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An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a
battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...
between two raised solid portions (
merlon A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...
s). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out throughout the thickness of a wall by the establishment of a
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...
. This term designates the internal part of this space, relative to the closing device, door or window. In
fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere ...
this refers to the outward splay of a window or of an arrowslit on the inside. In ancient
military engineering Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...
, embrasures were constructed in towers and walls, in particular between the
merlon A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...
s and the battle. A loophole, arrow loop or arrowslit passes through a solid wall, and thus forms an embrasure of shooting, allowing archer or gunner weapons to be fired out from the fortification while the firer remains under cover. This type of opening was flared inward - that is: the opening was very narrow on the outside, but wide on the inside, so that archers had free space of movement and aiming, while exterior attackers have as much difficulty as possible to reach them. There are embrasures especially in fortified castles and bunkers. The generic term of ''loophole'' is gradually abandoned because of its imprecision, in favour of those more precise of archer, crossbowman, gunner archer. The splay of the wall on the inside provides room for defending soldiers and their equipment, allowing them to get as close to the wall-face and to the arrowslit itself as possible. Examples of deep embrasures with arrowslits are to be seen at Aigues-Mortes and
Château de Coucy The Château de Coucy is a French castle in the commune of Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique, in Picardy, built in the 13th century and renovated by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century. During its heyday, it was famous for the size of its cent ...
, both in France. With the introduction of
firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s, the term ''embrasure'' designated more specifically the opening made in a fortified structure to allow the firing of these weapons. In modern architecture, embrasures are incorporated during construction because they are intended to receive a door or a window. These are not openings made after construction.


Etymology

The term ''embrasure'' () comes from
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
(), and is described as a hole in a parapet through which cannons are laid to fire into the moat or field.


History

The invention of the arrowslit is attributed to
Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientis ...
during the siege of Syracuse in 214–212 BC. However, the invention was later forgotten until reintroduced in the 12th century. By the 19th century, a distinction was made between embrasures being used for
cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
, and loopholes being used for
musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...
ry. In both cases, the opening was normally made wider on the inside of the wall than the outside. The outside was made as narrow as possible (slightly wider than the muzzle of the weapon intended to use it) so as to afford the most difficult possible shot to attackers firing back, but the inside had to be wider in order to enable the weapon to be swivelled around so as to aim over a reasonably large arc.


Variations

A distinction was made between horizontal and vertical embrasures or loopholes, depending on the orientation of the opening formed in the outside wall. A vertical loophole—which was much more common—allows the weapon to be easily raised and lowered in
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...
to cover a variety of ranges easily. To sweep from side to side, however, the weapon (and its firer or crew) must bodily move from side to side to pivot around the muzzle, which is effectively fixed by the width of the opening. A horizontal loophole, on the other hand, facilitates quick sweeping across the arc in front, but makes large adjustments in elevation very difficult. These were usually used in circumstances where the range was very restricted or where rapid cover of a wide field was preferred. Another variation of the embrasure featured both horizontal and vertical slits arranged in the form of a cross, and was called a ''crosslet loop'' or an ''arbalestina'' since it was principally intended for
arbalest The arbalest (also arblast) was a late variation of the crossbow coming into use in Europe during the 12th century. A large weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod (the "bow" portion of the weapon). Since the arbalest was much larger than earlier ...
iers (crossbowmen). In the 16th and 17th centuries, after the crossbow had become obsolete as a military weapon, crosslet loopholes were still sometimes created as a decorative architectural feature with
Christian symbolism Christian symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork or events, by Christianity. It invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas. The symbolism of the early Church was characterized by be ...
. A stepped embrasure was often utilised on pillbox bunkers of the 20th century. This allowed for a relatively wide field of fire compared to a traditional embrasure while also minimising the shot trap result created by the sloped opening. A series of perpendicular "steps" that tapered to the gun port ensured that any incoming fire that struck the inward-facing surface of a step would be stopped or deflected laterally by the outward-facing surface of the step and not funnelled inward toward the gunner. In the 19th century, each step was known as a 'redent', based on Old French and Latin for 'double notching' or 'like the teeth of a saw'. On warships of the late 1860s and onwards to the First World War, the sides of a ship's hull might be recessed in locations near to a gun mounted in the hull. These recesses were also termed embrasures and were intended to allow a wider arc of fire than a standard broadside arrangement would otherwise permit. Central-battery ironclads like
HMS Hercules Five ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Hercules'', or HMS ''Hercule'', after the Greek and Roman hero Hercules. Another was launched, but never served in the Navy: * was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1759 and sold in 1784. * HM ...
featured such embrasures for fore and aft fire from the amidships battery's end guns. Later ironclads like HMS Alexandra featured embrasures which were 'open to the sky' in that they had no overhanging structure above the recessed area. This 'open-topped' embrasure became the standard arrangement for many cruisers and battleships of the pre-WW1 period. Once hull-mounted broadside weapons disappeared from the world's navies, so did the term.


References

;Citations


Sources

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External links

{{Authority control Castle architecture Windows