A Glossary: G

Garderobe

Haut Koenigsbourg (Le Chateau du Haut Koenigsbourg: notre Demarche)

Primitive toilet cut into the thick outer walls of the keep – just a stone seat over a hole/chute down into the wall that emptied into the moat. More rarely a wooden seat was used. A few had natural light, but most were lit by torches. Iron bars were often fixed to the bottom of the chutes to prevent an invading army from gaining access that way.

Gatehouse

Carisbrooke, England (GillB)

The main entrance to the castle normally overlooked by protective towers. It was generally a substantial building of three or four storeys but was usually the first point the enemy would try to break through to gain access to the inside of the castle. It was equipped with several defensive mechanisms including the portcullis, raised drawbridge, heavy wooden doors that could be barred shut, arrow slits and murder holes. The ground floor generally contained the guard rooms; the first floor had residential rooms and the machinery to operate the portcullis; the second floor was often used and quarters for the soldiers and as an armoury.

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