Tuesday 13 May 2014

Une Echauguette

An echauguette is a 14th - 16th century surveillance tower, set high up on a corner of a building and projecting in such a way as to provide the widest possible angle of view.
They are sometimes equipped with murder holes or arrowslits to allow active defense, but their primary function is to shelter and facilitate the observations of one or more sentries keeping watch for a house, town gate or castle.
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A la cuisine hier: Ham and egg cups -- another variation on the oeufs coccottes theme.
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Loire Valley Nature: A new Habitat entry has been added for Prairie (meadow).
A photo has been added to the entry for Tongue Orchid Serapias lingua.
A photo has been added to the entry for Loose-flowered Orchid Anacamptis laxiflora.

4 comments:

Sheila said...

Hi Susan. What do you suppose the
people are doing in the Prairie?
Looks like they're filling bags
with something.

Aussie in France said...

I thought you might like to know the origin of the word "échauguette". Its old forms are escalguaite (1080), escalgaite (1130) eschaugaite (1175), from the Frankish "skarwahta" "action of mounting guard" or "group of sentinels", consisting of "skara", troup, and "wahta" watch. So it initially meant the people who were keeping watch, seen in expressions such as "faire l'échauguette", to keep watch, and was eventually extended to mean watchtower.

Liselle said...

I think an ongoing series on parts of a chateau would be a wonderful idea (unless it has happened and i missed it). Always good to be able to tell your échauguettes from your mâchicoulis.

Susan said...

Sheila: I doubt if they were collecting anything. They were part of a British nature tour.

Fraussie: many thanks for the etymology.

Liselle: maybe I'll get round to it. I haven't finished the series on vernacular architectural terms yet though.

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