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The castle became a powerful symbol in the Middle Ages of political power, military protection, and administrative governance. For nearly 900 years, the nobility and royalty built castles and fortified structures; not only for military purposes, but also as their residences. In urban areas, castles controlled travel routes and the local people. In rural areas, castles controlled the peasants and their farms, as well as the distribution of food and goods. Feudal society was about the obligations of the emerging three estates of the realm: the nobility, clergy, and peasants. The three estates defined European political structure until the Renaissance.