A fortified enclosure or palisade surrounding a castle or keep; a defensive wall or stronghold structure.
From Middle English and Scots, possibly from 'barm' (a projecting part) or related to 'barme' (the rim or edge). The suffix '-kin' is a diminutive, making it 'little barm.' Used in Scottish and Northern English fortress terminology.
Barmkins were the medieval fortress hack—instead of building massive stone walls immediately, they'd throw up wooden palisades, then upgrade to stone later as resources allowed, like hardware being updated gradually.
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