During our tour, we learned a few interesting bits of trivia about the castle. The major thing we learned is why things were built the way they were.
It was amazing how much of an understanding the engineers of the time had about defensive structures. Even simple structural elements all had their reasons for their particular design. For example:
- Doorways were often quite small in castles. While people were a bit smaller back then, they were built even a bit too small for them. The reason for this was for self defense. By confining an enemy coming through your doorway, it gave you the advantage of being able to pick them off one by one as they entered. Anyone entering would find it hard to have weapons ready when ducking through a doorway.
- Entrances often had several upward steps that needed to be traversed in order to enter. Again, this was a defence mechanism. It essentially provided high ground for the castle inhabitants and slowed down the forward progress of the enemy (who would be wearing heavy armor).
- Circular stairways were often built in a counter-clockwise direction. An enemy attacking from below would find it difficult to draw and swing a sword with this configuration. However, the inhabitants above would find it easy to swing a weapon at those attempting to come up the stairs. Of course, that assumed a right-handed attacker...
- While castles might have some larger windows, homes and other structures under its protection often had very small ones. This was due to a tax that was placed on the size of windows. This is where the phrase "stealing our daylight" actually comes from, since people were forced to use smaller windows (creating darker rooms) to avoid excessive taxes.
The day continues....
After our tour of Bunratty Castle, we headed back to the B&B to check in and get rested up for the wedding ceremony. Our hostess was extremely friendly. She really made us feel at home in what was essentially her home. It's too bad she's selling the place, though. It seems she's getting married herself and plans to move to her husband's farm.
Look at the photo closely and keep in mind it's October. It seems folks in the UK are a bit more warm blooded that we are because everywhere we went the windows were always open - even on the few cold days we experienced. Of course, none of the windows really seemed all that substantial, anyway. As a result, closing them probably would keep any real cold weather out. However, the oddest part was the lack of window screens. This came into play later on in the trip.
We were scheduled to attend the mediaeval banquet at Knappogue Castle that evening and my sister had made arrangements to be married there about 30 minutes prior to that event. After a short rest and time to shower and get dressed up, it was time to conquer another castle.
Upon arrival at Knappogue, we took advantage of the remaining sunlight and some extra time to take photos of the wedding party. Several attendees, including my sister and her husband, wore period dress for the event. Even one of their friends, who actually performed the ceremony, got into the spirit by sporting a monks robe.
Once allowed indoors, we were given a whirlwind tour of various rooms that might be suitable for the ceremony. Our generous and friendly host took us through every room she thought might suit our needs. We actually got to see parts of the castle few people get a view of. We settled on a room that boasted a beautiful stained glass window. It was actually that window that provided the bulk of the room lighting. As a result, the ceremony moved quickly as the sunlight entering the room began to fade along with our available time. However, the event didn't seem rushed. It was a simple ceremony minus a lot of the extra elements many weddings can contain. Both bride and groom read their own vows in order to personalize the event.
Immediately after the ceremony, there was a bit more time for pictures as other guests attending the castle banquet arrived. Once we finished, it was time to join everyone downstairs.
At the banquet, there were 4 kings and queens crowned, including the new couple. In addition to the food, there was plenty of entertainment from a talented cast of characters. We experienced a full evening of singing, dancing, joke telling and references to our eating utensils being "weapons". Ample amounts of wine and mead were made available. Did I mention there were was a lot of wine and mead? By the time we left at the end of the evening, we were more than ready for a good nights sleep.
Instead, we headed to a pub called "Durty Nelly's" to have a drink or two. The pub is located in the shadow of Bunratty Castle, and was built in 1620. For most of the evening, we were entertained by a couple of guys playing the banjo and an old upright piano. We stayed until the place closed - at which time were kicked out more politely than I've ever been kicked out of anywhere.
At that point we made our way to the B&B, where we parked a 9 passenger van in the most interior spot inside the smallest parking lot any of us had ever been in. Of course, each successive night, we parked in the smallest parking lot any of us had ever parked in. It seems the lots at the B&Bs continued to accommodate the same number of vehicles on ever decreasing real estate. This continued all the way to the final night when we stayed at a B&B that had no parking to speak of at all. Instead, being late Friday night, we parked in the lot of the school next door. The lodgings before that required at least one guest's vehicle to remain on the street overnight. Thankfully, we had a smaller vehicle by the time we reached some of the tighter locations.
Below are some pictures of Knappogue Castle, Durty Nelly's and the evening's events:
