<P> The earliest purely documentary evidence for motte - and - bailey castles in Normandy and Angers comes from between 1020 and 1040, but a combination of documentary and archaeological evidence pushes the date for the first motte and bailey castle, at Vincy, back to 979 . The castles were built by the more powerful lords of Anjou in the late 10th and 11th centuries, in particular Fulk III and his son, Geoffrey II, who built a great number of them between 987 and 1060 . Many of these earliest castles would have appeared quite crude and rustic by later standards, belying the power and prestige of their builders . William the Conqueror, as the Duke of Normandy, is believed to have adopted the motte - and - bailey design from neighbouring Anjou . Duke William went on to prohibit the building of castles without his consent through the Consuetudines et Justicie, with his legal definition of castles centring on the classic motte - and - bailey features of ditching, banking and palisading . </P> <P> By the 11th century, castles were built throughout the Holy Roman Empire, which then spanned central Europe . They now typically took the form of an enclosure on a hilltop, or, on lower ground, a tall, free - standing tower (German Bergfried .) The largest castles, known in German as Hohenburgen, had well - defined inner and outer courts, but no mottes . The motte - and - bailey design began to spread into Alsace and the northern Alps from France during the first half of the 11th century, spreading further into Bohemia and Austria in the subsequent years . This form of castle was closely associated with the colonisation of newly cultivated areas within the Empire, as new lords were granted lands by the emperor and built castles close to the local gród, or town . Motte - and - bailey castle building substantially enhanced the prestige of local nobles, and it has been suggested that their early adoption was because they were a cheaper way of imitating the still more prestigious hohenburgen, but this is usually regarded as unlikely . In many cases, bergfrieds were converted into motte and bailey designs by burying existing castle towers within the mounds . </P> <P> In England, William invaded from Normandy in 1066, resulting in three phases of castle building in England, around 80% of which were in the motte - and - bailey pattern . The first of these was the establishment by the new king of royal castles in key strategic locations, including many towns . These urban castles could make use of the existing town's walls and fortification, but typically required the demolition of local houses to make space for them . This could cause extensive damage: records suggest that in Lincoln 166 houses were destroyed, with 113 in Norwich and 27 in Cambridge . The second and third waves of castle building in the late - 11th century were led by the major magnates and then the more junior knights on their new estates . Some regional patterns in castle building can be seen--relatively few castles were built in East Anglia compared to the west of England or the Marches, for example; this was probably due to the relatively settled and prosperous nature of the east of England and reflected a shortage of unfree labour for constructing mottes . In Wales, the first wave of the Norman castles were again predominantly made of wood in a mixture of motte - and - bailey and ringwork designs . The Norman invaders spread up the valleys, using this form of castle to occupy their new territories . After the Norman conquest of England and Wales, the building of motte - and - bailey castles in Normandy accelerated as well, resulting in a broad swath of these castles across the Norman territories, around 741 motte - and - bailey castles in England and Wales alone . </P> <P> Having become well established in Normandy, Germany and Britain, motte - and - bailey castles began to be adopted elsewhere, mainly in northern Europe, during the 12th and 13th centuries . Conflict through the Low Countries encouraged castle building in a number of regions from the late 12th century to the 14th century . In Flanders, the first motte and bailey castles began relatively early at the end of the 11th century . The rural motte - and - bailey castles followed the traditional design, but the urban castles often lacked the traditional baileys, using parts of the town to fulfil this role instead . Motte - and - bailey castles in Flanders were particularly numerous in the south along the Lower Rhine, a fiercely contested border . Further along the coast in Friesland, the relatively decentralised, egalitarian society initially discouraged the building of motte and bailey castles, although terpen, raised "dwelling mounds" which lacked towers and were usually lower in height than a typical motte, were created instead . By the end of the medieval period, however, the terpen gave way to hege wieren, non-residential defensive towers, often on motte - like mounds, owned by the increasingly powerful nobles and landowners . On Zeeland the local lords had a high degree of independence during the 12th and 13th centuries, owing to the wider conflict for power between neighbouring Flanders and Friesland . The Zeeland lords had also built terpen mounds, but these gave way to larger werven constructions--effectively mottes--which were later termed bergen . Sometimes both terpen and werven are called vliedburg, or "refuge castles". During the 12th and 13th centuries a number of terpen mounds were turned into werven mottes, and some new werven mottes were built from scratch . Around 323 known or probable motte and bailey castles of this design are believed to have built within the borders of the modern Netherlands . </P>

Where were motte and bailey castles built in england
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