Appendix 1 Glossary

Ablaq ­whether they have a roof, bretèche can be classified into two Arabic term for the alternate placing of stones of different co- types: open and closed. The open type can be assessed from the lours, light and dark, in the frame of a door or window. The tech- battlement, chemin de ronde or from a crenel. nique probably originated in Syria in the Byzantine period and is first recorded in Islamic architecture in repairs carried out in Brazier the north wall of the Great Mosque of Damascus dated to 1109. Movable fireplace of metal, stone or ceramic which was in com- It became very typical in Mamluk mosques and madrasas and is mon use in many regions prior to the introduction of the fire- only occasionally found in Frankish architecture. place and wall chimney.

Ashlar Casal (Fr) (Lat: casale, casalia) Large, squared building stones usually applied as a facing on a Term for village which was in common use in the Latin East rubble core or at the quoins (corners) of structures otherwise originated in Western Europe and stemmed from the Latin constructed of coarse masonry to form an accurate angle. word casa (house or farm); casal being a cluster of houses in a rural setting. Occasionally it is referred to in equivalent terms Barrel-vault such as feuda, and villae, but casal (casale) is the most frequent Known also as a tunnel-vault, the barrel-vault is an extended form found in medieval charters and documents. In the Latin arch forming curved, semi-cylindrical roofing. The most basic East the casal was the basic unit of rural habitation, isolated type of vaulting, its chief disadvantage lies in the considerable farms (curtiles) being a comparatively uncommon type of set- outward thrust to either side which made thick side walls with tlement in this period. Sources relating to the Latin East record few openings mandatory. Barrel vaults were used in ancient hundreds of casalia occupied by Franks, Eastern Christians and Egypt and were frequently employed in Roman architecture. In Muslim peasants and even one by Samaritans. The casalia var- the medieval period (in the Latin East from as early as the first ied considerably in size and in population; from small hamlets half of the twelfth century, somewhat later in the West) barrel of a few isolated houses to large rural settlements that could al- vaults were frequently slightly pointed. most be defined as towns were it not for their complete lack of urban institutions. A typical casal consisted of the manor Bay house and church, the villeins’ dwellings, some communal in- Space covered by a single vault, usually applied to groin or stallations such as mills, ovens, dovecots, and threshing floors, rib-vaulting. crofts, common pasture and the village’s arable lands. The ara- ble land of a casal was defined in units of ploughland know as Bezant carruca. One or two carrucae was the usual size of a villein’s Gold coin in use in the Latin East during the Crusader period. holding. Frankish settlers in a casal in the Latin East were ­freemen whereas the Western villain was generally of servile Boss status. Carved ornament decorating the intersection of ribs in a vault. Centring Bracket Temporary support, usually in timber, constructed in order to Projecting stone employed to support weight such as a support- erect an arch, vault or dome. ing arch in a vault. Curtile Brattice/bretèche In the Latin East this term refers to a rural holding, usually a A brattice or breteche is a small balcony with machicolation, farm. typical in medieval fortifications, usually built over a gate and sometimes in the corners of the fortress’ wall, with the purpose Discharging Arch or Relieving Arch of enabling defenders to shoot arrows or throw objects at An arch built over a lintel to take off the upper incumbent the attackers covering under the curtain wall. Depending on weight.

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Dispensator Joist Holes or Pockets Latin term for steward representing the landlord in rural estates. Sockets for timber joists supporting floors, centring or roof The dispensator or locator occupied apartments in a castle or trusses. rural estate centre and from there managed the estate and lands of the lord, collecting taxes, solving disputes and managing ru- Keystone ral activities in general. A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a ma- sonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during con- Faubourg struction and locks all the stones into postion, allowing the arch French term, originally forsbourg, deriving from the Latin foris to bear weight. Although a masonry arch or vault cannot be self- (out of) and the Vulgar Latin (Germanic) burgum (town or for- supporting until the keystone is placed, the keystone experi- tress). The faubourg was a settlement that developed outside a ences the least pressure of any of the voussoirs, due to its posi- fortified town or a castle relying on the fortifications as a deter- tion at the apex. rent against attack. In times of danger the settlers would find safety behind the fortification walls. Eventually these settle- Machicoulis (Machicolation) ments often became fortified themselves. Opening above a doorway or along a fortification wall through which objects could be dropped on assailants. Above doors Flat Arch these were usually in the form of slits or shafts between two A flat arch composed of voussoirs, sometimes joggled to prevent arches or as small balconies supported on corbels. On fortifica- slippage tion walls there could be either balconies or galleries.

Groin Vault Maison Forte Also called cross-vault. Vault formed of two intersecting barrel Fortified rural estate centre. A type of fortified manor house es- vaults, the groin being the curved arris formed at the intersec- tablished by feudal lords that was typical of rural France in the tion of the vaulting surfaces. In this vaulting, as opposed to bar- twelfth to thirteenth centuries. rel vaults, the weight is carried to the four corners and support- ed on piers, thereby enabling unlimited expansion of a roofed Marginal Drafting area by the addition of more piers and vaulted bays. Working on the margins of an ashlar to form a smooth levelled border on its external surface. Hoarding A hoard or hoarding was a temporary wooden (shed-like) con- Putlog Holes struction that was placed on the exterior of the ramparts of a Temporary joist pockets used during construction to support castle during a siege. The purpose of a hoarding was to allow timber scaffolding or centring. After use the joists may be re- the defenders to improve their field of fire along the length of moved or simply sawn off, leaving the ends embedded in the the curtain wall and, most particularly, directly downwards wall. to the wall base. Quadriburgium Imbrex (Imbrices) Four-towered castle (from burgus, late Latin for ‘tower’). Fired clay roof tiles of semi-cylindrical form, used together with the flat to cover the joints of the latter and prevent seepage of Quoin water. Corner-stone. A masonry block at the corner of a wall. They ex- ist to provide strength for a wall, especially one made with infe- Jambs rior stone/rubble. A door jamb or doorpost is the vertical portion of the frame onto which a door is secured. The jamb will only bear the weight Rear-arch of the door if the door has hinges set into it. Most of the Arme- An arch or vault in a thick wall carrying the thickness of the wall nian ones observed have been pivoted, with a swivel-post set (especially one over a door/window frame). into pivot holes in the theshold and lintel respectively, or in pivot blocks. In this case the weight is borne by the threshold or Relieving Arch lower pivot block; the function of the upper pivot is simply to A relieving arch or discharging arch is an arch built over a lintel hold the door in place. Therefore the door is quite independent or architrave with the purpose to transfer the weight of the sup- of the jamb. ported masonry on to the jambs, rather than the lintel.

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Revetment Socles A facing, as of masonry, used to support an embankment. In archaeology, a socle is used to refer to a wall base, frequently of stone, that supports the upper part of the wall, which is most- Rib Vault ly made in Cilicia of wood or mud brick. Developing from the groin vault, the groins being replaced by profiled stone ribs which were usually constructed first, the Voussoir spaces between being filled by light masonry. This was the basis From old French (vossoir) and Vulgar Latin (volsorium) mean- of the Gothic system, the light weight rib network allowing the ing a wedge-shaped stone used to form an arch. This term was in construction of taller, lighter buildings. use at least since the thirteenth century.

Salient Outward buldge that cuts out to form an angle and projects to flank an enemy approach.

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