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coiffé de hourds

English translation: topped with hourds


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14:05 Dec 12, 2009
French to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - History / medieval castles
French term or phrase: coiffé de hourds
This comes from a description of the dungeon of a castle. "Hourds" are wooden constructions built to protect soldiers on the ramparts as they shoot arrows, but I haven't been able to find an equivalent in English. The sentence is "Plus haut le donjon est coiffé de hourds...."
SueG09
Local time: 17:09
English translation:topped with hourds
Explanation:
Same word. However it is most unlikely that the dungeon would be equipped with these. Whereas a donjon is the "keep", the main defensive tower of a castle, a "dungeon" is underground, les oubliettes.

HOARDS, HOARDINGS, HOURDS Hourds Covered wooden balconies suspended from the tops of walls and towers, allowing defenders to climb through the crenellations to drop missiles and fire arrows accurately on any attackers at the base of the wall.
http://www.atelierdesdauphins.com/english/histo/eglosmed.htm

HOURDS are little balconies out from the arrow slits. The HOURDS. protect the archers from getting hit while the fire arrows at the. enemies below. ...
www.timboth.com/school/castle/tamsinnick/hourds.h

Ask pupils to make a checklist or a visual glossary of .... been a wooden HOURD or platform, through which defenders could hurl ...
www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/tynemouth_castle.pdf...

HOARD, HOARDING, HOURD: A covered wooden gallery built out from the parapet of a tower ...
www.angelfire.com/wy/svenskildbiter/madict.html

KEEP DONJON Main tower; final defensive refuge
http://www.atelierdesdauphins.com/english/histo/eglosmed.htm



Selected response from:

xxxBourth
Local time: 18:09
Grading comment
Thank you for the very helpful answer with particularly useful references.
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5topped with hourdsxxxBourth
3crowned with wooden hourds
irat56
Summary of reference entries provided
hoards, etc
Carol Gullidge

  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
topped with hourds


Explanation:
Same word. However it is most unlikely that the dungeon would be equipped with these. Whereas a donjon is the "keep", the main defensive tower of a castle, a "dungeon" is underground, les oubliettes.

HOARDS, HOARDINGS, HOURDS Hourds Covered wooden balconies suspended from the tops of walls and towers, allowing defenders to climb through the crenellations to drop missiles and fire arrows accurately on any attackers at the base of the wall.
http://www.atelierdesdauphins.com/english/histo/eglosmed.htm

HOURDS are little balconies out from the arrow slits. The HOURDS. protect the archers from getting hit while the fire arrows at the. enemies below. ...
www.timboth.com/school/castle/tamsinnick/hourds.h

Ask pupils to make a checklist or a visual glossary of .... been a wooden HOURD or platform, through which defenders could hurl ...
www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/tynemouth_castle.pdf...

HOARD, HOARDING, HOURD: A covered wooden gallery built out from the parapet of a tower ...
www.angelfire.com/wy/svenskildbiter/madict.html

KEEP DONJON Main tower; final defensive refuge
http://www.atelierdesdauphins.com/english/histo/eglosmed.htm





xxxBourth
Local time: 18:09
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 154
Grading comment
Thank you for the very helpful answer with particularly useful references.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Melzie: was just about to say the same - hourd and keep
7 mins

agree  Carol Gullidge: I'd found the "hoard, hoarding, hoard" ref under "hourd, see hoard", in the dictionary of military architecture. Also agree re keep vs dungeon
12 mins

agree  Mahal
1 hr

agree  Verginia Ophof
2 hrs

agree  Helen Shiner
2 hrs
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
crowned with wooden hourds


Explanation:
No equivalent in English for "Hourd" IMHO.

irat56
France
Local time: 18:09
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 16
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Reference comments


26 mins peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: hoards, etc

Reference information:
Hoard, Hoarding, Hourd: A covered wooden gallery built out from the parapet of a tower or curtain wall supported on corbels, providing for vertical defence of the area below thus reducing the amount of dead ground. The hoardings had a major disadvantage since they were made of timber they were prone to firing, so they were eventually replaced by stone machicolations. In times of peace the hoardings could be removed.

____

Actually, this is impossible to read online as it's superposed with some weird script. But you can copy and paste it...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 28 mins (2009-12-12 14:33:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry, I see this is a duplicate of one of Bourth's refs. The "weird script" is indeed Angelfire, repeated millions of times


    Reference: http://www.angelfire.com/wy/svenskildbiter/madict.html#H.
Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 35

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Helen Shiner
2 hrs
  -> thanks Helen!
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