Page:Medieval Military Architecture in England (volume 1).djvu/211

Arimdel Castle, Sussex. 195 He probably only pierced the existing central tower, not otherwise altering or rebuilding it. The next considerable work was the outer ward, which may be attributed to the fifteenth century, subsequently to the general use of brick and the introduction of siege artillery. It is singular that no record of this very considerable work should be preserved, for it included not only the outer ward, a castle in itself, with its enormous towers and massive curtains, but the extension of the very formid- able ditch, the repair of the older walls and towers, and finally the fitting up and vaulting of the keep. All this is supposed to have been the work of Francis I., and it is said that the date of 1553 was inscribed upon some of the additions to the keep. Henry IV., during his occupation of the castle in 1589, may have constructed quarters in the inner ward and repaired what was amiss in the old building ; but more probably his traces are to be found in the field works which crown the adjacent hills, and along the high ground towards Dieppe. It has been thought that the ditch of the castle is a remain of an older fortification, such a work as the early Northmen or still earlier Celts might have constructed. No doubt this was usually the case with the sites of the great Norman castles, both in Normandy and in England, and the position of Arques is a tempting one. There is, however, no positive evidence of an earlier encampment. It will be observed that the keep is so placed as to command both the inner ward and the most exposed side of the castle, — that along the level ridge of the promontory. It was perfectly capable of holding out when all else was taken, and finally, if threatened with fire or starvation, its garrison had a possible escape by the galleries. This castle is the triumph of Norman skill. Often attacked, it was never taken by storm. Without being a royal residence it was visited in peace or in war by our Norman kings, from the Conqueror to John, and by most of the kings of France, from Henry 1. to Henry IV. ; and, after a lapse of 800 years, its oldest parts are still those best worth attention, and are at least as well preserved as the additions of far later date. ARUNDEL CASTLE, SUSSEX. ARUNDEL, in its position, magnitude, and history, is one of the foremost of the mediaeval military structures of England. English in its origin, Norman by adoption, it is not only among the rare castles recorded in Domesday, but is the only one therein specifically mentioned as in existence before the coming in of Duke William. It was held by Alfred and by Harold, and was granted with its surrounding and dependent lordships by William to the head of o 2