Guenault motte

Mottes are the ancestors to castles. The never ending wars opposing Bretons and Franks and then Normands, lead to the construction of wooden castles on top of a "fortified motte". About fifty of them still remain in the Pays de Dinan (touristic area of Dinan).
The motte was the sign of the lord's power, the larger it was, the more it dominated its fields and lands. It is thought that these fortresses which protected the landscapes of the Arguenon River are abandonned for a more modern structure: la Hunaudaye Castle.