Castle "Idea Books" on Google Books

[jdarlack]

There are some fantastic "Idea Books" on Google Books. No, not official Lego "Idea Books," but books on medieval architecture, etc. that can help spark your castle-imagination (a helpful thing for those of us in North America who can't easily go on a day trip to a local castle). Many more books can be found on Google Books by using their Advanced Google Book Search.

Here are a few books I've found to be stimulating:

• The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland / David MacGibbon, Thomas Ross
• The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the 17th century / David MacGibbon, Thomas Ross
• The castles of England: their story and structure / Sir James Dixon Mackenzie
• The castles and abbeys of England / William Beattie
• Some Account of Domestic Architecture in England: From the conquest to the end of the 13th century / Thomas Hudson Turner, John Henry Parker

The books are thoroughly illustrated with drawings of structures, architectural details, and site plans. They are in the public domain (so they're typically around a hundred years old). When it comes to this kind of thing, however, age can be an asset (especially when there are engravings/drawings of sites that have been destroyed or significantly changed in the last hundred years).*

*An interesting example of this is the Stokesay Castle, where the only image of the castle with a wet moat is from an 18th century engraving. Compare the pic below with modern photos on the CastleWales.com site:



Another great place to look for public domain works on Castles, etc. is http://www.archive.org.