On the timeline below, place these three important dates in William s life and write down what they stand for :

Transcription

1 This questionnaire is designed to sum up the basic and important facts about the castle. It is should be completed after the guided tour so that the students can recall what they just heard during their visit. ❶ Introduction On the timeline below, place these three important dates in William s life and write down what they stand for : 1027 : William is born in Falaise, from Duke Robert the Magnificent and Arlette : William is king of England following his victory at the battle of Hastings : William dies near Rouen from abdominal injuries following a successful siege against the king of France The Great Keep is the oldest part. Do you remember when it was built? Place the date on the timeline, along with the name of its builder : Henry I Beauclerc, William s own son. 1

2 ❷ The Great Keep What does the Great Keep look like from the outside? Draw a picture of it inside the box. So as to make it a typical Anglo-Norman keep, here are items that you can depict : An entrance at the first floor Large bay windows Flat buttresses along the walls A forebuilding Do you know other examples of keeps like this one in England? Name two: 1 The Tower of London (built by William in 1078, using imported Caen stone) 2 Norwich Castle (Norfolk, built during the same period as the Great Keep of Falaise by the same king, Henry I Beauclerc), Castle Rising Castle (Norfolk, built in about 1150 by William d'aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel), Rochester Castle (Kent, built in 1127 by William of Corbeil, the Bishop of Canterbury to whom Henry I had granted the estate). 2

3 ❸ Inside the Great Keep The living quarters are located on the first floor. Why is that? The access is more difficult this way, so the keep is better protected. There are three rooms at this level, which is typical of keeps of this period. Fill in the boxes and circles with the numbers of the rooms. ❶ CAPELLA.3. ❷ ❸ AULA.1. This is the public area, where noblemen exercised their official duties and where banquets took place..1. This is where the religious services took place. It was restricted to the king, duke, baron or lord, hence its size..3. CAMERA.2. This a place of rest and privacy, fit for the comfort needed by a royal-ducal court..2. 3

4 ❹ The Lower Halls This is the room that you saw at the end of the tour. It is located at ground level. It is a dark room, with a cool temperature. What was it used for? Mainly for storage : food, drink, clothes, weapons etc. You saw a large circular hole in the floor of this room. This hole was actually a tank built to collect rain water. Name three possible uses for this fresh water : 1 Rinse out meat that was kept in salt 2 Put out fires 3 Boil and use as a defensive weapon 4

5 ❺ The Lower Keep The Lower Keep was built by a rich and famous king, Henry II Plantagenet, circa 1150, during Normandy s golden age. This place was thought of as a luxury-class royal residence. Can you remember 2 items that made this place very pleasant to live in? 1 A luxury chimney fitted with brick 2 Bay-windows fitted with stonebenches. Did you know...? A century before, a small group of Norman mercenaries had travelled down to Italy and Sicily. By the time this keep was built, they had created a whole Norman kingdom there, which remains are still visible today. 5

6 ❻ Inside the Round Tower Do you remember who built it? The French king Philip-Augustus in 1207 Why is it round? There are no blind angles (no corners) and a circular structure is more resistant against missiles. Remember what you saw at the top of the tower. What did strike you up there? There were holes showing the foot of the tower Why was the top designed this way? (circle the right answers) 1 - Its design was considered «cool» at the time. 2 - You could watch over the base of the tower, in case of an attack 3 - You could shoot arrows or drop rocks on the enemy below. 4 - You could hang out clothes to dry from there. You have the last word: As you saw during your tour, there are many parts of the castle that were missing and that we sometimes restored in a modern way. What materials did you see? What did you think of it? Would you have done it differently?