Reading Response 5: The Early Medieval Castle

The Early Medieval castle construction echos the dark and depressing mood of the Era.The first Medieval Castle, roughly eleventh century,  was made up of two structures referred to a a motte and bailey. The motte was a large mound of dirt. Atop the motte a wooden structure, referred to as a keep, was built to house the lord. Attached to the base of the Motte would be a Bailey- or wall en-closer that contained the remaining residents and businesses. Often , the Motte- and Bailey was protected by a surrounding ditch and/or palisade.I found it interesting to learn that the ditch was sometimes left unfilled by water. When I think back to what I believe to be a true castle- and even the castles I used to build in the sand by the ocean- all had a moat!

                                           Motte- and Bailey Archetype
            

Plan of Topcliffe Castle, England

• Remember an Archetype is an ideal structure so from here on out the castles of the Medieval era will consist of this basic structure.

• The plan depicts perfectly how simple the construction was.
• Topcliffe Castle was built 1071

                          Diagram of Medieval Castle Archetype

  

• The castle is stacked on two mottes and is surronded by a single bailey

Launceston Castle, England

• Notice that the castle is constructed of stone. Around 1000 decaying wooden structures were replaced by stone increasing not only the security of the castle, but also the longevity.
• Example of early form of Donjon.

 As the economic conditions improved- so did the construction of the Medieval Castle. Wooden keeps were pulled into the fortified perimeter and were replaced with donjon- or cylindrical stone walls( Roth, Understanding Architecture, p. 306). Donjons began adorning castles around the twelve century and  helped establish the standard look.

Beaumaris Castle, North Wales

After looking at the  construction of the early medieval castle do you notice that the elements CIRCLES, STACKS, and GROUPS are pretty influential in the design. Just to review, notice how the circular fortress was built on a stack of mounded earth and consisted of vertical wooden slabs grouped together. If you look they really are everywhere!