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Castle Glossary
Bailey - ward or courtyard inside the walls of a castle.
Barbican - outer defense of a main gateway.
Bartizan - an overhanging corner turret.
Bastion - a corner tower, open at the rear.
Battlement - a narrow wall built along the outer edge of the wall walk to protect soldiers from attack.
Belfrey - a wooden siege tower.
Belvedere - a raised turret or pavilion.
Berm - the space between the castle wall and the moat.
Buttress - a pillar strengthening a wall.
Cesspit - the opening in a wall in which the waste from one or more garderobes was collected.
Corbel - a projecting block of stone built into a wall during construction.
Crenelations - battlements at top of a tower or wall.
Curtain - stone wall surrounding the bailey; also any castle wall.
Donjon - great tower or keep.
Drawbridge - wooden bridge spanning a pit or moat which could be raised toward the gatehouse.
Drum Tower - round towert built into a wall.
Embrasure - the low segment of the alternating high and low segments of a battlement.
Enciente - the enclosure or fortified area of a castle.
Forebuilding - a structure against the keep protecting the stairway and entrance.
Garderobe - lavatory, latrine built into the thickness of a wall or projecting out from it.
Gatehouse - the complex of towers, bridges, and barriers built to protect a castle entrance.
Great hall - the building in the inner ward that housed the main meeting and dining area.
Hoarding - temporary wooden gallery from whick missiles could be dropped.
Inner Curtain - the high wall surrounding the inner ward.
Inner Ward - the open area in the center of the castle.
Keep - great tower.
Loophole - slit for light, air or shooting through.
Machicolations - holes in a stone parapet.
Merlon - the high segment of the alternating high and low segments of a battlement.
Meurtriere or Murder Hole - an opening in the roof of a passage.
Moat - a deep trench dug around a castle to prevent access from the surrounding land.
Motte - a mound of earth.
Oilette - round opening at base of a loophole.
Oubliette - a dungeon reached by a trap door.
Outer Curtain - the wall that encloses the outer ward.
Outer Ward - the area around the outside of and adjacent to the inner curtain.
Portcullis - a heavy timber grille that could be raised or lowered between gatehouse towers.
Postern - a back gate or small gateway.
Put-logs - beams placed in holes to support a hoarding.
Ringwork - an area enclosed by a fosse and a rampart.
Shell-keep - stone wall around the top of a motte.
Solar - the lord's private chamber.
Truss - one of the timber frames built to support the roof over the great hall.
Turret - a small tower rising above and resting on one of the main towers, usually as a lookout point.
Wall Walk - the area along the tops of the walls from which soldiers defended both castle and town.
Back to Medieval Irish Castles
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