A shield wall, also shield-wall or , refers to the highest and strongest curtain wall, or tower of a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

that defends the only practicable line of approach to a castle built on a mountain, hill or headland. German sources may refer to a shield wall that protects two or more sides as a or , which is variously translated as "mantle-wall", "mantle wall" or "high screen-wall". There is often no clear, definitive distinction between a shield wall and a mantle wall.

Occurrence

Shield walls are found on many German and Austrian hill castles, but are not common in Great Britain or Ireland where the terrain of the rocky hills on which castles were built did not favour such constructions. However some castles in those areas built on headlands such as Tantallon and Old Head do have a similar feature.

Origin and description

The construction of shield walls was common in the late 12th century in Germany and Austria and may have been a reaction to the increasing use of heavy siege engines such as the trebuchet (the height of the walls protecting the buildings beyond from arching fire). The thickness of a shield wall could, in extreme cases, be as much as (e.g.

Neuscharfeneck Castle The castle of Neuscharfeneck is a ruin and a cultural monument above Ramberg and Dernbach on the territory of an exclave of Flemlingen in the district of Südliche Weinstraße in the west German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Location The ru ...

). Behind the battlements at the top of the wall there was usually an allure or wall walk; the shield wall could also be flanked by two wall towers. In many cases the shield wall replaced the bergfried, for example in the ruined castle of

Sporkenburg The Sporkenburg is a late medieval castle ruin about one kilometre south of Eitelborn in the district of Westerwaldkreis in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Location The ruins of the spur castle lie within the parish of the village of ...

in the Westerwald forest or the ruins of the

Alt Eberstein The ruins of Alt-Eberstein are the remains of the former Schloss Eberstein (Eberstein Castle), located on a hill near the town of Ebersteinburg and directly upstream of the modern city of Baden-Baden, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ...

near the city of Baden-Baden. In other cases, for example at

Liebenzell Castle Liebenzell Castle (german: Burg Liebenzell) is a hill castle on a sloping hill spur on the sides of the ''Schlossberg'' ("castle hill") above the town of Bad Liebenzell in the district of Calw in the south German state of Baden-Württemberg. The f ...

, the bergfried was built in the centre of the shield wall. ''The Style of European Art''
by Herbert Read, p. 187.

Gallery

File:Berneck 1.jpg, The shield wall of

Berneck Castle Berneck Castle is a 13th-century castle in Kauns, Austria. Location Berneck Castle is located near Kauns, on the opposite side of the Inn valley from Laudegg Castle, and in the Kaunertal valley. The castle sits on top of a large rock close to ...

in the Black Forest File:Schoenburg-Hoher-Mantel-JR-G6-4185-2009-09-27.jpg, The shield wall of the Schönburg near Oberwesel File:Sporkenburg.JPG, The shield wall of the

File:Burg Liebenzell.jpg, The shield wall of

which is combined with a bergfried File:Castle bran 01.jpg, The shield wall of Törzburg (Bran Castle) in Transylvania

References

Sources

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Occurrence

Origin and description

Gallery

References

Sources

Further reading