What Is an Outer Bailey?

History

• Some 150 years before the Norman Invasion that began in late September 1066, the ancestors of the Norman French followers of William, Duke of Normandy, were the Vikings who settled in northern France under the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. This treaty, made in 911 by France's King Charles the Simple, brought the Norsemen (from whence is derived the word "Norman") to the region in hopes of preventing further Viking incursions into French territory. The French invaders brought their language, culture, politics and fortification techniques with them, including the fortification we refer to as the motte and bailey castle.

The Motte

• The castles built by the conquering Normans were not just military structures; they were the chief residences of the Norman lords appointed by William to govern the land and subjugate the native population. Typically, this residence, known as the "keep" was built on a motte--a mound or hillock--so as to have the advantage of "the high ground" against potential attackers. The keep and its courtyard were surrounded by an inner wall typically built below the keep, at the base of the motte.

The Bailey

• The bailey was home to soldiers, craftsmen, household servants and other retainers of the lord. It was surrounded by a wall which formed an outer defensive perimeter outside the walls of the keep; should an attack come, the attackers would meet an armed response at this wall that would reduce the attackers' numbers and stall any headlong attempt to take possession of the keep and its occupants.

Outside of the Bailey

• Outside the walls of the bailey were the fields worked by the farmers and peasants bound to the Norman lord.

An Integrated Defense

• The inner bailey, sometimes called the "inner ward," began at the wall surrounding the motte and included the motte, the grounds of the keep and the keep itself. The outer bailey was the area enclosed between the wall of the inner bailey and the outer wall surrounding the quarters of the artisans and soldiers. The outer bailey was the primary bulwark in the castle's defense: Should an attacker successfully breach the outer wall, he would find his troops effectively trapped between the walls--in the outer bailey--while the defenders on the inner and outer walls rained destruction down from 2 directions.