Back Kat (fort) Afrikaans Kavalier (Festungsbau) German Cavalier (fortification) French Kavalir (utvrdno graditeljstvo) Croatian Cavaliere (fortificazione) Italian Cavalier (Militärarchitektur) LB Kat (vesting) Dutch Kavaler (befestning) NB Nadszaniec Polish Cavaleiro (arquitetura) Portuguese

Cavalier (fortification)

Illustration of a cavalier (the structure on the right, marked as "B") from Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

A cavalier is a fortification which is built within a larger fortification, and which is higher than the rest of the work. It usually consists of a raised platform within a fort or bastion, so as to be able to fire over the main parapet without interfering with the fire of the latter.[1] Through the use of cavaliers, a greater volume of fire can be obtained, but its greater height also makes it an easier target for a besieger's guns.[2]

There are two types of cavaliers:

  • Common cavalier – a raised gun platform without any additional defensive features
  • Defensible cavalier – a raised gun platform surrounded by a ditch. If the ditch cuts across the bastion's terreplein and is supported by cuts, the cavalier can also be considered as a retrenchment.[3]
Antonio Ferramolino's Cavalier, Fort St. Angelo, Birgu, Malta
  1. ^ Spiteri, Stephen C. (2010). "Illustrated Glossary of Terms used in Military Architecture". ARX Supplement. MilitaryArchitecture.com: 5. Archived from the original on 25 October 2010.
  2. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cavalier" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 562–563.
  3. ^ Pasley, Charles William (1822). A Course of Elementary Fortification - Volume II (2 ed.). London: John Murray. pp. 337–342.

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