Why were the motte and bailey castles built?

Answer 1

Motte and Bailey castles were built by King William I (William the Conqueror) after The Battle of Hastings to try and stop the rebellions and keep all his people under control in England, Wales and Ireland. He chose Motte and Bailey castles because they were made out of wood. This made them cheap and light so they were easy to build. It was a hard job to keep his people under control as he'd just killed their previous King who they all loved. However, strategically placing these Castles proved well over time as the rebellions eventually became fewer then stopped.

Some of these Motte and Bailey castles were later replaced by Stone Keep castles (Stone castles) because they were stronger, didn't burn and didn't rot within a few years but will last on for centuries to come. The Motte and Bailey castles that didn't get improved to a Stone Keep Castle would have just been left to rot. No Motte and Bailey castles still exist today but many Stone Keep castles do.

Motte and Bailey castles weren't just built in England however, they actually developed the basic idea of Motte and Bailey Castles in Rhineland Germany. They were only first built in Northwest France by the Normans (Northwest France would have been called Normandy in those days).

because they were easy and cheap to build.

List and description of key terms-

-Keep

A wooden castle atop the Motte

-Motte

The mound of earth the Keep was on

-Bailey

Where the animals were kept

-Ditch

A round circle dug around the castle to make reaching the castle harder

-Drawbridge

This was like a large door, and it was used to keep out enemies.

-Palisade

The wooden fence surrounding the Motte and Bailey

Advantages and disadvantages-

Advantages-

-The drawbridge could be closed or burnt for additional protection

-They were made of wood that couldn't rot

-They were easy to build

-They were cheap

-They were built in roughly a week

-They were good to show strength and control

Disadvantages-

-They were made out of wood that could burn easily, so they could be defeated by fire-arrows

- The palisade could be defeated by the Battering Ram

I hope this helped.

Answer 2

They were first built after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, so that the Normans (William the Conqueror) could control the country (England) easily. Also to stop rebellians and they only took a few days to build.

I'm 11 lol hope this helps !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) ;) B-)

Answer 3

Speed, efficiency and low cost Wood and earth were the two cheapest and easiest to get commodities at the time. And what they made was fairly effective.

Answer 4

when William conquered England he needed a way of keeping the English under control so he built the motte and bailey castle because it was quick and easy to build

Answer 5

accesibility-wood was a local material and didn't hav 2 b imported thus motte and baileys could b built quickly and cheaply