BA2 Research into Medieval Defenses

I have cemented my idea of using the gargoyle as an ornamental piece above a town opening with offensive capabilities. This post will look into what forms of defense cities had, primarily to do with the entrance and how i could shape my gargoyle to aid in this function without straying too far from the original function of a gargoyle.

Typical castle defenses or tactics used to defend an important town or city would usually consist of methods such as moats, drawbridges, arrow slits, wolf pits, or entire pieces of architecture designed in a fashion to gain advantage against attackers. But the one that intrigues me the most and seems most viable for my design is "Murder Holes".

"A murder hole or "meurtrière" is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could fire, throw or pour harmful substances or objects, such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime, tar, or boiling oil, down on attackers."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder-hole

These monstrous defense methods would instill fear into even the most battle hardened soldier. The foreboding created by something as simple as a hole in the ceiling is amazing and I believe combining that with the right gargoyle would create just the paralyzing effect I'm after. I can already picture the walkway with an absolutely horrible figure arching over, mouth wide open, and you would simply be unable to look away as you wait for the inevitable...

There are different types of murder holes however and the one I wish to use as reference and follow closely will obviously affect the orientation and pose of my gargoyle. The two main types I have come across are ones situated directly in front of a portcullis or worked into the ceiling of a castle gatehouse.

The holes were designed to the specification of the projectiles being thrown down, small slits would allow arrows to be shot without the risk of return fire. Large openings would be used for rocks and even body parts to deter assailants. But i feel I must choose a liquid form of attack so as to stay with the theme of a gargoyle. Typically pitch, boiling water or oil was used and I intend my gargoyle to deliver one of these, most likely hot water, as its means of offense. From my research I have found the gatehouse murder hole to be the most common and practical choice of the two.

The sealed room mixed with the claustrophobic environment makes for the best set up for a horrifying sculpture to be imprinted into the ceiling above, leaving little chance of escape as hell rains down on any unlucky enough to be attempting to breach the fortification via the gateway.

The Bodiam castle located in East Sussex has the best example of a gatehouse murder hole with the largest source of reference images I can find of any one model.

I will gather as many source images as possible of the gatehouse of this castle and work closely with it when designing my gargoyle. Oddly enough my gargoyle will need to be facing down and be created on a horizontal plane, it is most likely that I will create a small section of the ceiling attached to the gargoyle to clarify its orientation and location.


The next stage now is beginning 2D iterations of the pose and form of my gargoyle as well as beginning to make decisions on the facial expressions and features of my gargoyle to help me decide what I believe to be the most effective gargoyle in achieving my personal goal of creating something truly petrifying.