What are the walls around a castle called?
What are the walls around a castle called? In medieval castles, the area surrounded by a curtain wall, with or without towers, is known as the bailey. The outermost walls with their integrated bastions and wall towers together make up the enceinte or main defensive line enclosing the site.
What is the living room of a castle called?
In the Middle Ages the great chamber was an all-purpose reception and living room. The family might take some meals in it, though the great hall was the main eating room.
What is a talus in a castle?
In architecture, the talus is a feature of some late medieval castles, especially prevalent in crusader constructions. It consists of a battered (sloping) face at the base of a fortified wall.
What is the entryway to a castle called?
A portcullis is a latticed grille or gate made of wood, metal or a combination of the two. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defence during time of attack or siege.
What were castle walls filled with?
Walls. Walls were generally built of stone within wooden frames designed to hold the stone in place while the mortar dried. For thick walls, the wall was usually constructed with a cavity that was filled with rubble rather than being solid stone.
What is a castle balcony called?
In medieval fortification, a bretèche or brattice is a small balcony with machicolations, usually built over a gate and sometimes in the corners of the fortress' wall, with the purpose of enabling defenders to shoot or throw objects at the attackers huddled under the wall.
Why do castles have high walls?
High walls gave those inside a castle a tremendous advantage. At first castle walls were wooden, making them cheap and quick to build, but they were vulnerable to arson. Stone walls followed, and with each generation they grew thicker and taller.
What were the inner and outer walls of a castle called?
The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle. It is protected by the outer ward and, sometimes also a Zwinger, moats, a curtain wall and other outworks. Depending on topography it may also be called an upper bailey or upper ward.
What is the bailey of a castle?
A bailey is the sturdy wall around a castle that keeps invaders out. The bailey of a medieval castle was usually built of stone. You might see a bailey — or the remains of one — if you tour a castle in England or France.
What are the small holes in castle walls called?
Putlog holes or putlock holes are small holes made in the walls of structures to receive the ends of poles (small round logs) or beams, called putlogs or putlocks, to support a scaffolding. Putlog holes may extend through a wall to provide staging on both sides of the wall. Putlog holes in Cardiff castle.