Bawn

A '''bawn''' is the defensive wall surrounding an [[Ireland|Irish]] [[tower house]]. It is the [[anglicisation|anglicised]] version of the [[Irish language|Irish]] word ''badhún'' meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure". The Irish word for "cow" is ''bó'' and its plural is ''ba''. The Irish word for "stronghold, enclosure" is ''dún'', whose [[possessive case]] is ''dhún'' — rendering the ''d'' [[silent letter|silent]]. The original purpose of bawns was to protect cattle from attack. They included [[trench]]es that were often strengthened with stakes or hedges. Over time, these were gradually replaced by walls. The name then began to be used for the walls that were built around tower houses. ==See also== {{commonscat|Tower houses in Ireland}} *[[Tower houses in Britain and Ireland]] *[[Curtain wall (fortification)|Curtain wall]] *[[Barmkin]] ==External links== *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/londonderry/A803459.shtml Bellaghy - Bawn] {{coord missing|Ireland}}