What does Machicoulis mean in English?
A machicolation (French: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall.
What does En Cachette mean?
Translation of “en cachette” in English. Adverb. secretly. in secret.
How do machicolations work?
On higher floors of a castle, Medieval people often added sticking out wooden platforms with holes in. These overhanging platforms were the first machicolations. The people defending the castle could climb onto these platforms and pour down water to quench a fire below.
Why are castle walls so thick?
Various mechanisms were used in the construction of medieval castle walls, as well as other castle parts, to make them more effective for defence. The walls were made thicker at the bottom to preclude the possibility of tunneling from the enemy.
What were battlements used for?
The function of battlements in war is to protect the defenders by giving them something to hide behind, from which they can pop out to launch their own missiles.
What are the holes in a castle wall called?
Arrow slits or loop-holes (archeres) An arrowslit is a thin vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows. It is alternatively referred to as an arrow loop, loop hole, or archere, and sometimes a balistraria.
What is the top of a castle wall called?
In architecture, a battlement is a structure on top of castle or fortress walls that protects from attack. Historically, battlements were usually narrow walls at the top of the outermost walls of a castle. Battlements have several important parts. The short, topmost part of the wall was called the parapet.
Do all castles have battlements?
Protecting Castles As the enemy approaches from the surrounding landscape, the army in the castle gathers its weapons, rushes to the highest area of the walls and shoots from behind short protective structures. This wall and the short structures on it are all part of an architectural element known as a battlement.
Why do churches have battlements?
A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedral were incorporated into the town wall.
What is a window in a castle called?
An embrasure is the opening in a battlement between the two raised solid portions, referred to as crenel or crenelle in a space hollowed out throughout the thickness of a wall by the establishment of a bay.
What are the slit windows in castles called?
Arrowslit
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.