What was built around a castle?
What was built around a castle? Moat - A deep trench dug around a castle to prevent access from the surrounding land. It could be either left dry or filled with water. Motte - An earthwork mound on which a castle was built.
What do castles usually have?
The wall exhibits features common to castle architecture: a gatehouse, corner towers, and machicolations. A keep was a great tower and usually the most strongly defended point of a castle before the introduction of concentric defence.
What are the features of castle walls?
The top of the castle walls were the battlements, a protective, tooth shaped parapet often with a wall walk behind it for the soldiers to stand on. The defenders could fire missiles through gaps (crenels). The raised sections between, called merlons, helped to shelter the defenders during an enemy attack.
Did castles have walls around them?
Other than simple towers, all castles have surrounding defensive walls. as the Romans knew, simple walls can be difficult to defend because the defenders need to be able to fire upon all areas outside but near the walls.
What are the walls around a castle called?
In medieval castles, the area surrounded by a curtain wall, with or without towers, is known as the bailey. The outermost walls with their integrated bastions and wall towers together make up the enceinte or main defensive line enclosing the site.
What is the name of the overhang on a castle?
Bartizan - An overhanging battlemented corner turret, corbelled out; sometimes as grandiose as an overhanging gallery; common in Scotland and France. Bastion - A small tower at the end of a curtain wall or in the middle of the outside wall; solid masonry projection; structural rather than inhabitable.
What did castles have around them?
The moat around a castle was a deep ditch filled with water. A drawbridge could be lowered to allow people to cross over the moat into the castle, and the drawbridge would be raised to keep others out. In the center of the castle, the keep was a special tower designed to be the safest place within the castle walls.
Why do castles have walls?
Low outer walls served as barriers against siege towers and battering rams. If attackers managed to break through this outer ring of defense, castle defenders could retreat behind high inner walls. Corner towers stood out from the walls, giving defenders a better perspective on enemy movements.
What were the inner and outer walls of a castle called?
The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle. It is protected by the outer ward and, sometimes also a Zwinger, moats, a curtain wall and other outworks. Depending on topography it may also be called an upper bailey or upper ward.