Subject:
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Motte and Bailey Notes
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.castle
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Date:
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Fri, 8 Feb 2002 02:19:25 GMT
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Viewed:
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1648 times
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Hi all,
I finally found a little time to look up a few things in my home library and
return to the topic of Motte and Bailey Castles. About a month ago, a few
questions about this came up as a few of you had considered building one of
LEGO, perhaps with elements from Fort Legoredo.
I had at the time offered my knowledge as best I could, but alas, some of what
I said was not solid fact. Here are my findings:
According to the book _Life in a Medieval Castle_ by Joseph and Frances Gies
(1974, Harper & Row)...
Most castles erected by the Normans shortly after their invasion of England,
and most early castles of continental Europe as well, were made of timber and
earthwork. These required unskilled labor, were cheap and quick to build, and
could be constructed anywhere a fortification was needed, regardless of
terrain.
The "motte" (or mound) was steep, sometimes natural, sometimes artificial
formed partly from the earth dug from an encircling ditch. The top of the
motte was flat and ringed with wooden palisades. The central keep within these
walls was simply a house or tower, made of whatever material was available
nearby (be it wood or even stone). This is where the lord or castellan would
reside, and the top of the motte could hold a garrison for very brief times.
But to house the daily living of a regular garrison, a larger area was cleared
below the motte, given a ditch and a wooden palisade. This "Bailey" was
connected to the higher motte by an inclined drawbridge. The bailey was often
round or oval in shape, but might vary to follow contours of the land. Some of
these early castles may have two or three such baileys.
...That's what I can offer for the motte and bailey design. These authors have
a few other books on medieval life too. I recommend checking them out, if you
want some realism in your castle ideas... :)
Cheerio,
-Hendo
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