architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

s of a

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

. A smaller related structure that only protects key points of a fortification are referred to as

Bretèche In medieval fortification, a bretèche or brattice is a small balcony with machicolations, usually built over a gate and sometimes in the corners of the fortress' wall, with the purpose of enabling defenders to shoot or throw objects at the atta ...

. Machicolation,

hoarding Hoarding is the act of engaging in excessive acquisition of items that are not needed or for which no space is available. Civil unrest or the threat of natural disasters may lead people to hoard foodstuffs, water, gasoline, and other essentials ...

bretèche In medieval fortification, a bretèche or brattice is a small balcony with machicolations, usually built over a gate and sometimes in the corners of the fortress' wall, with the purpose of enabling defenders to shoot or throw objects at the atta ...

, and murder holes are all similar defensive features serving the same purpose, that is to enable defenders atop a defensive structure to target attackers below. The primary benefit of the design allowed defenders to remain behind cover rather than being exposed when leaning over the parapet. They were common in defensive fortifications until the widespread adoption of gunpowder weapons made them obsolete.

Etymology

The word machicolation derives from

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

, mentioned in Medieval Latin as ', probably from Old French 'crush', 'wound' and 'neck'. The verb ''Machicolate'' is first recorded in English in the 18th century, but ''machicollāre'' is attested in Anglo-Latin.

Origins and Regional Prevalence

The oldest known buildings with machicolation are

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

fortifications of the

Limes Arabicus The ''Limes Arabicus'' was a desert frontier of the Roman Empire, running north from its start in the province of Arabia Petraea. It ran northeast from the Gulf of Aqaba for about at its greatest extent, reaching northern Syria and forming part ...

dating from the 4th century AD. The design was brought to Europe from the Levant following the

crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

and became especially prevalent in Southern Europe. Machicolations were more common in French castles than English, where they are usually restricted to the gateway, as in the 13th-century

Conwy Castle Conwy Castle (; ) is a fortification in Conwy, located in North Wales. It was built by Edward I of England, Edward I, during his Conquest of Wales by Edward I, conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1287. Constructed as part of a wider project to ...

. Within France, machicolation is more common on southern castles. One of the oldest extant examples of machicolation in northern France is at

Château de Farcheville The Château de Farcheville is a 14th-century castle in the '' commune'' of Bouville near Paris in the ''département'' of Essonne. The castle was built between 1290 and 1304, by Hughes II de Bouville and Hugues III, Lords of Farcheville and Bo ...

which was built from 1290 to 1304.

References

External links

Machicolation - Dictionary of French architecture from the 11th to the 16th century
{{Fortifications Castle architecture

Etymology

Origins and Regional Prevalence

See also

References

External links