Table of Contents

Part I. Castles: Ancient, Various, and Sociable
1: A Fresh Look at Early Castles
2: Variety Violated: Some Conceptual Problems
3: Some Social Relations of 'Castles and Fortresses'
Part II. Castles and the Public Interest
4: Noble Military 'Liberties', Ethos, and Ethics
5: Peacekeeping at Home and Abroad
6: Private Property but Public Utility
Part III. Castellans, Colonization, and Rural Community
7: Castle-Lords, Castle-Lordships, and Noble Civilization
8: Colonization and Fortresses
9: Population and Fortresses: Protection and Perquisites
Part IV. Castles and Circumstances of Widows, Guardians, and Heiresses
10: Female Castellans: Prevision not Prejudice
11: Ladies of Fortresses and Castle-Children
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index

Reviews

Much of what Coulson proposed was ground-breaking for the time, and the effect is to be seen in the work of the current generation of castle scholars ... This is a book not to be missed Gill Dowdall-Brown, Casemate ...There can be no doubt that this is an important, agenda-setting work...nobody with any interest in the medieval castle can afford to ignore it.