Castle Pulverbatch in Shropshire was built in the 11th or 12th century and abandoned by 1202. This digital elevation model shows the motte just left of centre, with the bailey to the right (north-east) of it.[1]

A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to build with unskilled, often forced labour, but still militarily formidable, these castles were built across northern Europe from the 10th century onwards, spreading from Normandy and Anjou in France, into the Holy Roman Empire in the 11th century. The Normans introduced the design into England and Wales following their invasion in 1066. Motte-and-bailey castles were adopted in Scotland, Ireland, the Low Countries and Denmark in the 12th and 13th centuries. By the end of the 13th century, the design was largely superseded by alternative forms of fortification, but the earthworks remain a prominent feature in many countries.

Belgium

France

Ireland

The motte, at Knockgraffon, New Inn in County Tipperary, Ireland

South Italy and Sicily

The Netherlands

United Kingdom

England

A study by castellologist D. J. Cathcart King published in 1972 listed 473 mottes in England.[2]

Scotland

Motte at Ardwell, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
Mote of Urr, Dumfries and Galloway

Canmore has records for 47 motte-and-bailey castles in Scotland.[3]

Northern Ireland

Wales

A 1972 study found 268 mottes in Wales.[2]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Historic England. "Castle Pulverbatch motte and bailey castle with outer bailey, 100m NNW of Brook Cottage (1012860)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 King 1972, pp. 102, 104
  3. ↑ "Sites (46) | Canmore". Retrieved 2017-03-23.

Bibliography

  • King, D. J. Cathcart (1972), "The field archaeology of mottes in England and Wales: eine kurze übersichte", Château Gaillard: Études de castellologie médiévale, 5: 101–117
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