Why Here?: Understanding how Landscapes Influenced Castle-Siting Decisions
Alison Norton
Alison Norton is a PhD candidate in medieval history and archaeology at Canterbury Christ Church University. Her research focuses on rural Norman castles in the English South-West, where she applies historical, archaeological, and digital methods to answer questions regarding how local landscapes influenced castle-siting patterns.
About the event
Traditionally, when analysing rural castle siting patterns in Norman England, scholars understand location within the landscape as a secondary factor in the overall decision-making process, often applying generalisations to the castle’s siting narrative. For example, castles sited within hills and moorland often equate with the narrative of castle builders seeking natural defensive elements or prioritising visibility over the surrounding landscape. This approach results in the misidentification of a castle’s function within its surrounding community. In addition, it diminishes and ignores the uniqueness of local landscapes, the needs of individual castle builders and communities, and the impact rural settlements and communities had on castle-siting decisions. This paper will explore how local and regional landscapes, as well as the communities within these environments, provide unique and critical information regarding how people engaged with and understood their environment.