Trutzeltz Castle
The ruins of Trutzeltz Castle (), also known as ''Balduineltz'', ''Baldeneltz'' or ''Neueltz'', are the remains of a hill castle in the valley of the Elzbach, Elz in the parish of Wierschem near the town of Münstermaifeld. It was built as a counter-castle during the medieval Eltz Feud in the Moselle region. Geography Trutzeltz stands just 230; meters north of Eltz Castle and 40; meters higher at an elevation of on the rising hillslopes. The very small castle site measures just 30 × 25 meters. The ruins consist mainly of the still over 10 meter-high remains of the tower house and other foundation walls. History The castle was built by the Archbishop of Trier, Baldwin of Trier, Baldwin during the Eltz Feud (1331-1336/1337) as a siege castle to invest Eltz Castle. The Eltz Feud arose in connection with Baldwin's territorial policy. During his reign, Baldwin sought to extend the influence of Trier along the Moselle. He repeatedly came up against resistance from k ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eltz Castle
Eltz Castle () is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of House of Eltz who have lived there since the 12th century. Eltz Castle along with Bürresheim Castle and Lissingen Castle are the only castles in the Eifel region which have never been destroyed. The castle stands on a rock spur that is bounded on three sides by the river Elzbach, a tributary on the north side of the Moselle. The surrounding Eltz Forest has been declared a nature reserve by Flora-Fauna-Habitat and Natura 2001. Division The castle is a so-called '' Ganerbenburg'', or castle belonging to a community of joint heirs. This is a castle divided into several parts, which belong to different families or different branches of a family; this usually occurs when multiple owners of one or more territories jointly build a castle to house themselves. Only wealthy medieval European lords could afford to build castles or equival ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rauschenburg
The Rauschenburg, also called Rauschenburg Castle (), is the medieval ruin of a hill castle, located at around 250 metres above sea level, above the Ehrbach stream in the parish of Mermuth in the county of Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History In 1332 the Archbishop of Trier, Baldwin of Luxembourg, built the Rauschenburg during the Eltz Feud. It acted as a counter castle designed to defeat his opponents, the joint tenants of the castles of Waldeck, Schöneck and Ehrenburg who were rebelling against their vassal status. Later tenants of the castle, which was enfeoffed by the Archbishopric of Trier, was divided among several families, including the Schönecks, von Eichs, Waldbott of Bassenheim and Boos of Waldeck). Description The castles comprises a pentagonal enceinte. Almost the entire site was surrounded by a second lower defensive wall. On the uphill side was a neck ditch cuts across the saddle and would have formed the firs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ruined Castles In Germany
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate destruction by humans, or uncontrollable destruction by natural phenomena. The most common root causes that yield ruins in their wake are natural disasters, armed conflict, and population decline, with many structures becoming progressively derelict over time due to long-term weathering and scavenging. There are famous ruins all over the world, with notable sites originating from ancient China, the Indus Valley, ancient Iran, History of Israel, ancient Israel and Judea, History of Mesopotamia, ancient Iraq, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, History of Yemen, ancient Yemen, Ancient Rome, Roman, History of India, ancient India sites throughout the Mediterranean Basin, and Inca Empire, Incan and Maya civilization, Mayan sites in the Americas. R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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14th-century Architecture
The 14th century lasted from 1 January 1301 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCCI) to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Europe and the Mongol Empire. West Africa experienced economic growth and prosperity. In Europe, the Black Death claimed 25 million lives wiping out one third of the European population while the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France fought in the protracted Hundred Years' War after the death of King Charles IV of France led to a claim to the French throne by King Edward III of England. This period is considered the height of chivalry and marks the beginning of strong separate identities for both England and France as well as the foundation of the Italian Renaissance and the Ottoman Empire. In Asia, Tamerlane (Timur), established the Timurid Empire, history's third largest empire to have been ever established by a single conqueror ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lehnswesen
Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire was a politico-economic system of relationships between liege lords and enfeoffed vassals (or feudatories) that formed the basis of the social structure within the Holy Roman Empire during the High Middle Ages. In Germany the system is variously referred to ''Lehnswesen'', ''Feudalwesen'' or ''Benefizialwesen''. Feudalism in Europe emerged in the Early Middle Ages, based on Roman clientship and the Germanic social hierarchy of lords and retainers. It obliged the feudatory to render personal services to the lord. These included e.g. holding his stirrup, joining him on festive occasions and service as a cupbearer at the banquet table. Both pledged mutual loyalty: the lord to "shelter and protect", the vassal to "help and advise". Furthermore, feudal lord and vassal were bound to mutually respect one another, e.g. the lord could not, by law, beat his vassal, humiliate or lay hands on his wife or daughter. The highest liege lord was the sovereig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles IV (HRR)
Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1355 until his death in 1378. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1346 and became King of Bohemia (as Charles I) that same year. He was a member of the House of Luxembourg from his father's side and the Bohemian House of Přemyslid from his mother's side; he emphasized the latter due to his lifelong affinity for the Bohemian side of his inheritance, and also because his direct ancestors in the Přemyslid line included two saints. He was the eldest son and heir of John of Bohemia, King of Bohemia and Count of Luxembourg, who died at the Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346. His mother, Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, was the sister of Wenceslaus III, King of Bohemia and Poland, the last of the mal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Burgrave
Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgravate'' (German ''Burggrafschaft'' also ''Burggrafthum'', Latin ''praefectura'').Encyclopædia Britannica; Definition of ''burgrave (title)''/ref> Duden; Definition of ''Burggraf'' (in German)/ref> The burgrave was a "count" in rank (German ''Graf'', Latin ''comes'') equipped with judicial powers, under the direct authority of the emperor or king, or of a territorial imperial state—a prince-bishop or territorial lord. The responsibilities were administrative, military and jurisdictional. In time the position came to be a purely administrative position held by middle or high ranking civil servants. A burgrave, who ruled over a substantially large territory, might also have possessed the regality of coinage, and could mint his own regi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegiance, services or payments. The fees were often lands, land revenue or revenue-producing real property like a watermill, held in feudal land tenure: these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms. However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting, fishing or felling trees, monopolies in trade, money rents and tax farms. There never existed a standard feudal system, nor did there exist only one type of fief. Over the ages, depending on the region, there was a broad variety of customs using the same basic legal principles in many variations. Terminology In ancient Rome, a " benefice" (from the Latin noun , meaning "benefit") was a gift of land () f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pot-de-fer
The ''pot-de-fer'' was a primitive cannon made of iron. It was used by France in the Middle Ages, the French in the Hundred Years' War. The name means "iron pot" in French language, French. In Italy, ''pots-de-fer'' were known as ''vasi'' or ''vasii'', meaning "pot" or "vase". Description Though occasionally made with casting, cast bronze, the ''pot-de-fer'' was essentially an iron bottle with a narrow neck. It was loaded with gunpowder, powder and an iron arrow-like Crossbow bolt, bolt, fletching, feathered with iron. It is believed that the middle of the bolt was likely wrapped in leather for a snug fit, necessary to enhance the thrust from the gaseous pressure within the cannon. However, this feature is not shown in illuminated manuscript, manuscript illuminations. The cannon was set off through a small-diameter touchhole, where a red-hot wire could be thrust to set off an explosion and fire the cannon.Manucy, Albert, ''Artillery through the Ages: A Short Illustrated History ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trebuchet
A trebuchet () is a type of catapult that uses a hinged arm with a sling attached to the tip to launch a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles of greater weights and further distances than a traditional catapult. There are two main types of trebuchet. The first is the ''traction trebuchet'', or mangonel, which uses manpower to swing the arm. It first appeared in China by the 4th century BC. It spread westward, possibly via the Avars, and was adopted by the Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, and other neighboring peoples by the sixth to seventh centuries AD. The later, and often larger and more powerful, counterweight trebuchet, also known as the counterpoise trebuchet, uses a counterweight to swing the arm. It appeared in both Christian and Muslim lands around the Mediterranean in the 12th century, and was carried back to China by the Mongols in the 13th century. "Although this is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Catapult
A catapult is a ballistics, ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored potential energy to propel its payload. Most convert Tension (mechanics), tension or Torsion (mechanics), torsion energy that was more slowly and manually built up within the device before release, via springs, bows, twisted rope, elastic, or any of numerous other materials and mechanisms which allow the catapult to launch a projectile such as rocks, cannon balls, or debris. During wars in the ancient times, the catapult was usually known to be the strongest heavy weaponry. In modern times the term can apply to devices ranging from a simple hand-held implement (also called a "slingshot") to a mechanism for Aircraft catapult, launching aircraft from a ship. The earliest catapults date to at least the 7th century BC, with Kin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Counter Castle
Counter-castles were built in the Middle Ages to counter the power of a hostile neighbour or as a siege castle, that is, a fortified base from which attacks could be launched on a nearby enemy castle. Purpose In castle science, and according to mediaeval usage, a counter-castle was a type of castle that was built to secure a territorial lord's claims to power or to besiege and conquer the estates of rival rulers. In such cases, it may also be referred to as a siege castle. These terms are not used uniformly by specialist authors. Usually a distinction is made between counter-castles and siege castles. Where this is the case, a siege castle refers to one built near the enemy castle within the range of trebuchets and catapults that could act as a strongpoint, a route barrier, a refuge in the event of counter-attacks, a barracks and a battery position for ballistic weapons. A counter-castle is often used to describe a castle that was built at a greater distance from enemy fortific ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |