Chemins de ronde translates to "walkway," which is precisely what it is. More specifically, these are walkways that went along the top of medieval castles
The merlons protected soldiers as they walked along the chemins de rondes, and would sometimes be equipped with arrowslits.
If there's one thing many of us think of when it comes to medieval castles, its a moat. This famous feature consisted of a large ditch that surrounded a castle and was filled with water.
While many medieval castle features still seem remarkably innovative, there was one aspect that is profoundly basic by today's standards.
While moats provided an excellent way to keep out the enemy, they also presented a problem when it came to getting in and out of the castle.
"Machicolations" is a fancy word for the holes that protrude from high up in the walls of medieval castles.
If a brave attacker did manage to make it into the front entrance of a medieval castle, they had the portcullis to worry about.
Bartizans are towers built into castle walls. Their purpose was to provide defenders a place from which to attack enemies threatening to infiltrate or attack the walls.