castle

A fortified structure, commonly made of stone. Primarily found in the middle ages, these buildings are usually the residence of a lord or noble.

At least in the real world, a castle *must* be fortified. If it is not, it is a palace instead.
If a noble does not live there, it is a fortress instead.
If it is a village with a set of defensive walls, it is a fortified settlement.

However, in the realm of art, it can be very challenging to determine if a structure is home, or not, to a noble. Indeed, it can be hard to tell if a structure is a building or just a stone wall.

As such, here are some guidelines for tagging castle-ish structures.

  • If it seems to be a 'set piece' designed to add a fantasy-flare to an image, tag it as castle.
  • If the structure appears to be large and grand, with many parts and structures (even if off screen) tag it castle
  • if the structure appears to consist only of a single tower, tag it as tower, not castle. A castle may have towers, a tower does not need a castle.
  • In the event that there appears to be a village or city included within a set of walls, or an otherwise highly defensible position, tag Fortified_settlement as well as castle
  • A small structure with heavy defenses, which may be made of stone or would and may or may not have a castle-like design may be a fort
  • A castle cannot be tagged from within(?)
    • If you feel that an image takes place inside of a castle, tag throne_room if the room is particularly pretty or imposing, or features a throne.
  • If the castle is destroyed, tag ruins as well

Features

  • Stone Wall - though please only tag should the wall be prominent in the image, making up a major part of the background.
  • Stone floor - The same rules apply here, of course.
  • Tower
  • Battlement - A wall you can stand on, usually with parapets.
  • Parapet - A low defensive wall on top of a larger wall, used to shield defenders from enemy missiles. May or may not be crenelated.
  • Crenelations are the distinctive part of the castle wall that goes up and down.
  • Arrowslit - a tall narrow window used to shoot out of.
  • Portcullis - a wooden or metal grill intended to block a major entry way.
  • Moat - a body of water around a castle. May contain monsters.

Named Castles

Posts (view all)

Blacklisted
post #148345
52 93 0 E
post #146697
60 128 0 E
post #146438
5 22 8 E
post #146170
105 142 3 E