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Architecture Blogging Vendôme

The Sitting Bull's Eye – L'oeil de boeuf assis

photo_56_bulls_eye
I was intrigued to see this bull’s eye outside the Vendôme town hall which used to the the Lycée Ronsard. All I can imagine is that it was possible to monitor the comings and goings of the school boys sitting down.
J’étais intriguée de voir cet oeil de boeuf très bas à l’extérieur de l’hôtel de ville de Vendôme anciennement le lycée Ronsard.  Tout ce que je peux imaginer est qu’on pouvait surveiller les allers et venus des lycéens tout en restant assis.
 

4 replies on “The Sitting Bull's Eye – L'oeil de boeuf assis”

I think ‘bull’s eye’ is a ‘lay’ term for these windows. I’ve only ever heard them referred to as ‘ox-eye windows’ or just as commonly, the French term is used in English too – oeil de boeuf. If you want to get seriously techie they are oculi (singular oculus) in both languages.

And here I’ve been labouring under an illusion all those years. I have never heard of ox-eye windows but even my Collins-Robert dictionary gives bull’s eye window. I knew about oculus but I rather liked my pun …

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