| Castle Part of a Castle Terminology |
| Allure | Stone path running slong the top of a wall bejind the castle battlements. |
| Apse | this Part of a Castle Terminology is a semi circular extension to a rectangular building. Sometimes found on Norman chapels. |
| Arcading | A row of columns supporting arches. |
| Arrow Loop | Vertical slits in a wall through which arrows can be fired. The horizontal slits were added to enable crossbows to have a better range. |
| Ashlar | A stone block finished with squared sides. |
| Artillery | Collective name for firearms such as cannons and handguns. |
| Aumbry | A cupboard built into brick or stone walls. |
| Bailey | Inner courtyard area of a castle. Often associated with a motte (motte and bailey castle) Also known as a Ward as art of a medieval castle |
| Ballista | A huge crossbow that fired iron bolts. |
| Barbican | An extension to the outside of a gateway which improved the entrance's defence. |
| Barrel Vault | A half barrel shaped arch which makes a stone ceiling. |
| Bartizan | this Part of a Castle Terminology is a Small turret on the top corner of a wall or tower. |
| Bastion | A defensive tower or turret along the top of a wall. |
| Batter | Flared out stone base of a wall or keep to increase stability. Also known as a Talus. |
| Battering Ram | Large, heavy beam used to breach castle walls. Often decorated with a ram's head. |
| Battlements | Parapet along the top of walls where soldiers could stand and fire at attackers. Also known as crenellations. |
| Belfry | this Part of a Castle Terminology is a siege tower. |
| Berm | A flat strip of land between a ditch and bank or between the castle walls and moat. |
| Bombard | Cannon that fires large stone balls. |
| Brattice | Generally temporary wooden platforms on the top of towers or walls upon which soldiers could stand to drop missiles. Also known as hoards or hoardings. |
| Brewhouse | Room or building where ale was brewed. |
| Buttery | A room where casks of beer and other drinks were stored. The main stock being kept in the cellars. A butler was in charge of the buttery. |
| Buttress | Vertical stone support built against a wall to strengthen it. |
| Castellan | An official in charge of a castle. |
| Catapult | A seige engine used for throwing large rocks. |
| Chainmail | Armour made from small interlocking metal rings. |
| Concentric Defensive Walls | The second outer ring of walling seen on some castles. |
| Chivalry | A knight's code of honour - covering such things as social, religious and moral ideals. |
| Citadel | A fortress guarding a city. |
| Coat of Arms | A visual representation of a noble family using heraldic symbols. |
| Constable | An official in charge of a castle in the absence of his master. |
| Corbel | A support - usually stone - to hold up wooden beams such as roofs or floor as art of a medieval castle |
| Courtyard Castle | A castle with a courtyard inside a stone curtain wall. |
| Crennel | Vertical opening along battlements from which an archer can load his bow and fire, and a gun can be positioned.. Also known as an embrasure. |
| Crennellation | this Part of a Castle Terminology is a Battlements along the top of a castle wall through which soldiers can fire. |
| Cross Wall | Internal dividing wall inside a large keep used to help support floors and roofs, as well as to further impede attackers. |
| Curtain Wall | Short outer walls of a castle between towers. |
| Dog Legged Passage | Narrow passageway with angled turns, often found leading to the Garderobe. |
| Domesday Book | Record of the details of all buildings, land and resources of an estate for tax collecting purposes. Enacted by William I (William the Conqueror) |
| Donjon | As Part of a Castle Terminology Donjon is another word for a keep or great tower. Prisoners were often held here and this is where it is thought that the word Dungeon derives from. |
| Drawbridge | A wooden bridge that could be raised or lowered, by the use of chains, to shut off or open up the castle entrance. |
| Dubbing | The ceremony which creates a knight, by the monarch tapping the shoulders with a sword. |
| Dungeon | Dank, dark room for holding prisoners. |
| Earthwork | A fortification made up of earth mounds, banks and ditches. |
| Embrasure | this Part of a Castle Terminology is the same as Cremel |
| Feudal System | A political and economic system of Europe from the 9th to about the 15th century, based on the holding of all land in fief or fee and the resulting relation of lord to vassal and characterized by homage, legal and military service of tenants, and forfeiture. |
| Forebuilding | A protective building at the front of a keep which often housed the chapel and stairs. |
| Fort | A defensive stronghold usually housing soldiers and other non residents. |
| Garderobe | a Garderobe Part of a Castle Terminology was the Toilet. |
| Garrison | Company of soliders stationed in a fortress. |
| Gatehouse | Heavily fortified building set into the castle walls to protect the main entrance. |
| Gauntlet | Armoured glove with a long cuff worn as part of a suit of Armour. To" throw down the gauntlet" means to issue a challenge. |
| Great Tower | this Part of a Castle Terminology the great tower is also known as a Keep, the main tower of a castle which would have contained the great hall and the private quarters of the castle's owner. |
| Gun Loop | A hole in a wall through which guns could be fired. |
| Hall | The main reception room of a castle. Used to hold meetings, banquets and also where the servants would have slept. |
| Heraldry | A system of specific patterns, colours and symbols used to identify a family in their coat of arms. |
| Herisson | A beam or bar armed with iron spikes, and turning on a pivot used to block up a passage. From the French word for hedgehog. |
| Hoarding | this Part of a Castle Terminology is the same as the Brattice |
| Joust | A competition between two knights in which they ride towards each other and try to knock one another off their horse with a large pole. |
| Keep | Name commonly used for the Great Tower or Donjon. |
| Knight | Highly trained, armoured soldier on horseback. Usually of noble birth. |
| Lance | Weapon. A long pole made of wood with a pointed metal end. |
| Lintel | Horizontal support at the top of a window. Usually stone. |
| Longbow | Weapon. Large, powerful, long range bow. |
| Loophole | See arrow loop. |
| Lord | Male noble or knight. Often owner of a castle and estate, feudal superior. |
| Mace | Weapon. A vicious club with a metal end which was often spiked. |
| Machicolations | Stone hoardings or brattices with holes for dropping missiles onto attackers below. |
| Manacle | Metal rings that could be locked to secure the hands of a prisoner. |
| Mangonel | Seige engine.Used to hurl large stones and other missiles. |
| Master mason | Skilled craftsman in the use of stone. Would have designed castles. |
| Merlon | Vertical solid parts of battlements which stood between the crenels. |
| Moat | A defensive ditch surrounding a castle. Usually filled with water. |
| Motte | The mound - manmade or natural - upon which a castle was built. Usually associated with a bailey. |
| Murder Holes | Murder holese are sections between the cullis where arrows, rocks, and hot oil can be dropped from the roof though holes. |
| Newel | The Centre post of spiral staircase or the main post supporting the end of a balustrade |
| Oriel Window | A bay window located above the first floor, usually supported by brackets or corbels, it is a window, the structure of which projects out from its wall's surface |
| Oubliette | A dungeon reached by a trap door.To exit an oubliette was impossible under any circumstances, without outside help.
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| Page | in castle terminology a page is a young male servant. |
| Palisade | this Part of a Castle Terminology is a palisade or a a Medieval wooden fence or wall of variable height, used as a defensive structure |
| Pantry | A pantry in castle terminology is a room , usually near a kitchen in which provisions, crockery, cutlery etc. are kept
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| Parapet | A portion of a vertical wall of a building that extends above the roofline,consists of a dwarf wall along the edge of a roof, or round a lead flat, terrace walk, etc., to prevent persons from falling over, and as a protection to the defenders in case of a siege |
| Peasants | A peasant is an agricultural worker or farmer with roots in the countryside in which he dwells, either working for others or, more specifically, owning or renting and working by his own labour a small plot of ground |
| Pele Tower /
Peel Towers | this Part of a Castle Terminology is small fortified keep intended as watch tower where signal fires could be lit to warn of approaching danger. |
| Plate Armour | Plate armour is personal armour made from large metal plates,worn on the chest and sometimes the entire body, it is fitted body armour made of linked sheets of solid metal. |
| Portcullis | this Part of a Castle Terminology is a heavy timber or metal grill that protected a castle entrance
a portcullis could be raised or lowered from within the castle.
It dropped vertically between grooves to block passage or barbican, or to trap attackers.
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| Postern Gate | this Part of a Castle Terminology is a side gate or a castle gate that is a less important entry gate into a castle; usually for peacetime use by pedestrians |
| Putlog Hole | A hole intentionally left in the surface of a wall for insertion of a horizontal pole. |
| Quoin | Dressed stone at angle of building. this Part of a Castle Terminology its a Rafter Part of the frame for a wooden roof, sloping down from the ridge and establishing the pitch. |
| Ribbed Vault | a ribbed vault in castle terminology is a vault that resembles a groined vault but has ribbed arches |
| Rubble | this part of a castle terminology is an unsquared stone not laid in courses |
| Sally Port | A Sally port is a small, easily secured door in a castle wall or other fortification,During a siege, defending raiding parties would "sally forth" from these ports and attack the besiegers |
| Sentry | in Castle Terminology a sentry is a lookout: a person employed to watch for something to happen |
| Siege | a sieges is a military blockade of a town or fortified place such as a castle . The aim of a siege is to force its inhabitants to surrender by cutting communications and supply lines |
| Siege Engine | A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent castle walls |
| Siege Tower | A siege tower is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders whilst approaching the defensive walls of a castle |
| Slighting | In castle terminology a slighting is the deliberate destruction of a castle without opposition from its builders, owners or its inhabitants |
| Solar | In Castle Terminology a solar is an upper living room It is often situated over the castles great hall |
| Squint | In Castle Parts a squint is an observation hole in wall or room. |
| Squire | A Squire is a young nobleman attendant on a knight
In medieval times a squire was a man-at-arms in the service of a knight, often as his apprentice in training to become a knight between the ages of 14 and 21 |
| Steward | in castle terminology a steward is the man responsible for running the day-to-day affairs of the castle in the absence of the lord of the castle |
| Talus | The much thickened lower portion as art of a medieval castle curtain wall, designed to prevent attackers from getting too close to the base of the wall,where they might be hidden from the line of fire |
| Tournament | in castle terminology a tournament is a series of jousts between knights contesting for a prize
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| Trebuchet | like a catapult: medieval artillery used during sieges A Trebuchet is literally a medieval siege engine used either to batter masonry or to throw projectiles over walls that worked by counter balancing weights or stones to generate propulsion for a swinging wooden arm used launch giant stones at castle walls. |
| Turret | in Castle terminology a turret is a small slender tower on the upper part of a castle usually a used as a lookout. A Turret is often placed at an angle |
| Vault | a vault in parts of a castle is an arched roof usually of stone |
| Visor | in castle terminology a helmet visor was used during the medieval times as part of armor. |
| Wall Walk | this Part of a Castle Terminology the wall walk is the area along the top of a castle's walls from which soldiers defended both castle and town, like a fighting platform atop the Curtain Wall
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| Ward | in parts of a castle a ward is another name for a castle courtyard |
| Wing Wall | a Wing wall of a Castle is an extension of a wall which projects out beyond the building itself. |
