. A history of the art of war, the middle ages from the fourth to the fourteenth century . of which one was larger than the others.^Though this served as a donjon, it only differed in size from theother three. Another deviation from the old practice of the West wasthat the strongest tower was sometimes built not in the mostsecure and well-defended part of the castle, as a place of finalrefuge, but at the fore-front of the most exposed side of the fort-ress, so as to bear the brunt of the attack. In this case the keep,if keep we may call it, would be the first part of the place whichwould be as
. A history of the art of war, the middle ages from the fourth to the fourteenth century . of which one was larger than the others.^Though this served as a donjon, it only differed in size from theother three. Another deviation from the old practice of the West wasthat the strongest tower was sometimes built not in the mostsecure and well-defended part of the castle, as a place of finalrefuge, but at the fore-front of the most exposed side of the fort-ress, so as to bear the brunt of the attack. In this case the keep,if keep we may call it, would be the first part of the place whichwould be assaulted by the besieger, and the first, perhaps, to fallinto his hands. As an example of this kind of castle we mayquote Athlit (Chateau Pelerin), a castle built on a promontory, ^ William of Tyre, xx. 19, describes it as castrum modicae quantitatis, vix tantumspatium inter se continens quantum est jactum lapidis, formae quadrae, turres habensquattuor in angulis, quarum una grossior et munitior erat aliis. See Keys Archi-tecture MiUtaire, etc., p. 125, for its present state. PLATE 1150] THE CASTLE OF KERAK-IN-MOAB 531 where the main defensive structure consisted of two massivetowers connected by a short curtain and placed across the neckof the promontory. Behind them, seaward, the rest of the castlewas only protected by an ordinary enceinte with a few smalltowers. All the strength of the place lay in the two splendidtowers at the isthmus. But Athlit was built late (1218), andmust not be quoted as an example of twelfth-century As a fair example of the strongholds which the Frankserected after they had been seated for a generation in the HolyLand, we may describe Kerak-in-Moab, the eastern bulwark ofthe kingdom of Jerusalem, built about 1140 by Payn of Nablous,the high-butler of King Fulk. It was only forty years inChristian hands, and seems never to have been much alteredfrom its original shape. It stands on one of the two narrowcrests which connect the hil
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade189, booksubjectmilitaryartandscience
