An insightful quote from Oliver Creighton in his 2012 book 'Early Medieval Castles': "the slighting and desecration of a donjon could in certain instances mark the discontinuity of lordship" #slighting #archaeology #castles

One of the best examples is the destruction of Kenilworth Castle in the mid-17th century. It's not a medieval event, but the same idea of discontinuity applies.

There are lots of medieval depictions of warfare and destruction, but not many that I can point to and confidently say that they show slighting.

This is my favourite. It's from a late 15th-century Swiss chronicle and shows the destruction of Landshut Castle more than a century earlier.

Its shows the late medieval understanding of what was involved. In this case: soldiers breaking down the castle walls and damaging a building carrying the coat of arms of the family that held the castle.

Here's hoping the good weather holds for Saturday when I'll be leading a couple of tours around Pevensey Castle https://englishheritage.seetickets.com/event/puzzling-over-pevensey-the-demolishing-of-1216/pevensey-castle-east-sussex/3357399 #archaeology #castleslighting #PevenseyCastle

📷 by Piotr Zarobkiewicz, CC-BY-SA 3.0

The time has come to make a decision.

Is a silly name enough to justify buying a new game?