“Before we continue our story we must stop to ask, “What is a castle?” Once a castle was defined simply as the fortified and self-sufficient dwelling of an individual feudal lord. Today we know that castles had many functions, both practical and symbolic. The castle was a new ar chitectural form—part fortress, part residence, part statehouse, part the atrical stage. Furthermore, every castle was different, depending on the wealth of the builder, the reason for the castle (control of territory, bor der, coastlines), the local geography (availability of naturally defensible sites), the knowledge of the master builder or patron, the available ma terials, the degree of urgency (speed), and finally the building traditions of the region (the techniques the workmen knew and used). In short, there is no such thing as a typical castle; a castle was a very special build ing whose form and function answered the needs of people living in Eu rope from the eleventh through the fifteenth century.”

Source: Medieval castles (2005), Ch. 4 : The Castle as Symbol and Palace

Preface
Medieval castles (2005)

Source: A Gentleman In Moscow

Source: Medieval castles (2005), Ch. 1 : The Great Tower : Norman and Early Plantagenet Castles

Escolios a un Texto Implicito (1977), Volume One

Source: The Power-House (1916), Ch. 3 "Tells of a Midsummer Night"
Context: When all is said, we are ruled by the amateurs and the second-rate. The methods of our departments would bring any private firm to bankruptcy. The methods of Parliament — pardon me — would disgrace any board of directors. Our rulers pretend to buy expert knowledge, but they never pay the price for it that a business man would pay, and if they get it they have not the courage to use it. Where is the inducement for a man of genius to sell his brains to our insipid governors?
And yet knowledge is the only power — now as ever. A little mechanical device will wreck your navies. A new chemical combination will upset every rule of war. It is the same with our commerce. One or two minute changes might sink Britain to the level of Ecuador, or give China the key of the world's wealth. And yet we never dream that these things are possible. We think our castles of sand are the ramparts of the universe.

Drowning By Numbers

Rules for success

Tenczyn - a "Bastille"-type castle of the Tenczyński family, "Aura" 2, 1990-02, p. 19-21. http://yadda.icm.edu.pl/yadda/element/bwmeta1.element.agro-7ab5a4ef-bee9-490b-8838-4917699dfedc?q=d88195b-abee-4385-bd61-43f313e62483$6&qt=IN_PAGE