Machicolation
{{short description|Floor-opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement}}
{{infobox building
| name = Machicolation
| image = 300px
| caption = Cutaway of a medieval wall. The machicolation is labelled G.
}}
In architecture, a machicolation ({{langx|fr|mâchicoulis}}) is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key points of a fortification are referred to as Bretèche. Machicolation, hoarding, bretèche, 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 {{Lang|fro|machecol}}, mentioned in Medieval Latin as {{Lang|la|machecollum}}, probably from Old French {{Lang|fro|machier}} 'crush', 'wound' and {{Lang|fro|col}} 'neck'.{{cite book|author=Greimas|title=A.-J; Dictionnaire de l'ancien français |publisher=Larousse |location=Paris|date=1987|isbn=2-03-340-302-5}} The verb Machicolate is first recorded in English in the 18th century, but machicollāre is attested in Anglo-Latin.{{citation |first=T. F. |last=Hoad |title=English Etymology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1986}}{{page needed|date=January 2017}}
Origins and Regional Prevalence
File:Craigmillar machicolations.jpg in Scotland]]
The oldest known buildings with machicolation are Ancient Roman fortifications of the Limes Arabicus dating from the 4th century AD.{{cite conference
| url = https://www.academia.edu/33553457
| title = Qasr Hallabat, Qasr Bshir and Deir el Kahf. Building Techniques, Architectural Typology and Change of Use of Three Quadriburgia from the Limes Arabicus. Interpretation and Significance.
| last = Arce
| first = Ignacio
| date = 2008
| publisher = Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
| book-title = Arqueología de la construcción II - los procesos constructivos en el mundo romano: Italia y provincias orientales
| pages = 455–481
}} The design was brought to Europe from the Levant following the crusades 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.{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=R. Allen |year=2004 |orig-year=1954 |title=Allen Brown's English Castles |publisher=The Boydell Press |location=Woodbridge |page=66 |isbn=1-84383-069-8 |doi=10.1017/9781846152429}} 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 which was built from 1290 to 1304.{{cite book|last=Mesqui|first=Jean|title=Châteaux forts et fortifications en France|publisher=Flammarion|year=1997|location=Paris|language=fr|page=[https://archive.org/details/chateauxfortsetf00mesq/page/493 493]|isbn=2-08-012271-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/chateauxfortsetf00mesq/page/493}}
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See also
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References
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External links
{{Commons category|Machicolations}}
{{Wiktionary}}
- [https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_raisonn%C3%A9_de_l%E2%80%99architecture_fran%C3%A7aise_du_XIe_au_XVIe_si%C3%A8cle/M%C3%A2chicoulis Machicolation - Dictionary of French architecture from the 11th to the 16th century]
- [http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/machicolation.htm Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture: machicolation.]
- [http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/machic.html Machicolation]
{{Fortifications}}