Descriptionary

belfry a tall, mobile tower erected at a siege site and pushed up against an outer wall to allow archers or other military men to advance against or shoot at castle defenders. Also known as a bear.

brattice any one of the wooden planks or timbers in a stockade or palisade. Also, any castle tower made of timbers.

butler a castle staff member in charge of drinks and the buttery (bottlery).

buttery a bottlery, or a room used for stocking or preparing drinks.

castellated like a castle in structure.

castellum a fort surrounded by a village or a forti­fied town.

catapult one of several types of siege engines used to launch such projectiles as rocks and firebombs onto or over castle walls.

cesspit a pit that receives waste from a garderobe.

chamberlain serving under a monarch or lord, an official in charge of the domestic affairs of a castle, especially in supplying the great hall or chamber, where most of the daily living activities took place.

chandlery a storeroom for candles and lighting supplies.

chaplain in medieval times, the religious head who conducted services in a castle chapel but who also kept castle accounts and conducted correspondence because of his ability to read and write.

chateau a French castle.

chatelaine the lady or mistress of a castle.

chatelet a small castle.

citadel any fortress near a city and keeping its inhabitants in subjugation.

corbel a projection of stones from the face of a wall to support a roof or parapet.

crenel any one of the gaps at the top of a battlement wall for shooting and observation.

crossbowmen archers.

curtain wall any one of the inner or outer protec­tive walls ringing a castle.

dais a raised platform in a great hall or chamber where a lord and lady sat.

donjon (dungeon) the main tower or keep, usu­ally the central and strongest location where fighters withdrew when the enemy had penetrated, often con­taining a well, apartments, offices, service rooms, and supplies. In early castles, the living quarters of a lord; in later castles, the dungeon or prison, especially the lower or underground portion.

drawbridge spanning a moat or ditch, a bridge that could be raised or drawn back to prevent an enemy from entering.

dungeon see donjon.

embrasure an opening in a wall, sloped to enlarge its interior portion, for shooting and observation; the low portion of a battlement.

falcon one of the predatory birds (also hawks) often kept as pets in a castle for sport hunting purposes.

falconer one who trained a predatory bird to sport hunt.

farrier a castle staff member in charge of shoeing or caring for horses.

feudal system a political and economic system in medieval Europe in which a servant, peasant, or ten­ant was granted land in exchange for service, often involving the guarding or defending of castles.

finial a slender, ornamental stone sometimes fixed on the tops of merlons.

garderobe a latrine or privy, usually located in an outer wall over a ditch, moat, or cesspit.

gargoyle a grotesque sculpture adorning the upper walls of some castles and often used to discharge dirty water.

gatehouse a tower protecting the drawbridge.

Greek fire a mixture of naphtha, sulfur, and quick­lime, which ignited by moistening and burned fiercely, hurled as a firebomb over castle walls.

half timber in many medieval castles, a construction method in which wood frame walls are filled with wat­tle (a mat of woven sticks) and daub (mud or clay).

hedgehog the equivalent of modern barbed wire, thorn bushes and stakes erected to protect an outer wall from the enemy. Also known as a herrison or zareba.

hoarding a makeshift balconylike structure hung from the tops of walls to provide a platform for archers and other warriors during a battle; hoard­ings were made of wood and were usually only temporary.

inner ward in the center of a castle, an open yard. jester a court fool or comic.

jousting sport in which a knight on horseback tries to knock off another knight on horseback with the use of lance and shield.

keep the donjon or strongest building in a castle.

list the open area immediately in front of a cas­tle's defenses, kept clear to avoid giving cover to the enemy.

lord in feudal law, the owner of a manor or castle.

machicolation a slit or opening between corbels, allowing projectiles or boiling liquids to be dropped down on an enemy.

maiden tower the keep or main tower.

mangon a catapult with a spoon-shaped end in which large stones, timbers, and firebombs were launched; because of its violent kicking after each throw, the Romans called these siege engines "wild asses;" the 12th-century Normans called them "nags."

merlons the solid sections between a wall's crenels or notches.