How long does it take to build a Motte and Bailey castle?
How long does it take to build a Motte and Bailey castle?
William and his men were invaders and his army would have had to be on a constant guard especially in the immediate days after Hastings. Research on one of William's motte and bailey castles at Hampstead Marshall shows that the motte contains 22,000 tons of soil. This motte took fifty men eighty days to build.
What are the disadvantages of a Motte and Bailey castle?
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.
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.
Who lives in a Motte and Bailey castle?
Life in the Norman Motte and Bailey Castles depended on the rank of the people who inhabited the castle. The Lord of the Castle and possibly his family would live in the most protected part of the castle – the Tower or the Keep. Servants would be expected to provide food for the Nobles and soldiers.
What does a Motte and Bailey castle look like?
Wark Castle: What did the Motte and Bailey Look Like? Motte and bailey castles contained a large, circular mound, usually up to 5m high, on which stood a wooden tower or keep. The mound was surrounded by a ditch and there would have been a bailey, or enclosed courtyard, attached.
What was the Bailey used for?
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. The bailey was designed to be defended by archers.
What is the purpose of a Motte?
A motte was an earth mound, forming a defensible raised platform on which a tower – a keep – could be built. The earth for the motte would be taken from around its own base, forming a deep ditch, aiding the builders' ability to defend. The motte would be strengthened with wooden supports or clay.
What was the purpose of a Motte and Bailey castle?
Motte and bailey castles were a form of castle structure that enabled the new Norman conquerors of England and Wales to secure areas of land quickly and cheaply. The Normans needed a castle design they could erect quickly to subdue the vanquished Britons.
Who built the first Motte and Bailey castle?
The Normans from France, introduced the Motte and Bailey castle to England, when they invaded the country in 1066. It is believed that as many as 1000 Motte and Bailey Castles were built in England by the Normans.
What is the difference between a Motte and Bailey castle and a stone keep?
The main difference between the two was that motte and bailey castles were designed to be temporary (although lots survive to this day) while stone keep castles were designed to last as long as possible. The most famous of these castles was the White Tower at the Tower of London and Rochester Castle in Kent.
What is in a Motte and Bailey castle?
A motte-and-bailey castle is a fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade.
How long does it take to build a castle?
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.
Why did we stop building castles?
Why did they stop building castles? However, when gunpowder was invented the castles stopped being an effective form of defence. By the end of the 1300s gunpowder was widely in use. The medieval castle with its high vertical walls was no longer the invincible fortification it had been.
What Stone are castles made of?
Generally, they were built of sandstone or limestone, but the whole castle wouldn't have been made of stone – it was expensive and unwieldy. Costs would have been cut by using wooden roofs, partitions, and supports.
Why did the Normans build so many castles?
After their victory at the Battle of Hastings, the Normans settled in England. They constructed castles all over the country in order to control their newly-won territory, and to pacify the Anglo-Saxon population. These early castles were mainly of motte and bailey type.
What are the three types of castles?
The three main types of castles are the motte and bailey castle, the stone keep castle, and the concentric castle.
What are the features of a Norman castle?
Stone keep castles were a lot bigger than motte and bailey castles and were able to hold more soldiers. Because of their vast size they were much harder to attack. However, they had two main weaknesses – there was nothing to be done if the enemy surrounded except remain in the castle.
Who built the first castle?
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.
When was the first Motte and Bailey castle built?
The Normans from France, introduced the Motte and Bailey castle to England, when they invaded the country in 1066. It is believed that as many as 1000 Motte and Bailey Castles were built in England by the Normans.
How did the Normans build castles?
The Normans built motte and bailey castles to begin with. These castle were quick to build using just earth and timber. Later, once William the Conqueror, the leader of the Normans, had firmly established his rule in England, the Normans built huge stone keep castles. The motte and bailey became the keep and bailey.
How many Motte and Bailey castles are there left in England?
Between 350 and 450 motte-and-bailey castles are believed to remain today, although the identification of these earthwork remains can be contentious. A small number of motte-and-bailey castles were built outside of northern Europe.
Why did Normans make changes to crime and punishment?
In conclusion the Normans in a way drastically changed our communities punishment system and revolved the crime and punishment around the church more than the Anglo-Saxons did. They also increased power to the king meaning the William could also write new laws and England was now his Mund.
How many castles did the Normans build?
According to one conservative modern estimate, based on the number of surviving earthworks, at least 500, and possibly closer to 1,000, had been constructed by the end of the 11th century – barely two generations since the Normans' initial landing.
Where did the Normans build their castles?
Norman Castles. William the Conqueror built his first castle at Hastings soon after the Normans arrived in 1066. They looked for sites that provided natural obstacles to an enemy, such as a steep hill or a large expanse of water.
How did the Normans defend their castles?
The defenders could fire missiles through gaps (crenels). The raised sections between, called merlons, helped to shelter the defenders during an enemy attack. These were stone boxes that projected from the walls of castles and had holes in the floors for dropping stones or boiling oil on attackers.