Motte and bailey Castles in Britain

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Motte and bailey Castles in Britain

• By N. Dumpty

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Motte and Bailey Castles(click on the words for
more info)
Motte
How were they built?
Intro
Why were they built?
Bailey
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Introduction

• Motte and Bailey castles were wooden castles
  that were introduced by the Normans in 1050.
• They were very quick to build (some took less
  than 10 days to build).

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Motte

• Motte is an old French word for clod of
  earth.
• This the hill where the wooden castle is built.
  There are steps and bridges leading from the
  bailey.

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Bailey

• Motte and Bailey castles were wooden castles
  that were introduced by the Normans in 1050.
  Motte is an old French word for clod of earth
  and bailey meant enclosure. They were very
  quick to build (some took less than 10 days to
  build).

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How they were built

• To build a motte and bailey castle, you need to
  dig a ditch around a hill and some flat land (the
  bailey). Then, you had to fill water into the
  ditch. Finally, on top of the hill, you build a
  wooden castle and a fence around the area.

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Why were motte bailey castles built?

• William ordered them to be built after he got
  the crown to stop people fighting with each other
  after the Battle of Hastings and the death of
  King Harold.

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Advantages and disadvantages of motte and bailey
castles

• Disadvantages
• Easy to burn down because they were made of wood
• The wood rotted quickly so they had to make them
  again every 10 years

• Advantages
• Quick to build 4 to 7 days
• Cheap to build
• Only need a few soldiers to defend a castles

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Stone Castles

• After a while it made more sense to build some
  stone castles because the disadvantages
  outweighed the advantages.

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Porchester Roman Fort

• Portchester Castle is an interesting site,
  comprising a Roman Fort, later adapted into a
  Norman Castle, which in turn became a medieval
  Royal palace.

In the late third century, Romans built
defensive forts to protect themselves from the
Saxons and to provide a secure base for the Roman
fleet sheltering in the harbor. The forts are
known as the Saxon Shore forts. The vast area
inside the fort was occupied beyond the departure
of the Roman army in the fourth century.
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Stages of the Norman conquest of Britain

• The Norman conquest of Britain took place
  between 1066 and 1070

Normans conquering Britain
Edward the Confessor
Harold Godwinson
William, Duke of Normandy
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Bayeux Tapestry