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Large castles may have two outer baileys; if in line they may form an outer and middle bailey. On the other hand, tower houses lack an enclosed bailey. The most important and prestigious buildings, such as the great hall and the keep or bergfried, were usually located in the inner bailey of the castle, sometimes called the central bailey or ...
The outermost walls with their integrated bastions and wall towers together make up the enceinte or main defensive line enclosing the site. In medieval designs of castle and town, the curtain walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult.
Outer baileys were usually enclosed and protected by a ring wall and separated from the actual living area of the castle – the inner ward and keep – by a moat, a wall and a gate. In lowland castles , the outer bailey is usually arranged in a half-moon shape around the main castle.
Plan of the outer and inner baileys of Alt-Trauchburg Castle (Germany). The Graben is the neck ditch, and to its right is the inner bailey, accessible over a wooden bridge. Topoľčany Castle with an inner and an outer bailey. The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle. [1]
A 19th-century reconstruction of the keep at Château d'Étampes. Since the 16th century, the English word keep has commonly referred to large towers in castles. [4] The word originates from around 1375 to 1376, coming from the Middle English term kype, meaning basket or cask, and was a term applied to the shell keep at Guînes, said to resemble a barrel. [5]
The keep at Provins encircled by a low wall. In medieval castles, the chemise (French: "shirt") was typically a low wall encircling the keep, protecting the base of the tower. Alternative terms, more commonly used in English, are mantlet wall or apron wall. [1] In some cases, the keep could be entered only from the chemise (i.e. at the first ...
The elevated entrance is the lowest and frequently the only way of entering a fortified building or residence. In the case of circular towers, a large opening in the main wall at ground level was a potential weakness and experts on castle design have argued that the elevated entrance served a structural as well as defensive purpose. [1]
Tolkien made his Hobbits live in holes, though these quickly turn out to be comfortable, and in the case of Bag End actually highly desirable. Hobbit-holes range from the simple underground dwellings of the poor, with a door leading into a tunnel and perhaps a window or two, up to the large and elaborate Bag End with its multiple cellars, pantries, kitchen, dining room, parlour, study, and ...