Logo Musée du Patrimoine

All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

Castles and Military Heritage Religious heritage Industrial heritage Heritage of cities Archaeological heritage Museums Attractions and tourist attractions The most beautiful villages The most beautiful monuments in France

Cartes castrales de France

In the year one thousand, to guard against invasions Vikings, rose from "castral mots". The land was taken to foot, which was a ditch. The mots had a diameter at the base of 30 metres, a diameter at the top of 10 metres and a height between 4 and 15 metres. Easy to build, they were built by corvetable farmers.
At the top of the mound was a strong palissade, as well as a wood watchtower prefiguring the donjon. There was an assistant with a duckyard surrounded by a palisade. Traditionally, mott authority is exercised only within the limits of seigneurie, i.e. a kilometre approximately at round. These fortifications were amply sufficient to meet the military challenges of the six and ten centuries.
The feudal muff is therefore a primitive castle, a major element of the structure of the feudality in the medieval west
. Subsequently, wood was gradually replaced by the "b" stone , particularly to avoid fires.
We felt it was essential to introduce them by region and department.
Cartes castrales de France

Sélection de 8 castral mots sur 97 en France

Castral motte de Saint-Sever-Calvados
Feudal muff
14380 Saint-Sever-Calvados

The castral motte of Saint-Sever-Calvados is an ancient medieval castle of land and wood located in the forest of Saint-Sever, in Calvados, Normandy. Ranked a historic monument, this feudal site dates back to the years 1000-1050.
Olivet Castle
Feudal muff
14220 Grimbosq

Olivet Castle, an 11th century feudal motte, is an ancient castle of land and wood located in the forest of Grimbosq, Normandy, controlling the crossing of the Orne.
Castral motte from Breuil-Bertin
Feudal muff
17230 Saint-Ouen-d'Aunis

The castral motte of Breuil-Bertin, built in the Middle Ages in Saint-Ouen-d'Aunis in Charente-Maritime, is a fortified vestige typical of medieval military architecture, inscribed in historical monuments since 1989.
Castral motte de la Roche-Bertin
Feudal muff
17220 Sainte-Soulle

The castral motte of the Roche-Bertin, a medieval vestige located in Sainte-Soulle in Charente-Maritime, is a historic site inscribed with historical monuments since 1989, witness to the defensive architecture of the Middle Ages.
Castral motte d'Épineuil-le-Fleuriel
Feudal muff
18360 Epineuil-le-Fleuriel

The Etpineuil-le-Fleuriel castral mot, built in the Middle Ages in the Cher, is a typical fortified site surrounded by ditches, including two low courts and a medieval village moved to this strategic place.
Castral ensemble of Vèvre
Castral ensemble
18250 Neuvy-Deux-Clochers

The castral ensemble of Vèvre, in Neuvy-Deux-Clochers (Centre-Val de Loire), is a medieval fortified site evolving from the 9th to the 17th century, combining motte, seigneurial tower and agricultural courtyard, witness to the feudal history of Berry.
Masseret feudal motte
Feudal muff
19510 Masseret

The feudal motte of Masseret, a medieval vestige located in the commune of Masseret en Corrèze, bears witness to the defensive architecture of the Middle Ages in New Aquitaine. Joined the Historical Monuments in 1984.
Heusas Bourgs feudal motte in Pleven
Feudal muff
22130 Pléven

The feudal motte of the Bourgs Heusas, located in Pleven, Brittany, is a vestige of the High Middle Ages classified historical monument since 1961. This iconic site illustrates the defensive architecture of the time.