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Postern
A postern is a secondary door or gate in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often placed in concealed locations, allowing inconspicuous entrance and exit. In the event of a siege, a postern could act as a sally port, allowing defenders to make a sortie on the besiegers. Placed in a less exposed, less visible location, they were usually relatively small, and therefore easily defensible.Van Emden, Wolgang. "Castle in Medieval French Literature", ''The Medieval Castle: Romance and Reality'' (Kathryn L. Reyerson, Faye Powe, eds.) U of Minnesota Press, 1991, p.17 Tactical use Posterns were one of the essen ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
York City Walls
York has, since Roman Britain, Roman times, been defended by defensive wall, walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City Walls, the Bar Walls and the Roman walls (though this last is a misnomer as very little of the extant stonework is of Roman origin, and the course of the wall has been substantially altered since Roman times). The walls are generally 13 feet (4m) high and 6 feet (1.8m) wide. They are the longest town walls in England. History Roman walls The original walls were built around 71 AD, when the Roman Empire, Romans erected a fort (castra) occupying about 50 acres or 21.5 hectares near the banks of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse. The rectangle of walls was built as part of the fort's defences. The foundations and the line of about half of these Roman walls form part of the existing walls, as follows: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tower Hill Postern
The Tower Hill Postern was a small fortified entrance (postern) at the eastern terminal point to the London Wall, at the junction of the Wall and the Tower of London moat. The size of the gateway indicates that it was suitable for pedestrians and horsemen but not wide enough to accommodate wagons, carts or carriages. Antecedent gateway There is no evidence for a gateway on the site earlier than the building erected by Edward I around 1297-1308, and no reason for there to have been a gateway there before the expansion of the Tower of London. There are a number of circumstantial arguments including arguments based on road alignments, records of parochial disputes and indirect references by William Fitzstephen to indicate that there may have been a gateway further south that was replaced when much of the wall was demolished as part of the expansion of the Tower. History The Tower of London moat was dug in around 1270 as part of a scheme to extend the Tower, and part of the London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moorgate
Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, but gave its name to a major street, ''Moorgate'', laid out in 1834. The area around the street and around Moorgate station is informally also referred to as ''Moorgate''. The Moorgate district is home to many financial institutions and has many notable historic and contemporary buildings. Moorgate station was the site of the Moorgate tube crash of 1975, when a Northern City Line train failed to stop and hit a brick wall killing 43. This resulted in systems, known as Moorgate control, being installed on the Underground in order to stop trains at dead-ends. The gate The earliest descriptions of Moorgate date from the early 15th century, where it was described as only a postern in the London city wall. Located between Bishopsgate and Cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified house, fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a mansion, palace, and villa, whose main purpose was exclusively for ''pleasance'' and are not primarily fortresses but may be fortified. Use of the term has varied over time and, sometimes, has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th- and 20th-century homes built to resemble castles. Over the Middle Ages, when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were commonplace. European-style castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries after the fall of the Carolingian Empire, which resulted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Gate (Jerusalem)
The Golden Gate or Gate of Mercy ('';'' ) is the only eastern gate of the Temple Mount, and one of only two Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem that used to offer access into the city from the East side. The gate has been sealed since 1541, the most recent of several sealings. Its interior can be accessed from the Temple Mount. In Jewish tradition, the Messiah will enter Jerusalem through this gate, coming from the Mount of Olives. Christians and Muslims generally believe that this was the gate through which Jesus entered Jerusalem. Names Each of the two doors of this double-gate has its own name: ('Gate of Mercy') for the southern one, and ('Gate of Repentance') for the northern one. Another Arabic name is the ''Gate of Eternal Life''. In the Mishnah (Middot 1:3), the eastern gate of the Second Temple compound is called the ''Shushan Gate'' (). If the Golden Gate does preserve the location of the Shushan Gate, the concept being based of an exposed ancient arch, most possib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Layerthorpe
Layerthorpe is a part of the city of York in, North Yorkshire, England. It is outside York city walls, the city walls of York. The road through Layerthorpe from the bridge over the River Foss to Heworth is also shares the same name. Origin of the name York historian Francis Drake (antiquary), Francis Drake suggested in his ''Eboracum'' (1736) that the first part of the name referred to a resting-place (or "lair") used by deer on the edge of the Forest of Galtres. The second part (Thorp, "thorpe") is a placename suffix used within the Danelaw for small settlements adjacent to larger ones. The earliest known reference (in a charter of 1184–9) calls the area (then a village) "Leirthorp". History After William I of England, William the Conqueror created a dam in the River Foss in 1069 to create a moat around York Castle, the river flooded in the Layerthorpe area, forming a large lake that would become known as the "King's Pool" (or "King's Fishpool"). The King's Pool be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sally Port
A sallyport is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter and prevents direct enemy fire from a distance. It may include two sets of doors that can be barred independently to further delay enemy penetration. From around 1600 to 1900, a sallyport was a sort of dock where boats picked up or dropped off ship crews from vessels anchored offshore. That meaning occasionally still occurs, especially in coastal Great Britain. Etymology and historical usage The word ''port'' is ultimately from Latin for door. Often the term postern is used synonymously. It can also mean a tunnel, or passage (i.e., a secret exit for those besieged). A ''sally'', ultimately derived from Latin (to jump), or "salle" sortie, is a military maneuver, typically during a siege, made by a defending force to harass isolated or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Girart De Roussillon
Girart de Roussillon, also called ''Girard'', ''Gérard II'', ''Gyrart de Vienne,'' and ''Girart de Fraite'', (c. 810–877/879?) was a Frankish Burgundian leader who became Count of Paris in 837, and embraced the cause of Lothair I against Charles the Bald. He was a son of Leuthard I, Count of Fézensac and Paris, and his wife Grimildis. Girart is not described as being from Roussillon in authentic historical sources. The placename in his title is derived from a castle he built on Mont Lassois, near Vix and Châtillon-sur-Seine (Côte-d'Or). Girart de Roussillon is also an epic figure in the cycle of Carolingian romances, collectively known as the ''Matter of France.'' In the genealogy of the cycle's legendary heroes, Girart is a son of Doon de Mayence and appears in various irreconcilable events. Biography Girart fought at the Battle of Fontenay in 841, and followed Lothair I to Aix-en-Provence. In 843, Girart married Bertha. They had two children: Thierry and Ava. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renaud De Montauban
Renaud (or Renaut or Renault) de Montauban (Modern ; ; ; or ) was a legendary hero and knight which appeared in a 12th-century Old French known as ''The Four Sons of Aymon''. The four sons of Duke Aymon are Renaud, Richard, Alard and Guiscard, and their cousin is the magician Maugris (; or ). Renaud possesses the magical horse Bayard (legend), Bayard and the sword Flamberge, Froberge (; or ). The story of Renaud was popular across Europe. The tale was adapted into Dutch, German, Italian and English versions throughout the Middle Ages, inspired the Old Icelandic , and also incited subsequent sequels and related texts that form part of the Doon de Mayence cycle of ''chansons''. Renaud, as Rinaldo, is an important character in Italian Renaissance epics, including ''Morgante'' by Luigi Pulci, by Matteo Maria Boiardo and by Ludovico Ariosto. Quatre Fils Aymon The oldest extant version of the anonymous Old French ''chanson de geste'' ''Quatre Fils Aymon'' dates from the late 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chanson De Geste
The , from 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poetry, epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th centuries, shortly before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the troubadours and trouvères, and the earliest verse Romance (heroic literature), romances. They reached their highest point of acceptance in the period 1150–1250.Hasenohr, 242. Composed in verse, these narrative poems of moderate length (averaging 4000 lines) were originally sung, or (later) recited, by minstrels or jongleurs. More than one hundred ''chansons de geste'' have survived in approximately three hundred manuscripts''La Chanson de Roland,'' 12. that date from the 12th to the 15th century. Origins Since the 19th century, much critical debate has centered on the origins of the ''chansons de geste'', and particularly on explaining the length of time between the composition of the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New College, Oxford
New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first colleges in the university to admit and tutor undergraduate students. The college is in the centre of Oxford, between Holywell Street and New College Lane (known for Oxford's Bridge of Sighs). Its sister college is King's College, Cambridge. The choir of New College has recorded over one hundred albums, and has won two Gramophone Awards. History Despite its name, New College is one of the oldest of the Oxford colleges; it was founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, as "Saint Mary College of Winchester in Oxenford", with both graduates and undergraduates. It became known as "New College" because there was already a college dedicated to St Mary in Oxford ( Oriel College). Foundation In 1379 William of Wykeh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of Architecture of England, English architecture since late History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, science, and information technologies. Founded in the 8th century, it was granted city status in 1542. The city is located at the confluence of the rivers Thames (locally known as the Isis) and River Cherwell, Cherwell. It had a population of in . It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. History The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the History of Anglo-Saxon England, Saxon period. The name � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
