Bailey

A is a courtyard enclosed by fortified s, in particular, an early type of castle was known as a. s can have more than one bailey however. Their layout depends both on the local topography and the level of fortification technology employed, ranging from simple enclosures to elaborate concentric defences. In addition to the gradual evolution of more complex castle plans, there are also significant differences in regional traditions of military architecture regarding the subdivision into baileys.

Upper, lower, middle, inner and outer wards or baileys
Baileys can be arranged in sequence along a hill (as in a ), giving an and. They can also be nested one inside the other, as in a, giving an and. Large castles may have two outer baileys; if in line they may form an outer and middle bailey. On the other hand, s lack an enclosed bailey.

The most important and prestigious buildings, such as the and the  or , were usually located in the inner bailey of the castle, sometimes called the central bailey or main bailey. Nonetheless, there are a few castles where the keep is outside the inner bailey, such as and. The lower or outer bailey often held less important structures, such as s, if there was not enough space in the inner bailey.

Outer baileys could also be largely defensive in function, without significant buildings. In the concentric castles of the military orders, such as or, the inner bailey resembled a ed , while the outer bailey was little more than a narrow passage between the concentric s. In general, baileys could have any shape, including irregular or elongated ones, when the walls followed the  of the terrain where the castle was sited. Rectangular shapes are very common (as in and s).

A particularly complex arrangement of baileys can be found at. There is both a lower bailey separated from the main castle by a deep ditch, and a concentric arrangement inside the main castle with an inner and middle bailey.

Holy Roman Empire
In the Germanic castles of the, there is a distinction between a Vorburg and a Kernburg roughly corresponding to lower and upper baileys in English castles. In German-speaking countries, many castles had double curtain walls with a narrow enclosure outside the main walls, acting as a killing ground between them, referred to as a . The outermost wall was a Zwingermauer or type of low mantlet wall. These were often added at vulnerable points like the gate of a castle or town, but were rarely as fully developed as in the concentric castles in Wales or the Crusader castles.

Gallery with examples of castle wards
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