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Medieval Term of the Week: Barbican

Barbican
bahr-bi-kuhn
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French barbecane, from Medieval Latin barbacana

1) An outwork or forward extension of a castle gateway.
(Gies, Joseph and Francis. Life in a Medieval Castle, 225)

2) Outerwork of a castle, providing additional defence for the gatehouse.
(Prestwich, Michael. Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience, 347)

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