Glossary

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

A

Abacus
The flat slab forming the upper section of a capital
Abutment
Mass of masonry or brickwork against which an arch abuts
Adit
An opening or passage
Adulterine
Castle that was constructed or a building that was crenellated without a Royal licence
Aisle
The space between an arcade and the outer wall
Aketon
A quilted garment usually worn beneath mail armour or as a protective garment in its own right
Alure
A walk or passageway, especially that behind a parapet
Angle Turret
A corbelled turret attached to the outside corner of a tower
Apophyge
The part of a column where it springs from its base or joins its capital
Apse
Semicircular projection, most often found forming the eastern termination of a chapel
Arcade
A row of arches, free-standing and supported on piers or columns, known as a blind or dummy arcade when it is attached to a wall
Arch
Curved structure, normally in the vertical plane, that spans an opening
Architrave
A moulding surrounding, or framing, a doorway or window opening
Arrow-loop or slit
Long, narrow and usually vertical opening in a wall or merlon, through which arrows were shot
Artillery
Firearms, such as handguns and cannons
Ashlar
Building stone precisely cut and finished to a smooth finish
Astragal
Bar in a window, often wooden, between the panes
Aumbry
Recess to hold sacred vessels, often found in castle chapels

B

Bailey
The defended outer enclosure of a castle
Ballista
Siege engine taking the form of a giant crossbow, mounted on a stand
Balustrade
Ornamental parapet of posts and railings
Barbican
Outwork defending the entrance to a castle. Often a walled passage projecting from the front of the gatehouse which had large spaces in the roof, or no roof at all, so that defenders could fire upon any attackers trapped inside. It often had its own doors, portcullis and drawbridge in addition to those in the main gatehouse.
Barmkin
The small walled yard attached to a pele tower (generally Scottish)
Barrel Vault
Semicircular (barrel shaped) roof of stone or timber
Barracks
Building or group of buildings used to accommodate soldiers
Bartizan
Small turret projecting from the corner or flank of a tower or wall, usually at the top
Base cruck
Form of timber-framed construction where the roof is supported by curved timbers rising from the walls and not by aisle posts set on the floor
Basinet
tower, turret or other construction that projects out from a wall length or commonly found projecting from the corner junction of two walls, that allows defenders to both see and fire upon the ground in front of the walls
Bastle House
Small tower house with a living room over a byre
Batter
Sloping part of a wall at ground level, particularly of a great tower
Battering Ram
Large beam used to break down the walls or doors of a fortification
Battlements
Parapet on top of a castle wall, with a series of gaps (embrasures or crenelles) between raised portions (merlons), allowing defenders to shoot through; also called crenellations
Bays
Internal divisions of a building , marked by roof principals or vaulting piers
Bay window
A window projecting out from a building at ground level, either rectangular or polygonal, of one or more storeys. A window that projects out from a building above ground level is known as an oriel window
Belfry
Tall, movable wooden tower on wheels, used in sieges
Berm
Level area separating a wall or tower and its moat
Billet
Ornamental moulding used in Norman architecture, consisting of raised cylindrical or rectangual blocks at regular intervals
Bivalate
Hillfort defended by two concentric ditches
Blind arcade
Line of arches on the face of a solid wall for decoration
Blockhouse
Small fortified barrack
Bond
Arrangement of bricks in courses
Bond tenant
Tenant who was bound to provide a labour service as part of his tenure; later changed to a money payment
Boss
Knob or projection to cover the intersection of ribs in a vault
Bow window
As bay window but curved in plan
Brattice or Hoarding
Covered wooden gallery with holes in the floor, which was attached to the top of the external wall of a stone castle so that defenders could see and fire upon assailants at the base of the wall. Also spelt bractice or bretasche.
Breastwork
Timber palisade used to strengthen earthwork defences
Brewhouse
Building or room where ale was brewed
Broch
Round tower-like structure, open in the middle, the double wall of dry-stone masonry being linked to form internal galleries at varying levels. Found in north and west Scotland, probably dating from the 1st century AD
Bronze Age
In Britain, c. 1800 to 600 BC
Bulwark
Bastion or (in first half of 16th century) a blockhouse
Buttery
Chamber used for storing and preparing food and drink
Buttress
Projecting pillar added to a wall to strengthen it

C

Cable moulding
Norman moulding carved like a length of rope
Cap-house
Small chamber at the top of a spiral staircase in a tower or turret, leading to the open wall-walk on the roof
Camera
Private room used for both living and sleeping, set apart from the more public areas of a house
Campshedding
Facing of piles of boarding along a bank
Capital
The head of a pillar, often decorated
Caponier
Covered passage within a ditch
Casement
Bomb-proof vaulted accommodation for troops, stores or guns
Castellan
Officer in charge of a castle
Castellations
Battlements and turrets
Chamfer
Surface made by smoothing off the angle between two stone faces
Chevron
Ornamental zig-zag moulding (12th century)
Citadel
Stronghold within or close to a city
Cloister
Four-sided enclosure with a covered walk along each side connecting a church with the principal administrative and domestic buildings
Clunch
Hard chalk used as a building material. Often plastered with limewash for durability
Cob
Unburnt clay mixed with straw
Colonnade
Range of evenly spaced columns
Concentric castle
Castle with two or more rings of defences, one inside the other
Constable
Official in charge of castle in owner's absence
Corbel
Stone bracket projecting from a wall or corner, to support other stonework or timber
Corbiestepped
Squared stones forming steps upon a gable
Cornice
Decorative projection along the top of a wall
Counterfort
Defence work of besieging force
Counterscarp
Outer slope or wall of a ditch
Course
Level layer of stones or bricks
Courtyard
Walled enclosure in a castle
Courtyard castle
Type of castle consisting of a stone curtain wall that surrounds a courtyard, with buildings built inside the courtyard, normally against the curtain wall
Covered Way
Protected communication all round the works of a fortress on the outer edge of a ditch, covered by earthworks from enemy fire
Crenel or Crenelle
The space between merlons on a battlemented wall, also known as an embrasure
Crenellation
Parapet on top of a castle wall, with a series of gaps (embrasures or crenelles) between raised portions (merlons), allowing defenders to shoot through; also called battlements
Crossbow
Weapon with a bow arranged at a right-angle to a wooden stock; it was used to fire metal bolts
Cross-wall
Internal dividing wall in a castle
crow-steps
Step-gabled end to a roof. Also called corbie steps
Cunette
Trench in the bottom of a ditch
Curtain wall
The perimeter wall of a fortification, or any wall within a castle that does not support a roof and is used to link towers i.e. a wall 'hung' between towers
Cusp
Projecting point forming a leaf shape in the tracery of a gothic door-arch or window-head

D

Demi-Bastion
A semicircular tower projecting from an outer wall, from which the front of the wall can be defended
Desmene
Area of land reserved for a lord
Diaper work
Decoration of squares or lozenges
Dogtooth
Diagonal indented pyramid
Donjon
Another name for a great tower or keep
Dormer window
Window placed vertically in sloping roof
Drawbridge
Wooden bridge that could be raised and lowered, sited in front of a tower or gatehouse, across a ditch
Dressing
Carved or smoothed stonework around openings or along edges
Dripstone
Projecting moulding above an arch or lintel to throw off surface water
Drum-tower
Large, circular tower, usually low and squat
Drystone
Unmortared masonry
Dubbing
Ceremony in which a monarch or high ranking lord gives another person the title of knight; usually involving tapping each shoulder with a sword
Dun or Dum
An Iron Age fortified enclosure, built of dry-stone, often with galleried walls, dating from the 1st century AD

E

E-plan tower house
Tower house with a main block and at least two wings at right angles, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries
Earthwork
Fortification made of earth mounds, banks and ditches
Eaves
The overhanging edge of a roof
Embattled
To have battlements
Embrasure
The space between merlons on a battlemented wall, also known as a crenel
Enceinte
Fortified enclosure
Enclosure
Castle courtyard
Entresol
Low storey within two high ones (mezzanine)

F

Fenestral
A small window or window frame
Feudalism
Social system operating in the Middle Ages, according to which land was granted to nobles in return for services
Fillet
Narrow flat band
Fluting
Concave mouldings in parallel
Foliated
Carved with leaves
Footings
Bottom part of wall
Forebuilding
Structure on the outside wall of a great tower or keep, protecting the entrance and all, or part, of the approaching staircase. Some forebuildings contained chambers and chapels over the stairs
Fort
Building designed primarily for defensive purposes rather than as a residence
Fortalice
Small fort or outworks of a fortification
Fosse
Ditch
Freestone
Soft, easily worked, high-quality sandstone or limestone
Fresco
Painting on wet plaster wall
Frieze
Horizontal band of ornament

G

Gable
The triangular upper part of a wall supporting the end of a ridged roof
Gallery
Long, narrow passage or room, often overlooking a great hall or garden
Garderobe
Latrine; privy, normally set over a stone shaft or drain
Garret
Top storey of a building within the roof
Garrison
The soldiers who manned and occupied a castle or fort
Gatehouse
The entrance building in a curtain wall; usually one of the most heavily fortified parts of a castle
Gauntlet
Armoured glove, often with long cuff
Great chamber
Lord's solar, or bed-sitting room
Great tower
Main tower of a castle, often containing a hall, private chambers and storerooms; also known as a keep or donjon
Groin
Junction of two curved surfaces in a vault
Gun-loop or gun-port
Opening in a wall for a gun

H

Half-shaft
Roll-moulding on either side of an opening
Hall
Principal room or building in a castle, used for meals, meetings and formal occasions. It also served as a sleeping area for servants
Hall House
Defensible two-storey building containing a hall above a basement
Hammerbeam roof
Late-medieval form of roof supported on horizontal beams (hammerbeams) projecting from the walls; it enabled the central span of the roof to be open
Henrician
Fortresses dating from the reign of Henry VIII (1509-47)
Heraldry
The system of coats of arms used to identify noble families
Herringbone
Bricks or stone laid diagonally
Herisson
Barrier of stakes, arranged randomly in the ground to prevent a direct approach from attackers
Hill fort
Bronze or Iron Age earthwork of ditches and banks
Hoarding
Covered wooden gallery with holes in the floor, which was attached to the top of the external wall of a stone castle so that defenders could see and fire upon assailants at the base of the wall. Also spelt hourding
Honour
Large feudal estate, usually centred on a castle
Hood
Arched covering

I

Impost
A wall bracket on which rests the end of an arch
Interval Tower
One of a number of towers set along the length of a curtain wall
Iron Age
In Britain from c.600 BC to Roman period

J

Jamb
The side of a doorway, window, archway or fireplace
Jetty
Projecting floor joists in a timber-frame building, usually supporting an overhang
Joist
Timber stretched from wall-to-wall to support floorboards
Joust
Combat, put on for entertainment, in which two knights rode towards each other with lances
Justiciar
Chief political and judicial officer under Norman and early Plantagenet kings

K

Keep
A 16th Century term for the great tower, usually the strongest and most important part of a castle
Knight
Man who served his lord as a mounted warrior

L

L-plan tower house
Distinctive Scottish form of the tower house in which a wing was added at right angles to the main tower block
Label
Projecting weather moulding above a door or window to deflect rainwater
Lancet window
Long, narrow window with pointed head
Light
Component part of window, divided by mullions and transoms
Lintel
Horizontal stone or beam bridging an opening
Loggia
Covered arcade or colonnade
Longbow
Large, powerful wooden bow, used to shoot arrows, often over long distances
Loophole
Narrow opening through which defenders could shoot
Lord
Male member of the nobility or knighthood, often holder of a castle or manor
Louvre
Opening in roof to allow smoke to escape from central hearth

M

Machicolations
Dtone structure that projected from the top of a wall with gaps through which defenders could drop heavy objects, such as rocks, onto attackers below
Mail or chain mail
Flexible armour made of interlocking metal rings
Mangonel
Stone throwing catapult used as a siege engine
Mantlet
Mobile wooden protective shield on wheels
Merlon
Solid part of embattled parapet that provided shelter to a defender
Meurtrière
Alternative name for murder holes
Mezzanine
Low storey beween two higher ones (entresol)
Moat
Ditch around an enclosure, either filled with water or dry
Motte
Mound, often man-made, on which a castle was built
Motte-and-Bailey
Earth-mound with wood or stone keep and an adjoining courtyard with a ditch and palisade
Moulding
Masonry decoration
Mullion
Vertical division of a window
Multivallate
Hillfort with three or more concentric lines of defence
Mural
Wall
Mural tower
Tower projecting from the curtain wall of a castle
Murder hole
Opening in ceiling through which defenders could fire or drop missiles on enemies below

N

Nailhead
Pyramid moulding
Newel
Centre-post of a spiral staircase
Niche
Vertical recess in a wall, often to take a statue
Nookshaft
Shaft set in angle of jamb or pier

O

Offset
Ledge in a wall followed by reduced thickness of the wall
Ogee
Double curve, bending one way and then the other
Oolite
Granular limestone
Open joint
Wide space between faces of stones
Oratory
Private chapel in a house
Oriel window
Projecting window in wall
Oubliette
Dungeon or pit under the floor, reached by a trap-door, used for incarcerating prisoners

P

Page
Young boy of noble birth who served the household of a lord, and sometimes became a squire
Palisade
Timber defensive screen or fence
Pantile
Roof-tile of curved s-shaped section
Parados
Bank behind a trench or other fortification, giving protection from being fired on from the rear
Parapet
1. Low protective wall or railing along the edge of a raised structure such as a roof or balcony
2. Earthen or stone embankment protecting soldiers from enemy fire
Pediment
Low-pitched gable over porticos, doors, windows etc.
Peel
Originally a palisaded court. Later a stone tower house
Pele tower
Isolated keep-like tower, built during the later Middle Ages in northern England, but more commonly in Scotland and Ireland
Pend
Open ended passage through a building, at ground level
Perpendicular
English architectural style, c. 1330-1540
Pier
Support for archor vault, usually square as opposed to pillar (round)
Pikeman
Soldier carrying a pike or similar long-handled weapon
Pilaster
Shallow pier used to buttress wall
Pinnacle
Ornament crowning spire, tower etc.
Pipe rolls
Annual accounts of sheriffs rendered to the king
Piscina
Handbasin, usually set in or against a wall, with drain
Pitch
Roof slope
Pitching
Rough cobbling
Plate armour
Armour made of jointed metal plates
Plinth
Horizontal course(s) of finer stones at the base of a wall to provide better foundation, often projecting from the wall face
Portcullis
Wood and iron grille-pattern gate which was raised and lowered in grooves by ropes or chains, in front of or behind an entrance
Postern
Small doorway useful for entering or leaving a castle after the main gates had been closed
Put-log
Beam inserted into a special hole in a great tower, gatehouse or curtain to support hoarding, or as scaffolding for building or repairs

Q

Quadrangle
Inner courtyard
Quatrefoil
Four sided
Quoin
Dressed stone at corner of building

R

Rampart
Defensive stone or earth wall surrounding a castle or town
Rath
Low, circular ringwork
Ravelin
Outwork with two embankments forming a salient angle
Redan
Outwork with two faces forming a salient angle
Redoubt
Outwork or detached fieldwork defending a pass, hilltop etc. also a temporary defence work built inside a fortification as a last defensive position
Re-entrant
Angle that points inwards (opposite of salient)
Reeve
Peasant appointed as supervisor of work on the lord's land
Refectory
Communal dining hall
Relieving arch
Arch built in a wall to relieve the thrust of another opening
Rere-arch
Arch that supports the inner face of a wall above a door or window opening
Revet
Face with a layer of stone for more strength. Some earth mottes were revetted with stone
Revetment
Retaining wall
Rib vaulting
Arched roof with ribs of raised moulding at the groins
Ringwork
Circular earthwork of bank and ditch
Romanesque
Architectural style, 8th - 12th century with rounded arches
Roofridge
Summit line of roof
Rubble
Uncut or only roughly shaped stone, for walling
Rustication
Worked ashlar stone with faces left rough

S

Salient
Angle that points outward (opposite of re-entrant)
Sally-port
Side gate for defenders to go out on an attack; the postern was often used for this purpose
Saltire
Diagonal, equal-limbed cross
Scarp
Slope on inner side of ditch
Screen passage
Service passage screened off at the service end of a hall
See
Seat or area of authority of bishop or archbishop, also known as diocese
Segmental
Less than a semicircle (e.g. segmental arch)
Shaft
Narrow column
Shell-keep
Round wall, usually built on top of a motte, in which the castle buildings are built up against the inner wall forming a circular courtyard
Sheriff
Royal official, based in a castle, who was in charge of law and order
Shifting house
Building where gunpowder is checked and prepared
Shot-hole
Hole for firearms, generally smaller than a gun-port
Siege engine
Large weapon or device, such as a battering ram or big catapult, used to attack a castle
Siege tower
Wooden tower on wheels which attackers used to climb over castle walls
Six-foil
six-lobed
Slight
To damage or destroy a castle to render it unfit for use or occupation as a fortress
Slit
Narrow opening in a wall for admitting light and for firing arrows
Soffit
Underside of arch or opening
Solar
Upper living room of medieval house or castle; often over the hall
Splay
Chamfer, or sloping face
Splayed opening
Window or door opening with angled sides in the thickness of a wall that allow more light to enter than is possible with straight sides
Springer
Point from which an arch or vault is struck from a wall face
Squinch arch
Arched support for an angle turret that does not reach the ground
Squint
Observation hole in wall or room
Squire
Young man who served a knight, helping him with his horses and armour, who hoped to become a knight himself
Steward
Official in charge of running a lord's estate; managing work, keeping accounts, etc.
Stringcourse
Continuous horizontal mouldings on wallface
Stronghouse
Mansion capable of being defended

T

Terreplein
Surface of rampart behind the parapet where guns are mounted
Tower-house
Form of small castle, common in Scotland, consisting mainly or entirely of a single tower
Tracery
Intersecting ribwork in upper part of window
Transom
Horizontal division of window
Trebuchet
Siege engine in the form of a large catapult
Trefoil
Three-lobed
Turret
Small tower

U

Undercroft
Open chamber beneath the first floor of a domestic building in a castle or monastery
Upping Stocks
Raised platform used to mount a horse

V

Vassal
Person who held land of a lord and owed fealty to him
Vault
Arched roof or ceiling of stone and mortar, usually supported by ribs
Vice
Spiral stair
Voussoir
Wedge-shaped stone forming part of an arch

W

Wall-stair
Staircase built into the thickness of a wall
Wall-walk
Flat pathway, usually protected by battlements, on top of a castle wall
Ward
Castle courtyard or bailey
Weathering
Sloping surface to throw off rainwater
Wing-wall
Wall down slope of motte to protect stairway

Y

Yett
Iron gate

Z

Z-plan
Distinctive Scottish form of tower-house in which two corner towers are added to provide extra protection

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