Motte-and-bailey castle

Timeline

1. c. 980–1000Normandy · NormandyNorman lords built motte castles on a large scale across their domains, with artificially raised mounds topped by wooden towers and courtyards enclosed by ditches and palisades, forming rapidly constructible defensive and administrative strongholds.
2. 1001–1010Normandy and England · EnglandDuring this period Norman nobles densely built motte castles in Normandy and within Norman-held England, with archaeological remains surviving at places such as Hastings. The castles served military defense, lordly residence, and administrative center functions.
3. 1066–1100England · EnglandAfter the Norman Conquest of 1066, the conquerors built hundreds of motte castles across England to consolidate rule; Windsor Castle was originally a motte castle, forming a spatial network of feudal military occupation.
4. 1101–1200Western Europe · Western EuropeThe development of siege engines such as trebuchets made wooden castles insufficiently defensible; lords gradually replaced palisades and mounds with stone towers and walls, and the motte-and-bailey form receded from the mainstream, though its layout logic influenced later castle design.