From motte to castle

If you look it up in an encyclopedia or on Wikipedia, you’ll invariably find the following definition of a motte: “a medieval artificial mound built for defensive purposes, on top of which some form of castle was constructed.”

During this bike tour, it will become clear to you that people may have focused a bit too much on just one period in the evolution of motte-and-bailey castles, specifically the Middle Ages. During the 15th century, there were reportedly 13 such walled motte-and-bailey sites in Werken. The three remaining motte-and-bailey sites we visit by bike make it clear that they did not all originate in the same period. Moreover, their function was certainly not always, or at least not purely, defensive.

Strange things, those motte-and-bailey sites...

For a very long time, both the residents of Werken and tourists have marveled at these peculiar mounds that our ancestors in the village apparently built. It must have been a serious undertaking, by the way. If you consider, for example, that the ‘Hoge Andjoen’ is over 6 meters high, has a diameter of over 25 meters, and a circumference of approximately 180 meters, you realize that an enormous amount of earth must have been moved to create it.

What motivated our ancestors to construct these kinds of artificial mounds? There is no single answer to this question. For instance, the three mounds we’ll visit had different ultimate purposes. This is one of the key insights this bike tour will undoubtedly reveal.

📏 11.8 km
📍 OC Hemelsdaele
🏁 OC Hemelsdaele