What is a berm in a castle?
What is a berm in a castle? Berm - Flat space between the base of the curtain wall and the inner edge of the moat; level area separating ditch from bank. Blockhouse - Small square fortification, usually of timber bond overlapping arrangement of bricks in courses (flemish, dutch, french, etc.)
What is the most important room in any castle called?
The most important room in a castle was the Great Hall. This is where all the members of the household sat down to eat at tables set up for every meal. It was where feasts were held for special days, or when there were guests. King Arthur's Pentecost Feast takes place in such a Hall.
What were were the bathrooms called in the castle?
Medieval toilets, just as today, were often referred to by a euphemism, the most common being 'privy chamber', just 'privy' or 'garderobe'.
What are the bumps on castles called?
Crenellations are one of the most recognizable elements of a medieval castle. These upright projections resemble teeth, bared at invaders to prevent their attempted entries and at allies to show the owner's strength. Each upright section is called a merlon or crenel, and they protected defenders from attacks.
What is a balcony in a castle 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.
What is the walkway on a castle wall called?
Article Talk. A chemin de ronde (French, round path' or patrol path; French pronunciation: [??m?~ d? ??~d]), also called an allure, alure or, more prosaically, a wall-walk, is a raised protected walkway behind a castle battlement.
What is the first room in a castle called?
The great chamber was at the dais end of the hall, usually up a staircase. It was the first room which offered the lord of the household some privacy from his own staff, albeit not total privacy. In the Middle Ages the great chamber was an all-purpose reception and living room.
What is the weakest part of any castle?
The Gate. The entrance was often the weakest part in a castle. To overcome this, the gatehouse was developed, allowing those inside the castle to control the flow of traffic. Gatehouses were inside the wall and connected with the bridge over the moat, but they were more than just doorways.
What are the little windows in a castle called?
An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts.
What are the dips in castle walls called?
Meurtriere: arrow loop, slit in battlement or wall to permit firing of arrows or for observation. Moat: a deep trench usually filled with water that surrounded a castle.
What is a plinth on a castle?
Batter (Plinth) The angled lower part of a tower or wall. Missiles dropped from the top of the towers or wall onto the plinth cause them to richochet horizontally into the attackers doing more damage. Plinths also strengthened the bases of the towers or walls and also made it harder to undermine them.
What are castle steeples called?
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples.
What is the most attacked castle?
Over the centuries around 23 different siege attempts were made on Edinburgh Castle – making it the most besieged place in Europe.
What are the holes in a castle wall called?
An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts.
What is the weakest part of a castle?
The entrance to the castle was always its weakest point. Drawbridges could be pulled up, preventing access across moats. Tall gate towers meant that defenders could shoot down in safety at attacks below. The main gate or door to the castle was usually a thick, iron-studded wooden door, that was hard to break through.
What is the basement of a castle called?
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open to the sides, but covered by the building above.
What is the area outside a castle called?
An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.