There were numerous common and specialist terms used in the medieval period to describe aspects of everyday life or architecture. This page provides descriptions of of many of these, and other terms used in these articles.
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A
Almonry. A chamber used for the giving of alms to the poor.
Angel. A gold coin, worth 80 pence. Read more…
Arcading. A line of arches and supportive columns, used to decorate walls. Some arcarding was filled in, forming blind or blank arcading.
Arrow-slit. A vertical slit, used by defenders. Some arrow-slits were filled in, or blank. Also referred to as an arrow-loop.
Arquebus. A type of early black-powder musket.
Ashlar. Masonry constructed from carefully finished rectangular pieces of stone.
B
Bailey. A courtyard that formed part of many castles, also sometimes called a ward. In early castle design, baileys were often built alongside mottes. Read more…
Bakehouse. Used for baking bread, a key part of the medieval diet, and in turn dependent on the local, water-powered mill.
Ballista. A crossbow-shaped siege weapon that fired a large bolt.
Banded stonework. Walls designed with different colours of stone, forming lines, or bands, of colour.
Bank. A raised earthwork or stone feature, often accompanied by a ditch. See also scarp.
Barbican. An outward extension of a gateway, used to provide additional defence in depth.
Baroque. A style of architecture popular in the late 17th and early 18th century, characterised by its fluid, colourful styles.
Base. A long, typically naval, cannon, used in the late medieval period.
Bastide. A fortified, planned town, popular in south-western France.
Bastion. A defensive work extending outwards from a wall, typically providing an additional line of fire along the defences.
Battlements. A set of defensive features along a parapet, typically including crenellation.
Belfry. A tall wooden tower, which could be moved up against the wall of castle or town in time of siege.
Berm. A raised, level area of earth forming part of a fortification.
Bolt. Typically a short arrow, fired from a crossbow, although larger versions could be fired from siege engines. Also known as a quarrel.
Bombard. A large cannon, used in the late medieval period, that fired stone balls.
Bore. A heavy pole with an iron head, used to attack the base of a wall.
Boss. An ornamental stone feature placed between ribs in vaulting.
Breastwork. A relatively low, defensive earthwork, typically as high as man’s chest.
Bretache. A wooden balcony, often temporary, built over the edge of crenellations and providing machicolations. Also called hoarding.
Brewhouse. A building used to brew beer, an important medieval staple.
Bulwark. A earthwork fortification; the term was often used in the 16th century.
Burgage. A plot of land rented out in a medieval town from the local lord, typically containing a house and associated gardens.
Burgess. A citizen of a medieval town, typically defined by owning a burgage.
Burh. An Anglo-Saxon fortified settlement. Also referred to as a burg.
Burh-geat. An Anglo-Saxon entrance tower, not necessarily defensive, and symbolic of lordship.
Buttery. A pantry or similar building storing food and drink.
Buttress. An external pillar supporting a wall or building.
C
Caput. The primary castle of a lord who held several estates, typically forming the administrative centre of his possessions.
Castellan. The governor, or constable, of a castle.
Castle-guard. A feudal mechanism for supplying soldiers to protect a castle by granting local estates in exchange for the provision of guard forces.
Catapult. A large stone-throwing siege engine, making use of a counter-weight.
Cellarer. A monastic official responsible for supplies and food.
Chamber. A term for a medieval room, used for living and sleeping.
Chase. An area of land used for hunting, typically within a park.
Chemin-de-ronde. A protected wall-walk around the top of a castle’s parapet.
Chemise. A circular, low, protective wall.
Clasping buttress. A buttress at the corner of a building, so-called because it appears to grip the adjacent walls.
Classical. A style of architecture influenced by the ancient Romans and Greek civilisations.
Cobwalling. Walls constructed from a mixture of soil, straw and water – a traditional approach in some parts of England and Wales.
Concentric defences. Fortifications designed in concentric rings, enabling mutually supportive and layered defences.
Constable. A senior officer charged with defending a castle or town.
Corbel. A projection from a wall, intended to support a weight, for example a wall-walk or part of a fortified bridge.
Crenel. The gaps in a battlement; merlons are the solid sections on each side of a crenel.
Crenellation. A pattern of openings in the upper part of a parapet; a sign of fortification.
Cross-wall. An internal wall cutting across a rectangular keep or similar building.
The Crown. The legal powers and privileges of a medieval English king.
Culverin. A large cannon, used in the late medieval period.
Curtall. A short-barreled cannon, used in the late medieval period.
Curtain wall. A wall enclosing a courtyard or bailey.
Cutwater. The wedge-shaped side of a bridge pier, designed to divert water around the footing.
D
Dais. A raised platform, often signifying the seniority of a lord, typically found in a hall.
Deer park. An enclosed area of land in the medieval period, used for private hunting and other economic activity.
Demesne. An area of a manor or feudal estate retained to be directly managed by the local lord.
Demi-cannon. A medium-sized cannon, larger than a culverin but smaller than a regular cannon, used during the late medieval period.
Demi-culverin. A medium-sized cannon, smaller than a regular culverin, used during the late medieval period.
Device Fort. A coastal castle or fortress built by Henry VIII in the 16th century as part of his Device programme. Read more…
Disemparking. The process of breaking up a deer park into normal farmland.
Dispensary. A chamber where patients would be seen and medicines prescribed.
Donjon. Another term for a great tower or keep. The modern word “dungeon” is derived from donjon, but now has a very different meaning.
Dovecote. A building for housing doves, used as food in medieval times; a dovecote was an important symbol of lordship, and typically built near to a castle.
Drake. A light cannon, used in the late medieval period; alternatively, an adjective to describe a lighter version of any sort of cannon.
Drawbridge. A defensive bridge over a moat or ditch that could be raised or withdrawn.
Dyker. A professional digger of ditches, banks and similar earthworks.
E
Ear turret. A turret that was set out from a tower on one side, giving the impression of an “ear”, mainly seen in Edwardian architecture.
Earthworks. Those parts of a castle or a fortification created by piling earth, rocks or turf into banks or mounds, or digging ditches.
Edwardian. A style of architecture characteristic of the reign of Edward I.
Embrasure. The gap between crenellations, or a window or slit that was splayed so as to be enlarged on the interior.
Emparking. The process of enclosing land to become a deer park.
F
Falconet. A light, relatively portable, cannon used in the late medieval period.
Farthing. A silver coin, worth a quarter of a pence. Read more…
Fee. An alternative term for fief, often used in the phrase “a knight’s fee” – a quantity of land sufficient to support an armed knight.
Feudalism. Feudalism was a social structure in which land was granted from a lord to their subordinates in exchange for military or economic services.
Fiefdom. A feudal estate, held in return for military or other services, also simply called fief.
Finial. The ornamental top of a spire or similar architectural feature.
Forebuilding. A building attached to the entrance of a keep, for either defensive or ceremonial purposes.
Forest. An area of land specially protected by royal law, where hunting and other activities was strictly controlled by the royal sheriff.
Fortalice. A small fort or defensive work.
Fortified bridge. A bridge fortified with a gatehouse or strong gateway, typically both for security and to enable the collection of tolls.
Fossarius. A specialised ditch digger.
G
Garderobe. A latrine or toilet.
Gatehouse. A defensive building guarding an entrance; later gatehouses could also form private residences.
Gloriette. A suite of small rooms.
Gothic. An architectural style originating from France in the 12th century.
Great chamber. The largest chamber in a castle, typically used by the lord.
Great hall. A substantial hall in a large castle or medieval building.
Great tower. A large tower or keep, typically incorporating a hall, chambers and a chapel.
Groat. A silver coin, worth four pence. Read more…
Gun loop. An embrasure or hole in the wall designed to enable a hand cannon or early artillery weapon to be fired through it. Also known as a gunport.
Gunport. An embrasure or hole in the wall designed to enable a hand cannon or early artillery weapon to be fired through it. Also known as a gun loop.
H
Hagbush. A type of early arquebus.
Hall. The central room or building in the medieval period, used for eating, living and sleeping.
Hall-keep. A rectangular keep that contained, or was mainly comprised by, a hall.
Hand cannon. An early form of hand gun, used in the late medieval period.
Henrician castle. One of the larger coastal fortifications built by Henry VIII as part of his Device programme in the 16th century. Read more…
Hoarding. A wooden balcony, often temporary, built over the edge of crenellations and providing a form of machicolations. Also called a bretache.
Homage. A political action in the feudal system, in which a noble acknowledged his lord, in exchange for affirmation of his own lands and rights.
Honour. A feudal term, referring to a named collection of manors and other lands.
Hornwork. An earthwork with two protruding points, resembling horns.
Hospital. In medieval times, a hospital – coming from the Latin hospes, meaning host of guest, was a religious institution which provided shelter for travelers or the sick.
I
Inner bailey. The bailey closest to the centre of the castle, more likely to be used for the accommodation of the lord or private activities.
Intra-mural timbers. Large pieces of wood, placed within rubble-built stone walls to strengthen them.
J
K
Keep. A fortified tower within a castle, sometimes symbolic of wider lordship or used as the lord’s residence.
Keep-gatehouse. A substantial gatehouse that also served as the castle’s keep.
Kype. A basket or cask; the term lies behind the word “keep“.
L
Leopard. A gold coin, worth 72 pence. Read more…
Lordship. A powerful cultural concept in the medieval period, describing the rights and responsibilities of a feudal lord.
Licence to crenellate. A permit to fortify a residence, granted by the Crown.
M
Machicolation. A gap in the base of crenellations along a parapet, used to drop stones or other material on attackers below.
Mangonel. A siege engine, similar to a trebuchet. The mangonel’s crew would pull cords attached to a lever that would throw a stone, rather like a giant slingshot.
Manor. A set of fields and other properties administered by a local lord.
Manor house. A domestic property, sometimes fortified or moated, that formed the administrative hub of a manor.
Mantlet. A form of roofed protection used during sieges.
Mark. A unit of account, equivalent to 160 pence. Read more…
Martillo tower. A low, circular artillery tower which supported a single large gun, which was popular during the Napoleonic Wars.
Mere. A shallow lake or area of water, often created for ornamental purposes.
Merlon. The upright part of a battlement; a crenel is the gap between two merlons.
Mill. A water or, sometimes, windmill, used for grinding corn to make flour for bread, an essential part of the medieval diet and economy.
Mining. A siege approach in which a castle’s walls or towers would be caused to collapse by digging beneath them.
Minion. A small cannon, relatively portable, used in the late medieval period.
Moat. A defensive ditch around a site, which could be “wet” – partially or completely filled with water – or “dry”.
Motte-and-bailey castle. A common Norman castle design, involving a motte with up to several baileys alongside it. Read more…
Motte. An earthwork, sometimes utilising existing natural features, upon which was constructed further castle defences. Read more…
Murder hole. An opening in a ceiling to allow missiles to be thrown or fired at intruders below.
Mural tower. A defensive tower placed along a castle or town wall.
N
Newel. The central post or pole in a spiral staircase.
Noble (currency). A gold coin, worth 80 pence. Read more…
Norman keep. A square stone keep, typically with pilaster buttresses, mainly built in the 11th and early 12th centuries. Read more…
O
Opus spicatum. A herringbone pattern of bricks, stones or tiles.
Oriel window. A bay window projecting from a building, typically supported by corbels in the medieval period.
Oriel tower. A tower projecting from a building.
Ora. A unit of account, initially equivalent to 16 pence, later rising to 20 pence. Read more…
Oratory. A room for prayer, such as a chapel.
Outer bailey. The external bailey of a castle, typically occupied by service facilities and other infrastructure buildings.
P
Palladian. A 16th-century architectural style, derived from the work of Andrea Palladio, and heavily influenced by Classical architecture.
Pantry. A room for storing food, drink and kitchen supplies.
Parapet. A barrier around the top of a wall; if protected with battlements, a parapet would be considered crenellated.
Parlour. A private room, typically lying alongside the main hall, used for more intimate discussion.
Pele. An enclosure for animals, found along the English and Scottish borders.
Pele tower. A late medieval small tower or keep, found along the English and Scottish borders.
Pentise. A covered walk-way along a wall. Also called a pentice.
Penny. A silver coin, that formed the basis for the medieval money supply. Read more…
Pier. A vertical load-bearing component, such as the supports beneath a bridge or other arched buildings.
Pilaster buttress. A supportive buttress, designed to give the impression of a corner pillar, often used in Norman architecture.
Pipe-rolls. Records of royal expenditure, maintained by the Exchequer from the 12th century onwards. They were written on rolls of parchment, from which they take their current name.
Pleasuance. An ornamental or pleasure garden.
Plinth. The base of a column or other structure.
Plumber. A craftsman who worked with lead – typically in the construction of roofs for larger or ecclesiastical buildings ; it derives from the Latin word plumbum, meaning lead..
Poll-tax. A medieval tax introduced in England in 1377 to help pay for the war in France; its imposition led to the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.
Pontage. A medieval tax, authorised by the Crown, levied by communities to maintain bridges.
Portcullis. A latticed grill that could be lowered from above to block a doorway or corridor.
Porter. In medieval times, a job that involved manning a gatehouse or entrance, controlling access to a site; it derives from the Latin porta, a door or gateway.
Porters’ lodge. A room or set of chambers alongside a gateway, designed to monitor and manage access to a site.
Portpiece. A large naval cannon, used in the late medieval period.
Postern gate. A secondary or rear gate to a castle or town.
Pound (currency). A unit of account, equivalent to 240 pence. Read more…
Pound (location). An enclosure used to hold animals which had been seized by a lord.
Putlog. A horizontal beam, inserted into a wall to help support scaffolding as it was being built.
Putlog hole. A gap in masonry left by the insertion of a putlog.
Q
Quadrangular castle. A castle designed with four straight curtain walls and ranges of buildings running around the inside, popular as a design in England in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Quarrel. Another name for the bolt fired by a crossbow.
Quatrefoil. An architectural design with four lobes, resembling a clover leaf.
Quoin. A stone block forming the corner of a wall.
R
Ragstone. A type of limestone used in castle construction; it is often used to refer to Kentish ragstone, a particularly hard limestone prized in the medieval period.
Ram. A wooden siege device designed to batter down doors.
Rampart. A defensive bank or wall, using a combination of earth, timber or stone.
Range. A set of buildings aligned in a row, typically along a wall, often seen in later medieval castle design.
Revetement. The facing along a defensive bank or similar earthwork.
Rib. A thin masonry arch, often seen in ribbed vaulting.
Ringwork. A circular earthwork castle, typically constructed during the 11th or 12th centuries. Read more…
Rococo. A style of architecture popular in the 18th century, marked by its theatrical and dramatic flourishes.
Romanesque. An architectural style popular between the 10th and 12th centuries.
Rose noble. A gold coin, worth 120 pence. Read more…
Rubble. Loose, crude pieces of stone, often used to fill the centre of walls in medieval buildings.
S
Sacrist. An official charged with the protection of a church and its contents.
Saker. A medium-sized cannon, used in the late medieval period.
Sally-port. A gateway designed to allow a garrison to leave, or “sally” from, a castle during a siege, probably in order to attack the besieging forces.
Sap. A trench dug to undermine part of a wall or tower, as part of the process called sapping.
Scarp. A raised line of earthworks, often accompanied by a ditch. See also bank.
Scavelman. A specialist in constructing and maintaining waterways and ditches.
Sconce. A small defensive earthwork, often used to hold gunpowder artillery, built in the late medieval period.
Screen. A wooden partition, used to subdivide a larger room.
Sergeant. A soldier who supported the main force of knights in a medieval army.
Seneschal. A steward of a great house.
Serpentine. A light cannon, used in the late medieval period.
Service wing. A service wing or block was a set of rooms in larger medieval buildings, typically including a pantry and buttery. It would be usually located alongside the main hall.
Shell keep. A circular keep, typically built on an existing motte or ringwork. Read more…
Sheriff. A royal officer, who oversaw a shire or county on behalf of the Crown, and who had particular responsibilities for overseeing the royal forests.
Shilling. A unit of account, equivalent to 12 pence; the shilling did not exist as an actual coin in the medieval period. Read more…
Slighting. Deliberately destroying part of a castle or fortress to prevent it being used for military purposes in the future.
Sling (gun). A long cannon, used in the 17th century.
Solar. A private living space, typically above ground level, in a castle or major house.
Springald. A large siege weapon with two bow arms, pulled back by twisted rope, that usually fired a bolt.
Spur. A sloping stone projection from a tower or wall, designed to strengthen it or prevent mining. Also called a talus.
Steward. A senior member of a noble’s staff who oversaw his estates or household.
Storey post. A vertical post that supported medieval buildings that overhung the street below.
T
Talus. A sloping stone projection from a tower or wall, designed to strengthen it or prevent mining. Also called a spur.
Tower house. A tall, fortified house, typically constructed in the late medieval period.
Trebuchet. A siege catapult with a counter-weighted arm.
Turning-bridge. A bridge designed to pivot backwards into a pit, used in broadly similar defensive ways to a drawbridge.
U
Undercroft. A vaulted basement or cellar, typically used for storage.
V
Vaulting. A method for supporting a roof or ceiling using curved, self-supporting arches.
W
Wall-walk. A walkway around the top of a defensive wall.
Ward. A part of a castle enclosed by a defensive wall. Also called a bailey.
Water-gate. A gate that led onto a river or estuary, allowing a castle or town to be accessed by boat or ship.
Welsh Marches. The lands along the Anglo-Welsh border, conquered by the Normans from the 11th century onwards, and subject to special laws.
Whitewash. A type of pale paint made from slaked lime, often used to decorate stonework in the medieval period.
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Attribution
The text of this page is licensed under under CC BY-NC 2.0.