Fenis Web.it

THE DEFENCES

‘Encastellation’ is the process whereby villages and noble residences were fortified between the end of the ninth and the twelfth centuries in response to a sense of insecurity following invasions from the Saracens, Normans and Hungarians.

After the death of Charlemagne, central power became ever weaker and was no longer capable of guaranteeing effective military protection. This marked the end of a feudal system founded on vassalage: the feudal lords began to safeguard their possessions and to organise an autonomous defence system, thus slowly eclipsing the figure of the King.

We will now see in more detail the numerous defences and stratagems with which the Fénis castle was endowed.

- Two Surrounding Walls

The two surrounding walls were the first line of defence that assailants might encounter.

The actual external wall, rebuilt during the fascist period, could be easily climbed thanks to a series of steps; the original wall would certainly have been more imposing. The merlons served as decorative elements and, in case of attack, were useful as fixed shields behind which archers and cross-bowmen might take cover.

The door of the external wall was situated to the West, where a lightly sloping terrain hindered the use of battering rams. The rather long section leading to the entrance of the internal wall guaranteed the effective action of archers against assailants. This second door could not be brought down by battering rams, owing to the reduced space between the two external walls. Nowadays one can notice the door-posts, scarred by the passage of carts which were obliged to take a tight corner in order to enter the castle.

- Arrow Slits and Machicolations

An arrow slit is an opening in the wall through which defenders of a castle might shoot arrows with a longbow or cross-bow without running the risk of being wounded themselves.

Machicolations - architectural features often to be found in castles - are architectural elements integrated with the parapet of the vertical wall of a building or the top of its tower. Through these openings defenders might let fall stones, pitch or boiling water, to put invaders to flight. In the Fénis castle the presence of narrow passages between the surrounding walls rendered them especially effective.

- Visual Communication with Other Castles

All castles were built in a way in which they could be seen by one or more others. This allowed, in case of attack, that the alarm be spread at the right time throughout the region via pre-arranged visual signals. This system was extremely effective: a message might pass from Turin to Chambéry in only three hours!

- Surviving a Siege

In order to resist a siege, a castle had to arrange for reserves of food and water. To this end, near to the inner courtyard could be found a store-house and an underground cistern capable of holding 20,000 litres. Rain-water would be collected by placing wooden barrels beneath the water channels, architectural elements through which would flow any rainwater falling upon the roof. The domestic staff made sure that the barrels were emptied into the cistern before replacing them under the water channels.

One might ask how it was that the Fénis castle was endowed with such strong defences. The fact that the castle lies in such a position as to be without any natural defences is only one reason. In fact, the main motive was practical: the castle was the administrative centre of the feudal estate, and for this there were good reasons for discouraging eventual enemy attacks. It may also be for this that today we have no historical sources that remember any military intervention against the Fénis nobility. Last of all, the grandness of the complex was par excellence the symbol of the prestige and economic power of the Challant family.