Glossary of terms:
Airling The Tudor
equivalent of airhead
Berfrois A stand for
spectators, originally for tourneys, a level above the ground
Bonded Those who have
made a mental bond, may refer to a pair, one human one dragon, or to either of
the pair. Written with a capital to
refer to those Bonded to dragons, but in lower case if bonded to a drakeling
By my troth Today we should
say ‘upon my word!’ or ‘My goodness!’ if used in surprise, or the phrase may be
used to express a serious promise e.g. ‘by my troth, mistress, I shall protect
you with my life.’
Certes Certainly
Chapman A peddler of
various small wares who travelled around the countryside with a pack of goods
on his back and often a tray he wore suspended from his neck on which to
display them in each village.
Chap-book A pamphlet, often
illustrated with wood-cut pictures, about items of interest, usually doings at
court, famous people, new fashions, exciting discoveries etc.
Common
Wyrms Topaz dragons, a
mistaken name
Coney The name used
at the time for a full-grown rabbit; rabbit was used only for the young, as pig
was used for what today we call piglet, hog being the full grown animal.
Coruscation A flock of drakelings; coined recently.
Dominie A schoolmaster
Dortoir We’d call it a dormitory nowadays
Drakelings Tiny dragon-like
creatures possibly made as pets by dragons in the past.
Draxery The study and
art of dragon care
Draxier One who has
Bonded with a dragon, an honorific even as ‘Doctor’ is
Farced When roasting
poultry, this is when fat or fatty meat is placed under the skin to help keep
the bird moist and to crisp the skin.
Farthingale A wide, hooped
skirt .
Fie! An
expression of disapproval, may indicate surprise but in a negative way
Froward Contrary;
someone who stubbornly resists authority
Galligaskins Loose breeches
caught under the knee, suitable for working in.
Good lack! An expression of
surprise
Gramercy! An expression of
surprised gratitude
Grow a rose Euphemism for
relieving the bladder
Humanism A belief that the
actions of human beings are important individually and collectively,
emphasising critical and rational thinking above acceptance of superstition or
dogma. Humanists follow this belief.
Jakes The toilet.
Commonly outside, with a seat over a cess pit, dug out by a ‘gong farmer’ twice
a year. Often communal.
Lackaday! Also well-a-day,
an expression of sorrow or misfortune.
Legr A
lair, or cave for a dragon to live. When
capitalised, it is a collection of legrs in a cliff
Lorewyrms Amethyst
dragons, known for their knowledge. The
only dragons which would re-Bond
Marry! An
expression of surprise.
Nurture-
Wyrms Topaz
wyrms, mostly female, one of the two colours known to breed
Speedwyrms Beryl
dragons, notable for their speed
Spellwyrms Diamond
dragons, black in colour as diamonds of the time were not cut with the
brilliant cut later discovered
Warwyrms Ruby
dragons, known for their aggression.Mostly male, one of the two colours known
to breed.
A quick note for those who are interested
Once, English had a similar construction to European languages in having a familiar form for the second person pronouns, used to children, social inferiors and between those who were very close and do not even get me onto the subject of how T'Pau mangles it in 'Amok Time' [Star Trek Original, series 2].
Thou is subject, thee is object. It isn't hard. Thou hast done something. I do something to thee.
Endings of related verbs have to agree. in general it's -st for second person and -th for third
He hath been there
Hast thou been there?
I wrote a longer blog post on this on my Renaissance and Regency Rummage Repository; I confess it's a challenge to have to work it out by the rules because I've never had a problem just using it. Put it down to eclectic reading from an early age.
You'll also find I use words which have passed largely into lawyer-speak like hitherto, whereof and wherefore [which means 'why', hence, 'Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?' where Juliet laments that the boy she wants to snog senseless is from the wrong family.]
I am trying to keep that balance of period and readability, and avoiding the sort of smutty puns Master Shakespeare thrived on since we no longer pronounce 'hour' and 'whore' the same way. I was fortunate to have an English teacher - and American lady as it happens - who was fascinated by linguistic drift and told us all the smutty bits. Shakespeare could have given Billy Connolly a run for his money.
