What did motte and bailey castles look like?

A motte-and-bailey castle was made up of two structures: a motte (a type of mound – often artificial – topped with a wooden or stone structure known as a keep); and at least one bailey (a fortified enclosure built next to the motte). The term motte-and-bailey is a relatively modern one, and is not medieval in origin.

What are the key features of a motte and bailey castle?

The castle is made up of two parts. The motte is a raised mound or earthwork which would have a stone or wooden keep on top. A keep is a kind fortified tower. The bailey is an enclosed courtyard that was protected by a ditch and a palisade – which is a wall made from wooden stakes.

What is a bailey used for in a castle?

The bailey is where followers of the lord of the castle lived. Many building would be built inside the bailey for stables, kitchens, houses, soldiers quarters, bakeries, and storehouses.

What are the motte and bailey castle?

The motte-and-bailey fallacy (named after the motte-and-bailey castle) is a form of argument and an informal fallacy where an arguer conflates two positions that share similarities, one modest and easy to defend (the “motte”) and one much more controversial (the “bailey”).

What was the problem with motte and bailey castles?

The major weakness of the motte and bailey castle was the likelihood of the keep rotting or burning down. The solution was to build stone keeps but these could not always be built on the same site since the weight of the stone would sink into the motte.

How long does it take to build a motte and bailey castle?

The motte and bailey castle at Dover took just eight days to build – according to William of Poitiers who was William’s chaplain. Was such a feat possible?

What were the problems with motte and bailey castles?

What were the problems with Motte and Bailey castles?

What are the disadvantages of Motte and Bailey castles?

At a glance: disadvantages of Motte and Bailey castles

• Timber burns easily -and attackers quickly learned that firing flaming arrows could defeat the castle.
• Timber rots, to0 – castles quickly ran into disrepair, and often became abandoned by their owners.
• Mottes often had a broad base.

What is the motte and bailey technique?

Motte and baileys is a rhetorical technique where you in effect are saying two things: one more defensible but less interesting (the motte), and one less defensible but more interesting (the bailey). The concept was invented by Nicholas Shackel, and was popularised by Scott Alexander.

What does motte and bailey mean in English?

(also motte and bailey) a type of castle in which there is a motte (= small hill) surrounded by a bailey (= open area) inside an outer wall.

How long would it take to build a motte and bailey castle?

The motte and bailey castle at Dover took just eight days to build – according to William of Poitiers who was William’s chaplain.

What are the main features of a motte and bailey castle?

A motte and bailey castle is, as the name suggests, made up of two parts: the motte and the bailey. The motte is a raised mound or earthwork with a stone or wooden keep (a fortified tower) on top . The bailey is a courtyard enclosed and protected by a ditch and a palisade (a wall made from lare wooden stakes).

What materials were used to build a motte and bailey castle?

A motte and bailey castle is, as the name suggests, made up of two parts: the motte and the bailey. The motte is a raised mound or earthwork with a stone or wooden keep (a fortified tower) on top.

What animals were kept on a motte and bailey castle?

The bailey would typically contain a hall, stables for the horses and cattle, a chapel, and huts for the nobleman’s people. There were often shops inside the bailey for local merchants. Motte and bailey castles later evolved into Norman castles that evolved later into even better Concentric castles.

Why did William build motte and bailey castles?

The reason why kings built castles was to protect them and to keep out their enemies. Motte and Bailey The motte and bailey were the first castles to be built in 1066 and William the Conqueror was one of the first to build them in England. Motte and Baileys were built from wood.