Defending The Castle of La Terrasse

La Terrasse


The Defenses
The Buildings
Nowadays

 

In 1418, the Governor Henri de Sassenage was afraid of an attack of Dauphiné by the Savoyards. He orders a series of strengthening of the defenses of the castle. Due to the lack of resources (or because it was necessary to move fast), all the requests concern wooden defenses: palisades, towers or hoardings.

We suppose that the gate built by the entrance of the castle was protected by another gate at the level of the palisade. It was a bascule door called “tornefol”, who revolved around a horizontal axis.

Both towers had the same 24-meter (72-foot) height. One of them was round and the other one rectangular, with walls of 1.5 m (5 feet) in thickness.

 

We estimate that the castle in this time was in a state of advanced decay. That is why we wanted to represent collapsed sections of wall, from which the gaping openings were briefly protected by fences.

 

The governor ordered the construction of two wooden towers at the extremities of the courtyard, an area where curtain walls elevation only amount to 6 meters (18 feet) in height.

 

Hoardings, sorts of wooden galleries built above the outer walls, are a practical means to improve the defense of a castle. At least 5 of them are quoted in 1418.

 

 

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