What is a motte in a castle?

The motte was a huge mound with a castle, or keep, built on top. It would have been easy to defend, as people would have had to climb up it slowly to reach the keep. Most mottes were surrounded by a deep ditch to stop attackers. The bailey was a large area of ground, surrounded by a tall, wooden fence.



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moat, a depression surrounding a castle, city wall, or other fortification, usually but not always filled with water.

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On the outside of the fence, there would have been a moat that ran around the bailey and all the way around bottom of the motte (the motte would have been like an island). There would be many buildings inside the bailey. Some of these included stables, storehouse, ale house, bakeries, kitchens, and houses.

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A portcullis is a heavy castle door or gate made of metal strips that form a grid. A castle guardian might lower the portcullis to protect the people inside from an invading army. It was common during medieval times for castles to be protected by a portcullis or two.

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Battlements were the square-shaped part of the walls around the top of the castle. They usually had a walkway behind them so that soldiers could stand there when looking out for potential threats. They were also useful for soldiers who were defending the castle during an attack.

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After the 16th century, castles declined as a mode of defense, mostly because of the invention and improvement of heavy cannons and mortars. This artillery could throw heavy cannonballs with so much force that even strong curtain walls could not hold up.

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Castle Drogo is a country house and mixed-revivalist castle near Drewsteignton, Devon, England. Constructed between 1911 and 1930, it was the last castle to be built in England.

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Often, these walls sloped away at the base to redirect objects dropped from the top of the castle wall, ricocheting them out at soldiers on the ground. Because they had walls to protect them, castle defenders would sometimes hunker down and try to wait out their attackers.

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The notches themselves are called crenels or embrasures, and the process of installing them is crenellating. The word stems from the Latin cren (also the root of cranny), which means notch. Definitions of crenellate. verb. supply with battlements.

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