motte
Fortified earthen mound
A motte is a mound of earth forming the base of a medieval castle or fortification, typically topped with a wooden or stone tower.
The motte-and-bailey design paired this raised mound with an enclosed courtyard below.
In contemporary usage, motte appears in "motte and bailey"—a rhetorical tactic where someone retreats from a bold claim to a more defensible one when challenged, then advances again once pressure eases.
Castle's enclosed courtyard
- earthworkConstructed soil structure
- palisadeFence of pointed stakes
- keepRetain or fortified tower
- donjonCastle's fortified central tower
drawbridge · gatehouse · rampart · battlement · parapet · stockade · ditch · embankment
Castle's enclosed courtyard
- castleFortified medieval residence
- manorLanded aristocratic residence
- lordshipNoble rank or domain
- vassalLand-holding sworn subordinate
fiefdom · serfdom · demesne · knight · nobility · chivalry · squire · heraldry
Defeating and seizing control
- WilliamMale given name
- BayeuxNorman town, famous needlework
- 1066Norman invasion year
- Domesday1086 English land survey
invasion · occupation · subjugation · Hastings · feudalism · colonization · expansion
Medieval lord's chief administrator
- bailiffLegal proceeding overseer
- reeveManor's administrative official
- chamberlainRoyal household administrator
- stewardManager for another
constable · porter · warden · provisioner · armorer · watchman
Violent offensive act
- siege towerMobile assault platform
- trebuchetCounterweight-powered projectile launcher
- battering ramHeavy beam for breaching
- garrisonStationed military force
defender · attacker · blockade · escalade · mining · sapping · bombardment · surrender
bailey
Castle's enclosed courtyard
donjon · drawbridge · gatehouse · rampart · battlement · parapet · stockade · ditch · embankment · timber
bailey
Castle's enclosed courtyard
vassal · fiefdom · serfdom · demesne · knight · nobility · chivalry · squire · heraldry · fief
conquest
Defeating and seizing control
Domesday · invasion · occupation · subjugation · Hastings · feudalism · colonization · expansion
seneschal
Medieval lord's chief administrator
- bailiffLegal proceeding overseer
- reeveManor's administrative official
- chamberlainRoyal household administrator
steward · constable · porter · warden · provisioner · armorer · watchman
assault
Violent offensive act
- siege towerMobile assault platform
- trebuchetCounterweight-powered projectile launcher
- battering ramHeavy beam for breaching
garrison · defender · attacker · blockade · escalade · mining · sapping · bombardment · surrender · relief
- castleskeep, drawbridge, dungeon, turret, battlements
- medieval warfareknights, siege warfare, castle, castle siege, siege
- castle historydrawbridge, keep, tower, battlements, dungeon
- fortificationsfort, fortress, fortresses, citadel, citadels
- fortressesfortress, citadel, stronghold, fort, keep
- Medieval Englandking, kings, castle, castles, knight
mottebailey
Castle's enclosed courtyard
lower court · ward · enclosure · courtyard · curtain wall
- motley crewDiverse, disorganized group
- Motley CrueEighties glam metal band
- dust moteMinuscule airborne particle
- mottled skinIrregularly pigmented body surface
- motley foolMulticolored court jester