A quoin was a stone used to perform a distinctive
corner in a masonry wall, usually contrasting in dimensions and material
from the substantial mass of the adjoining walls. Quoins were generally laid
using an ascending in-and-out bond composed of alternating courses of headers
and stretchers to bind the quoins with the solid mass of the walls. Quioned
salients were occasionally constructed in masonry fortifications to produce
an aesthetically pleasing effect; but this distinctive treatment of scarp
wall salients tended to assist an attacking force in identifying the position
of the salients with greater accuracy than would otherwise be possible. Easy
identification of salients allowed an attacking force to plan its attacks
and lay its trenches of attack out on the ground with a rapidity and degree
of exactitude that was highly detrimental to a prolonged defense of the
fortification.
A quoin was a stone used to perform a distinctive
corner in a masonry wall, usually contrasting in dimensions and material
from the substantial mass of the adjoining walls. Quoins were generally laid
using an ascending in-and-out bond composed of alternating courses of headers
and stretchers to bind the quoins with the solid mass of the walls. Quioned
salients were occasionally constructed in masonry fortifications to produce
an aesthetically pleasing effect; but this distinctive treatment of scarp
wall salients tended to assist an attacking force in identifying the position
of the salients with greater accuracy than would otherwise be possible. Easy
identification of salients allowed an attacking force to plan its attacks
and lay its trenches of attack out on the ground with a rapidity and degree
of exactitude that was highly detrimental to a prolonged defense of the
fortification.
