From the
Freelance History Writer:
In the later Middle Ages, feudal obligations became obsolete.
Men-at-arms and knights became expensive to maintain. Consequently,
more mercenary soldiers were used. Castles in England were less
important during what later came to be known as the Wars of the Roses
when warfare changed to pitched battles in open fields rather than
sieges. The ranks of barons were reduced and were replaced politically
and socially by the peerage who grew richer as a consequence.
The gentry and some knights started to gain wealth by trade, profits
from war or public office or marrying into rich families. This was a
time of ambition and social emulation. They began to build
semi-fortified manor houses with square tower keeps, crenellations and a
gatehouse. A tower house as one’s home was a symbol of status, power
and rank, denoting the owner could look after himself and protect his
valuable possessions.
The tower house was the simplest, most functional and most cost
effective approach for defense against neighbors and enemies. Tower
houses began to be built in cities, along the coast and in the Marches
and Borders. They were never conceived as a means for planned defense
and if there were more in some areas than in others, it was only because
the dangers were more apparent in those areas. (Read more.)
My own ancestors lived in and around the
Togher Tower House in Dunmanway, County Cork as told in
The Paradise Tree.
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