The term came to be used for other shell keeps by the 15th century. The word originates from around 1375 to 1376, coming from the Middle English term kype, meaning basket or cask, and was a term applied to the shell keep at Guînes, said to resemble a barrel. Since the 16th century, the English word keep has commonly referred to large towers in castles.
Despite further damage to many French and Spanish keeps during the wars of the 20th century, keeps now form an important part of the tourist and heritage industry in Europe.Ī 19th-century reconstruction of the keep at Château d'Étampes During the 19th century, keeps became fashionable once again and in England and France, a number were restored or redesigned by Gothic architects. Many were destroyed in civil wars between the 17th and 18th centuries or incorporated into gardens as an alternative to follies. By the 16th century, keeps were slowly falling out of fashion as fortifications and residences. For example, in 1464 during the Wars of the Roses, the keep in the Bamburgh Castle, previously considered to be impregnable, was defeated with bombards. In the 15th century, the protective function of keeps was compromised by improved artillery. Meanwhile, tower keeps in England became popular amongst the most wealthy nobles: these large keeps, each uniquely designed, formed part of the grandest castles built during the period. In France, the keep at Vincennes began a fashion for tall, heavily machicolated designs, a trend adopted in Spain most prominently through the Valladolid school of Spanish castle design. In the second half of the 14th century, there was a resurgence in the building of keeps. In Spain, keeps were increasingly incorporated into both Christian and Islamic castles, although in Germany tall fighting towers called bergfriede were preferred to keeps in the western fashion. By the end of the century, French and English keep designs began to diverge: Philip II of France built a sequence of circular keeps as part of his bid to stamp his royal authority on his new territories, while in England castles were built without keeps. Stone keeps carried considerable political as well as military importance and could take up to a decade or more to build.ĭuring the 12th century, new designs began to be introduced – in France, quatrefoil-shaped keeps were introduced, while in England polygonal towers were built. The Anglo-Normans and French rulers began to build stone keeps during the 10th and 11th centuries these included Norman keeps, with a square or rectangular design, and circular shell keeps. As a result of the Norman invasion of 1066, use spread into Wales during the second half of the 11th century and into Ireland in the 1170s. The first keeps were made of timber and formed a key part of the motte-and-bailey castles that emerged in Normandy and Anjou during the 10th century the design spread to England, south Italy and Sicily. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the castle fall to an adversary. A reconstruction of York Castle in the 14th century, showing the castle's stone keep (top) overlooking the castle bailey (below)Ī keep (from the Middle English kype) is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility.
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