Motte féodale
Fortress
Motte féodale, located in Strazeele (Nord), 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
- Strazeele, Nord, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.7201, 2.6241
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00107833
An earthen sentinel erected on the edge of medieval Flanders, the feudal motte of Strazeele is one of the rare vestiges of earthen military architecture in the North of France to benefit from national protection.
History
Rising discreetly out of the Flemish bocage, the feudal mound of Strazeele is one of the most authentic testimonies to medieval seigneurial organisation in the Nord département. This man-made mound does not have the splendour of the great stone fortresses, but it does conceal a rare archaeological truth: that of a territory that was organised, defended and administered from this promontory of compacted earth overlooking the Flemish plain. Visitors approaching the motte immediately understand the military and symbolic logic of this structure. Planted in an open agricultural landscape, the mound once offered an unobstructed view of the thoroughfares, enabling its lord to monitor comings and goings on his lands. Today, you can see the characteristic fields of the Flemish Houtland, a region of hedged farmland and gentle hills stretching between Cassel and Hazebrouck, a frontier disputed between counties and kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages. The motte at Strazeele belongs to a family of buildings typical of north-western Europe, found from Normandy to Flanders and England. Although it has no preserved superstructure, the mound itself tells the story of a feudal society based on hierarchy, domination of the land and control of territory. To walk to its summit is literally to put yourself in the shoes of a medieval squire. Protection as a Historic Monument, obtained in 1979, gives this site recognised heritage status and guarantees the preservation of its underground structures, which undoubtedly still contain valuable information about daily life and construction techniques in the Flemish Middle Ages.
Architecture
The feudal motte at Strazeele is an earthwork typical of 11th-12th century military architecture in Flanders. It is an artificial mound in the shape of a truncated cone, made up of successive layers of carefully compacted earth. Its original height could have been six to ten metres, a common size for this type of structure in the region. The flattened summit, the platform, once housed a wooden tower - the original keep - while the steep slope of the mound itself constituted a significant defensive obstacle. The ensemble was completed by a system of ditches, either wet or dry, encircling the base of the mound, exploiting the outcropping water table characteristic of Flemish lands. An adjacent bailey, bounded by a second ditch and a wooden palisade, housed the outbuildings, the men-at-arms' quarters and the seigneury's economic activities. This bipartite configuration - motte and bailey - is the canonical layout of the Norman and Flemish motte castle. The materials used were exclusively local: the clay soil of the Flemish region and the wood of regional species (oak, elm) for the elevated structures. This ephemeral architecture explains the total absence of elevated remains, with the bare motte now the only visible feature in the landscape, covered by herbaceous and shrubby vegetation that has paradoxically helped to stabilise its flanks for centuries.
Related Figures
Le seigneur fondateur (XIe-XIIe siècle) — vassal anonyme du comte de Flandre, bâtisseur présumé de la motteLes comtes de Flandre (Xe-XIIIe siècle) — suzerains du territoire, initiateurs du maillage défensif flamandPhilippe II Auguste — roi de France dont les campagnes en Flandre (début XIIIe siècle) reconfigurent les allégeances seigneuriales de la régionLes archéologues du Service régional d'archéologie des Hauts-de-France — responsables de l'étude et de la protection du site au XXe siècle
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Motte féodale located?
Motte féodale is located in Strazeele, Nord 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.