Difference between revisions of "Castle Black"

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==References and Notes==
 
==References and Notes==
 
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{{Castles of the Night's Watch}}
  
 
[[Category:Castles of the Night's Watch]]
 
[[Category:Castles of the Night's Watch]]

Revision as of 21:57, 28 April 2013

The North and the location of Castle Black
The North and the location of Castle Black
Castle Black
The North and the location of Castle Black
Bird's eye view of Castle Black - by Matt Olson ©
Castle Black and look of the wall (TV Series)
Winch elevator used to get on top of the wall
Castle Black - Training yard (TV Series)

Castle Black is the main fortress for the Night's Watch. The castle is situated along the Wall between Queensgate to the west and Oakenshield to the east, near the center of the Wall, at the northern end of the Kingsroad.[1]

Despite there being 19 strongholds along the Wall, Castle Black is one of only three still manned by the Night's Watch. Once the castle held over five thousand men, but now currently holds about six hundred brothers.

The Castle

The castle is not really a true castle at all, as it has no walls to defend it to west, east, or south. Only The Wall stands to the north. It consists of several stone towers and timber keeps. [2] Beneath the keeps and towers, there is a series of subterranean passages that connect all of the buidings called the wormways. They are rarely used during the summer, but in the winter it is the only way to travel to different parts of the castle.[3]

Castle Black has only a small sept and no godswood.[2] Men who follow the Old Gods have to travel beyond the Wall, into the haunted forest, to a small grove of carven weirwoods left by the children of the forest, to swear their vows.[4]

Towers

  • Lord Commander's Tower, It also called "Commander's Keep", it's where the Lord Commander's quarters are located. It was burned down during Jon Snow's fight against a wight that was trying to kill the Lord Commander.
  • King's Tower, The King's Tower is 100 foot tall round tower with merlons atop it, overlooking the gate and the foot of the wooden stair leading up the Wall. The entry door is made of oak studded with iron.[5]
    Although it is reserved for honored guests and named for kings, no king has visited the tower in over a hundred years.[2] until recently it was occupied by Stannis Baratheon.
  • Hardin's Tower, Hardin's Tower, has a broken battlement, from which stone has spilled into the yard below and has a severe lean. Jon Snow's cells were located in this tower before his ascension to Lord Commander.[6]
  • Lance Tower, The Lance Tower is the tallest tower in the castle, though only a third the height of the Wall. It is slim and crumbling.
  • Tower of the Guards, The strongest of the towers, It lies next to the Kingsroad and the Wall and guards the wooden stair.[7]
  • Silent Tower, The Silent Tower is a tower at Castle Black.[8]

Keeps

  • Common Hall - a great timbered keep. Crows nest in the rafters.[2]
  • Rookery - the maester's quarters located in a stout wooden keep beneath the rookery.
  • Armory - where the equipment for weapons practice is kept.
  • Flint Barracks - where most of the brothers reside.
  • Vaults, located underground, they contain food stores and the library. The library contains records and old books that even the Citadel doesn't have, about drawings of the faces in the weirwoods, language of the children of the forest, scrolls from Valyria etc.

Tunnels

There are a series of tunnels underneath Castle Black called the wormways, which connect the various keeps and towers. These tunnels are mostly used during the winter, when the cold and snow (sometimes forty or fifty feet deep) make it impossible to travel above ground.[9] The library of Castle Black lies along one of these tunnels.[3]

The Wall

  • The Gate, Castle Black guards one of two known passages through the Wall (the Black Gate being the other). The tunnel through the Wall is long, twisting and narrow. Three iron gates block the inner passage. Each of these gates is locked and has a murder hole above it. The outer door to the tunnel is solid oak, about nine inches thick.
  • Access to the top, The great switchback stair, climbs its way up from castle black to the top of the wall. It is made of wooden stairs, anchored by huge beams frozen into it.
    A winch elevator is used to take supplies and men up to the top of the Wall. It is an iron cage attached to a winch to allow it to ascend and descend the face of the Wall. It can hold ten men or an equal amount of supplies. It is located near Castle Black's well.
  • Facilities on top, a small warming shed for the men on watch located near the crane.

Chapters that take place in Castle Black

References and Notes