With the progressive institution of feudalism everywhere in Europe, a rudimentary form of castle appeared. The term castle, coming from the latin castrum and its diminutive castellum, designates a fortified building, a dwelling place for the local lord, a political and economic center which provided shelter to the population of the fief in case of danger.
Originating from the French regions between the Loire and Rhine rivers, the so-called motte-and-bailey castle was a transition between the post-Roman refuge and the medieval stone castle. Continuing Germanic tradition, the motte-and-bailey castle was characterized by the digging and heaping up of a huge mass of earth, and the use of wood, material which was everywhere available and easily used by non-specialists.
Rather little is known about motte-and-bailey castles, but the Bayeux tapestry illustrates those at Dol, Rennes, Dinan and Bayeux in France and Hastings in England; the tapestry and a little archeological evidence give some indication of their structure.
The motte proper was a conical mound which might vary considerably in size (between 6 and 15 m). The
Hunneschans. The small fortified village of Hunneschans was situated near Uddel in the Netherlands. Probably built in the 7th century by the earl of Veluwe Diderik, the village was oval-shaped and leaned on a lake. It was fortified by a ditch, which could be filled with water from the lake, and an earth wall crowned by a stockade. Hunneschans was in some ways similar to the Scandinavian and British ringforts. It was used as a refuge for the local peasantry until the 13 th century.
Motte could be completely man-made—an important or even enormous undertaking—but if there was a suitable hill in the area it would be adapted by scarping, that is, cutting vertically down the sides and digging away the lower slopes. In certain cases, to avoid the shifting of materials and to provide greater stability to the motte, alternating layers of stone, peat, clay, chalk, rubble, gravel, brushwood or sand were inserted between rammed or beaten down layers of earth. Finally the whole mound was revetted with a thick coat of clay to keep out water. With this technique the builders could create a dry place in a possible swampy area, or keep the castle out of reach of the river in low lands. The base of the motte was surrounded by a ditch, which may have been filled with water. Some of the material for the motte was derived from the ditch, but in some cases additional materials
Opposite: Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. This fortified church, situated in the Camargue in southern France, was built and fortified against the Moors in 1144. It included a bell-tower arranged as a keep, thick walls with few openings, a high chapel and a wall-walk fitted with machicolation in the 14th century.
Were required to bring the mound up to any appreciable height.
The fortified bell-tower of the church of the abbey of Moissac (France)
Artificial or man-made, the top of the motte was flattened in order to constitute a platform, which was defended by a stockade and an earth rampart. In the middle of the platform stood a timber tower, which served as either an observatory or, more frequently, a fortified wooden house where lived the domi-nus (lord), his family, his few warriors and some servants. This building was called the tower or great-tower, though other words were used, including donjon, dungeon, keep, odel, dunio, domus, domicilium or castellum.
The great-tower was frequently quadrangular or, less commonly, round. Often it rested on foundation pits to take heavy and strong timber posts. The tower usually included one to three stories in which one living room, sleeping accommodations, missile-supply, food and water stores were arranged. The top of the pitched or sloping roof was frequently designed as a small lookout post, a kind of watchtower allowing a wide view of the countryside around it. The entrance to the tower was above ground level and could be reached only by a removable timber bridge or a ladder. Anything else about the appearance of the tower is a matter for speculation, but it was very unlikely that there was not some attempt at decoration in the form of painting, carving or sculpture, since not only preservation but also beauty, pride, ostentation and prestige were always involved in fortification.
As the name suggests
Cathedral of Lisbon (Portugal). The cathedral of Lisbon was built in the 12th century, probably by the French master masons Bernard and Robert, by order of king Afonso Hen-riques. Like the cathedrals of Porto, Coimbra and Evora, it was also a fortress.
World History
