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Bretèche
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. Depending on whether they have a roof, bretèches are classified in two types: open and closed. The open ones were accessed from the battlement's wall walk, or from a crenel. Medieval latrines (called garderobes) were fairly similar in construction, but they were not placed over doors. In Catalan (''lladronera'') and Portuguese (''ladroneira'') the word for ''bretèche'' was in fact derived from the Byzantine latreys (latrine), but this regionalism did not carry over to other languages. Because the places protected by bretèches were usually vital, they were usually manned by professional soldiers, often mercenaries in the Middle Ages. As a result of these circumstances, the word for latrine even denoted a mercen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Citadel Of Damascus
The Citadel of Damascus ( ar, قلعة دمشق, Qalʿat Dimašq) is a large medieval fortified palace and citadel in Damascus, Syria. It is part of the Ancient City of Damascus, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. The location of the current citadel was first fortified in 1076 by the Turkman warlord Atsiz bin Uvak, although it is possible but not proven that a citadel stood on this place in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. After the assassination of Atsiz bin Uvak, the project was finished by the Seljuq ruler Tutush I. The emirs of the subsequent Burid and Zengid dynasties carried out modifications and added new structures to it. During this period, the citadel and the city were besieged several times by Crusader and Muslim armies. In 1174, the citadel was captured by Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, who made it his residence and had the defences and residential buildings modified. Saladin's brother Al-Adil rebuilt the citadel completely between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archon, Aisne
Archon () is a commune in the department of Aisne in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Geography Archon is located some 60 km east by southeast of Saint-Quentin and 40 km west of Charleville-Mézières. It can be accessed by road D744 from Cuiry-les-Iviers in the north which passes through the heart of the commune and the village then continues south to Rozoy-sur-Serre. The D520 road starts from the village and continues east to Parfondeval. The commune consists entirely of farmland, and there are no other villages or hamlets. A stream rises in the commune and flows south joining other tributaries and feeding the Serre river. Neighbouring communes and villages History In Greek ''Archon'' (ἄρχων, pl. Ἄρχοντες) means chief or lord. Archon was known as ''Archium'' in 1124. It has been found in Mousterian flint carvings and Roman pottery. In the 13th century, the lordship was given to the Abbey Saint-Remi of Reims and Saint Vincent of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Fortification
Medieval fortification refers to medieval military methods that cover the development of fortification construction and use in Europe, roughly from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance. During this millennium, fortifications changed warfare, and in turn were modified to suit new tactics, weapons and siege techniques. Fortification types Archer towers Towers of medieval castles were usually made of stone, wood or a combination of both (with a stone base supporting a wooden loft). Often toward the later part of the era they included battlements and arrow loops. Arrow loops were vertical slits in the wall through which archers inside shot arrows at the attackers, but made it extremely difficult for attackers to get many arrows back through at the defenders. City walls An exact nature of the walls of a medieval town or city would depend on the resources available for building them, the nature of the terrain, and the perceived threat. In northern Europe, ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Of Beauregard (Besançon)
The Fort of Beauregard is a fortification located in the French city of Besançon. It is now a historic monument and is open to the public during Heritage Days. History After two wars (in 1674 when Louis XIV of France took the city from the Spanish, and in 1814 when Austria declared war on Napoleon I), the French military decided to build a fort on Bregille hill, to defend the old city of Besançon. This hill is higher than the principal fortification of the city, the citadel of Besançon. Because the hill's strategic position had been used against the city in the past, the necessity for a real military defense there had become evident, and so the fort was built. The first fort on the site was built in 1791; it was captured in 1814 during the Six Days' Campaign. To improve the city's defences, Jacob François Marulaz had another fort built on the site. It may have taken its name from a farm by that name dating back at least to he 217th century. After the French defeat in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bartizan
A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging, wall-mounted turret projecting from the walls of late medieval and early-modern fortifications from the early 14th century up to the 18th century. Most frequently found at corners, they protected a warder and enabled him to see his surroundings. Bartizans generally are furnished with oillets or arrow slits. The turret was usually supported by stepped masonry corbels and could be round, polygonal or square. Bartizans were incorporated into many notable examples of Scottish Baronial architecture. In the architecture of Aberdeen, the new Town House, built in 1868–74, incorporates bartizans in the West Tower. Gallery At walls File:Round Bartizan, Fortaleza de Santiago, Sesimbra, Portugal.JPG, ''Guarita'' at Fortaleza de Santiago, Sesimbra Municipality, Portugal. File:Sudika Isla watchtower.jpg, ''Gardjola'' at the Spur, Senglea, Malt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krak Des Chevaliers
Krak des Chevaliers, ar, قلعة الحصن, Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn also called Hisn al-Akrad ( ar, حصن الأكراد, Ḥiṣn al-Akrād, rtl=yes, ) and formerly Crac de l'Ospital; Krak des Chevaliers or Crac des Chevaliers (), is a medieval castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by Kurds, Kurdish troops garrisoned there by the Mirdasid dynasty, Mirdasids. In 1142 it was given by Raymond II of Tripoli, Raymond II, County of Tripoli, Count of Tripoli, to the order of the Knights Hospitaller. It remained in their possession until it fell in 1271. The Hospitallers began rebuilding the castle in the 1140s and were finished by 1170 when an earthquake damaged the castle. The order controlled a number of castles along the border of the County of Tripoli, a Crusader state, state founded after the First Crusade. Krak des Chevaliers was among the most important, and acted as a center ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudelle
Rudelle (; oc, Rudèla) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Lot department The following is a list of the 313 communes of the Lot department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Communes of Lot (department) {{Lot-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtain Wall (fortification)
A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two fortified towers or bastions of a castle, fortress, or town. Ancient fortifications Evidence for curtain walls or a series of walls surrounding a town or fortress can be found in the historical sources from Assyria and Egypt. Some notable examples are ancient Tel Lachish in Israel and Buhen in Egypt. Curtain walls were built across Europe during the Roman Empire; the early 5th century Theodosian Walls of Constantinople influenced the builders of medieval castles many centuries later. Curtain wall castles In medieval castles, the area surrounded by a curtain wall, with or without towers, is known as the bailey. 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. Walls were toppe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortified Church
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. Monastic communities, such as Solovki Monastery, are often surrounded by a wall, and some churches, such as St. Arbogast in Muttenz, Switzerland, have an outer wall as well. Churches with additional external defences such as curtain walls and wall towers are often referred to more specifically as fortress churches or ''Kirchenburgen'' (literally "church castles"). Most fortified churches may be found in parts of Europe for example in the Dordogne region of France, fought over by France and England in medieval times, and in Transylvania, during the Ottoman invasions. Fortified churches were also built in places controlled by colonial empires, such as one in the Philippines at the scene of the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Fortresses
The Book of Fortresses (Portuguese: ''Livro das Fortalezas'') is a sixteenth-century manuscript written in 1509–1510 by the Royal Clerk Duarte de Armas at the behest King Manuel I of Portugal. The work contains drawings of all the 56 Portuguese border castles, all of which have been personally visited by the author. The book is considered to be a valuable source for the study of cartography and military architecture of the kingdom of Portugal. History King Manuel I (1495–1521) conducted extensive work to centralize and modernize the government of Portugal. Among the most important reforms, there are the Manueline Ordinances and called Reading Nova, the reform of the charters which resulted in 596 new charters throughout the kingdom. In another field, the monarch decreed the execution of the Armoury-Mor of the Book of Sintra room and the Book of Nobility and Perfeiçam Weapons, to regulate the use of heraldic arms in the kingdom and make manifest the will of the sovereign as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machicolation
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. A smaller version found on smaller structures is called a box-machicolation. Terminology The structures are thought to have originated as Crusader imitations of mashrabiya. The word derives from the Old French word ''machecol'', mentioned in Medieval Latin as ''machecollum'', probably from Old French ''machier'' 'crush', 'wound' and ''col'' 'neck'. ''Machicolate'' is only recorded in the 18th century in English, but a verb ''machicollāre'' is attested in Anglo-Latin. Both the Spanish and Portuguese words denoting this structure (''matacán'' and ''mata-cães'', respectively), are similarly composed from "matar canes" meaning roughly "killing dogs", the latter word being a slur referring to infidels.Vil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bellifortis
''Bellifortis'' ("Strong in War", "War Fortifications") is the first fully illustrated manual of military technology written by Konrad Kyeser and dating from the start of the 15th century. It summarises material from classical writers on military technology, like Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, Vegetius' ''De Re Militari'' and Frontinus' anecdotal ''Strategemata'', emphasising ''wikt:poliorcetics, poliorcetics'', or the art of siege warfare, but treating magic as a supplement to the military arts; it is "saturated with astrology", remarked Lynn White, Jr. in a review of the first facsimile edition. History Konrad Kyeser wrote his treatise between 1402 and 1405 when he was exiled from Prague to his hometown of Eichstätt.Long, pp. 105–108 Many of the illustrations for the book were made by German illuminators who were sent to Eichstätt after their own ousting from the Prague scriptorium.Lefèvre, pp. 67–72 The work, which was not printed until 1967, survived in a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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