![]() Medieval castle architecture refers to the castles built from 1066, in the style of the Normans. The initial baileys that were constructed of wooden stakes were replaced with stone as time went by. This area also included space for villagers and domestic animals. A bailey (enclosed courtyard) surrounding the motte was constructed to secure the central area which housed the keep, great hall, chapel, and other important buildings. First, ditches were added to slow down the approaching invaders. Medieval castle designs changed to keep up with changing tactics and weapons of invaders, and later to reflect prestige and wealth. While invaders were struggling to get over the ditches and climb the mounds, bowmen at the top had the perfect opportunity to shoot arrows directly at the invaders. Additionally, while excavating rock and soil from the ground to strengthen and increase the size of the mound, a ditch was formed around it–making the mound even more difficult to access. The original natural mounds frequently had earth and rock added, to make them higher and steeper, and thus more difficult to climb. The effectiveness of the fortifications lay in the fact that the earthen mounds were difficult to ascend while arrows from the keep rained down on the invaders, whose returning arrows would just get stuck in the wooden palisades. Everything and everyone, skilled and unskilled, could participate in constructing this type of defense. The alarm was sounded when invaders were scouted preparing to besiege a village. As their grasp on invaded lands became stronger, the Normans transitioned to stone keeps or castles to hold their lines and lands, which was the start of castles as we know them today. The Normans built their earliest fortifications of wood in the motte-and-bailey style. These noblemen were constantly at war with their local neighbors in an attempt to expand their own territory, but their methods of fortifications have not structurally survived history. ![]() This structure was known as the central keep by the time the motte-and-bailey structures developed it was part residence, part office, and part treasury.Īnglo-Saxon nobility operated on a feudal system, collecting taxes from their tenants. In medieval times, noblemen and kings at first built wooden structures to house their families, other nobles, and household guards on top of the mound, later called a motte. 3 Gothic Architecture: Tales of Ghosts and Ghouls.2 How Did They Build Castles in Medieval Times?.1.1 Norman Innovation: The Motte-and-Bailey. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |