Baron | an important nobleman who had usually been given
land by the king |
| Bailey | enclosed area where buildings and animals could
be found. Usually attached to a motte by a bridge |
| Battering ram | a weapon used to destroy motte and bailey castles |
| Chronological | putting objects or events in the correct order
in which they happened |
| Concentric castle | a castle with an outer wall completely surrounding
an inner wall |
| Crusade | a military expedition to recover the Holy Land
from the Muslims in the 11th 12th and 13th
centuries |
| Feudal system | the medieval social system whereby the king gave
land to the barons in exchange for support for his army, barons gave land
to knights in exchange for time spent in the army and peasants were obliged
to work the land and give whoever owned it a share of the produce. |
| King | male ruler of an independent state |
| Knight | a soldier on horseback |
| Motte | large mound upon which a keep is situated |
| Palisade | wooden fence around a castle |
| Peasant | least important person in medieval
times. He/She was often poor but did a great deal of work just to survive |
| Protection | to keep something safe |
| Rebellions | uprisings against the king or queen. |
| Undermining | to tunnel at the corner of a square stone keep
to upset the foundations so that the castle wall collapses. |
| Weakness | a problem or disadvantage. |
