[295] It may be compared with the division of the outer face of the polygonal tower at Stokesay into two smaller half-octagons ([306]).
[296] Viollet-le-Duc’s drawing (La Cité de Carcassonne, p.75) shows a rampart-walk on each of the enclosing walls of this passage. He also shows the passage crossed by a series of looped barriers, so placed that each formed a separate line of defence, guarded by a few soldiers, and compelled an enemy to pursue a zigzag course through the passage. Much allusion has been already made to oblique and elbow-shaped contrivances for impeding an enemy’s progress: the antiquity of these is evident from the entrances to earthworks like Maiden Castle (see Chapter [I].).
[297] Description and plan in Blanchetière, Le Donjon ... de Domfront, pp. 59-63. The date there given is actually earlier than the probable epoch of construction.
[298] The progress of fire-arms in English warfare was slow. See the various articles by R. Coltman Clephan, F.S.A., in Archæol. Journal, lxvi., lxvii., and lxviii. The earliest picture of a cannon is in a MS. at Christ Church, Oxford, written in 1326 (lxviii. 49), while the earliest mention of a hand-gun in England appears to be in 1338 (lxvi. 153-4). The long-bow continued to be the popular weapon of the individual English soldier until long after this date.
[299] The ramparts of Saint-Paul-du-Var (Alpes Maritimes) are said to belong to the epoch of the wars between Francis I. and Charles V. To the same period belong the fortifications of Lucca, Verona, and Antwerp. The present walls of Berwick were begun somewhat later, in 1558, enclosing a space considerably smaller than the original enceinte of the town, as fortified by Edward I.
[300] Holes with embrasures for cannon were in many cases pierced in the walls of fortresses during the fifteenth century, or were formed, as in the eastern tower at Warkworth, by blocking the ordinary cross-loops through most of their height.
[301] This is very clearly seen in the fortified towns of Italy, or in the towns founded by Edward I. and by the kings of France in the southern districts of France.
[302] Pomerium = the space pone muros, i.e., at the back of the walls. The word was at first applied to the sacred boundary of Rome and other towns, which limited the auspicia of the city.
[303] The re-erection of the rectangular wall-turrets at Newcastle, which are of very slight projection from the wall, appears to date from 1386: a writ of aid was granted to the mayor and bailiffs on 29th November in that year for the repair of the walls and bridge of the town (Pat. 10 Rich. II., pt. 1, m. 8).
[304] I.e., the lower gate. The north-western gateway is the upper gate, Porth Uchaf.