Merlon

Merlon
Merlons of the Alcazaba in Almeria, Spain.

In architecture, a merlon forms the solid part of an embattled parapet, sometimes pierced by embrasures. The space between two merlons is usually called a crenel,[1] although those later designed and used for cannons were called embrasures.[2]

Contents

Etymology

Ghibelline merlons in the Castle of St. Pierre, Italy.

The word comes from the French language, adapted from the Italian merlone, possibly a shortened form of mergola, connected with Latin mergae (pitchfork), or from a diminutive moerulus, from murus or moerus (a wall). An alternative etymology suggests that the medieval Latin merulus (mentioned from the end of the 10th century) functioned as a diminutive of Latin merle, expressing an image of blackbirds sitting on a wall.

As part of battlements

As an essential part of battlements, merlons were used in fortifications for millennia. The best-known examples appear on mediaeval buildings, where battlements were often used as much for decoration as for defensive purposes. The two most notable European variants in Middle Ages merlons shape were the Ghibelline and the Guelph merlon: the former ended in the upper part with a swallow-tailed form, while the latter term indicates the normal rectangular shape merlons (wimperg).

Other shapes include: three-pointed, quatrefoil, shielded, flower-like, rounded (typical of Islamic and African world), pyramidal, etc., depending either from the type of attacks expected or aesthetic considerations.


In Roman times

Guelph merlons in the Mackenzie castle, Genoa.

In Roman times, the merlons had a width sufficient to shelter a single man. As new weapons appeared in the Middle Ages (including crossbows and the first firearms), the merlons were enlarged and provided with loop-holes of various dimensions and shapes, varying from simply rounded to cruciform. From the 13th century, the merlons could also be used to pivot wooden shutters: these added further protection for the defenders when they were not firing. The shutters (also known as "mantlets") could be opened by hand, or by using a pulley.

Later use

Merlons and crenels, Moscow Kremlin

After falling out of favour when the invention of cannon forced buildings to take a much lower profile, they re-emerged as decorative features in buildings constructed in the neo-Gothic style of the 19th century.

See also

References

  1. ^ J. E. Kaufmann; H. W. Kaufmann; Robert M. Jurga (2004). The medieval fortress: castles, forts and walled cities of the Middle Ages. Da Capo Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-306-81358-0. 
  2. ^ Ward Bucher (1996). Dictionary of building preservation. Wiley-Interscience. pp. 43, 126, and 165. ISBN 978-0-471-14413-7. 
  • Balestracci, D. (1989). "I materiali da costruzione nel castello medievale". Archeologia Medievale (XVI): pp. 227–242. 
  • Luisi, R. (1996). Scudi di pietra, I castelli e l’arte della guerra tra Medioevo e Rinascimento. Bari. ISBN 8842050830. 



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Look at other dictionaries:

  • merlon — MERLÓN, merloane, s.n. Fiecare dintre masivele de zidărie care depăşeau parapetul şi limitau crenelurile la lucrările de fortificaţie antice şi medievale. – Din fr. merlon. Trimis de LauraGellner, 28.05.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  merlón s. n., pl.… …   Dicționar Român

  • Merlón — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Diseño del uso de un merlón El merlón, también llamado impropiamente almena, es un elemento arquitectónico típico de la arquitectura militar medieval. Se trata de cada uno de los salientes verticales dispuestos a… …   Wikipedia Español

  • merlon — [ mɛrlɔ̃ ] n. m. • 1642; it. merlone; p. ê. emploi fig. de merle « oiseau » ♦ Partie pleine d un parapet entre deux créneaux, deux embrasures. « Une porte crénelée, dont les merlons fendus s évasent à la vénitienne » (J. R. Bloch). ● merlon nom… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • merlón — (del it. «merlone») m. Fort. Cada trozo de parapeto situado entre dos cañoneras. * * * merlón. (Del it. merlone, saetera de la muralla). m. Mil. Cada uno de los trozos de parapeto que hay entre cañonera y cañonera …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • merlon — (n.) solid part of a battlement, 1704, from Fr. merlon (17c.), from It. merlone, augmentative of merlo battlement, perhaps a contraction of mergola, dim. of L. mergae two pronged pitchfork …   Etymology dictionary

  • Merlon — Mer lon, n. [F., perh. fr. L. moerus, for murus a wall, through (assumed) dim. moerulus.] (Fort.) One of the solid parts of a battlemented parapet; a battlement. See Illust. of {Battlement}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Merlon — (fr., spr. Merlong), das Stück Brustwehr zwischen zwei Schießscharten …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Merlon — (–long), frz., der massive Theil zwischen 2 Schießscharten einer Festungsmauer (Schartenzeile) …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • merlon — mèrlōn m <G merlóna> DEFINICIJA prozirni materijal; koristi se za izradu sigurnosnih stakala; leksan ETIMOLOGIJA tvorničko ime proizvoda© …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • merlón — (Del it. merlone, saetera de la muralla). m. Mil. Cada uno de los trozos de parapeto que hay entre cañonera y cañonera …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • merlon — [mʉr′lən] n. [Fr < It merlone < merlo, a battlement < ML merulus < ?] the solid part of a battlement or parapet, between two openings, or crenels …   English World dictionary

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