alcazaba--a Moorish defensive structure including massive square towers, extensive walls, and labyrinthine paths

alcázar--a Moorish palace built around a garden; from the Arabic word qasr

apse--the circular- or polygonal-shaped end of a tower or chapel

armory--a weapons storeroom

arrow slit or arrow loop window--a narrow vertical slit cut in the castle walls through which only an arrow could be fired from inside

azulejos--decorative ceramic tiles

B

bailey--a courtyard inside the castle walls

balustrade--the posts and railings along a stairway or path

barbican--a house or tower that defends a gate or drawbridge

baronial--pertaining to a baron or noble of the landowner class

barrel vault--a barrel-shaped roof having the appearance of a tunnel

bastion--a small projection at the end of a wall or tower

battlements--the notched top of a defensive wall; crenelations

belfry--a tall wooden tower which could be moved up against a castle or wall in times of siege

Benedictine--from the monastic order founded by St. Benedict in 530

blazon--a coat of arms

blockhouse--a small square fortification

burg--a German fortified castle

C

capital--top of a column

casemate--a chamber in a wall with openings for arrows

castellan--an officer in charge of a castle

catapult--a device used for hurling stones over a castle's walls

chevron--a zigzag molding or design

chivalry--the rules for polite and honorable behavior that knights were expected to follow

Cistercian--a branch of the Benedictine monastic order

corbel--a projecting stone bracket from a wall or corner which helps support a beam

cornice--a decorative projection along the top of a wall

crenel--the open spaces between the merlons of a battlement

crenelation--the notched fortifications on top of a wall; battlements; a license to "crenelate" was official permission to fortify a structure

curtain--a connecting wall between two towers surrounding a courtyard

D

daub--a mud and clay mixture applied over wattle to strengthen and seal it

doge--a chief magistrate of Venice, Italy

donjon-- a castle's main tower

dormer--a window partly in the wall and partly in the roof

dovecote--a shelter for doves

drawbridge--a heavy bridge that could be raised or lowered over a moat

E

Elizabethan--from the period of Queen Elizabeth I of England (1558-1603)

embrasure--a space in a wall that has a wide opening on the inside tapering to a narrow slit on the exterior used for shooting at the enemy

enceinte--enclosure or courtyard

escutcheon--a shield on which a coat of arms is depicted

F

feudalism--a political and economic system under which land was granted by a landowner to a person in exchange for military service or other duties

finial--a slender piece of stone used to decorate the tops of merlons, towers, or balustrades

forestair--an external open stair leading to the upper floors

Franciscan--from the monastic order founded by St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century

fresco--painting on wet plaster wall

G

gallery--a long covered walkway or corridor

garderobe--a medieval toilet

gatehouse--a large structure containing a fortified gate

Gothic--a style of architecture from the 12th to 16th centuries characterized by pointed arches and ribbed vaults

great hall--a principal building that held the meeting and dining areas or a throne room

H

half-timber--a medieval construction in which walls were made of a wood frame filled with wattle and daub

heraldry--the rules concerning a nobleman's use of patterns used on flags, armor, and shields

herringbone masonry--stone or brick work laid diagonally instead of horizontally

J

Jacobean--from the period of King James I of England (1603-1625)

K

keep--the main tower of a castle often containing living quarters

keystone--the central wedge-shaped stone in top of an arch

L

laird--a minor baron or small landholder

lancet--a long, narrow window with an arched top

lintel--a horizontal beam or stone placed over the top of a door or window and supporting the wall above

loophole--a tall, vertical slit in a wall for air, light, or shooting through

M

machiolation--openings in a floor of a projecting parapet or platform on a castle or tower's outside allowing castle defenders to pour hot oil or throw rocks on the enemy below

mangonel--an offensive weapon with projectile arms that turn and hurl rocks

mantle--a simple curtain wall without towers

Manueline--from the period of King Manueline I of Portugal (1495-1521)

merlon--the piece of solid stone between two crenels on a wall or battlement

minstrel's gallery--an area where musicians performed

moat--a water-filled, protective ditch that surrounds the castle

motte and bailey--an early style of castle in which a wood or stone tower was built on an artificial or natural mound of earth

Mudéjar--a Gothic style of Islamic art with a strong Moorish influence which developed in Spain after the Christian reconquest from the 11th to the 15th centuries

mullion--a vertical piece of stone or wood dividing a window

murder hole--an opening in a roof over a passageway through which hot oil, rocks, and arrows could be thrown down on the attackers below

O

oratory--a small private room for prayer usually in a private house

oriel window--a large projecting window similar to a bay window

oubliette--a dungeon entered by a trap door where prisoners were left to die; from the French word oublier--"to forget"

P

palisade--a defensive wooden fence

parapet--a low wall on the outer side of a main wall or rampart

pilaster--a rectangular wall projection that imitates a column

pinnacle--an ornamental crowning spire

Plateresque--an intricate style of stonework decorating building façades in Renaissance Spain; from the Spanish word plata because the effect resembled fine silver work

portcullis--a heavy grating made of wood or iron that dropped in front of a castle entrance to prevent passage

postern--a small door or gate away from the castle's main entrance that was often hidden to allow castle defenders to enter or exit without detection; a castle entrance located in the back of the castle

Q

quadrangle--an inner courtyard

quattrocento--an Italian designation referring to the 15th century

R

rampart--a defensive stone or earth wall surrounding a castle or town

refectory--a communal dining hall

revetment--a retaining wall to prevent erosion; to face a surface with stone slabs

rib--raised molding dividing a vault

Romanesque--a style of architecture from the 9th to the 12th centuries which used heavy masonry, round arches, and barrel vaults

S

schloss--a German castle or baronial mansion, usually a little more refined than a burg

siegework--an earthwork raised for the protection of a force besieging a castle

solar--the private living quarters of the lord often over the great hall

T

tracery--decorative intersecting ribwork in the upper part of a window

transom--a horizontal bar of stone or wood in a window ; a crossbar

tufa--a white porous limestone rock seen in French castles

turret--a small round tower often used as a lookout

V

vassal--a person granted land in return for military service

vault--an arched ceiling usually of stone

W

wall walk--walkway on a wall top which is protected by a parapet

ward--courtyard enclosure of a castle; a bailey

wattle--a mat of woven sticks and weed used in wall construction

wicket--a small door forming part of a larger one

windlass--a mechanical device used to raise and lower the drawbridge

Y

yett--an iron lattice gate