For other uses of this term, see Cadalso. Reconstruction of a scaffold in the Castle of Argüeso, Cantabria, Spain.
A scaffold (also, cadafalso, cadhalso or palenque) is a wooden fortification or bulwark of the medieval towers and walls. It hung by leaning on corbels or wooden beams or protruding stones, embedded in the wall. They were usually covered and did not usually be permanent, but installed during a siege. In times of peace, it is believed that the scaffolds were stored as prefabricated elements.
It had a military purpose, because they had small bays or loopholes in the front and on the ground. This, together with the fact that they stood out against the canvas of the wall or tower, extended the range of the defenders along the wall and, especially, allowed a vertical shot down on the attackers of the towers. However, being made of wood, they burned easily. Later, they were replaced by machicolations, which were permanent and made of stone and which meant an improvement over the scaffolding.
In many stone buildings that have survived from medieval times, the existence of this element is revealed by the presence of the small bays that regularly punctuate the façade, tracing the line below a larger span that was the door of the building. access to the scaffolds, as can be seen in the Spanish Torre de Pero Niño (Cantabria) or Aldealseñor (Soria) [1].
Some medieval scaffolds have survived, including examples in the northern tower of Stokesay Castle, in Shropshire (United Kingdom and Laval, France) .The interior citadel of Carcassonne, also in France, shows scaffolds reconstructed in wood. p> Sources
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