Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 1.djvu/324

306 the breteske. Sir Iwain rushes into the court and attacks the robbers, while the young man having obtained a bow shoots down upon them from his place of refuge. The cut, fig. 6, (see previous page) represents—Ensi que Ywains se combat en .i. castel as larons. We have here again the court surrounded by the ditch and fence of wooden palisades, (qui estoit close de haute lande et de bons fossés grans et parfons,) and the castellated residence within. The latter appears to consist simply of the hall, (indicated by its two large windows,) the entrance of which is in the tower, on the right end of it, while the chambers occupy the tower at the other end, and a watch-tower rising above the other buildings.

The last illumination we select from this MS. is a bridge with a breteske, or tower of defence; it is described in the rubric as being ben breteskiet. The sequel of the story, however, seems to indicate that it was a ford, with a breteske or fort on the shore. The wood-work above is very clearly delineated. In the middle ages, bridges were generally, and fords sometimes, defended by fortresses of this description, the object of which was not only to hinder the advance of an enemy, but also to enforce the toll levied upon travellers (especially merchants) passing over the bridge or ford, or sailing along the river. The following curious account of an enchanted city, taken from a Cambridge MS. of the English romance of Bevis of Hampton, describes the bridge with its tower of defence.