An adulterine castle was a fortification erected without royal permission during the period of civil war known as The Anarchy, a struggle for the English throne between Queen Maud (aka Empress Matilda) and King Stephen.
History
After the death of Henry I in 1135, there were two claimants to the throne; Henry's daughter Matilda (Maud) and his nephew Stephen.
During the interminable struggle for the throne between supporters of King Stephen and Queen Maud (1135-53), a number of wealthy barons built unauthorised castles in an attempt to exert control over their territory and at the same time to defy the authority of the crown.
Tradition required that a nobleman must have royal approval to crenellate an existing fortification or to create a new castle, but these adulterine castles were created completely without royal permission.
When the conflict between Stephen and Maud was resolved in 1153 by settling the inheritance on Maud's son, Henry, Stephen began the process of systematically destroying these unauthorised fortifications.
After Stephen's death the following year, Henry (now Henry II) carried on the task of demolishing the adulterine castles one by one, and at the same time reinforcing his royal authority.
