Let’s take a look at our castle coloring pages as we learn more about the history of our favorite castles.
Welcome to our collection of free CASTLE coloring pages. Click the Castle pictures or illustrations you like and you’ll be taken to the PDF download and/or print page. Every Castle coloring page is a printable PDF and/or can be downloaded.
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History of Castles
When we think of castles, we think of the fairy-tale stories that we all grew up reading about. However, the history of how castles came about is different. For instance, these medieval buildings were a useful foundation to strengthen military defense for the people who lived behind these walls. This is why our castle coloring pages have high walls with little windows to ensure that intruders couldn’t gain easy access. When we look at the type of materials that are used for the structure, usually stone, we can see that castles were more for security than aesthetic value. But, the more fancy castles that were built for royal families did require a certain aesthetic to separate them from the rest.
Types of Castles
Nowadays, building castles isn’t such a common thing anymore. For one, we have evolved to come up with better systems to improve our security measures. Secondly, the way that life is has changed far beyond what it used to be in medieval times. But, when we take the kids to the beach, they love to build sand castles. And when we color in our castle coloring pages, it’s always a great idea for us to know the different types of castles that our kids can learn about. The following are the four main types of castles that we can find.
1. Motte and Bailey Castles
If we want to know the earliest types of castles built then it’s these. From the name, we can tell that these included two different parts, the Bailey and the Motte. In our castle coloring pages, we’ll notice that the Motte part will be a wooden keep that’s built on a large earth. While the Bailey is the part that’s separated by a wooden bridge. This was a thoughtful design to ensure that if either part was invaded by enemies, they wouldn’t gain access to everything. We shouldn’t forget to highlight the ditch that’s filled with water for maximized protection.
2. Stone Keep Castles
We should think of these types as the upgrades from the previous ones. The most notable difference is that these castles provided an enhanced form of defense. In our coloring pages, we’ll notice that these castles have a stone keep that’s the central feature. The walls are thick with a few windows. The castle had a kitchen in the basement and the living quarters would be on the upper levels. In our coloring pages, these castles still have a Bailey. However, it was now used to protect the animals. Sometimes, it would be used as a workshop.
3. Norman Castles
The Normans built a number of castles across Europe. In some cases, these castles would be built on an existing fortress. These fortresses were usually existing Roman ones. This would help with improving the security behind the walls, but it still required more improvements. This is where the final of the four types of castles comes in.
4. Concentric Castles
As attacks grew steady in those days, there was a need for castles that would offer the best protection. The other types of castles were still lacking. This is when concentric castles came into the picture. We’ll see that in our coloring pages, the walls of this castle are different from the others. There are two main types of thick stone walls that we can color in. Most importantly, we should have these walls built at different levels. This helped to create a space between these walls or what was called a “death hole”. And, the only entrance point is through a drawbridge.
