Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

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Bailey

The Norman castle in its most elementary form consisted of the motte and bailey. The motte or mound was surmounted with a palisade and provided the most defensible position. It was, however, small in area and an enclosure, the bailey, surrounded it to give a first level of defence to baggage wagons.The bailey consisted of an earthen bank, made of the spoil of the surrounding ditch, with a fence or wall along its top.

See also: castle; motte

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A reconstruction of a motte and bailey castle based on an illustration of Rhuddlan, built in 1073. Stables, storerooms, smithy, animal houses, sheds and a well would have been placed inside the bailey or courtyard.