The Middle Ages is a period that has been inspiring our imagination for a long time. Even contemporary fantasy literature, especially in its film versions, draws most frequently from the medieval climate, with the buildings, everyday objects and clothing styled after the fashion of the Medieval period. The greatest of emotions and interest are aroused by knights and castles. Some of the medieval strongholds have survived in their entirety to this day and have been changed to a smaller or lesser extent by the following generations, others enrapture with their picturesque ruins. However, not many people ask themselves the question where did the medieval knights actually live when they were not accompanying their master in war, or were not staying in their lord's impressive castles. Where did they spend their time with their families whilst bringing up the next generation of knights? Most certainly the majority of them, at least in Poland, did not reside in such mighty castles.

So where did the medieval knights actually live? The answer to this question may vary taking into consideration the extensive territories of Europe. Even the issue of the duration of the Middle Ages causes many difficulties and differs for the various regions of our continent. In this book, however, I would like to concentrate on the fortified manor houses of knights that functioned in medieval Poland, that is within Central Europe. Our country was, at the time, overgrown with widespread forests cut with marshy river valleys and with mountain ranges in the south. Such a landscape had a considerable influence on the form and specificity of settlements and homesteads.

In the major part of Europe the motte and bailey residence, with its tower buildings on top of an artificial mound, was the initial form of settlement dwelt in by the knight. However, it is not my intention to study the origins of this type of fortified manor house. This is a huge issue and it is extremely popular among scholars, not only archaeologists.

Above all, I would like to make an attempt at the reconstruction of the appearance of such a manor house, including the objects that could be found inside. In this work the reader will not come across any attempts at creation of a typology, which is so popular among archaeologists.