The Essential Companion To Discover The Styles, Architecture, Form, Significance And Historical Impact Of Castles From All Over The World.how To Read Castles Is A Travel-size Primer That Takes A Strictly Visual Approach To Castle Architecture, Building Up Your Vocabulary Of Castle Types, Styles And Materials, And Showing You How These Aspects Can Be Recognised Across Architectural Features From The Floor-plan And Moat, To The Towers And Crenulations. Focusing On The 10th-16th Century Period, And Crusading Across The Globe From A Welsh Motte-and-bailey To A Japanese Hirajiro, This Is Both An Architectural Reference And A Visitor''s Guide Showing You How To Read The Stories Embedded In Every Castles Stones. Castles Once Dominated The Landscape As Seats Of Power And Symbols Of Wealth And Status, Providing A Means Of Control Over Borders, Passes, Routes And Rivers.