Of course, later "castles" like Schloss Neuschwanstein were dedicated showpieces. I think the argument is about whether nobles built such purely representationa

Of course, later "castles" like Schloss Neuschwanstein were dedicated showpieces. I think the argument is about whether nobles built such purely representational castles already in the, let's call it Castle Age. But I'd argue that such usage only became common when nobles started to centralize their power to turn their fiefs into proper states.