Plural of bailey; defensive outer walls or fortifications surrounding a castle or manor, especially in medieval architecture.
From Old French 'baille' meaning a fortified enclosure, from Late Latin 'baillia.' The word 'bailey' (as in motte-and-bailey castles) derives from this same root.
The motte-and-bailey design was the medieval military technology that allowed Norman conquest across Europe—a simple earthwork strategy that proved revolutionary.
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