What was motte and bailey castles used for

The Normans brought with them new forms of military architecture, among the most important of which was the motte and bailey Castle. This consisted of two main components: the motte , an artificial mound atop which was built a fortified tower called a keep, and a bailey , which was an enclosure connected to the motte. Many castles of this type also had a ditch around the bailey.

Many early motte and bailey castles were built of timber, which meant that they could be constructed quickly in just a few weeks. This would have been especially important in the early days of the Norman Conquest, as Norman forces moved around the country to control pockets of resistance.

It is thought that as many as 1, wooden motte and bailey castles were constructed by the Normans in England. At the same time, castle architecture in mainland Europe became more sophisticated. A motte is a mound, either natural or artificial, topped with a tower known as a keep. The earth for an artificial mound would be taken from a ditch, dug around the motte or around the whole castle. The outer surface of the mound could be covered with clay or strengthened with wooden supports.

Most early mottes were topped with wooden structures, which could be built with readily available materials and without highly skilled labour. Many such structures were later replaced with stone keeps. There are two surviving examples of castles with two mottes, one is Lewes Castle and the other Lincoln Castle. Motte crowned with stone shell-keep and multi-angular keep, Gisors, France.

A bailey is an enclosed courtyard, typically surrounded by a wooden palisade overlooked by the motte. It was used as a living area by vassals who served the lord of the castle, generally including a blacksmith, a miller and most of the necessary craftsmen of the age.

A castle could have more than one bailey, sometimes an inner and an outer, such as at Warkworth Castle, where expansion of the castle led to enclosure of a new bailey with a wall. Alternatively, the multiple baileys could flank the motte, as at Windsor Castle. Wales History. Motte and bailey castles Last updated: 23 November The Normans needed a castle design they could erect quickly to subdue the vanquished Britons. The motte would be strengthened with wooden supports or clay.

Bookmark this page: delicious Digg Reddit Stumbleupon facebook What are these? See also. Concentric castles The Normans in Wales. Elsewhere on the BBC. Building motte and bailey castles were an effective way of securing towns that had submitted to his power. Although the wooden structure was much more vulnerable to damage than a stone structure, a motte and bailey castle could be built quickly until the Normans had the time to build more permanent stone structures.