A look at how historians and archaeologists define castles and at the misleading narrative that has often surrounded their history.

Looking behind the walls and parapets to the areas of castles reserved for residential life, from the central hall and its communal uses to the kitchens and cellars.

Exploring the vital ways in which castles served administrative roles; Learning about their core function as landed estates within the medieval agricultural economy, and in broader areas.

Investigating the history and lore of earth-and-timber castles, which flourished alongside the better-preserved masonry castles.

Discovering the spectrum of castle types that proliferated on the medieval Iberian peninsula; Tracing the history of the region.

Entering the world of the Normans, great castle builders of Britain and beyond; Learning how the Normans take stone castles to new heights.