The defensive, medieval seat of the feudal, combining the features of a tower and a castle with a full residential and defense program. The dominant feature of the keep is its dominance over the surrounds (city, castle, open space). The earliest residential towers of this type began to appear in the romanesque style in France in the 10th and 11th centuries (Langeais, Fréteval, Loches, Beaugency), and after the Norman invasions they spread in England.
