Historical Insights: Teaching Medieval Castles

A guide to using castles to enrich and contextualise the teaching of history. Castles are one of the most vivid symbols of our medieval heritage 'tangible' monuments that exert a powerful hold on the imagination of students and academics alike. Castles can therefore provide an excellent starting point for the study of medieval history. The variety and distribution of castles across Britain ensures that they can offer tremendous potential for fieldtrips and seminars in the field. What follows here is intended as a guide to how the castle can be used as a vehicle for exploring wider issues and problems in the study of medieval society.