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:''This is about European castles. For other uses see Dungeon (disambiguation)''
A 'dungeon' is a place where prisoners are kept. In the past, it used to double as the keep.
The word dungeon was derived from the Old French ''donjon'', which came from the Latin ''dominus'', "lord".
However, in French the term ''donjon'' means "keep" (a form of tower), and the term ''oubliette'' or ''cachot'' (a form of prison) is a more appropriate translation of the English "dungeon". This word is a false friend.
In its original medieval usage, the dungeon was the keep, the main tower of a castle which formed the final defensive position the garrison could retreat to when outer fortifications were overcome. It was also a safe, if not comfortable, place to keep prisoners. Once more luxurious housing for the lord of the castle was constructed, the dungeon was used mainly for this purpose. Its meaning has evolved over time to also mean an underground prison or burial vault, typically built underneath a castle.
In 1613, Anton Praetorius described the terrible situation of the prisoners in the dungeons in his book ''Gründlicher Bericht über Zauberei und Zauberer (Thorough Report about Wizardry and Wizards)''.
Although many real dungeons are simply a single plain room with a heavy door or with access only from a hatchway or trapdoor in the floor of the room above, the use of dungeons for torture, along with their association to common human fears of being trapped underground, have made dungeons a powerful metaphor in a variety of contexts.
★ Oubliette
The dungeons of Blarney Castle.
A 'dungeon' is a place where prisoners are kept. In the past, it used to double as the keep.
| Contents |
| Etymology |
| History |
| Features |
| See also |
Etymology
The word dungeon was derived from the Old French ''donjon'', which came from the Latin ''dominus'', "lord".
However, in French the term ''donjon'' means "keep" (a form of tower), and the term ''oubliette'' or ''cachot'' (a form of prison) is a more appropriate translation of the English "dungeon". This word is a false friend.
History
Dungeon in the lowest level of Fort Christiansvaern, Christiansted, St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands
Illustration by Arthur Rackham to the ballad ''Young Beichan'': Young Beichan in the dungeon.
In its original medieval usage, the dungeon was the keep, the main tower of a castle which formed the final defensive position the garrison could retreat to when outer fortifications were overcome. It was also a safe, if not comfortable, place to keep prisoners. Once more luxurious housing for the lord of the castle was constructed, the dungeon was used mainly for this purpose. Its meaning has evolved over time to also mean an underground prison or burial vault, typically built underneath a castle.
In 1613, Anton Praetorius described the terrible situation of the prisoners in the dungeons in his book ''Gründlicher Bericht über Zauberei und Zauberer (Thorough Report about Wizardry and Wizards)''.
Features
Although many real dungeons are simply a single plain room with a heavy door or with access only from a hatchway or trapdoor in the floor of the room above, the use of dungeons for torture, along with their association to common human fears of being trapped underground, have made dungeons a powerful metaphor in a variety of contexts.
See also
★ Oubliette
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