Ailettes: Small square metal plates or shields attached to the shoulders to protect against sword blows

Almayne Rivets: The style of armour where sections are fastened with rivets that are allowed to slide giving more freedom of movement

Anelace: A short sword with a broad blade used by both ordinary people and military

Angon: A six foot long spear for throwing. Used by Anglo-Saxons

Annulet: A ring around a circular pier or shaft. A circle on a shield used in heraldry

Arbalestier: A crossbow man

Arming Points: Strips of leather used to tie sections of armour together

Arrow-slit: A long narrow opening to shoot arrows through. Some are cross-shaped for crossbows

Aventail: Section of a helmet covering the lower face and neck for protection

Axe: Common medieval weapon with large blade fixed at ninety degrees to the handle

Backplate: Section of armour covering the back from neck to waist. Part of the cuirass

Badelaire: A cutlass or short sword

Bailey: The open area in a castle between the keep and the curtain wall. This area can have working and domestic buildings in it

Baldric: A belt worn around the neck an to the hip from which the sword was hung

Ballista: War engine used for throwing large arrows

Barbican: Outer defences of a castle where attackers would be vulnerable. Normally a double tower over a bridge or gate

Bardings: Armour for horses, covering neck and breast

Barmkin: Scottish term for a fortified castle courtyard. Similar to a barbican

Bartizan: A watch-tower or turret jutting out from the top of a castle (bartisan)

Baselard: A short sword or knife used in close combat

Basinet: A conically shaped helmet with open front. An aventail was added for face and neck protection

Bastion: A solid tower at the end or middle of a curtain wall

Battlemented: Describes the top of of a wall where there are rows of rectangular teeth. This is also known as crenellated or embattled

Berm: Strip of ground between the outer curtain wall and the moat

Bourdonasse: A lance for jousting that breaks easily on contact to prevent injuries

Brassarts: Armour for protecting the upper arm from elbow to shoulder

Breastplate: Armour to protect the chest. Part of the cuirass

Breteche: Hoardings: Wooden boards fitted to top of wall used as extra protection for defenders

Byrnie: A long shirt of leather or chain mail finishing at the elbows and reaching down to the knees

Camail: Chain mail armour covering the head and falling over the shoulders

Caryatid: A statue in female form used as a supporting pillar

Casemate: Bomb-proof vault in a curtain wall for cannons

Castellan: The governor of a castle or keep

Castellation: Another word for battlements. The defensive detail at the top of a wall or tower

Castle: Medieval fortification

Causeway: A bank built across marshy ground with a path running along the top

Chain mail: Flexible clothing made from interlinking rings of metal

Chanfron: Armour for horses covering the face

Cinque Ports: Ports on the south coast with special privileges. Originally five

Concentric: A concentric castle has a series of defences enclosing another

Constable: Person in charge of the defence of the castle.

Crenellation: Notched battlements at the top of a wall

Crinet: Armour for a horse to protect the neck area

Crossbow: A weapon able to shoot arrows. Lot of varieties

Crupper: Armour for a horse to protect the hind area

Crusade: Military expeditions to win back or hold on to the Holy Lands from the Muslims

Cuirass: Medieval armour covering the back (backplate) and chest (breastplate). Plain or ornately decorated

Curtain Wall: The wall around the bailey with a sentry-walk along its top

Cyclas: A sleeveless tunic