What are baileys in a castle?


What are baileys in a castle? A bailey is the sturdy wall around a castle that keeps invaders out. The bailey of a medieval castle was usually built of stone. You might see a bailey — or the remains of one — if you tour a castle in England or France.


What is the living room of a castle called?

In the Middle Ages the great chamber was an all-purpose reception and living room. The family might take some meals in it, though the great hall was the main eating room.


What is the difference between a motte and bailey and a stone keep castle?

A motte-and-bailey castle consisted of two parts: a lookout tower and a place for people to live. A stone keep castle was a single dwelling built of rocks, making it harder to burn or attack, and surrounded by a moat.


What is the courtyard in a castle called?

Bailey or Ward: courtyard within the walls of the castle.


What is a moat in a castle?

moat, a depression surrounding a castle, city wall, or other fortification, usually but not always filled with water. The existence of a moat was a natural result of early methods of fortification by earthworks, for the ditch produced by the removal of earth to form a rampart made a valuable part of the defense system.


What was the safest place in a motte-and-bailey castle?

The keep was the building where the owners of the castle would live. It was the safest place in the castle. The bailey was open, flat ground surrounded by a tall, wooden fence, often topped with spikes.


What is a portcullis in a castle?

A portcullis is a heavy castle door or gate made of metal strips that form a grid. A castle guardian might lower the portcullis to protect the people inside from an invading army. It was common during medieval times for castles to be protected by a portcullis or two.


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 a turret in a castle?

In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification.


What is a keep in a castle?

castle. keep, English term corresponding to the French donjon for the strongest portion of the fortification of a castle, the place of last resort in case of siege or attack.