glossary earth wood txt-1

It was at the end of the IXth century that the first castral enclosures made of earth and wood appeared. This first type of fortress - which was seen in some regions up to the XIIth century - was distinguishable from a small fortified town only by the presence inside it of the lord's living-quarters.

Surrounded by a palisade which was set upon a circular embankment a few metres high, the whole of the work was bordered by a fosse possibly more than three metres deep. Spanning the fosse a footbridge, which could probably have been withdrawn, allowed access to the gate of the enceinte. This gateway was often a small tower. Inside the enclosure, which might measure up to a hundred and twenty metres in diameter, there was no real separation between the seigniorial and domestic buildings (the outbuildings).

Picture right: Historical and archeological reconstruction in Saint Sylvain d'Anjou: Château à Motte (Féodale) de la Haie-Joulain (5 kilometres from Angers: Autoroute A11, sortie 14 Angers-Est).

This separation appeared about the year one thousand, with the building of a tower separate from the other works. To enable the tower to dominate the rest of the enclosure, a rise in the terrain was often used. However, in most cases, on the inside or on the periphery, an earth embankment was built: first, a deep circular ditch was dug, the earth from this was used to build, on the innerside, a mound called a motte (French: la motte). At its base the motte could have a diameter of seventy metres and its height could reach fifteen metres.

At the top, a wooden tower was built protected by several palisades. This square or rectangular tower was, as yet, just a watch tower (like the Roman castellum) but might already house the lord's living-quarters (including stores and chapel), forming the first primitive kind of romanesque keep. The separation of the fortress into two parts was evident from then on: on the one side the "feudal" motte commanding the place and symbol of the lord's authority, on the other side, a lower bailey where the outbuildings reserved for domestic service were found: each to his place in the hierarchy of the castle.

Still rudimentary, the defensive system of the first fortified castles - castral enclosures or motte and bailey castles - was an accumulation of obstacles: watercourses, ditches, stakes, fascines (faggots), palisades and the motte.

The fortified castles of earth and wood had the advantage of being built in a material of which there was no lack and was not demanding either in money or in skilled labour. They could be built and rebuilt rapidly.

Their disadvantages were also obvious - they could not resist undermine or fire... or time. None of these works exist today, only rises in the ground (hillocks, mounds...) and ditches are indicators of their existence and their layout.

close window The IXth century At right: THE FIRST TYPE OF FORTRESS		All About All Crusades MADE OF EARTH AND WOOD Xth - XIIIth century

It was at the end of the IXth century that the first castral enclosures made of earth and wood appeared. This first type of fortress - which was seen in some regions up to the XIIth century - was distinguishable from a small fortified town only by the presence inside it of the lord's living-quarters. Surrounded by a palisade which was set upon a circular embankment a few metres high, the whole of the work was bordered by a fosse possibly more than three metres deep. Spanning the fosse a footbridge, which could probably have been withdrawn, allowed access to the gate of the enceinte. This gateway was often a small tower. Inside the enclosure, which might measure up to a hundred and twenty metres in diameter, there was no real separation between the seigniorial and domestic buildings (the outbuildings). Picture right: Historical and archeological reconstruction in Saint Sylvain d'Anjou: Château à Motte (Féodale) de la Haie-Joulain (5 kilometres from Angers: Autoroute A11, sortie 14 Angers-Est). This separation appeared about the year one thousand, with the building of a tower separate from the other works. To enable the tower to dominate the rest of the enclosure, a rise in the terrain was often used. However, in most cases, on the inside or on the periphery, an earth embankment was built: first, a deep circular ditch was dug, the earth from this was used to build, on the innerside, a mound called a motte (French: la motte). At its base the motte could have a diameter of seventy metres and its height could reach fifteen metres. At the top, a wooden tower was built protected by several palisades. This square or rectangular tower was, as yet, just a watch tower (like the Roman castellum) but might already house the lord's living-quarters (including stores and chapel), forming the first primitive kind of romanesque keep. The separation of the fortress into two parts was evident from then on: on the one side the "feudal" motte commanding the place and symbol of the lord's authority, on the other side, a lower bailey where the outbuildings reserved for domestic service were found: each to his place in the hierarchy of the castle. Still rudimentary, the defensive system of the first fortified castles - castral enclosures or motte and bailey castles - was an accumulation of obstacles: watercourses, ditches, stakes, fascines (faggots), palisades and the motte. The fortified castles of earth and wood had the advantage of being built in a material of which there was no lack and was not demanding either in money or in skilled labour. They could be built and rebuilt rapidly. Their disadvantages were also obvious - they could not resist undermine or fire... or time. None of these works exist today, only rises in the ground (hillocks, mounds...) and ditches are indicators of their existence and their layout.