Posted on by TracyC

Castle

Castle by David Macaulay, 1977.

Castle is one of David Macaulay’s books about historical architecture, and like his earlier book, Cathedral, it has detailed and realistic drawings to explain each step in the building process.

The castle in the story is fictional, but it’s based on real castles built by English lords during the conquest of Wales, circa 1277 to 1305. The process for constructing the castle and the military strategy behind it are historically accurate. The English, under King Edward I, used a strategy of establishing permanent towns and castles in Wales to dominate the Welsh. The construction of these castles and their accompanying towns took years, but it was part of a long-term political and military strategy that actually aimed at avoiding direct armed conflict. The purpose of the castles and towns was not only to support the occupying English forces and settlers, but also to provide economic centers that the Welsh would also find beneficial. The idea was that the Welsh, while initially opposed to the interlopers, would eventually come to rely on the presence of the new towns for business and trade and not want to force the newcomers out. This strategy is in keeping with the nature of castles themselves because they are defensive structures, designed for holding off attackers in order to maintain territorial control, shielding the people within the castle so they cannot be forced out. The fictional castle in the story is built with a fictional town called Aberwyvern and belongs to a fictional nobleman, Lord Kevin.

The beginning of the book explains the military strategy of Edward I and how he appointed noblemen to build castles in Wales. When choosing the site for a castle, they would take into account the natural landscape and its defensive capabilities. For example, Lord Kevin’s castle will be built on a high outcrop on the edge of a river. The high ground and the surrounding water will make the castle harder to attack.

The book shows a plan of the castle that will be built and explains the different craftsmen who will be working on the construction, along with the tools they will use. The book then describes the various stages of construction, beginning with the preparation of the site and the digging of a moat that will separate the section of rocky outcropping where the castle will be built from the land around it, where the town will be located. The moat is important because it provides an extra defensive feature.

My favorite parts explain the living quarters of the castle. People think that castles must have been uncomfortable with bare stone walls, but actually, the walls are only bare in ruined castles that were exposed to the elements over time. When a castle was inhabited, the walls were covered with plaster. The plaster would be painted and/or hung with tapestries for decoration. Reeds and nice-smelling plants would cover the floors as a kind of carpeting, and the plants would be swept out and replaced regularly.

The castle and town take years to finish, and the pictures show how they look at each stage of construction, both in aerial view and up close.

Toward the end of the book, King Edward visits the castle and warns Lord Kevin that there have been some Welsh uprisings. Lord Kevin and his people make sure that they have enough food and supplies to last through a siege, and the following year, the castle’s defenses are put to the test when they do have to withstand a siege.

Eventually, the Welsh attackers are forced to retreat when they are unable to take the castle and they receive word that more English forces are coming.

Over time, the community includes people of Welsh and English descent, living side-by-side, and the town extends beyond the original town walls. The town walls are no longer necessary for defense. By that point, the castle itself is mostly neglected, and people sometimes scavenge stones from it for other buildings.

This book is a Caldecott Honor Book. It is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies). There is also an animated film version of this story, which is available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

Cathedral

Cathedral by David Macaulay, 1973.

This is the story of the construction of a Medieval cathedral. The story takes place in a fictional town in France, Chutreaux, but it is based on the construction of real Medieval cathedrals.

In 1252, the people of Chutreaux decide to build a new cathedral because their old cathedral was badly damaged by a lightning strike and other towns in their part of France are building grand cathedrals. The people know that it takes decades to construct a grand cathedral, perhaps even more than 100 years. The people making the decision to build the cathedral know that they will never see the end of the construction themselves, but they believe that this is an important undertaking, both for the welfare of their community in the future and for the glory of God.

The church leader in Chutreaux is the bishop, but a group of clergymen have been given control of money for the cathedral project. They have chosen to hire a Flemish architect, William of Planz, to create the design for their cathedral and hire the craftsmen who will actually build the cathedral.

Building a cathedral is a massive undertaking that requires many different types of craftsmen and laborers. The book explains that the craftsmen building the cathedral will include a quarryman, a stone cutter, a mason, a sculptor, a mortar maker, a blacksmith, a carpenter, a glass maker, and a roofer. All of these craftsmen are masters of their crafts, with apprentices, assistants, and many general, unskilled laborers doing much of the heavy work.

The building of the cathedral begins with the clearing of the site, marking the basic layout of the building, and building workshops where the craftsmen will be doing their work. The book shows the tools that the various types of craftsmen use. They also need to gather the materials that they will use. There is a quarry where they will cut the limestone blocks they will use to construct the cathedral, and the wood for the roof is brought from Scandinavia by boat.

From there, the cathedral is built in stages, beginning with the foundation and then the walls. The book explains each step of the construction and how it was managed, giving the dates when each phase is completed. It also explains the purpose of various architectural features, such as the flying buttresses that support the walls. There is also a glossary in the back of the book that defines various architectural terms.

Because this is an extremely long-term project, over the course of the book, William of Planz and various craftsmen age and one person dies in a work-related accident, and they are replaced by younger people. The construction is finally finished 86 years after it was started.

I recommended this book to people after the burning of Notre Dame in Paris last year because this cathedral is similar to Notre Dame and can give people an idea of what went into its construction. I think that the time invested in the cathedral construction is one of the key points of the story. The ability to delay gratification in the pursuit of larger goals is an important life skill, but the people who began the cathedral project showed this ability to an even higher degree than most. The book carefully notes that the people of this town understand that they will never see the final product of their contribution of money and labor because the project will take decades to complete, but they still begin the undertaking because they believe that it is the right thing to do for their community, for future generations, and for God. Their ultimate reward is not in immediately profiting from this project but in their legacy, laying the foundations (literally) for the future. In the end, it is their grandchildren who become the ones to complete the project and enjoy the beauty of the finished cathedral, and they consider it more than worth the wait.

The book was also made into a documentary film. The film follows the basic course of the book but with more focus on the lives of the characters, giving them more personality than the book does and inserting more drama into the construction of the cathedral. The story of the town and townspeople alternates with explanations about the history and architecture of cathedrals. The fictional cathedral serves as an example not only of the process of constructing a Medieval cathedral, but the difficulties and dangers it might involve.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

Posted on by TracyC

For Those Thinking of Notre Dame …

Sometimes, current events remind me of the events of children’s books. I debated about bringing this one up because I haven’t gotten hold of this particular book recently (partly because I’m probably not the only person who’s thinking about it right now), and I don’t have a proper post prepared for it, but years ago, a teacher introduced my class to Cathedral by David Macaulay. David Macaulay wrote a series of children’s books, explaining the architecture of historical buildings, including one about the construction of Gothic cathedrals, like Notre Dame in Paris.

The pictures in these books are fascinating, which is why I’m sorry that I don’t have a proper post prepared with example pictures. (I’ll probably do one later, when I can get hold of the book again) The book is available in multiple copies through Internet Archive, although there is a waiting list to get it right now.

However, the book was also made into a documentary film. Part of the story-line involves a fictional Medieval town replacing their cathedral after their first cathedral was destroyed by fire. (In the book, the cathedral was damaged by lightning, not destroyed by fire. The two stories aren’t the same.) This fictional cathedral serves as an example of the process of constructing a Medieval cathedral and the difficulties and dangers it might involve. The story of the town alternates with explanations about the history and architecture of cathedrals. This short clip explains the basic architecture of a Gothic cathedral, using Notre Dame as an example toward the end.

One of the aspects of the story that I find most inspiring is the dedication that the people who funded and built the cathedral showed. The construction of a cathedral in the Middle Ages could take a lifetime or even longer, and not everyone who began the task would live to see its completion. Their motivation was not mere personal gain but a glorious accomplishment that would both honor their beliefs and last far beyond them.

I’m not sure how long it will take to complete the renovations after the fire that damaged Notre Dame, but whatever it takes, I’m sure it will be worth it.