Bartizan

Bartizan in the harbour of Valletta (Malta)

A bartizan or guerite is an overhanging, wall-mounted turret projecting from the walls of medieval fortifications from the early 14th century up to the 16th century. Most frequently found at corners, they protected a warder and enabled him to see around him. Bartizans generally are furnished with oylets or arrow slits. The turret was usually supported by stepped masonry corbels and could be round or square.

Bartizans were incorporated into many notable examples of Scots Baronial Style architecture in Scotland. In the architecture of Aberdeen, the new Town House built in 1868-74, incorporates bartizans in the West Tower.

Gallery

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  Bartizan at Fort de Chartres(A French colonial era fort), Illinois on the Mississippi River.

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  Garita at El Cañuelo in the Bay of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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  Bartizans on the West Tower of the new Town House in Aberdeen, Scotland, 1868-74

See also

• bretèche
• garret - an attic or top floor room in the military sense; a watchtower from the French word garite.

References

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bartizan". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.

External links

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