What is Castle?
[[File:Edinburgh Castle Rock.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Edinburgh Castle]] (Scotland) is one of a small number of castles which are still in use today.]] {{otheruses}} '''Castles''' are [[medieval]] buildings which were defensive homes for powerful people. They could be made from wood, stone, or [[brick]], and some were used for hundreds of years. Thousands of castles were built across [[Europe]], the [[Middle East]], and [[Japan]] with different designs. Today, most castles are ruins and many are popular tourist attractions. In [[Great Britain|England and Wales]] castles were first used by the invading [[Normandy|Normans]] led by [[William the Conqueror|Duke William]] in 1066. They provided a base for lord of the castle to control the surrounding area and govern their land. Castles were designed to be imposing: their massive defenses deterred attackers and showed the owner's strength. A few troops in a castle could defend themselves against a much larger army. The most common method for taking a castle would be to [[Siege|besiege]] or storm it. Each had problems. Storming a castle would kill many of the attackers, but a siege would take a long time. Both methods sometimes failed. == Time of building == Castles were first built in the 9th century and the practice continued up to the 16th century. A castle was both a home for someone important like a king or [[Nobility|noble]], and a fort. Castles were designed to keep people out and show how powerful the people inside were. They were sometimes used in war, with many famous sieges like the [[siege of Kenilworth]] in 1266 which lasted for six months, or [[Stirling Castle]] which was besieged eight times. Castles could look very strong, but sometimes the defences were mostly for show. The moat around [[Bodiam Castle]] is not very deep and could be drained by an attacking army, so its defensive role could be defeated. But it made the castle look very impressive, and look bigger than it really is.<ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|2002|pp=19-24}}</ref> If the owner of a castle