Interesting photo found in the very interesting Flickr photostream of Tina Manthorpe. Described as follows: "Saxon pieces let into the tower at Harmston, possibly originally little wind-eyes."
vindauga (="wind-eye") is part of the etymology of "window." I don't have time to trace this further this morning. I wonder what functional purpose the little holes served. They seem to be too small for arrow-slits. Just for ventilation? For viewing the countryside?
Via Suddenly.
http://books.google.com/books?id=rboaVpxsuUEC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=Weird+Carolinas+keyhole+house&source=bl&ots=yA_17ZRw-R&sig=mZYsj7qx2pZOwqqojcy6GaP-g4Y&hl=en&ei=LNe-SomdPNOA8Qbr1_iuAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
ReplyDeleteRead the entry on the keyhole house. Maybe it's the same deal.
Interesting. The one in the book is in the U.S., but the principle (witch-riding, letting witches/spirits escape) could easily date back to the time of the Harmston tower.
ReplyDeleteI suppose a search on the "history of windows" might turn up such a connection re the earliest ones." Might make a good blog post for someone out there with some time to explore the web... (hint)