Annals of a FortressViollet-le-Duc, Eugène-Emmanuel
History
Annals of a Fortress
Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène-Emmanuel
Fortification -- France -- History; Fortification -- History; Siege warfare -- History
As shown in our plan, the bailey of the castle no longer existed. It was
replaced by a wide ditch, A, of little depth; its bottom was on a level
with the two boulevards, B and C. A third boulevard surrounded the base
of the donjon externally, in the place of the ancient _chemise_. This
boulevard commanded the stone bridge rebuilt in the fourteenth century
on the Roman piers. Before the north front was raised an isolated
boulevard of earth, D, of slight elevation, but commanding the road of
the plateau. At the angles of the north front two large towers, E, F,
adapted to receive cannon, flanked the angles and were in a position to
sweep the boulevard, D. Set back on the eastern side, a similar tower,
G, commanded the valley of the rivulet. Two boulevards, H and I, forming
projections beneath the defences of the fourteenth century, commanded
the course of the river, and could cross their fire with the boulevard
B, and the tower E. A boulevard was also raised on the eastern salient
at K.
The faubourg had preserved its two parish churches, and a convent of
Jacobins had been built at L, on lands bought by Saint Louis while the
fief of La Roche-Pont was still directly dependent on the crown of
France.
The abbey of Saint-Julien, O, had diminished its enclosure, and yielded
a part of its estates. Houses arose in its ancient pleasance, whose
perimeter had been somewhat altered. These habitations were within its
liberties and belonged to the abbey, which granted them on lease.
At M, a parish church under the invocation of Our Lady had been built
towards the end of the thirteenth century, when the lord of La
Roche-Pont, wanting money, sold some lands--formerly belonging to the
castle--for building. At N was the market-place. Three gates gave
admission to the _cité_: one on the north, called Saint-Julien's gate;
one on the east, Mill-gate; and the third on the south-east, called
Castle-gate.
We must enter into some details respecting the new defences raised under
Charles the Bold. Figure 49 presents a bird's-eye view of the northern
boulevard, D, with the _cité_ front in the background, its gate of the
fourteenth century, and the two great corner towers.
[Illustration: FIG. 49.]
Fig. 50 A gives the plan of one of these towers at the level of the
lower battery, and B its section through _a_, _b_.
These towers were forty yards in diameter on the outside, and consisted
of a low battery, whose floor was six feet beneath the upper level of
the plateau. The descent to this low battery was by a slope ending in an
octagonal hall whose vaults rested on four great cylindrical pillars.
Three chambers with embrasures for three large cannons opened into this
hall. By the galleries, C, there was a communication between two of
these chambers and two other smaller ones pierced with embrasures for
culverins. From the descent D, two passages, E, gave access to two
chambers, F, likewise arranged with embrasures to receive two large
guns.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account