERE’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE CASTLE THAT IS THE OLDEST CASTLE THAT STILL HAS PEOPLE LIVING THERE?  IT WAS BUILT IN THE YEAR 1070, WHICH WAS 953 YEARS AGO.  HERE’S A BIG HINT: IT CAN BE FOUND IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND IT IS THE HOME OF THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY.     

D:  LET’S KICK THINGS OFF BY LEARNING WHAT THE WORD CASTLE MEANS.  

O:  CASTLE COMES FROM THE LATIN WORD CASTELLUM, AND IT MEANS FORTIFIED PLACE.  THE WORD FORTIFIED JUST MEANS THAT IT IS A PLACE THAT CAN BE DEFENDED AGAINST ATTACKS.

D: YOU AND YOUR BROTHER NOAH LOVE BUILDING FORTS IN THE BASEMENT.  THE WORD FORT COMES FROM FORTIFY.  YOU ARE BUILDING THOSE FORTS TO PROTECT YOU FROM AN ATTACK OF SCARY THINGS LIKE SOCKS AND STUFFED ANIMALS.

O:  BACK IN MEDIEVAL TIMES, CASTLES WERE BUILT TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE INSIDE FROM ATTACKS AND INVASIONS.  CASTLES WERE SURROUNDED BY MOATS, WHICH WERE DEEP DITCHES SURROUNDING THE CASTLE THAT WERE FILLED WITH WATER.  A DRAWBRIDGE WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE TO CROSS OVER THE MOAT, BUT IN THE EVENT OF AN ATTACK, THE DRAWBRIDGE WOULD BE RAISED FROM THE INSIDE TO BE SURE THAT NOBODY COULD CROSS TO THE SIDE OF THE CASTLE.  MOATS WERE OFTEN FILLED WITH TRAPS TO HURT ANYONE THAT WOULD TRY TO SWIM ACROSS.  

D:  CASTLES WERE ALSO USUALLY BUILT AT THE TOP OF A HILL.  WHEN IT COMES TO DEFENDING A CASTLE, BEING AT THE TOP OF A HILL IS VERY STRATEGIC.  FROM ABOVE, IT’S EASIER TO SEE WHETHER PEOPLE WERE APPROACHING.  IT’S ALSO EASIER TO FIGHT A BATTLE FROM HIGHER GROUND.  

O:  THE FIRST CASTLES STARTED APPEARING IN EUROPE IN THE 800’S.  MANY OF THE FIRST CASTLES WERE MADE OF WOOD.  ABOUT 300 YEARS LATER, CASTLES WERE MADE WITH STONE INSTEAD OF WOOD.  WOOD WASN’T GREAT FOR PROTECTION, WOOD CAN ALSO ROT, AND WOOD BURNED EASIER, SO STONE WAS A MUCH MORE PRACTICAL BUILDING BLOCK FOR CASTLES.    

D:  NOT ONLY WERE THE CASTLES BEING BUILT FROM STURDIER STONE, BUT THE MAIN WALLS OF THE CASTLE WERE BUILT TO BE VERY THICK.  IT WASN’T UNUSAL FOR CASTLES TO HAVE OUTER WALLS THAT WERE 15 FEET THICK.  

O:  BECAUSE CASTLES WERE BEING BUILT THIS WAY, IT WOULD OFTEN TAKE ABOUT 10 YEARS TO BUILD A SINGLE CASTLE.  THAT’S A VERY LONG TIME.  JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW LONG THAT IS, IT TOOK ONLY 6 YEARS TO BUILD THE BURJ KHALIFA, WHICH IS THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD TODAY.  THE REASON IT TOOK THAT LONG IS BECAUSE THE STONES USED TO BUILD THE CASTLE HAD TO BE GATHERED AND THEN TRANSPORTED TO THE CASTLE.  THEY DIDN’T HAVE BULLDOZERS AND DIGGERS TO HELP SPEED THINGS ALONG.  

D:  NOT ONLY DID IT TAKE A LOT OF TIME AND HARD WORK TO BUILD THE EXTERIOR OF THE CASTLE, THE INSIDE OF THE CASTLE HAD LOTS OF ELABORATE DETAILS TOO.  

O:  THE AREA INSIDE A CASTLE THAT WAS USED FOR STORAGE IS CALLED THE KEEP.  A LARGE AMOUNT OF FOOD AND DRINKS WERE KEPT IN THE KEEP IN THE EVENT THE CASTLE WAS UNDER SIEGE.  MANY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE LIVING IN THE CASTLE ALSO LIVED IN THE KEEP.    

D:  WHEN THE CASTLE WAS UNDER SIEGE, IT WAS BEING ATTACKED IN A VERY UNIQUE WAY.  SOMETIMES, INSTEAD OF ARMIES TRYING TO INVADE THE CASTLE AND ATTACK THE PEOPLE IN THE CASTLE WITH COMBAT, THEY WOULD SET UP A SIEGE.  THAT JUST MEANS THAT AN ARMY WOULD WAIT OUTSIDE THE CASTLE, NOT LETTING ANYONE INSIDE THE CASTLE OUT.  WHAT THEY HOPED TO ACCOMPLISH WAS THAT THE PEOPLE INSIDE OF THE CASTLE WOULD RUN OUT OF FOOD AND STARVE.  

O:  WITHIN THE CASTLE, YOU COULD ALSO FIND THE BARRACKS.  THAT’S THE AREA THAT WOULD SERVE AS THE HOMES OF THE KNIGHTS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

D:  THE CHAPEL WAS AN AREA WITHIN THE CASTLE THAT WOULD HAVE RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 

O:  THE GATEHOUSE WAS A PORTION OF THE CASTLE AT THE GATES THAT WAS USUALLY HEAVILY GUARDED.     

D:  DESPITE WHAT YOU MIGHT READ IN BOOKS OR SEE IN THE MOVIES, MOST CASTLES DID NOT HAVE DUNGEONS.  IF THERE WERE ROOMS UNDERGROUND IN A CASTLE, IT WAS OFTEN USED AS A PLACE TO SHELTER, RATHER THAN AS A DUNGEON.  

O:  IN THE CASTLES THAT DID HAVE DUNGEONS, THE DUNGEONS WERE DARK AND DAMP PLACES WHERE ENEMIES WOULD BE HELD.  SOMETIMES, ENEMIES WOULD BE KEPT IN THE DUNGEONS FOR RANSOM.  IN OTHER WORDS, IN ORDER TO FREE THE PRISONER IN THE DUNGEON, A SUM OF MONEY NEEDED TO BE PAID.  

D:  EVEN THOUGH CASTLES LOOK BEAUTIFUL, THE CASTLES THAT WERE BUILT LONG AGO WERE NOT A COMFORTABLE PLACE TO STAY.  THEY WERE BUILT WITH PROTECTION AND SAFETY IN MIND, BUT NOT COMFORT.

O:  CASTLES WERE COLD BECAUSE THE OUTER WALLS WERE SO THICK.  THEY WERE ALSO DARK, WITH ALMOST ALL OF THE LIGHT INSIDE BEING PROVIDED BY FLICKERING TORCHES.  CASTLES ALSO DIDN’T HAVE TOILETS.  INSTEAD, YOU WOULD OFTEN SIT ON A BENCH WITH A HOLE IN IT.  

D:  AND WHERE WOULD ALL OF THE WASTE END UP?    

O:  SO SORRY YOU ASKED, DAD.  THE WASTE WOULD EITHER END UP IN A PIT, OR EVEN IN THE MOAT.  THAT DOESN’T SOUND VERY PLEASANT OR SANITARY.  

D:  EVEN THOUGH CASTLES ARE STILL OCCASIONALLY BEING BUILT TODAY, THEY ARE NOT BEING BUILT TO SERVE AS A FORTRESS ANYMORE.  

O:  THAT’S BECAUSE, IN THE LATE MIDDLE AGES, ENDING AROUND 500 YEARS AGO, MORE POWERFUL WEAPONS WERE DEVELOPED, LIKE CANNONBALLS, THAT WERE ABLE TO SMASH THROUGH A CASTLE’S WALLS.  

D:  FOR THAT REASON, FORTS REPLACED CASTLES AROUND THAT TIME.  INSTEAD OF LIVING IN CASTLES, RULERS LIVED IN PLACES THAT WERE SIMILAR TO CASTLES BUT WERE MORE SUITABLE FOR LIVING COMFORTABLY, CALLED PALACES.  

O:  HENRY, ONE OF OUR LISTENERS THAT SUGGESTED WE GET CURIOUS ABOUT CASTLES, MENTIONED HIS TWO FAVORITE CASTLES.  LET’S LEARN A BIT ABOUT THOSE CASTLES.

D:  GREAT IDEA.  SO, HEARST CASTLE CAN BE FOUND IN CALIFORNIA.  THE COMPLETION OF THE BUILDING OF THE CASTLE WAS JUST 76 YEARS AGO, SO IT WAS NEVER USED FOR PROTECTION.  IT IS THE 19TH LARGEST HOUSE IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES, ON A LIST THAT EVEN INCLUDES HOUSES THAT HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHED, ARE CURRENTLY BEING BUILT, AND BUILDINGS THAT WERE USED AS HOMES BUT ARE NOT ANY LONGER.  HEARST CASTLE MEASURES 68,500 SQUARE FEET.  IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO COMPARE IT TO ANOTHER FAMILIAR HOUSE, THE WHITE HOUSE MEASURES 55,000 SQUARE FEET, COMING IN AT 36TH ON THE LIST OF LARGEST HOUSES IN THE UNITED STATES.  TODAY, HEARST CASTLE IS A MUSEUM THAT CAN BE VISITED BY THE PUBLIC.  IN IT’S EARLIEST DAYS, FAMOUS CELEBRITIES VISITED THE CASTLE, INCLUDING CHARLIE CHAPLIN, CARY GRANT, GRETA GARBO, AND THE MARX BROTHERS.  FORMER PRESIDENT CALVIN COOLIDGE AND FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, WINSTON CHURCHILL, ALSO VISITED THE STUNNING HEARST CASTLE.  

O:  THE OTHER CASTLE HENRY MENTIONED, NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE, CAN BE FOUND IN GERMANY, AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE CASTLE ENDED IN 1886.  THE CASTLE WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO BE THE HOME OF THE KING THAT PAID FOR IT, KING LUDWIG II, BUT HE PASSED AWAY THE YEAR THAT CONSTRUCTION ENDED.  SINCE THEN, IT HAS BEEN OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, AND ABOUT 1.3 MILLION PEOPLE VISIT THE CASTLE EVERY YEAR.  WHAT’S REALLY NEAT ABOUT NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE IS THAT IT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR CINDERELLA’S CASTLE IN DISNEY WORLD, WHICH IS THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED STRUCTURE IN THE WHOLE WORLD, AND HAPPENS TO BE THE ONLY CASTLE I’VE EVER STEPPED INSIDE. 

D:  THERE IS ONE MORE CASTLE TO COVER, AND IT IS THE ANSWER TO OUR QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE CASTLE THAT IS THE OLDEST INHABITED CASTLE IN THE WORLD WHERE THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY LIVES? 

O:  THAT CASTLE IS NAMED WINDSOR CASTLE.  WINDSOR CASTLE IS HUMUNGOUS, EVEN FOR A CASTLE.  IT IS 484,000 SQUARE FEET, MUCH BIGGER THAN HEARST CASTLE IN CALIFORNIA THAT IS ONLY A MEASLY 68,500 SQUARE FEET.  IT HAS ABOUT 1,000 ROOMS AND RESTS ON 13 ACRES OF LAND.  HERE ARE TWO OTHER CRAZY NUMBERS.  WINDSOR CASTLE HAS 379 CLOCKS.  DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME MUST BE A REALLY FRUSTRATING TIME IN THE CASTLE.  THE CASTLE EVEN HAS 300 FIREPLACES.  

D:  THOSE FIREPLACES ARE NECESSARY, BECAUSE UNLIKE HEARST CASTLE AND NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE, WINDSOR CASTLE WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT AS A FORTRESS, SO THE FIREPLACES ARE NECESSARY TO PROVIDE WARMTH TO A CASTLE THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE VERY COLD.  THAT’S WHY A FULL FAMILY OF FENDERSMITHS, OR PEOPLE THAT HELP TO CLEAN, REPAIR, AND LIGHT FIREPLACES, WORK FULL TIME IN WINDSOR CASTLE.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  239 - CASTLES.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB HENRY AND LUNA FOR THE EPISODE TOPIC THAT MADE ME AND OLIVIA FEEL LIKE ROYALTY.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK, WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT SKIN FOR LISTENERS IN TEXAS AND FLORIDA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.