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Large castles may have two outer baileys; if in line they may form an outer and middle bailey. On the other hand, tower houses lack an enclosed bailey. The most important and prestigious buildings, such as the great hall and the keep or bergfried, were usually located in the inner bailey of the castle, sometimes called the central bailey or ...
The outermost walls with their integrated bastions and wall towers together make up the enceinte or main defensive line enclosing the site. In medieval designs of castle and town, the curtain walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult.
Outer baileys were usually enclosed and protected by a ring wall and separated from the actual living area of the castle – the inner ward and keep – by a moat, a wall and a gate. In lowland castles , the outer bailey is usually arranged in a half-moon shape around the main castle.
Plan of the outer and inner baileys of Alt-Trauchburg Castle (Germany). The Graben is the neck ditch, and to its right is the inner bailey, accessible over a wooden bridge. Topoľčany Castle with an inner and an outer bailey. The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle. [1]
Corner towers enfilade the two adjoining wall faces. If corner towers are far apart, additional flanking towers may be added between them. Towers in an outer curtain wall are often open at the back. Particularly large towers are often the strongest point of the castle: the keep or the bergfried. As the gate is always a vulnerable point of a ...
The shield wall of Stahleck Castle. A shield wall, also shield-wall or Schildmauer, refers to the highest and strongest curtain wall, or tower of a castle that defends the only practicable line of approach to a castle built on a mountain, hill or headland.
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Conical roofs are frequently found on top of towers in medieval town fortifications and castles, where they may either sit directly on the outer wall of the tower (sometimes projecting beyond it to form eaves) or form a superstructure above the fighting platform or terrace of the tower.