A bailey or ward in a fortification is a leveled courtyard , typically enclosed by a curtain wall . In particular, a medieval type of European castle is known as a motte-and-bailey . Castles and fortifications may have more than one bailey, and the enclosure wall building material may have been at first in wood, and later transitioned to stone. Their layout depends both on the local topography and the level of fortification technology employed, ranging from simple enclosures to elaborate concentric defences. In addition to the gradual evolution of more complex fortification plans, there are also significant differences in regional traditions of military architecture regarding subdivisions into baileys.
8-448: Baileys can be arranged in sequence along a hill (as in a spur castle ), giving an upper bailey and lower bailey . They can also be nested one inside the other, as in a concentric castle , giving an outer bailey and inner bailey . Large castles may have two outer baileys; if in line they may form an outer and middle bailey. On the other hand, tower houses lack an enclosed bailey. The most important and prestigious buildings, such as
16-403: The great hall and the keep or bergfried , were usually located in the inner bailey of the castle, sometimes called the central bailey or main bailey. Nonetheless, there are a few castles where the keep is outside the inner bailey, such as Château de Dourdan and Flint Castle . The lower or outer bailey often held less important structures, such as stables , if there was not enough space in
24-642: The Germanic castles of the Holy Roman Empire , there is a distinction between a Vorburg and a Kernburg roughly corresponding to lower and upper baileys in English castles. In German-speaking countries, many castles had double curtain walls with a narrow enclosure outside the main walls, acting as a killing ground between them, referred to as a zwinger . The outermost wall was a Zwingermauer or type of low mantlet wall. These were often added at vulnerable points like
32-499: The gate of a castle or town, but were rarely as fully developed as in the concentric castles in Wales or the Crusader castles. Spur castle A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that is sited on a spur of a hill or mountain for defensive purposes. Ideally, it would be protected on three sides by steep hillsides; the only vulnerable side being that where the spur joins
40-410: The hill from which it projects. By contrast, a ridge castle is only protected by steep terrain on two sides. A spur castle was one of several types of hill castle . Depending on the local topography, a spur castle may have relied mainly on its inaccessible position or may have integrated further features such as shield walls and towers into the defences. In addition castle builders may have improved
48-441: The inner bailey. Outer baileys could also be largely defensive in function, without significant buildings. In the concentric castles of the military orders, such as Krak des Chevaliers or Belvoir , the inner bailey resembled a cloistered monastery , while the outer bailey was little more than a narrow passage between the concentric enceintes . In general, baileys could have any shape, including irregular or elongated ones, when
56-442: The natural defences of the terrain by hewing into them to make the hillsides harder to climb and reduce the risk of landslide. A classic feature is the neck ditch , cutting off the spur from the rest of the hill. A long spur castle is sometimes, but not always, subdivided into a lower ward and a more strongly defended upper ward (or even a succession of three or more wards). High spur and hilltop castles were built and improved by
64-412: The walls followed the contour lines of the terrain where the castle was sited. Rectangular shapes are very common (as in castra and quadrangular castles ). A particularly complex arrangement of baileys can be found at Château Gaillard . There is both a lower bailey separated from the main castle by a deep ditch, and a concentric arrangement inside the main castle with an inner and middle bailey. In
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