This document summarizes the key parts and types of medieval castles. It describes the motte and bailey castle, which had an elevated motte with a wooden keep and an outer bailey surrounded by a ditch. It then discusses stone keep castles with thick stone walls and towers. Concentric castles had multiple concentric lines of defense with inner and outer curtain walls. Later, castles evolved into palaces as weapons improved, focusing less on defense. The document defines a castle fort as a fortified, walled residence or stronghold occupied by troops, typically surrounded by defensive structures like walls and ditches.

1. TYPES AND PARTS OF CASTLE

3. MOAT
A moat is a deep,
broad ditch, either
dry or filled with
water, that
surrounds a castle,
other building or
town, historically
to provide it with a
preliminary line
of defence.

4. BAILEYS
A Bailey in a castle is a courtyard. In the Bailey there were
guardrooms, stables, kitchens and storerooms. The Bailey would be
in between the gateway and the motte.

5. DRAWBRIDGE
The only way to cross a
moat was on
the drawbridge. These
wooden structures could
be raised or lowered
depending on whether or
not the people in the
castles wanted you to
come in. Ropes or chains
were attached to the end
of the bridge and then
rigged to a pulley so that
guards were able to
quickly raise it.

6. CURTAIN WALL
Was simply a set of walls
that surrounded and
protected the interior of
the castle. Walls were
often connected by a
series of towers or mural
towers to add strength and
provide for better defense
of the ground outside the
castle.

7. GATEHOUSE
A gatehouse was built into the curtain. At first it was just a simple door by which
to go in and out of the castle, but over time that changed. Because enemy
armies often came to this area, an iron grate was added that could be put down
to block entrance, in addition to heavy wooden doors. Small holes, called
murder holes, were added to the ceiling above the main entrance to pour boiling
liquid down on entering enemies.

8. BARBICAN
The Barbican was a
forward defensible
structure jutting out or set
in front of the main castle
defenses or walls. In many
cases the barbican formed
part of the castle
gatehouse complex, giving
added strength to this
potential point of
weakness.

9. TOWERS
Towers were also a part
of the curtain. They
allowed people to look
about and keep watch
outside the castles
walls. In addition, at
times they kept
prisoners.

10. KEEP
The Keep of the castle was the highest point and the center of
defense. The strongest and most secure place in a castle.

11. Types of
castles

12. Motte and Bailey
Castles
• Motte and Bailey castles were the earliest
form of castles built completely from
scratch by the Normans. As their name
suggests they had two parts the Motte
and the Bailey.
• The Motte was a large hill made of earth
on which was built a wooden keep or
lookout. The outer edge was then
surrounded with a large wooden fence
called a palisade.
• The Bailey was separated from the Motte
by a wooden bridge that could be
removed if the Bailey was occupied by
enemies.� The Bailey was the part of the
castle where people lived and animals
were kept. A large castle might have more
than one Bailey.
• To give added protection to the castle,
both the Motte and Bailey would be
surrounded by a ditch, sometimes filled
with water. A drawbridge was used for
access to the castle.

13. Stone Keep Castle• This type of castle soon replaced the
Motte and Bailey castles as it offered a
better form of defense. A stone keep
was the central feature, with thick walls
and few windows. Entrance to the keep
was by stone steps leading to the first
floor. The kitchens were situated on the
ground floor while living quarters were
on the upper floors.
• The first keeps were rectangular in
shape but later ones were often
circular. The Stone Keep would be
surrounded by a thick stone wall
containing turrets for lookouts.�
• The Bailey was now the area outside
the keep but within the outer walls and
shelter for animals or craft workshops
might be built against the walls. The
entire castle might be surrounded by a
ditch or moat and entrance to the castle
was by drawbridge

14. The Concentric
Castle
• This type of castle is a
combination of the shell keep and
the rectangular keep.
• It is an expression of a very
important technique in defense -
that of concentric lines of
defense. In effect it is a keep
surrounded by a wall which in
turn is surrounded by another
wall.
• Some other important
developments in castles were the
change from very square blocky
buildings to round buildings
(particularly towers).
• Round towers were much
stronger and able to resist attack
better and a defender looking out
the window of a round tower was
able to see more.
• The square towers caused angles
that formed blind spots that
attackers could hide in.

15. The Palace
• As weapons (particularly
gunpowder weapons like
the cannon) grew better,
more powerful and more
accurate the castle
fortress became less and
less effective. It could
take years or even
decades to build a stone
fortress castle and it was
now possible to totally
destroy it in a few days
with steady cannon fire.
• This ended the building
of castles as fortresses
but, the building and
architectural techniques
were still used to build
large structures. The
focus now was less on
defense and more on
lavish living quarters or
centers for governing.

16. Castle Fort
Description •A fortified, usually
walled residence,
as of a prince or
noble in feudal
times.
•A large and stately
residence,
especially one,
with high walls and
towers that
imitates the form
of a medieval
castle.
•A strong or
fortified place
occupied by
troops and usually
surrounded by
walls, ditches, and
other defensive
works; a fortress;
fortification.
•Any permanent
army post.
Derived Latin word
castellum
Latin word fortis
Famous •Alnwick Castle
•Castle Howard
•Blarney Castle
•Belvoir Caslte
•Red Fort
•Agra Fort
•Fort William
•Junagarh Fort
Materials used Stone or brick Stone or brick

17. THANK YOU
- NEHA RAMPURIA