![]() ![]() 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. Cardiff Castle flickr photo by michaelday_bath shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC) license 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.Ĭardiff Castle in Wales is an excellent example of the Norman architectural style. 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. ![]()
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