Hence,
Brito, at the commencement of his relation of the siege by Philip
Augustus, says,
"Vicus erat scabra circumdatus undique rupe,
Ipsius asperitate loci Falaesa vocatus,
Normannae in medio regionis, cujus in alta
Turres rupe sedent et mA"nia; sic ut ad illam
Jactus nemo putet aliquos contingere posse."--
The dungeon of Falaise, one of the proudest relics of Norman antiquity,
is situated on a very bold and lofty rock, broken into fantastic and
singular masses, and covered with luxuriant vegetation. The keep which
towers above it is of excellent masonry: the stones are accurately
squared, and put together with great neatness, and the joints are small;
and the arches are turned clearly and distinctly, with the key-stone or
wedge accurately placed in all of them. Some parts of the wall, towards
the interior ballium, are not built of squared free-stone; but of the
dark stone of the country, disposed in a zigzag, or as it is more
commonly called, in a herring-bone direction, with a great deal of
mortar in the interstices: the buttresses, or rather piers, are of small
projection, but great width. The upper story, destroyed about forty
years since, was of a different style of architecture. According to an
old print, it terminated with a large battlement, and bartizan towers at
the angles.
Pages:
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336