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Contents
1 Etymology 2 Licence to crenellate 3 Machicolations 4 History 5 Development 6 Ancient Rome 7 Italy 8 Middle East and Africa 9 Decorative element 10 See also 11 Notes 12 Sources 13 Further reading 14 External links
Etymology[edit]
The term originated in about the 14th century from the
Old French
Old French word
batailler, "to fortify with batailles" (fixed or movable turrets of
defence). The word crenel derives from the ancient French cren (modern
French cran), Latin crena, meaning a notch, mortice or other gap cut
out often to receive another element or fixing; see also crenation.
The modern French word for crenel is créneau, also used to describe a
gap of any kind, for example a parking space at the side of the road
between two cars, interval between groups of marching troops or a
timeslot in a broadcast.[1]
Licence to crenellate[edit]
Main article: Licence to crenellate
In medieval England a licence to crenellate granted the holder
permission to fortify their property. Such licences were granted by
the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within their
jurisdictions, e.g. by the Bishops of Durham and the Earls of Chester
and after 1351 by the Dukes of Lancaster. The castles in England
vastly outnumber the licences to crene.llate[2] Royal pardons were
obtainable, on the payment of an arbitrarily determined fine, by a
person who had fortified without licence. The surviving records of
such licences, generally issued by letters patent, provide valuable
evidence for the dating of ancient buildings. A list of licences
issued by the English Crown between the 12th and 16th centuries was
compiled by Turner & Parker and expanded and corrected by Philip
Davis and published in The
Castle
Castle Studies Group Journal.[3]
There has been academic debate over the purpose of licensing. The view
of military-focused historians is that licensing restricted the number
of fortifications that could be used against a royal army. The modern
view, proposed notably by Charles Coulson, is that battlements became
an architectural status-symbol much sought after by the socially
ambitious, in Coulson's words: "Licences to crenellate were mainly
symbolic representations of lordly status: castellation was the
architectural expression of noble rank".[4][3] They indicated to the
observer that the grantee had obtained "royal recognition,
acknowledgment and compliment".[5][3] They could however provide a
basic deterrent against wandering bands of thieves, and it is
suggested that the function of battlements was comparable to the
modern practice of householders fitting highly visible CC-TV and
burglar alarms, often merely dummies. The crown usually did not charge
for the granting of such licences, but occasionally charged a fee of
about half a mark.[3]
Machicolations[edit]
Battlements may be stepped out to overhang the wall below, and may
have openings at their bases between the supporting corbels, through
which stones or burning objects could be dropped onto attackers or
besiegers; these are known as machicolations.
History[edit]
9th-century BC relief of an Assyrian attack on a walled town with zig-zag shaped battlements
Battlements have been used for thousands of years; the earliest known
example is in the fortress at
Buhen
Buhen in Egypt. Battlements were used in
the walls surrounding Assyrian towns, as shown on bas reliefs from
Nimrud
Nimrud and elsewhere. Traces of them remain at
Mycenae
Mycenae in Greece, and
some ancient Greek vases suggest the existence of battlements. The
Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China has battlements.
Development[edit]
Cutaway diagram of a tower of
Château de Pierrefonds
Château de Pierrefonds showing its
three levels of defensive architecture
In the European battlements of the
Middle Ages
Middle Ages the crenel comprised
one-third of the width of the merlon: the latter, in addition, could
be provided with arrow-loops of various shapes (from simply round to
cruciform), depending on the weapon being utilized. Late merlons
permitted fire from the first firearms. From the 13th century, the
merlons could be connected with wooden shutters that provided added
protection when closed. The shutters were designed to be opened to
allow shooters to fire against the attackers, and closed during
reloading.
Ancient Rome[edit]
The Romans used low wooden pinnacles for their first aggeres
(terreplains). In the battlements of Pompeii, additional protection
derived from small internal buttresses or spur walls, against which
the defender might stand so as to gain complete protection on one
side.
Italy[edit]
Gradara Castle, Italy, outer walls 13th-14th century, showing on the tower curved v-shaped notches in the merlons
Loop-holes were frequent in Italian battlements, where the merlon has
much greater height and a distinctive cap. Italian military architects
used the so-called Ghibelline or swallowtail battlement, with V-shaped
notches in the tops of the merlon, giving a horn-like effect. This
would allow the defender to be protected whilst shooting standing
fully upright. The normal rectangular merlons were later nicknamed
Guelph[citation needed].
Middle East and Africa[edit]
In
Muslim
Muslim and African fortifications, the merlons often were rounded.
The battlements of the
Arabs
Arabs had a more decorative and varied
character, and were continued from the 13th century onwards not so
much for defensive purposes as for a crowning feature to the walls.
They serve a function similar to the cresting found in the Spanish
Renaissance.
Decorative element[edit]
European architects persistently used battlements as a purely
decorative feature throughout the Decorated and Perpendicular periods
of Gothic architecture. They not only occur on parapets but on the
transoms of windows and on the tie-beams of roofs and on screens, and
even on Tudor chimney-pots. A further decorative treatment appears in
the elaborate paneling of the merlons and that portion of the parapet
walls rising above the cornice, by the introduction of quatrefoils and
other conventional forms filled with foliage and shield.
See also[edit]
Merlon Embrasure
Notes[edit]
^ Larousse Dictionnaire Lexis de la Langue Française, Paris, 1979; Collins French Dictionary Robert ^ Goodall 2011, p. 9. ^ a b c d Davis 2007, pp. 226–245. ^ Coulson 1982, p. 72. ^ Coulson 1982, p. 83.
Sources[edit]
Balestracci, D. (1989). "I materiali da costruzione nel castello
medievale". Archeologia Medievale (XVI): 227–242.
Coulson, C. (1982). "Hierarchism in Conventual Crenellation". Medieval
Archaeology. 26: 69–100.
Davis, Philip (2007). "English Licences to Crenellate: 1199–1567"
(PDF). The
Castle
Castle Studies Group Journal. 20: 226–245.
Goodall, John (2011). The English Castle. London: Yale Books.
ISBN 978-0-300-11058-6.
Luisi, R. (1996). Scudi di pietra, I castelli e l’arte della guerra
tra Medioevo e Rinascimento. Bari.
Further reading[edit]
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (July 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Coulson, Charles, 1979, "Structural Symbolism in Medieval Castle Architecture" Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol. 132, pp 73–90 Coulson, Charles, 1994, "Freedom to Crenellate by Licence - An Historiographical Revision" Nottingham Medieval Studies Vol. 38, pp. 86–137 Coulson, Charles, 1995, "Battlements and the Bourgeoisie: Municipal Status and the Apparatus of Urban Defence" in Church, Stephen (ed), Medieval Knighthood Vol. 5(Boydell), pp. 119–95 Coulson, Charles, 2003, Castles in Medieval Society, Oxford University Press. Coulson, Charles, Castles in the Medieval Polity - Crenellation, Privilege, and Defence in England, Ireland and Wales. King, D. J. Cathcart, 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (Kraus)
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battlement.
v t e
Fortifications
Ancient history
Abatis
Agger
Broch
Burgus
Castellum
Castra
Castros
Circular rampart
City gate
Crannog
Ditch
Defensive wall
Dun
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Limes
Oppidum
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Medieval history
Advanced work Albarrana tower Alcazaba Alcázar Arrowslit Barbican Bartizan Bastion Battery tower Battlement Bent entrance Bergfried Bretèche Bridge castle Bridge tower Butter-churn tower Caltrop Castle Chamber gate Chartaque Chashi Chemin de ronde Chemise Cheval de frise Citadel Coercion castle Concentric castle Corner tower Counter-castle Curtain Drawbridge Enceinte Embrasure Flanking tower Fortified buildings (church, house) Ganerbenburg Gate tower Gabion Glacis Guard tower Gulyay-gorod Gusuku Half tower Hoarding Inner bailey Keep Kremlin (Detinets) Landesburg L-plan castle Machicolation Merlon Moat Motte-and-bailey Murder-hole Neck ditch Outer bailey Outwork Peel tower Portcullis Postern Reduit Ringwork Quadrangular castle Shell keep Shield wall Toll castle Tower castle Tower house Turret Wall tower Bailey (or ward) Watchtower Witch tower Yett
Modern history
18th century and earlier
Abwurfdach
Bastion
Blockhouse
Breastwork
Canal
Caponier
Casemate
Cavalier
Counterguard
Counterscarp
Couvreface
Coupure
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Station
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19th century
Barbed wire Barbette Border outpost Bunker Coastal artillery Gun turret Land mine Martello tower Outpost Trench warfare Sangar Wire obstacles
20th century
Admiralty scaffolding Air raid shelter Anti-tank trench Barbed tape Blast shelter Blast wall Border barrier Buoy Bremer wall Concertina wire Defensive fighting position British "hedgehog" road block Czech hedgehog Dragon's teeth Electric fence Fallout shelter Fire support base Flak tower Hardened aircraft shelter Hesco bastion Main Line of Resistance Revetment Sentry gun Spider hole Submarine pen Tunnel warfare Underground hangar
By topography
Cave castle Hill castle Hill fort Hillside castle Hilltop castle Island castle Lowland castle Marsh castle Moated castle Promontory fort Ridge castle Rocca Rock castle Spur castle Water castle
By role
Coercion castle Counter-castle Ganerbenburg Hunting lodge Imperial castle Kaiserpfalz Landesburg Lustschloss Ordensburg Refuge castle Toll castle Urban castle
By design
Bridge castle Circular rampart Concentric castle L-plan castle Motte-and-bailey castle Quadrangular castle Ringfort Ringwork Tower castle
See als