Spenser, in his wedding poem “Epithalamion” (1595), curses the frogs that annoy him and his bride on their wedding night: “Ne let th’unpleasant quyre of frogs still croking/ Make us to wish theyr choking” (lines 349-50). Far from being a nuisance only, the lake would have served as a natural defensive barrier for the castle and as a source of water and food.]]>