What are 3 features of a motte and bailey castle?
What are 3 features of a motte and bailey castle?
A motte-and-bailey castle is a wooden or stone keep building that sits on a raised mound called a motte and is accompanied by an enclosed courtyard called a bailey. A protective ditch surrounds it, and a fence called a palisade was the first type of castle to be built in England after the Norman conquest in 1066.
What is the most famous motte and bailey castle?
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle, in England, is an example of a motte-and-bailey castle. By the end of the 13th century, the design was largely superseded by alternative forms of fortification, but the earthworks remain a prominent feature in many countries.
Why did William build motte and bailey castles?
William built a significant number of motte and bailey castles to help maintain peace. In northern England and elsewhere, William seized land from rebellious Saxon nobles and reassigned it to Norman nobles and knights. In return, they had to build a motte and bailey to protect William’s interests in the local area.
How do you make a motte?
Find a small square box to start off your mound. Stick the box on the motte end of your platform using sticky tape or glue. Screw up old newspaper into balls. Use them to build up the sides of your mound around the box using glue or sticky tape.
What is a motte and bailey castle made out of?
The castles consisted of a wooden wall, perhaps built on an earth bank, encircling an open space or courtyard (bailey) and a natural or artificial hill (motte) which had a wooden tower built in the centre of its flattened top, sometimes surrounded by its own wooden palisade.
What is a Motte and Bailey castle made out of?
What are 2 features of 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.
What were the 4 main reasons that castles were built?
Medieval castles were built from the 11th century CE for rulers to demonstrate their wealth and power to the local populace, to provide a place of defence and safe retreat in the case of attack, defend strategically important sites like river crossings, passages through hills, mountains and frontiers, and as a place of …
What is a motte in a castle?
The motte was a huge mound with a castle, or keep, built on top. It would have been easy to defend, as people would have had to climb up it slowly to reach the keep. Most mottes were surrounded by a deep ditch to stop attackers. The bailey was a large area of ground, surrounded by a tall, wooden fence.
What was a motte used for?
Motte and bailey castles were first used by the Normans as far back as 1020 AD. They used motte-and-bailey castles after winning the Battle of Hastings in 1066 to keep their settlements safe and secure. The castle is named after Norman words. Motte means a mound of “clod of earth” and bailey means an enclosure.
What does Motte and Bailey mean in English?
Definition of motte and bailey : a medieval Norman castle consisting of two connecting ditched stockaded mounds with the higher mound surmounted by the keep and the lower one containing barracks and other buildings.
How long did it take to build a castle?
two to 10 years
Castles generally took two to 10 years to build. To learn and understand medieval castle building techniques, let’s look at a modern castle building project.
Who made the first castle?
The first castles were built by the Normans The great age of castles began almost 1,000 years ago and lasted for nearly 500 years. The Normans introduced the first proper castles, starting with the wooden Motte and Bailey castles, to England following their victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Who built the first motte and bailey?
The first motte-and-bailey castle was built at Vincy, Northern France, in 979. Over the following decades the Dukes of Anjou popularised the design. William the Conqueror (then the Duke of Normandy), observing their success in neighbouring Anjou, began to build them on his Norman lands.
What does a motte look like?
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.