Motte and bailey ca: Did you mean...?

Amy Bailey as Kwenthryth in the TV series Vikings. Photo by HISTORY - © 2013 The HISTORY Channel

Caernarfon Castle (aka Caernarvon) is located in North Wales and was first built from 1283 CE by Edward I of England (r. 1272-1307 CE) to help, along with several other major castles, control the newly conquered area. As the administrative...

Engraving of Jeanne de la Motte, mastermind behind the affair of the diamond necklace. Made by John Goldar, c. 1790. Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Windsor Castle is located in Berkshire, England, and was built as a motte and bailey castle by William the Conqueror (r. 1066-1087). Converted into stone by Henry II of England (r. 1165-1179), the shell keep tower was rebuilt by Edward III...

William the Conqueror (c. 1027-1087), also known as William, Duke of Normandy, led the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 when he defeated and killed his rival Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. Crowned King William I of England...

The Norman Conquest of England (1066-71) was led by William the Conqueror who defeated King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The Anglo-Saxon elite lost power as William redistributed land to his fellow Normans. Crowned William...

A painting (dated 1898) of a fictionalised event in which Napoleon (1769-1821) looks upon Charlemagne's imperial crown in Aachen, Germany, to symbolise the continuity between one European conqueror and another. Current location unknown.

Protecting strategically important coastlines, passes, and roadways, castles were an essential part of medieval warfare. With such key features as a tower keep, fortified gatehouses, curtain walls with crenellations and a surrounding moat...

The medieval toilet or latrine, then called a privy or garderobe, was a primitive affair, but in a castle, one might find a little more comfort and certainly a great deal more design effort than had been invested elsewhere. Practicality...

Artillery weapons in medieval Europe included the mounted crossbow (ballista) and single-arm torsion catapult (mangonel), both similar to ancient Roman machines. As armies battled further afield such as in the Byzantine Empire and against...