Machicolation
A machicolation is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall. The design was adopted in the Middle Ages in Europe when Norman crusaders returned from the Holy Land. A machicolated battlement projects outwards from the supporting wall in order to facilitate this. A hoarding is a similar structure made of wood, usually temporarily constructed in the event of a siege. Advantages of machicolations over wooden hoardings include the greater strength and fire resistance of stone.
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The word derives from the Old French word machecol, mentioned in Medieval Latin as machecollum, probably from Old French machier[1] 'crush', 'wound' and col 'neck'. Machicolate is only recorded in the 18th century in English, but a verb machicollāre is attested in Anglo-Latin.[2] The Spanish word denoting this structure, matacán, is similarly composed from "matar canes" meaning roughly "killing dogs", the latter being a reference to infidels.[3]
Machicolations were more common in French castles than English, where they were usually restricted to the gateway, as in the 13th-century Conwy Castle.[4]
One of the first examples of machicolation that still exists in northern France is Château de Farcheville built in 1291 outside Paris.
Post-medieval use[edit]
Machicolation was later used for decorative effect with spaces between the corbels but without the openings, and subsequently became a characteristic of many non-military buildings (for example, Scottish baronial architecture from the 16th century onwards, and Gothic buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries).
Machicolations were a common feature in many towers and rural buildings in Malta until the 18th century. Buildings with machicolations include Cavalier Tower, Gauci Tower, the Captain's Tower, Birkirkara Tower and Tal-Wejter Tower.[5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Notes
- ^ A.-J. Greimas, Dictionnaire de l’ancien français, Paris 1987 ISBN 2-03-340-302-5
- ^ Hoad (1986)
- ^ Villena (1988)
- ^ Brown (2004), p. 66.
- ^ Spiteri, Stephen C. (May 2008). "A Medieval tower at Qrendi?" (PDF). Arx - Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification (6): 59. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- Bibliography
- Brown, R. Allen (2004) [1954]. Allen Brown's English Castles. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN 1-84383-069-8.
- Hoad, T. F. (1986), English Etymology, Oxford University Press
- Villena, Leonardo (1988). "Sobre las defensas verticales en España: tipología y terminlogía comparadas". In Andrés Bazzana. Guerre, fortification et habitat dans le monde méditerranéen au Moyen Age: colloque. Casa de Velázquez. ISBN 978-84-86839-02-4.
Further reading[edit]
- Mesqui, Jean (1997). Châteaux forts et fortifications en France. Paris: Flammarion. pp. 493 pp. ISBN 2-08-012271-1.
External links[edit]
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