Glossary

Aisle: A passage or corridor.

Apse: A large niche; in a Christian church, the semicircular area around the altar.

Arrow slit: An opening in a wall through which an archer shoots, found in merlons and wall passages.

Ashlar masonry: Finely cut and finished blocks of stone, laid in even courses to produce a smooth wall.

Bailey: The area enclosed by the castle walls, the yard, also called a ward in England.

Ballista: A stone-throwing machine, working on the principle of a catapult or sling shot.

Barbican: The fortification in front of a gateway or the forward extension of a gatehouse.

Barmkyn (barmkin): The walled courtyard of a Scottish tower house.

Barrel vault: A tunnel-like masonry covering, shaped like a half cylinder.

Bastide: A new town established by the king and often fortified.

Bastion: A low broad earth and masonry tower; a platform to support cannon.

Battlements: Fortified wall tops, including the wall-walk, crenellations, and machicolations or hoardings.

Bay: In architecture, a unit of space defined by architectural elements.

Bay window: A window that projects out from the wall.

Belfrey: A movable wooden siege tower from which warriors can attack the walls and towers of a castle.

Brattice: A short section of hoardings or machicolations, usually over a door.

Buttery: The room for storing and assembling beverages (beer and ale). See also pantry and kitchen.

Buttress: An architectural support for masonry acting through shear weight and mass.

Casemate: The defenses and rooms built at the base of a wall.

Cat: A moveable fireproofed shed or roof used to protect men sapping or battering castle walls.

Chamber block: A separate residential building in the bailey containing the living rooms.

Clerestory: The window-wall above the aisle roofs.

Concentric castle: A castle having two rings of walls, one within the other.

Courtyard: The open space within the castle walls; the central open court in a building.

Crenel, crenellation: The notched wall in front of the wall-walk, consisting of merlons (the taller section) and crenels (the lower section).

Curtain wall: A castle wall between towers.

Dais: A raised platform at the end of the hall, supporting the high table, throne, or seat of judgment.

Demesne: The estate or property of the lord, worked by peasants.

Donjon: A French term for the largest and most important tower of a castle; the great tower.

Drawbridge: A bridge that can be lifted to prevent passage over a ditch or moat.

Embankment: An earthen wall or rampart, usually topped with walls or palisades.

Embrasure: A recess in a wall; an angled opening in the thickness of the wall for windows or arrow slits. Window seats turn the space into a small, private room.

Enceinte: The defensive enclosure; a castle consisting of a towered wall without a great tower.

Fighting gallery: The passage at the top of walls with wooden hoardings or stone machicolations.

Forebuilding: A castle-like building in front of, and protecting, the entrance to the main castle.

Fort, fortress: A military establishment housing a garrison, in contrast to a castle which is private and staffed by a castle guard.

Gallery: A passage open on one side; often with an arcade; a long room; a loggia.

Garderobe: A toilet or latrine.

Gatehouse: A fortified entrance building, sometimes including the commander’s residence.

Glacis: The sloping lower wall, also called a talus.

Gloriette: A small residence or party house built on an island.

Great tower: The principal building in a castle; the castle’s strong point and place of last retreat; later, the largest and most important tower; later called a keep or a donjon.

Groin vault: A vault, constructed by crossing two barrel vaults of equal size; permits windows.

Hall: The principal building or room in a castle, combining domestic, administrative, judicial, and festive functions.

Heraldry: A system of symbolic identification.

Hoarding: A temporary timber gallery built at the top of a wall to provide extra space for archers and other warriors when the castle is attacked.

Invest: To lay siege to a castle by cutting off all means of supply and reinforcement.

Justiciar: A governor or viceroy.

Keep: An English term for the most important tower of a castle. The great tower.

Killing ground: Territory beyond a castle wall within the range of archers or gunners.

Kitchen: Room where food is prepared. Because of the danger of fire, kitchens and ovens were usually separate buildings; when attached, the kitchen was separated from the hall by the screens passage.

License to crenellate: The official permission to fortify an existing structure or to build a fortified dwelling.

Lime wash: A waterproof, whitewash wall covering.

List: The space between two walls; Lists: a place for jousting surrounded by walls. See also tiltyard.

Livery: The distinctive dress identifying the followers of a lord.

Loggia: An open gallery; a porch.

Loophole: An arrow slit enlarged for use by crossbowmen or gunners.

Machicolation: Hoardings converted to stone to form a fighting gallery

Projecting from the top of the wall; part of the battlements.

Mangonel: A stone-throwing machine, working on the principle of torsion.

Manor house: The residence of the owner of an agricultural estate.

Masonry: Building with stone, brick and mortar, or concrete.

Merlon: The raised (taller) section of a crenellated wall. See also crenel.

Minstrels’ gallery: The platform for musicians, often over the screens passage.

Moat: The ditch formed when mounds or embankments are raised; may be dry or filled with water.

Motte: The mound or artificial earthen hill on which a tower is built.

Motte-and-bailey castle: A castle consisting of a great tower on a motte with a walled space (bailey) beside or around it.

Mural towers: Towers attached to and forming part of a wall.

Murder holes: Holes in the vault built over a passageway through which missiles could be dropped or water poured to douse fires.

Nave: The central aisle of a building; rises above the side aisles.

Newel stairs: A spiral staircase. See also stairs.

Oriel window: A window that projects from the wall in an upper story, either cantilevered out or supported on a bracket (in contrast to a bay window, which extends to the ground).

Pale: The boundary line or wall marking the territory of town.

Palisade (Latin: palus-stake): A wall of upright stakes, a stockade.

Pantry: A room for storing and preparing bread and other foods. See also buttery and screens passage.

Parapet: A defensive wall built on the outer side of the wall-walk along the top of a wall.

Penthouse, pentise, pentice: A moveable wooden shed with a sloping roof. See also cat and turtle.

Petraria: The general term for stone-throwing machines.

Pier: A masonry support made up of stones or rubble and concrete, in contrast to a column which is formed by a single stone or stacked drums of stone.

Pilaster: A masonry half column or rectangular panel attached to a wall for its decorative effect.

Pipe rolls: Royal accounts.

Portcullis: A sliding timber and metal grille in front of and protecting a castle door.

Postern: A hidden back door, a sally port.

Presence chamber: A room where the king or lord met distinguished visitors and conducted business, usually preceded by a waiting room.

Privy chamber: A private room; a “privy” can be a synonym for gar-derobe.

Putlog, putlog hole: A putlog is a beam that supports scaffolding or hoardings; the beam is inserted into a permanent hole in the masonry wall.

Ribbed vault: A vault supported and reinforced by additional masonry arches.

Sally port: A small hidden door in the castle wall used by defenders making a “sally” or surprise attack; a postern.

Sap, sapper: To dig a tunnel; a sapper is the person who digs the tunnel.

Scaling ladder: A ladder used to climb castle walls.

Screens, screens passage: A wooden or masonry wall separating the hall from the service rooms; the passage created by the wall, leading to the pantry, buttery, and kitchens. A minstrels’ gallery may be built

Above it.

Scriptorium: A room used for writing.

Shell keep: A stone enclosure without a great tower; usually on a mound; additional buildings may be built against the inside of the wall.

Shooting gallery: A corridor at the top of the castle wall, used by archers.

Siege: The blockade of a castle or town.

Siege castle, siege fort: A temporary fort; built by the besieging army to protect its camp; also a platform for siege engines.

Siege engines: Devices and machines created for use in siege warfare to attack walls and towns. See also ballista, belfrey, mangonel, pet-raria, trebuchet.

Slight, slighting: Official destruction of a castle.

Stairs, stair turret: Straight stairs were built within walls; spiral or newel stairs were built in a tower or turret; spiral stairs usually rose in a clockwise spiral so that a defender facing downward had space for his sword arm.

Talus: An outward sloping wall. See also glacis.

Tiltyard: A walled space for jousting. See also list.

Tournament: Jousting competition; originally training for warfare, later a popular medieval sporting event.

Tower house: A residential tower, with stacked hall, chambers, and service rooms.

Trebuchet: A stone-throwing machine working on the principle of counterweight.

Turret: A small tower attached to a wall or another tower.

Turtle: A moveable protective roof for siege engines.

Vault: The arched masonry covering over an interior space. See also barrel vault, groin vault, ribbed vault.

Voussoirs: Wedge-shaped blocks forming an arch. The center voussoir is called the keystone.

Wall passage: A corridor within the thickness of the wall.

Wall-walk: A walkway along the top of a wall, protected by the parapet; part of the battlements.

Ward: The bailey; the area within the castle walls.

Water gate: A fortified gate leading to quays on a river or seaside, for use of people and supplies arriving by boat.

Wicket: A small door within another door; a small gate in a fence.

Yett: The grille protecting a door in a Scottish tower house.