It is more usual to find the keep at one end than in the centre of the system of walls, and the whole was surrounded by a moat.
PLATE 22.
(Fig. 1): Newcastle Keep, founded in 1080 A.D. The battlements are of later date. In this keep there is a large room in the thickness of the wall, known as the King’s Chamber, and another which is assigned to the Queen. (Fig. 2): Rochester Castle, which was probably entirely rebuilt in the twelfth century on another site. The parapet or battlements are considered to be the original ones. (Fig. 3): Plan of the middle floor of the White Tower (Tower of London). A is St. John’s Chapel, and the circular stairs are shown in the corner towers, D D D. B C is the parting wall running through the building. (Fig. 4): A Norman castle. (From Grose’s “Military Antiquities.”) Showing the general arrangements of the buildings, etc.
[NORMAN SEALS AND COINS.]
Seals are held in the highest estimation as reliable contemporary authorities in English heraldry, costume, armour, etc.
The matrix or die was usually of latten or bronze, and in the case of large seals two dies were used—one for the front, or obverse, the other for the back, or reverse—so that when complete the seal was similar to a coin or medal.
In the earlier seals pure white beeswax was used as the medium on which to impress the seal, and at other times this was coloured—green, red, brown, and nearly black.