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Saint-Christophe-le-Chaudry
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Founded: c. 1380Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Valois Dynasty and Hundred Year's War (France)
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The Château de la Forêt-Grailly and its first lords were documented as early as 1380. This medieval fortress was fully fortified, surrounded by moats, and equipped with a drawbridge. During the Hundred Years' War, it played a key role in monitoring traffic on the nearby Arnon River.
By 1723, records describe the château as a pavilion-style residence with three corner towers, the fourth having collapsed a decade earlier. It was surrounded by water-filled moats, crossed by a wooden bridge, with walls enclosing the courtyard and farmyard. Over time, the moats were filled in, and the enclosing walls were demolished. A second corner tower disappeared in the 19th century, leaving only two. Around 1880, the château underwent another restoration, as it had in the 16th century.
Visitors can explore three vaulted ground-floor rooms, including two rib-vaulted halls from the early 15th century, adorned with naïve sculptures, and a Romanesque barrel-vaulted room.
The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.