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Castles In General & Medieval History

sally port

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Topic: sally port

teddybear7459
Member

posted 08-28-2005 01:09 AM

waer did the name sally port come from and when? me and the band that im in we are from san bernardino,Ca. and we travel a lot and we whent to the ladys preson in grants new mexico and thay have a sally port and for the past three years we have been tring to figer it out so if you can anser thes just e-mail me at teddybear7459@yahoo.co thank you
Timothy

Paul
unregistered

posted 08-28-2005 06:17 AM

"Sally ports" were a feature of castles and fortresses, a closely-guarded opening or door in the wall of a fortified building designed for the quick passage of troops. One of the primary uses of these doors was to mount quick attacks on whatever enemy army might be besieging the castle at the moment. A "sally," from the Latin "salire" meaning "to jump," was originally a sudden rush out of a besieged position, a lightning attack designed to surprise the enemy. "Sally" in this original sense first appeared around 1560, and "sally port" is first found around 1649. "Sally" has since acquired the broader sense of "an excursion or escapade." And since castles and fortresses are in short supply these days, "sally port" has gradually come to mean any guarded doorway or opening.

[This message has been edited by Paul (edited 08-28-2005).]