Why were Motte and Bailey
Castles Important?
1066–1500
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Learning objectives
This presentation covers:
1.
What a motte and bailey castle is.
2.
Why they were built.
3.
What they looked like.
4.
What their advantages and disadvantages were.
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The motte and bailey castle
The Normans built the first proper castles in England.
They needed bases from which to control the countryside,
and strongholds to protect them from Saxon attack.
The castles had to be built in a hurry, so they were
originally built of timber on an earth mound (a motte).
The bailey was the living area for the soldiers.
Remember, William’s troops were an invading force
and not exactly secure in all parts of the country.
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Why castles?
When William invaded England he quickly set about
building castles.
The reason was simple – he knew he had nowhere near
enough men to run England.
So William built castles at important places – hills, rivers,
towns – so that if the English tried to control the country
they’d be forced to attack a castle – a bad move!
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Especially as the
English did not have
many castles before the
Normans came along!
Early castles
Motte –
defensive
mound of
earth
Moat – this
made it harder
to reach the
walls
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Keep – the safest
place in the castle
Bridge –
from the
motte to
the bailey
Drawbridge –
to the
entrance to
the bailey
Palisade – these
were made of
wood and
formed a fence
Bailey – large
walled area where
the soldiers and
animals lived
Keep
Motte
Bridge
Drawbridge
Moat
Palisade
Bailey
The surrounding area would be cleared of any cover.
This area would be called the killing ground.
It was unlikely that a motte and bailey would be built
near a forest – why do you think this is?
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How much do you remember?
Which do you think are the weakest parts of the castle?
Why?
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Why the motte and bailey?
So why did William build motte and bailey castles? To
answer this question you have to think about William’s
problems – get inside his mind to understand what he
needed.
A stone castle may be better for his
soldiers but will it take time to build?
What is better, a wooden castle that is
quick to build, or a stone castle that
will take years?
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What would you do in
William’s position?
Castles
Learning Objectives
To understand the advantages and disadvantages
of castles
To understand what the main defensive features
were
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Castles
• Put the title Castles.
• Then put a side heading Motte and Bailey
Castles
• Write a sentence to explain why William
and later kings wanted to build castles.
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Castles
• Now think about the advantages and the
disadvantages of these Motte and Bailey
castles.
• Write down 2 of each.
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Advantages of the motte and bailey castle
1. The castles were quick to build. A motte and bailey
castle could be up in a few weeks! This was a huge
difference compared to the years it would take to build a
stone castle.
2. They protected the soldiers that William used to
control the country and were easy to defend. Small
numbers of Norman soldiers could hold off rebellions or
attacks by being in a castle.
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Disadvantages of the motte and bailey castle
1. The biggest weakness was the
material they were made of – wood.
Like the story of the Three Little Pigs,
wooden buildings can be burnt down by
fire. They can also be affected by rot.
2. Because the castles were not built to last, they were
only a temporary solution.
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Motte and bailey: multiple-choice questions
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Defending a castle
The motte and bailey castle design that William first used
was good as a start but not as effective in the long term.
This is because castles needed to be strong enough to
survive an attack by any means.
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Castle defence keywords
Barbican
The extra gatehouse at the front of the castle.
Portcullis
The strong oak and metal gate at the front of the
castle (one pence coins carry an image of them).
Murder holes
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Holes that soldiers could pour hot sand, water
and lime through to kill and wound an enemy.
Location, location, location
The first defence a castle had was its location.
Harlech Castle was almost impossible to surround – why?
Harlech Castle
Other castles were built on hills, such as Guildford and
Conisbrough. This meant they could easily observe any
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enemy force approaching!
The castle entrance
The castle entrance often had a barbican attached. This
extra gatehouse protected the weakest part of the castle.
There would be extra soldiers, and several heavy oak doors
and portcullises to get past.
Gatehouse
Three entrance
gates
(portcullis) to
get through
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Barbican
The castle entrance
The castle entrance often had a barbican attached. This
extra gatehouse protected the weakest part of the castle.
There would be extra soldiers, and several heavy oak doors
and portcullises to get past.
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Castle
• Label your diagram
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Defences before and at the main entrance
Click on the murder holes, portcullis and drawbridge.
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Why do you think the main entrance had so much
defence?
Castles were often built near rivers.
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Why do you think this was?
Learning Objectives
To understand how castles defenses were used
To identify the different types of defense
To be able to describe how castles were defended
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Castle defences
The castle battlements jutted out from the
top of the wall so that soldiers could drop
heavy stones and pour boiling tar onto the
enemy below.
At the bottom of the curtain
wall the walls were angled so
that when stones were
dropped they would bounce off
the bottom and hit the
attackers.
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There were a number of features
which could be added to the castle
to make it stronger. Most castles had
round towers in their walls. This
was so soldiers could fire in all
directions along the front walls.
The strongest building was the keep. It had
numerous defensive features including very
thick walls, narrow staircases, big cellars for
sieges. Even the entrance was raised and
had drawbridges to stop an attack.
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Correct version
Keep
The strongest building with thick
walls and a drawbridge
Murder holes
Holes that hot sand, water and lime
could be poured through
Battlements
Jutted away from the castle wall so
soldiers could drop boiling tar on the
enemies below
Curtain Wall
Angled wall to allow dropped stones to
hit the attackers.
Barbican
The extra gatehouse at the front of the
castle
Portcullis
The strong oak and metal gate at the
front of the castle
Round towers
Allowed soldiers to fire in all directions
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Key Words
• Merlons – raised stones , often on the top
of a tower.
• Embrasures – arrow slits
• Round towers – harder to undermine as
they had no corners
Copy these terms into your book
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Why did castles develop?
As castles were frequently under attack, they had to be as
strong as possible.
As the attackers improved their methods of attack, so the
castle builders had to improve the castle’s ability to defend.
How do you think
a battering ram
was used to attack
a castle?
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Castle attack
In this picture the
attackers are tunnelling.
They would mine
underneath the castle
hoping to collapse it!
What are the advantages of this method of attack?
How would this catapult
have worked?
Do you think it would have
been very effective? Why?
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These siege towers had a
drawbridge at the top. The soldiers
would climb up the tower and rush
across the drawbridge onto the
castle hoarding (the bit jutting out
at the top of the castle). They were
often covered in animal skins to
provide further protection from
arrows.
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What do you think were the main
disadvantages with this method of attack?
Attacking the castle
• Describe what each of these was used for
and give it the correct name.
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Which of the methods of attack do you think would
have been the most effective? Why?
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Can you suggest any other methods attackers
might have used?
Pick one of the attack
weapons we have looked at
today and write a short
paragraph explaining its
advantages and
disadvantages
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Learning Objectives
To understand how castles defended themselves from
attack
To understand how castles were attacked
To write a successful defence/attack plan
You are going to watch a clip from the film
Braveheart, you should concentrate on how the
men attack the castle and what they use to do
this.
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Siege
Castles were sometimes so strong that the only method of
attack was to wait. This was called laying siege. It was
basically staying out of arrow range and surrounding the
castle until it was starved into submission.
Sieges could take a very long time to work. Many castles
had wells in the keep and large storerooms always
prepared in case of a siege. The best time to attack would
be spring as all the winter food would be used up by then
and the defenders would have little supplies to last on.
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Biological warfare
Sometimes attacking a castle
involved more gruesome
methods. In the fourteenth
century one castle was subjected
to an attack by having plague
victims catapulted over the walls
to spread the disease.
Other attacks included throwing over rotten animal
bodies to spread disease and also the heads of
executed prisoners!
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Attacking a castle
• From the information we have just read
pick out 3 other things that were used in
an attack.
• Explain how they were used and decide
which one you think was the most
effective.
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Task
• Choose to be either an attacker or a
defender of a castle.
• Write a set of instructions for your knights
telling them how your castle is going to be
attacked or defended.
• You must use the correct terms and
describe the castle structure as well as the
weapons that will be used.
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Attack and Defence: multiple-choice questions
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On your scrap bits of paper you have 2
minutes to draw a typical castle!!! GO!!!
Now turn over. You now have 2 minutes to
draw how you would design your own castle!
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What was it like living inside a castle?
Learning Objectives
To understand what the inside of a castle would have looked like?
To identify the purpose of different rooms
To identify what rooms you would include in your own castle
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Look at your diagrams of the inside of a castle. On the
sheet describe in your own words the PURPOSE of each
room.
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Which room do you think is the most important?
Why?
Which room do you think is the least important?
Why?
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If you were building your own
castle what would it be like on the
inside?
Write a paragraph which discusses
your choices
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How did Castles develop over time?
Learning Objectives
•To understand how
Castles in England
developed
•To assess how strong
castles were
•To assess how
comfortable they were to
live in
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Read through the information about Chepstow castle and
complete the table of results:
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Students to answer questions:
•What does the story of Chepstow Castle tell us about the power
struggles of noblemen and Kings?
(Think about how the castle was used as a reward for loyalty; how the
castle was meant to help increase the power of the Normans; and how
its owners used the castle as a sign of wealth and power)
•What does the castle’s story tell you about medieval minds?
(Think about the hopes and fears of knights and noblemen)
What is the most important
thing to consider when
building a castle and why?
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Designing a Castle
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Lesson Objectives
• To reflect on what we learned from the
visit to Newcastle and Warkworth
• To compare the 2 styles of castle
• To begin to focus on designing a castle.
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Compare Warkworth and Newcastle Keep using the
Double Bubble Tool
Warkworth
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Newcastle
Keep
Your Task
• You have been asked by a Norman Baron to
design a new castle which is going to be built in
Northumberland.
• The King is worried about marauding peoples
from the north and he wants to put a strong
baron in Northumberland to keep control.
• You have to take into account that the baron has
a wife and family and so the castle will also be
their home.
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Your Task
• You need to decide the Location; where in
Northumberland will you build this castle ?
• You need to give reasons for this decision.
• Then you have to decide what your castle will
look like; you need to draw a floor plan, showing
what rooms are included and what they are used
for.
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Your Task
• Then you have to consider the security of the
castle; how will you make sure it can resist an
attack ?
• You must describe (or draw) the defensive
features and explain what makes your castle
strong and safe from attack.
• Include an explanation of what building materials
you use and why you chose them.
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Your Task
• You can present your design in the form of
a powerpoint presentation, or a set of
plans with notes, or a model.
• Your design must have an explanation for
everything you include.
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Your Task
• Your design has to be completed by
Tuesday 13th July.
• You will then present it to the whole class.
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