Motte féodale
Fortress
Motte féodale, located in Noyelle-Vion (Pas-de-Calais), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Fort
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Noyelle-Vion, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.2955, 2.5471
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108369
A discreet medieval vestige nestling in the Ternois, the feudal motte at Noyelle-Vion bears witness to the military and seigniorial organisation of medieval Artois. This historic mound has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1980.
History
In the heart of the Ternois, the deep agricultural land of the Artois region, criss-crossed by gentle valleys and ancient bocages, stands the feudal motte of Noyelle-Vion: a compact, apparently modest eminence of earth, which nevertheless concentrates centuries of warrior and seigneurial memory. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1980, it belongs to that category of discreet but irreplaceable remains that dot the Pas-de-Calais like so many landmarks set in the landscape by the builders of the Middle Ages. What makes the motte at Noyelle-Vion particularly precious is precisely its legibility in the landscape. Unlike stone castles with their impressive silhouettes, the feudal motte requires visitors to have a keen eye: you have to recognise in the relief of the ground the trace of a human will, that of men who shaped the earth by hand to establish their power. The mound - probably once surrounded by a moat fed by the local water system - reveals to those who can read the topography the organisation of a small medieval manorial estate typical of northern France. The visit is above all a contemplative and intellectual experience. You don't walk into ornate rooms or under sculpted vaults: you walk on history, feeling beneath your feet the artificial soil raised by generations of peasant-soldiers in the service of a local lord. The view from the top of the mound takes in the open fields and hedgerows of the Ternois, a panorama that has hardly changed in essence since the 12th century. The natural setting contributes fully to the atmosphere of the place. The surrounding grasslands, often dotted with wildflowers depending on the season, contrast with the sharp relief of the mound. It's a site that lends itself to slow strolls and historical meditation, far from the tourist crowds. An ideal stop-off on a tour of the feudal mottes of the Pas-de-Calais, one of the most remarkable concentrations in France.
Architecture
The motte feudale at Noyelle-Vion belongs to the classic type of Carolingian-feudal earthen fortification that dominated military architecture in northern France between the 10th and 12th centuries. It is an artificial mound, circular or slightly ovoid in plan, with a height of between four and eight metres above the surrounding ground - typical dimensions for the mottes of the Ternois region, and slightly more modest than the great Flemish or Norman examples. The sides of the mound are deliberately steep, designed to slow down an attacker and make climbing difficult under fire from the defenders. The mound was built using a tried and tested technique: successive layers of earth, sometimes interspersed with fascines (braided branches) or layers of stabilising sand to prevent the mound from collapsing under the weight of the summit tower. Around the base there was once an excavated ditch, possibly filled with water thanks to the proximity of streams and outcropping water tables typical of the Ternois region. A palisaded bailey, which has now disappeared, would have completed the complex, housing stables, garrison accommodation and agricultural outbuildings. Today, the monument takes the form of a grassy knoll, whose well-preserved silhouette still reveals its original proportions. No stone superstructure remains above ground, but the ground may contain the foundations of the tower or the remains of palisades. It is in this very sobriety that the architectural strength of the site lies: the motte at Noyelle-Vion illustrates with an almost abstract purity the fundamental principle of medieval fortification - dominating the terrain through artificial height.
Related Figures
Un seigneur local du Ternois (XIe-XIIe siècle), bâtisseur présumé de la motte, vassal probable du comté d'ArtoisPhilippe Auguste (1165-1223), roi de France dont la politique d'intégration du comté d'Artois à la couronne transforma le contexte politique entourant ces fortifications localesRobert II d'Artois (1250-1302), comte d'Artois sous l'autorité duquel la région connut une réorganisation administrative et militaireLes archéologues et conservateurs du patrimoine du Pas-de-Calais qui, dans les années 1970, œuvrèrent à l'identification et à la protection des mottes féodales du département
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Motte féodale located?
Motte féodale is located in Noyelle-Vion, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Motte féodale built?
Motte féodale dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Motte féodale open to visitors?
Motte féodale is currently closed to visitors.