San Antonio College Library

Nearly 200 dramatic colour and black-an-white photographs, a glossary of architectuaral and military terms, and an introduction that explains why particular castles were built where they were, how they were planned, and how they functioned. (inside flap.).

"The ghosts of Europe's haunted castles and palaces tell their strange and tragic stories in this elegantly written narrative. Do you believe in ghosts? Perhaps you were once in an empty house, you were alone in that room, yet your intuition told you that someone or something else was there with you. A creak on the stairway, the rustle of a curtain, a barely perceptible change in the air ... if you had stopped and listened, what else would you have...

Robert Bartlett explores the impact of the Normans on southern Europe and the Middle East. The Normans spread south in the 11th century, winning control of southern Italy and the island of Sicily. There they created their most prosperous kingdom, where Christianity and Islam co-existed in relative harmony and mutual tolerance. It became a great centre of medieval culture and learning. But events in the Middle East provoked the more aggressive side...

Shows how castles were situated and built; how the families lived and entertained; and how the castle evolved into the manor house.