motte-and-bailey

English - English

Definition of motte-and-bailey in English English dictionary

{i} Norman castle of the Middle Ages comprising of two connecting ditched stockaded mounds with a wooden donjon rising above and placed in the outer courtyard of the castle

the predecessor of the castle, having a raised earth mound (the motte) topped with a tower (or donjon), and a wooden ring fortification surrounding a courtyard (the bailey)