Macbeth

** What Was a Castle? **  ....... Many of the scenes in //Macbeth// are set in a castle. A castle was a walled fortress of a king or lord. The word //castle// is derived from the Latin //castellum//, meaning //a fortified place//. Generally, a castle was situated on an **eminence** (a piece of high ground) that had formed naturally or was constructed by laborers. High ground constructed by laborers was called a **motte** (French for //mound//); the motte may have been 100 to 200 feet wide and 40 to 80 feet high. The area inside the castle wall was called the **bailey**.  ....... Some castles had several walls, with smaller circles within a larger circle or smaller squares within a larger square. The outer wall of a castle was usually topped with a **battlement**, a protective barrier with spaced openings through which defenders could shoot arrows at attackers. This wall sometimes was surrounded by a water-filled ditch called a **moat**, a defensive barrier to prevent the advance of soldiers, horses and war machines. At the main entrance was a **drawbridge**, which could be raised to prevent entry. Behind the drawbridge was a **portcullis** [port KUL is], or iron gate, which could be lowered to further secure the castle. Within the castle was a tower, or **keep**, to which castle residents could withdraw if an enemy breached the portcullis and other defenses. Over the entrance of many castles was a projecting gallery with **machicolations** [muh CHIK uh LAY shuns], openings in the floor through which defenders could drop hot liquids or stones on attackers. In the living quarters of a castle, the king and his family dined in a great hall on an elevated platform called a **dais** [DAY is], and they slept in a chamber called a **solar**. The age of castles ended after the development of gunpowder and artillery fire enabled armies to breach thick castle walls instead of climbing over them.   To see [|Glamis, the Castle] today

**Glossary of Animals and Animal Parts in Witches' Brew (Act IV, Scene I) ** __Adder’s Fork__: Forked tongue of an adder, a poisonous snake. __Baboon’s Blood__: Blood of a fierce monkey (genus, //Papio//) with long teeth. __Blindworm__: Legless lizard common in Great Britain. When fully grown, it is usually about a foot long. __Eye of Newt__: Eye of a type of salamander (an amphibian with a tail) that spends part of its time in the water and part of its time on land. The young newt (larval stage) is called an eft. It is bright red with black spots. The adult newt is generally olive green with red spots circumscribed with black spots. In mythological tales, the salamander was a creature that was said to be able to live in fire. __Fillet of Fenny__: Slice of a snake that inhabits fens (swamps, bogs). __Gall of Goat__: Gallbladder of a goat. __Lizard__: Reptile with four legs. Examples are the iguana, the chameleon, and the gecko. __Maw and Gulf of Ravined Salt-Sea Shark__: Stomach of a hungry (ravined) shark. __Owlet’s Wing__: Wing of a baby owl. __Scale of Dragon__: Scales (overlapping plates covering the body) of a dragon, a mythological flying reptile of gigantic size. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">__Tiger’s Chaudron__: Tiger’s intestines or guts. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">__Toad__: Hopping amphibian, resembling a frog, with short legs and rough skin. Unlike a frog, which has moist skin, a toad has dry skin. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">__Toe of Frog__: Toe of an amphibian with webbed feet and strong hind legs for leaping. Unlike a toad, a frog has moist skin. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">__Tooth of Wolf__: Fang of a wolf, a canine that lives in the wilds. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">__Wool of Bat__: Fur or hair of a bat, the world’s only flying mammal. A bat can weigh up to three pounds and fly at speeds up to 60 miles an hour. Although literature often portrays bats as sinister, evil creatures, they are beneficial to humankind because their insect diet eliminates many annoying–and dangerous–pests.

. Notes <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;"> 1. Cawdor: Village in the Highlands of Scotland, near Inverness. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">2. Glamis: Village in the Tayside region of Scotland. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">3. Wassail: Spiced ale. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">4. Gorgon: Snake-headed monster in Greek mythology. Looking upon it turned the viewer to stone. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">5. Avaunt: Go away; begone; get out of here. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">6. Speculation: Ability to see. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">7. Neptune: Roman name for the Greek sea god, Poseidon. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">8. Incarnadine: Verb meaning to make something blood red

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[|The Feudal System]

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