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Medieval Terminology and Glossary
ALLURE
Walkway along the top of a wall, next to battlement.
APPRENTICESHIP
A sort of bonded servitude in which a young boy is given to a master
of a trade. The master is usually highly skilled at his job. The boy
then learns the trade from the master. In return he does the
master's grunt work.
ARROW LOOP
A narrow vertical slit cut into a wall through which arrows could be
fired from.
ASHLAR
The outer part of a wall, such as in castle or town fortifications.
It was made of squared blocks of smooth stone, neatly trimmed into
shape.
ASSART LAND
Land that was only recently turned into farmland.
BAILEY
The ward or courtyard inside the castle walls, include exercise
area, parade ground, and emergency corral.
BARBICAN
The gateway or outworks defending the drawbridge.
BASEMENT
The lowest floor in a castle tower. It was often used for storage
BASTION
A small tower at the end of a curtain wall. It was not lived in.
BATTER
A sloping part of a curtain wall. The sharp angle at the base of all
walls and towers along the exterior surface. It was used to help
objects ricochet off the walls and into enemies.
BATTLEMENT
Top part of a stone wall, consisting of merlons and crenels.
BRATTICE
Timber tower or projecting wooden gallery from which projectiles and
missiles could be dropped onto enemies; hoarding.
BREASTWORK
Heavy parapet slung between two gate towers; defense work over the
portcullis.
BUTTERY
Next to the kitchen, a room from where wine was dispensed.
CESSPIT
An opening in the wall in which waste from a garderobe was
collected. YUCK!
COIF
A type of armored head-covering made out of chain-mail.
CORBEL
A projecting block of stone built into a wall during construction.
It was used to hold up an arch.
CRENELS
Low segments in the battlement.
CROFT
A garden which usually resided outside a villager's house. It was
used to supplement the year's crop.
CURTAIN WALL
A connecting wall hung between two towers surrounding the bailey.
DAUB
Material made of mud, horsehair, clay, and animal dung mixed
together. It was applied to houses, covering the wattle.
DIVINE RIGHT
The belief that the king's right to rule came from God himself.
DONJON
A great tower or keep.
DRAWBRIDGE
A wooden bridge that could be raised and lowered as needed. It
spanned the moat and was an important component of the castle gate.
DUNGEON
The jail, usually found in one of the towers.
DOWRY
A present given to a new husband by the bride upon marriage. It took
the form of land, goods, or money.
EMBATTLED
Battlemented; crenelated.
EMBRASURE
An opening to either side of a merlon, along the top of a wall
ENCEINTE
The enclosure or fortified area of a castle.
FIEF
A grant of something of value, most often land, from a lord to his
vassal.
FOOTINGS
Bottom part of wall.
FOREBUILDING
An extension to the keep, guarding its entrance.
FOSSE
Ditch
GAMBESON
Covering worn under body armor, usually made of wool.
GARDEROBE
A small toilet built into a wall or sticking out of it.
GATE HOUSE
The sum of all the towers, bridges, and walls constructed to fortify
and prevent access to the keep of a castle, or town, in times of
war.
GLACIS
A cleared bank sloping down from a castle's walls. It makes a clear
line of fire in which attackers have nowhere to hide.
GREAT CHAMBER
Lord's solar, or bedroom.
GREAT HALL
The building in the inner ward that was the main meeting and eating
room in the castle; throne room.
HALIMOTE
A manorial court presided over by 12 common serfs. It decided petty
disputes and infractures of local regulation. It also meeted out the
corresponding punishments.
HAUBERK
An armored vest, usually of chain-mail.
HOARDINGS
Wooden buildings created outside the wall, directly over the enemy
forces. Projectiles and other dangerous missiles were dropped down
out of holes in the floors of these wooden structures.
HOMAGE AND FEALTY
Part of the contract between a lord and his vassal. The vassal was
required to give the lord "homage and fealty". This most often meant
monetary and military support. It also pertained to special duties,
like serving on the lord's court.
INNER CURTAIN
The high wall that surrounds the inner ward.
INNER WARD
the open area in the center of the castle.
KEEP
A strong stone tower; the most heavily fortified part of a castle.
LANCET
Long, narrow window with pointed head.
LOUVRE
An opening in the roof made to allow smoke to escape.
MACHICOLATION
A stone chute in the outer part of a wall, missiles were dropped
down these chutes to harm offending armies. Also, the word was used
to describe stone hoardings.
MARLING
A medieval fertilization technique. It consisted of spreading clay
containing carbonate of lime on the soil.
MERLON
The vertical, spiked objects along the frontal area of a wall. They
often contained arrow holes through which arrows and other
projectiles could be hurled.
MOAT
A trench filled with water dug around the castle. It was often
filled with sharp and dangerous objects like rusty metal and glass.
Inhabitants of the area often also threw refuse in it, contributing
to the stink of the area.
MURDER HOLES
A section between the main gate and the portcullis where holes were
cut in planks above. Defenders dropped dangerous objects from these
holes down onto invaders.
NARTHEX
Enclosed passageway between the entrance and nave of a church.
NAVE
Principal hall of the church.
OUBLIETTE
A dungeon reached by a trap door, often in one of the castle towers.
The word comes from French meaning "place of forgetting".
OUTER CURTAIN
The wall that encloses the outer ward.
OUTER WARD
The area around the outside of and adjacent to the inner curtain.
PALLIASS
Straw mattresses slept on during the middle ages.
PORTCULLIS
A heavy timber or metal grill lowered to protect the castle gate.
POSTERN GATE
A less important gate or entrance into a castle.
PUTLOG
Wooden beams placed in holes created in the castle wall. They were
used to support hoardings.
PUTLOG HOLE
A hole placed in walls to put putlog in.
QUINTAIN
An object used to help train a knight. It consisted of a shield and
dummy suspended from a swinging pole. When the shield was hit by a
charging squire, the whole apparatus would rotate. The squire's task
was to avoid the rotating arms and not get knocked from the saddle.
ROOD
A wooden and occasionally painted crucifixion hung in a church.
SERF
A peasant. Essentially a slave in medieval times.
SHIELD MONEY
Money paid by a vassal to his lord to excuse him from his military
service. It was often used to pay for mercenaries.
SOLAR
The upper living room, over the great hall, that was the lord's
living room.
TITHE
A kind of tax paid to a clergymen to help support him and the
church.
VASSAL
A person who holds a fief granted by a superior, or lord.
VICAR
A word from the Latin "substitute" it was a clergymen paid to act in
the true parish priest's stead. A vicar was often very corrupt.
WALL-STAIR
Staircase built into a wall.
WATTLE
A kind of woven mesh of sticks, usually oak or willow, used in house
construction.
