Two towers, Foix Castle, Foix, Occitaine, France
The three towers of the Château de Foix.
The location of the castle was strategically well chosen because like the hundred fortified castles of Ariège (most of them are in ruins today), it dates from a time of great insecurity, brigandage, and territorial rivalry. In the Middle Ages, the castle was considered impregnable; from a song of the period: “El castels es tant fortz que el mezis se defent” (the castle is so strong that it defends itself).
The first castle, dating from around the year 1000, had a single main tower, a quadrangular building of a relatively small footprint. However, the natural summit of the Rocher de Foix is large and the tower was built at the highest point, slightly off-center, which left large areas for the development of other buildings on the site.
The Château of Foix was distinctive, at least from the 13th century, perhaps from the 12th century, because of its second main tower, wider than the first, but of comparable height. The construction of the second tower demonstrated the power of the Counts of Foix.
Around the end of the 15th century, the counts of Foix built the third tower, this time a round one. It was round for a reason. At the end of the 14th century, the techniques of warfare changed; stone ball projectiles gave way to metal balls. Hollow metal balls weighing around fifteen kilos were fired by a cannon with a long and thin tube, using the new powders that had arrived in the West at the end of the 13th century. While the stone ball tended to shatter upon impact against the walls, the metal ball was tough; because it is hollow, it gave off a strong jolt which shook the wall and quickly destroyed the mortar between the stones. The new tower of Foix was designed to resist this. Because it is round, unless impacting head-on, the ball would graze the tower stones. The tower walls were built of two layers of stone, separated by an earthen layer. This construction absorbed vibrations. As is almost always the case in medieval architecture, the forms and materials serve specific important military purposes. Today we see romantic towers with crenelations and attractive stone roofs; back in the day, they were pragmatic diagrams for defense.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Foix
Two towers, Foix Castle, Foix, Occitaine, France
The three towers of the Château de Foix.
The location of the castle was strategically well chosen because like the hundred fortified castles of Ariège (most of them are in ruins today), it dates from a time of great insecurity, brigandage, and territorial rivalry. In the Middle Ages, the castle was considered impregnable; from a song of the period: “El castels es tant fortz que el mezis se defent” (the castle is so strong that it defends itself).
The first castle, dating from around the year 1000, had a single main tower, a quadrangular building of a relatively small footprint. However, the natural summit of the Rocher de Foix is large and the tower was built at the highest point, slightly off-center, which left large areas for the development of other buildings on the site.
The Château of Foix was distinctive, at least from the 13th century, perhaps from the 12th century, because of its second main tower, wider than the first, but of comparable height. The construction of the second tower demonstrated the power of the Counts of Foix.
Around the end of the 15th century, the counts of Foix built the third tower, this time a round one. It was round for a reason. At the end of the 14th century, the techniques of warfare changed; stone ball projectiles gave way to metal balls. Hollow metal balls weighing around fifteen kilos were fired by a cannon with a long and thin tube, using the new powders that had arrived in the West at the end of the 13th century. While the stone ball tended to shatter upon impact against the walls, the metal ball was tough; because it is hollow, it gave off a strong jolt which shook the wall and quickly destroyed the mortar between the stones. The new tower of Foix was designed to resist this. Because it is round, unless impacting head-on, the ball would graze the tower stones. The tower walls were built of two layers of stone, separated by an earthen layer. This construction absorbed vibrations. As is almost always the case in medieval architecture, the forms and materials serve specific important military purposes. Today we see romantic towers with crenelations and attractive stone roofs; back in the day, they were pragmatic diagrams for defense.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Foix