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A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period.
- What Was The Purpose of The Castle Dungeon?
- The Oubliette – A Punishment Worse Than Castle Dungeons
- The Notorious Dungeons of Pontefract Castle, England
- The Famous Dungeons of Chillon Castle, Switzerland
- The Tourist-Trap Experience of The Dungeons of Warwick Castle, England
Most castles built during the early Medieval period didn’t truly have dungeons. Why not? Well, in Medieval times, it wasn’t a particularly common punishment to keep someone imprisoned in a confined space. Often, one baron would kidnap the children of another baron, and hold the poor kids hostage at his home or his castle. However, the unfortunate c...
The Oubliette – or the ‘forgotten room’ – was a punishment worse than being thrown into a castle dungeon. If you can remember the ‘chokey’ from Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’, the oubliette was a very similar punishment. The oubliette was a tiny, vertical shaft which was often only large enough for an individual to stand up in – they wouldn’t have been abl...
“Pontefract Castle dungeon were so notorious, they were depicted in Shakespeare’s play, Richard III.” The most terrifying castle dungeons in the whole of England were undoubtedly those of Pontefract Castle, in Yorkshire. Pontefract Castle was a vast and fearsome fortress with a blood-curdling reputation – it was so notorious that it was depicted in...
The castle dungeons of Chillon in Switzerland are also famous from being featured in literature. Lord Byron, the famous British Romantic poet, visited Chillon Castle in the 1800s and became fixated with the plight of François Bonivard, a political prisoner who had been held in the deep dungeons of Chillon Castle, during the 1500s. Bonivard was lash...
If you’re looking for a bit of gory ‘fun’ (and historical accuracy isn’t too important to you!) then you could always take a trip to the dungeons of Warwick Castle, England’s most commercial heritage attraction. Warwick Castle is undoubtedly one of the grandest remaining castles in England, but it’s presently owned by a theme-parks operator. The re...
Jan 25, 2023 · A dark and terrifying dungeon, the oubliette was used to hold prisoners indefinitely. Learn more about its sinister history.
A notorious prison and place of execution. The Tower of London was built as a secure fortress and a symbol of royal power. Behind the castle's walls were storehouses for weapons and the Royal Mint produced the nation's coins. It was also a royal palace with luxuriously furnished apartments and a menagerie of royal beasts.
Dec 9, 2021 · Let’s uncover how accurate one of London’s scariest attractions truly is. When people first hear the word dungeon, they immediately imagine dank, dark and deep vaults below a castle, where prisoners were held and tortured mercilessly if they were unlucky enough. However, this image isn’t entirely accurate. Strangely enough, the castle ...
Jun 17, 2023 · Also called “bottle dungeons,” oubliettes were often made of a thin vertical shaft connecting to a lower dungeon. Victims would be lowered or even thrown into the prison and left in the darkness. Sometimes they were alone.
Dec 18, 2023 · Warwick Castle’s Oubliette Inside Eerie Dungeons. The dungeon in Warwick Castle features an ancient claustrophobic chamber known as an 'oubliette'. It was so named because a prisoner was thrown down this dreadful chamber and abandoned.
