Castles Are Transformed. The castles of the highest nobility during the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries became increasingly luxurious, and, by the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, noble culture was becoming increasingly formal and complex. As the seats of noble courts, the largest castles were becoming more elaborate as well. More outbuildings were constructed in castle yards to supply more goods and services, and the number of castle servants was increasing. At the same time nobles became less itinerant, and powerful lords increasingly divided their time among only a few residences, except when they were needed elsewhere for political considerations. These changes affected only the greatest castles and their lords; yet, the development of this noble, court culture was a distinctive feature of the later Middle Ages.

Clothing the Lord and Lady. Basic clothing for aristocrats was...