Motte and Bailey castles had one structural weakness: they were made out of wood. While it was useful to be be built out of wood due to the rapid speed of construction, wood was incredibly vulnerable to fire. Attackers often used arrows smothered in flames to set fire to the wooden structres in the castle. It was also common to use a bonfire to burn the palisade (wooden fence) surrounding the bailey. Heavy logs known as battering rams were used to force the attackers through the main gate. The attackers would also attempt to mine tunnels under the motte in order to make the motte collapse on itself, called undermining. Ladders or siege towers could also allow the attackers to scale the palisade and tresspass into the bailey. These allowed the attackers to enable hand-to-hand combat with the soldiers within the bailey. There were also sometimes moats surrounding the structure which made it difficult to reach the motte or bailey. Catapults, trebuchets, and ballistae hurled stones, incendiaries, or even diseased matter, causing mass destruction and chaos within the castle. Diseased matter could spread illnesses like the plague among the defenders, undermining their ability to resist the attack. The main gate was the only entrance to the bailey so attackers were funneled through.
Even with the weakness of being made of wood, Motte and Bailey castles were still hard to attack because of their architecture and geography. There would often be a ditch (or fosse) if not a moat surrounding the Motte and Bailey castle, meaning the attackers would have a difficult time crossing it to reach the main gate. The keep on top of the motte would have projecting balconies (bretèches) of which defenders could attack with arrows or boiling oil. The height advantage of the motte also allowed defenders to see attackers from a distance and prepare accordingly. The main gate was the only entrance to the bailey so defenders could focus their forces there. Connecting the motte and bailey, was a thin and narrow bridge making it difficult for attackers to reach the keep even if the bailey was breached. The seige towers were also made out of wood so defenders could burn the tower with ease
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