Motte and Bailey Castles

• Motte

  A mound of earth, usually less than 5 meters tall, that was part of a motte-and-bailey castle
• Bailey

  The fenced area around the motte, containing buildings where soldiers lived, stored weapons, and stabled horses
• Palisade

  A fence made of wooden stakes driven into the ground, providing protection around the bailey
• Keep

  The wooden tower built on top of the motte, serving as the main defensive structure
• Motte-and-bailey castles were a network of castles built by William the Conqueror all over England
• These castles were power bases for William's most powerful nobility, military bases for his knights and soldiers, and an intimidating presence for the Anglo-Saxons
• The Anglo-Saxons were often forced to build these castles
• Castles were crucial for William to secure his control over England, enabling the Normans to dominate over 2 million English people with just a few tens of thousands of Normans
• Castles were used to control local areas, protect war horses and weapons, and serve as bases of power
• Castles were a new and frightening sight in the English landscape, and a visible symbol of Norman oppression
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the Normans filled the castles with "devils and evil men"
• The word "dungeon" may have originated from the Norman-French word "don john" meaning the motte or mound