Norman Motte-and-Bailey Castle

Type Object Region Western Europe Time c. 1000–1200

The Norman motte-and-bailey castle was a rapid fortification form common in 11th-century Western Europe: a wooden tower or palisade atop an artificia…

Timeline

c. 1020–1066Normandy · NormandyNorman nobles fortified their domains with mounds and palisades, meeting the needs of feudal knight garrisons; such structures allowed rapid strengthening of positions in frequently contested borderlands.
1067–1075England · EnglandWilliam I and his vassals launched a wave of motte-and-bailey construction across England, at places such as Windsor and Hereford; castles served military garrison, tax collection, and judicial functions, reshaping the power structure of the Anglo-Saxon countryside.
1071–1080Welsh March · Welsh MarchIn the 1070s Norman lords continued extending chains of motte-and-bailey castles along the Welsh frontier, using watchtowers and cavalry sorties to suppress local resistance; some strongholds were gradually rebuilt in stone, marking the mature stage of the Norman castle system's spread across Western Europe.

Sources

Castles and Fortified Cities of Medieval Europe — Jean-Denis G. G. Lepage (2002)
The Castle in Medieval England and Wales — Colin Platt (1996)