Merlon

A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.

The best-known examples appear on medieval buildings, where battlements, though defensive, could be attractively formed, thus having a secondary decorative purpose.

Other shapes include: three-pointed, quatrefoil, shielded, flower-like, rounded (typical of Islamic and African world), pyramidal, etc., depending either from the type of attacks expected or aesthetic considerations.

As new weapons appeared in the Middle Ages (including crossbows and the first firearms), the merlons were enlarged and provided with loop-holes of various dimensions and shapes, varying from simply rounded to cruciform.

After falling out of favour when the invention of the cannon, forced fortifications to take a much lower profile, merlons re-emerged as mostly decorative features in buildings constructed in the Gothic Revival style of the 19th century.