1588 Narr. Def. Berghen 20 Sept. in (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1907) 205 The Lord Generalles Company was commaunded to stand close under the raffleinge to flanck th'others.
1589 P. Ive Pract. Fortification 35 in tr. R. Beccarie de Pavie There the defences would be placed without the counterscarfe..and being so placed they are tearmed to be rauelins of the Italyans and Frenchmen, and of vs they have been tearmed spurres.
1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero 85 It is indifferently well fortified with rauelings, bulwarkes and platteformes, besides a deepe ditch.
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius 271 Finding the Bulwark too strong for the Cannon, though a great part of the Ravelin was beaten down.
1686 R. Blome i. vii. 182/2 It is better to set on the two Angles of the Polygone two great Royal Bastions, and in the middle a Ravelin with Flanks.
1720 D. Defoe i. 120 As soon as the Ravelin was taken, they burst open the Gate.
1760 L. Sterne II. xii. 74 Common men..confound the ravelin and the half-moon together,—tho' they are very different things.
1793 27 July 2/4 One of our shells blew up their powder magazine in the ravelin of the horn-work.
1828 J. M. Spearman 204 The Ravelins are intended to cover the curtains and shoulders of the bastions, and to defend the ground in front of their saliants.
1834 J. S. Macaulay 21 Ravelins are seldom added to forts in the field, but almost always to fronts of permanent fortification.
1877 30 July 4/4 A few years ago an addition was made to the old fortifications [at Chatham] by the construction of a ravelin.
1934 39 634 In front of the main works of the fortress were outworks classified as ravelins, counterguards, and face covers.
1967 S. Rossiter 669 The ravelin was completed in 1522 which did not prevent the Turks in December making here the breach that enabled them to capture the city.
2004 68 32 The fortresses at Tula and Ivangorod..were geometrical fortresses, though again, without the ravelins and bastions popular in the Western trace italienne or Vauban's star fortresses.
