What are the strengths and weaknesses of motte and bailey castles?

Although the wooden structure was much more vulnerable to damage than a stone structure, a motte and bailey castle could be built quickly until the Normans had the time to build more permanent stone structures. The major weakness of the motte and bailey castle was the likelihood of the keep rotting or burning down.

What are the strengths of a motte and bailey castle?

Motte and Bailey castles were an attractive design for many reasons. They could be built extremely quickly, and only needed basic materials for their construction (such as earth, and wood). This meant that they were very cheap to make.

What are the bad things about motte and bailey castles?

The weaknesses of motte and bailey castles included being made from wood, as the castles could not be large sizes and the wood would rot from being rained on. Wood becomes weaker as it ages, can burn easily and the motte could collapse with the castle’s weight if it was not large enough to hold bigger troop sizes.

What are the advantages of castles?

This had a number of advantages: The height of these towers meant they could be seen by people from miles away, this demonstrated the power of Normans. It also gave look outs and archers excellent defensive positions, these castles were rarely attacked without warning and they were an excellent base to attack from.

What are weaknesses of a castle?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a stone keep castle?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of square-keep castles? Stone was guaranteed not to decay, therefore square-keep castles were significantly stronger than timber motte and bailey castles. Because of the strength of stone, it may be raised up to provide a height advantage and a good outlook for kilometers.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of a stone keep castle?

Stone keep castles were a lot bigger than motte and bailey castles and were able to hold more soldiers. Because of their vast size they were much harder to attack. However, they had two main weaknesses – there was nothing to be done if the enemy surrounded except remain in the castle.

What was bad about castles?

Made from Local Stone and Timber Potential attacks could be from fire, gunshot, explosion or even tunneling beneath the castle walls. To minimize such risks, castles were built where it was possible to get a wide (360 degree) view of surrounding countryside.

What were 2 disadvantages of stone castles?

At a glance: the disadvantages of concentric castles

• They were phenomenally expensive to build – this can’t be overstated!
• They took significant time to build – they needed years, rather than just weeks for basic motte-and-bailey castle.

What were the strengths and weaknesses of a stone keep castle?

How could a motte and bailey castle be improved?

The wooden defences of motte and bailey castles were replaced by walls and towers of stone. Why did stone castles replace the motte and bailey castles? The methods of attacking and besieging castles improved over time and so became a need for stronger, more durable (longer lasting) defences.

What were the weaknesses of a stone keep castle?

However there still remained a number of weaknesses within the design of these castles. Stone keeps are square and an attacker could, if they were fortunate enough to get close enough, mine underneath a corner and wait for the weight of the castle to bring the walls caving in.

What are the advantages of a shell keep castle?

As a development in castle technology, shell keeps held great advantages over motte-and-bailey castles. Stone walls were far stronger, and their circular shapes meant they were better able to absorb blows from advancing siege technology.

Why were stone keep castles better than motte and bailey?

The Stone Keep Castle also had positive points, which made it better than the Motte and Bailey castle. Firstly they were not made from wood, so they could not easily be burnt down. Also, because they were made of stone, they could not rot.

What are the weaknesses of a concentric castle?

While considered strong, concentric castles did have two major weaknesses: They were incredibly expensive to build and they made it hard for troops to engage from a safe position.

What are the weaknesses of a Shell Keep castle?

The major disadvantage of a Shell Keep castle came from its main defensive mechanism. It still relied on the motte, and remember that mottes were man-made hills, which meant that they could be unstable. Sitting a large structure on an unstable mound was pretty risky!

What did a Shell Keep have?

A ‘Shell Keep’ is the name given to a thin, usually round, defensive enclosure that was built atop of the castle Motte (the man-made mound). Crucially, these enclosures were built of stone. They replaced the original palisade fences of Motte and Bailey castles, which were built of wood.

What is the strengths of concentric castles?

Major advantages of a Concentric Castle: Round towers couldn’t be mined as easily. Larger Castles can house a greater number of defendants. Once inside the outer wall an attacker was still visible to defenders in a large number of towers.

What are the advantages of a Shell Keep castle?

What were the weaknesses of the motte and bailey castle?

The major weakness of the motte and bailey castle was the likelihood of the keep rotting or burning down. The solution was to build stone keeps but these could not always be built on the same site since the weight of the stone would sink into the motte. Motte and Bailey castle 1

Where are motte and bailey castles found?

The vast majority of Motte and Bailey castles were built in the Norman times, and so are constrained to the lands the Normans successfully conquered. They can be found primarily in Northern France, England, Wales and Scotland – but the influence of these designs spread too to Denmark, Germany, Belgium, and other spots in Northern Europe.

What factors influenced the choice of motte and bailey?

The choice of motte and bailey or ringwork was partially driven by terrain, as mottes were typically built on low ground, and on deeper clay and alluvial soils. [39] Another factor may have been speed, as ringworks were faster to build than mottes. [40]

What would happen if you built a motte and Castle?

A Motte would be susceptible to collapse under the weight of a castle, whilst they were good in the short term the castle would require shoring up and possibly even rebuilding in the longer term. Wooden fortifications are also susceptible to simple methods of attack. They burn for example and given time would rot due to inclement weather.