n.the
main inner
tower of a medieval
castle that served as the
living place for a
lord and his family, and which was used as the
final defensive stronghold when the
castle was under
siege. Castles were commonly built with a strong outer
wall of stone encircled by a
moat. Inside this
wall was a
second protective
wall surrounding a large
central structure called a
donjon keep (or simply
donjon or keep). Donjons were
imposing stone towers rising fifty or sixty feet (15.2 to 18.3 m) into the air and were often rectangular or round in shape. They contained
living quarters for both the
lord of the
castle and his family and the
castle's soldiers. During an
attack by an opposing army, if the outer defenses should fail, the
donjon was the last
place of
refuge. Donjons were the most fortified part of the
castle and could withstand an extended seige. They sometimes had rooms below
ground level that were used for prisons, torture chambers, etc., and which were also called
donjon keeps but eventually came to be known as dungeons.