Year 8 History
Summer Exam
Motte & Bailey Castles
Norman castles were designed for a different purpose, they were not defensive structures like the burhs, they were designed to intimidate the conquered Anglo-Saxons and remind them of Norman power.
Norman castles were often built in locations that were considered of strategic value. The first Norman castle in England was built a few miles from where William landed and was used as a base for soldiers to terrorise the local population and gather supplies.
Unlike Anglo-Saxon fortified towns, a Norman motte and bailey castle could be built very quickly, in some cases it only took a few days.
William had 8000 men to try and consolidate his power in England. Building motte and bailey castles were an effective way of securing towns that had submitted to his power.
Although the wooden structure was much more vulnerable to damage than a stone structure, a motte and bailey castle could be built quickly until the Normans had the time to build more permanent stone structures.
The major weakness of the motte and bailey castle was the likelihood of the keep rotting or burning down. The solution was to build stone keeps but these could not always be built on the same site since the weight of the stone would sink into the motte.
Stone Castles
Siege Weapons
Castles had to be captured by siege. This means by attacking, surrounding and isolating them.
Powerful lords sometimes rebelled against the King and used their castles as bases.
Siege weapons included giant catapults called trebuchets, cannon, battering rams, and siege towers.
Sieges could last weeks or even months.
During the siege of Stirling Castle, King Edward I of England ordered the world's biggest ever trebuchet to be built. It was called the Warwolf.
Norman Food & Clothes
The Black Death
The Black Death originated in Asia in 1346. It was spread to Europe by fleas on rats living on trade ships. In medieval times there was trade between Europe and Asia. The Crusades increased awareness of goods and produce that could be imported from abroad. This trade helped bubonic plague to spread from Asia to European countries.
Bubonic plague is believed to have arrived in the country on a ship landing on the Dorset coast from Gascony in France. The disease quickly spread throughout the country. The first recorded case of the Black Death in England was in June 1348.
It is now widely accepted that plague was caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, although this wasn’t understood at the time.