Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old

 

 

 

Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away ere break of day To seek the pale enchanted gold. The dwarves of yore made mighty spells, While hammers fell like ringing bells In places deep, where dark things sleep, In hollow halls beneath the fells. For ancient king and elvish lord There many a gleaming golden hoard They shaped and wrought, and light they caught To hide in gems on hilt of sword. On silver necklaces they strung The flowering stars, on crowns they hung The dragon-fire, in twisted wire They meshed the light of moon and sun. Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away, ere break of day, To claim our long-forgotten gold. Goblets they carved there for themselves And harps of gold; where no man delves There lay they long, and many a song Was sung unheard by men or elves. The pines were roaring on the height The winds were moaning in the night. The fire was red, it flaming spread; The trees like torches blazed with light. The bells were ringing in the dale And men looked up with faces pale; Then dragon’s ire more fierce that fire Laid low their towers and houses frail. The mountain smoked beneath the moon; The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom. They fled their hall to dying hall Beneath his feet, beneath the moon. Far over the misty mountains grim To dungeons deep and caverns dim We must away, ere break of day, To win our harps and gold from him! The word "dungeon" comes from Old French donjon (also spelled dongeon), which in its earliest usage meant a keep, the main tower of a castle. The first recorded instance of the word in English was near the beginning of the 14th century when it held the same meaning as donjon. Though it is uncertain, both dungeon and donjon are thought to derive from the Middle Latin word dominio, meaning "lord" or "master". In French the term donjon still refers to a "keep", and the term oubliette is a more appropriate translation of English "dungeon". Donjon is therefore a false friend to "dungeon" (for instance, the game "Dungeons and Dragons" is titled "Donjons et Dragons" in its French editions. An oubliette (from the French oubliette, literally "forgotten place") was a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling. The word comes from the same root as the French oublier, "to forget", as it was used for those prisoners the captors wished to forget. The earliest use of oubliette in French dates back to 1374, but its earliest adoption in English is Walter Scott's Ivanhoe in 1819: "The place was utterly dark—the oubliette, as I suppose, of their accursed convent. Few Norman keeps in English castles originally contained prisons, though they were more common in Scotland. Imprisonment was not a usual punishment in the Middle Ages, so most prisoners were kept pending trial or awaiting a penalty, or for political reasons. Noble prisoners would not generally be held in dungeons, but would live in some comfort in castle apartments.       The Tower of London is famous as a prison for political detainees, and Pontefract Castle at various times held Thomas of Lancaster (1322), Richard II (1400),Earl Rivers (1483), Scrope, Archbishop of York (1405), James I of Scotland (1405–1424) and Charles, Duke of Orléans (1417–1430). Purpose-built prison chambers in castles became more common after the 12th century, when they were built into gatehouses or mural towers. Some castles had larger provision for prisoners, such as the prison tower atCaernarvon Castle. The identification of dungeons and rooms used to hold prisoners is not always a straightforward task. Alnwick Castle and Cockermouth Castle, both near England's border with Scotland, had chambers in their gatehouses which have often been interpreted as oubliettes.   However, this has been challenged. These underground rooms (accessed by a door in the ceiling) were built without latrines, and since the gatehouses at Alnwick and Cockermouth provided accommodation it is unlikely that the rooms would have been used to hold prisoners. An alternative explanation was proposed, suggesting that these were strong-rooms where valuables were stored. Diagram of alleged oubliette in the Paris prison of La Bastille fromDictionary of French Architecture from 11th to 16th Century (1854–1868), byEugène Viollet-le-Duc; the commentary speculates that this may in fact have been built for storage of ice.   Although many real dungeons are simply a single plain room with a heavy door or with access only from a hatchway or trapdoor in the floor of the room above, the use of dungeons for torture, along with their association to common human fears of being trapped underground, have made dungeons a powerful metaphor in a variety of contexts.   Dungeons, in the plural, have come to be associated with underground complexes of cells and torture chambers. As a result, the number of true dungeons in castles is often exaggerated to interest tourists. Many chambers described as dungeons or oubliettes were in fact storerooms, water-cisterns or even latrines. An example of what might be popularly termed an "oubliette" is the particularly claustrophobic cell in the dungeon of Warwick Castle's Caesar's Tower, in central England. The access hatch consists of an iron grille. Even turning around (or moving at all) would be nearly impossible in this tiny chamber. What Was the Purpose Of the Castle Dungeon? Most castles built during the early Medieval period didn't truly have dungeons. Why not? Well, in Medieval times, it wasn't a particularly common punishment to keep someone imprisoned in a confined space. Often, one baron would kidnap the children of another baron, and hold the poor kids hostage at his home or his castle. However, the unfortunate children would be free to roam the castle - but wouldn't be able to leave it. Medieval castles did have an area called the don-jon - a term which comes from French. But back in Medieval times, the don-jon was the name for the Great Keep, or the main tower of the castle. A wooden skull, placed to spook tourists in Prague Castle. Credit: Adam Jones CC-BY-SA-2.0 Originally, the Great Keep was the most secure part of the castle - and, in Early Medieval times, nobles tended to live in the Keep, as it reflected their importance. However, as time progressed, the nobles began to live in more comfortable and luxurious areas of the castle - in bedrooms designed for warmth and luxury. However, the Great Keep remained as the most secure place at the heart of the castle. Valuable items - such as jewels, money and also important prisoners - began to be stored in this secured tower. "Edward I's new castles had prisons, to keep the rebellious Welsh at bay" In later Medieval times, the concept of taking political prisoners became much more common. When Edward I was trying to subdue the frequent rebellions in North Wales, he saw the value of capturing and imprisoning the biggest trouble-makers. Therefore, his new castles of the late 1200s - including Caernarfon, for example - contained new prisons to keep the rebellious Welsh at bay. Initially, these prisons were in towers - these were considered to be the strongest parts of the castle, and the areas which could be best-defended if a prisoner wanted to escape. Eventually, these new prisons began to be called 'castle dungeons', which was an English adaptation of the old French words of 'don-jon'. Remember that 'don-jon', in Medieval times, just meant a secured tower, or Great Leep. The dungeons of Dunajec Castle, in Poland. Credit: DaLee CC-BY-2.0 During the later Medieval period, castles became grander and more ornate - designed more for entertaining, and as luxurious residences of nobles. As castles changed, these 'don-jons' - prisons - began to be located in the least desirable (but still secure!) areas of the castle, where people certainly didn't want their bedrooms or apartments. This meant the cold, wet and dark storerooms or castle basements became these new castle dungeons. It's strange, isn't it, that dungeons moved from within the highest castle towers, down into the lowest castle cellars.