Creighton/Castles and Landscapes, 5. The Castle as Estate Centre: Tenurial Landscapes

The chapter analyses the relationship between castles and landholding, highlighting the fact that in the medieval society private fortifications were built and owned by a broad range of people. In certain contexts lordships were administered without castles, while most lords have raised fortified centres within their estates. The pattern of castle-building within lordships was influenced by the compactness of estates and their economic potential, being mostly related to earlier patterns of tenurial geography.