Q: How would you define a castle?
A: Well, the dictionary definition of a castle is fairly limited, describing them as fortresses or strongholds. Now, of course, the primary function of many castles was defence. But they also had to be domestic, a combination of aristocratic residence and fortification. So that's the working definition of a castle, if you like. In more recent decades, more nuanced academic interpretation has argued that not all castles were defensive. Some castles, particularly towards the end of the Middle Ages, were built more for show than for practical, defensive purposes. So the definition then becomes a bit problematic. I subscribe to the idea that if it was called a castle at the time, then it's probably a castle.
I think you can start to be dismissive of castles if they are Iron Age hillforts, such as Maiden Castle in Dorset, or 19thcentury baronial pads. They might lookgood, but I wouldn't add them to my big book of castles. In essence, a castle can broadly be defined as a residential fortress or a fortified residence.
