登陆注册
19485000000053

第53章 The History of the Castle (2)

Sorely pressed by the barons in 1215, John sought refuge within the castle, and in the same year signed the two charters, Magna Charta and Charta de Foresta, at Runnymede-- a plain between Windsor and Staines.A curious account of his frantic demeanour, after divesting himself of so much power and extending so greatly the liberties of the subject, is given by Holinshed:--"Having acted so far contrary to his mind, the king was right sorrowful in heart, cursed his mother that bare him, and the hour in which he was born; wishing that he had received death by violence of sword or knife instead of natural nourishment.He whetted his teeth, and did bite now on one staff, now on another, as he walked, and oft brake the same in pieces when he had done, and with such disordered behaviour and furious gestures he uttered his grief, that the noblemen very well perceived the inclination of his inward affection concerning these things before the breaking-up of the council, and therefore sore lamented the state of the realm, guessing what would follow of his impatience, and displeasant taking of the matter."The faithless king made an attempt to regain his lost power, and war breaking out afresh in the following year, a numerous army, under the command of William de Nivernois, besieged the castle, which was stoutly defended by Inglehard de Achie and sixty knights.The barons, however, learning that John was marching through Norfolk and Suffolk, and ravaging the country, hastily raised the siege and advanced to meet him.But he avoided them, marched to Stamford and Lincoln, and from thence towards Wales.On his return from this expedition he was seized with the distemper of which he died.

Henry the Third was an ardent encourager of architecture, and his reign marks the second great epoch in the annals of the castle.In 1223eight hundred marks were paid to Engelhard de Cygony, constable of the castle, John le Draper, and William the clerk of Windsor, masters of the works, and others, for repairs and works within the castle;.the latter, it is conjectured, referring to the erection of a new great hall within the lower ward, there being already a hall of small dimensions in the upper court.The windows of the new building were filled with painted glass, and at the upper end, upon a raised dais, was a gilt throne sustaining a statue of the king in his robes.Within this vast and richly decorated chamber, in 1240, on the day of the Nativity, an infinite number of poor persons were collected and fed by the king's command.

During the greater part of Henry's long and eventful reign the works within the castle proceeded with unabated activity.Carpenters were maintained on the royal establishment; the ditch between the hall and the lower ward was repaired; a new kitchen was built; the bridges were repaired with timber procured from the neighbouring forests; certain breaches in the wall facing the garden were stopped; the fortifications were surveyed, and the battlements repaired.At the same time the queen's chamber was painted and wainscoted, and iron bars were placed before the windows of Prince Edward's chamber.In 1240 Henry commenced building an apartment for his own use near the wall of the castle, sixty feet long and twenty-eight high; another apartment for the queen contiguous to it; and a chapel, seventy feet long and twenty-eight feet wide, along the same wall, but with a grassy space between it and the royal apartments.The chapel, as appears from an order to Walter de Grey, Archbishop of York, had a Galilee and a cloister, a lofty wooden roof covered with lead, and a stone turret in front holding three or four bells.Withinside it was made to appear like stone-work with good ceiling and painting, and it contained four gilded images.

This structure is supposed to have been in existence, under the designation of the Old College Church, in the latter part of the reign of Henry the Seventh, by whom it was pulled down to make way for the tomb-house.Traces of its architecture have been discovered by diligent antiquarian research in the south ambulatory of the Dean's Cloister, and in the door behind the altar in St.George's Chapel, the latter of which is conceived to have formed the principal entrance to the older structure, and has been described as exhibiting "one of the most beautiful specimens which time and innovation have respected of the elaborate ornamental work of the period."In 1241 Henry commenced operations upon the outworks of the castle, and the three towers on the western side of the lower ward--now known as the Curfew, the Garter, and the Salisbury Towers--were erected by him.He also continued the walls along the south side of the lower ward, traces of the architecture of the period being discoverable in the inner walls of the houses of the alms-knights as far as the tower now bearing his name.From thence it is concluded that the ramparts ran along the east side of the upper ward to a tower occupying the site of the Wykeham or Winchester Tower.

The three towers at the west end of the lower ward, though much dilapidated, present unquestionable features of the architecture of the thirteenth century.The lower storey of the Curfew Tower, which has been but little altered, consists of a large vaulted chamber, twenty-two feet wide, with walls of nearly thirteen feet in thickness, and having arched recesses terminated by loopholes.The walls are covered with the inscriptions of prisoners who have been confined within it.The Garter Tower, though in a most ruinous condition, exhibits high architectural beauty in its moulded arches and corbelled passages.

The Salisbury Tower retains only externally, and on the side towards the town, its original aspect.The remains of a fourth tower are discernible in the Governor of the Alms-Knights' Tower; and Henry the Third's Tower, as before observed, completes what remains of the original chain of fortifications.

同类推荐
  • 北齐书

    北齐书

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • Confidence

    Confidence

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 津梁寺采新茶与幕中

    津梁寺采新茶与幕中

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • REWARDS AND FAIRIES

    REWARDS AND FAIRIES

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 无心论

    无心论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 我与唐朝有个约会

    我与唐朝有个约会

    有这样的一句话:遇到的一部分叫缘分;另一部分,我们叫劫数,有命中注定就有劫数难逃。穿越到唐朝贞观之治时期的叶辰会遇到怎样的缘分与劫数?是金钱,美女,权贵,还是值得用生命去守护的东西......“人世明醒醉前酒,酒后醉醒明世人”这是送给叶哥的美誉
  • 复仇之千金太腹黑

    复仇之千金太腹黑

    六岁的若冰遭受了丧母之痛,母亲死后,父亲带回来个娇艳的女人,那女人身边还有一个男孩和一个和若冰差不多大年纪的女孩,六岁的若冰没了妈妈,有的只是继母,父亲和兄弟姐妹的欺凌,若冰变了,她变了,扮猪吃老虎是她的拿手好戏,还有个土豪男盆友,呵!那些只是浮云,杀死她生母的渣父?抓去坐牢。抢她母亲位置的继母?送去地狱。贪图她财产的的妹妹?毁她容貌。以打自己为乐的弟弟?让他遭人唾弃。
  • 溟界彼岸者

    溟界彼岸者

    爷爷的死亡,让“他”痛不欲生。为了复仇,爆发力量残杀仇家……但自己被爆发的力量吸尽最后一点生命……拖着伤痕累累的身体来到,爷爷的墓地跪死在墓前……“他”死了溟界的彼岸者回来了……
  • 甜心诱爱:狼吻豪门邪少

    甜心诱爱:狼吻豪门邪少

    (求收藏)“我们这辈子真的不可能相爱吗?”她手心里紧紧攥着一张化验单,绝望地看着伏在自己身上气喘微微的他。“到底要我说几次?这辈子我只爱她一人。你,只不过是取悦我的工具而已。”他轻笑,轻勾起她的下巴,眼眸中满是让她发颤的冷酷。
  • 夜幕暗影

    夜幕暗影

    他是一届校园优等生,原想好好过完自己的一生,却不料和一个人替换了心脏,我,是谁,身体内的,是谁。谁在操控我,占据我,眼角的泪水凋零成蝶,怪物又如何,人又如何……
  • 嫡女生存计划

    嫡女生存计划

    母亲疯癫,嫡女身份被夺,形同奴仆,姻缘被毁,姐姐冒名顶替她的身份嫁入侯门,进而还想杀她灭口,她一忍再忍,一退再退,才知道苦海无底线,女儿当自强,求人不如求己!拿回原本就属于自己的一切。欠她的,一分一毫,一点一滴,必须加倍偿还。有恩报恩!有仇报仇!情节虚构,切勿模仿
  • 异端世界:怪婴篇

    异端世界:怪婴篇

    十世的纠葛,何时才能有情人终成眷属?究竟是怎么样的一个婴儿会使得亲生父亲要将其杀死;究竟是怎么样的一样婴儿会搞得养父母家破人亡;究竟是怎么样的一个婴儿会给接触过的人如此的恐惧。这个婴儿究竟是何方神圣?宿命的轮回究竟在何时才会画上休止符?
  • 佛说圣佛母般若波罗蜜多经

    佛说圣佛母般若波罗蜜多经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 妖孽当道:娘子请上座

    妖孽当道:娘子请上座

    她是修真界被称作妖物的红眸修者:“苏轻欢,你这红眸妖孽跑不掉了!我等正义之士今日就要替天行道,斩杀你这嗜血不详的妖物!!”渡劫之际被人偷袭,身负重伤实力倒退,最后不得已以血肉祭阵与敌人同归于尽!而她是地球上一个懦弱的孤女:父母双亡,叔父一家趁她年幼霸占财产处处欺凌,最后委屈烧炭自尽。她和她双双身死,而故事却刚刚开始。
  • 萌王们的那点事儿

    萌王们的那点事儿

    修改了一下简介。前略。少年秦宇穿越到了一个奇怪的世界,在这个世界里,无数他认识或者不认识的二次元少女,齐聚一堂,根据各自的“萌力”获得相应等级的实力,分成各种不同的阵营,各占山头,本来大家相安无事,不过现在,一切平静都被打破了。PS1:本书与现实萌战没有必然关系,现实萌战黑幕什么的太多,你懂的。PS2:本书群132700665。验证请输入“萌王”或书名。欢迎投票,禁止黄赌毒。