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In medieval
castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
the chemise ( French: "shirt") was typically a low wall encircling the
keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ca ...
, protecting the base of the tower. Alternative terms, more commonly used in English, are mantlet wall or apron wall.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, pp. 4, 67 & 190. In some cases, the keep could be entered only from the chemise (i.e. at the first floor level). Numerous examples exist of highly varied form, including the heavily fortified chemise of
Château de Vincennes The Château de Vincennes () is a former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, alongside the Bois de Vincennes. It was largely built between 1361 and 1369, and was a preferred residence, after ...
, or the more modest example at Provins, both in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Some chemises are suggested to have been developed from earlier
motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
defences, though they may not usually be referred to as chemise. In later
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' ...
, a chemise is a wall lined with a
bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with f ...
, or any other bulwark of earth, for greater support and strength.


References


Note

The German Wikipedia entry "Mantelmauer" links to this entry. This is not accurate, since the German "Mantelmauer" was renowned for being particularly high rather than the English / French "chemise" which is described here as a "low wall". An example is Alzenau Castle in Germany, where the "Mantelmauer" is 14 metres (approx. 46 feet) high.


Bibliography

* Castle architecture {{castle-stub