Plural of donjon; the great central tower or keep of a medieval castle that served as the strongest defensive position.
From Old French 'donjon,' derived from Vulgar Latin 'dominio' meaning 'dominion' or 'lordship.' The word originally referred to the master's tower and evolved to mean the primary fortified structure in medieval fortifications.
The donjon was essentially the medieval version of a modern bunker—when castles came under siege, everyone retreated to this one super-strong tower because it was nearly impossible to breach. Archaeologists can still identify donjon foundations across Europe, and they tell us which lords had the most resources to build the biggest ones.
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