Snow in July (47 page)

je m’appelle (jhe mah-PELL-eh; French).
Phrase used colloquially to say, “my name is.” Literally, it means “I call myself.”

jerkin.
Leather battle tunic that could be made of varying styles, features, and quality, depending upon the customer’s wealth.

Jerusalem.
Ancient Middle Eastern city controlled by the Arabic Fatmid Caliphate at the time of the Norman conquest of England, 30 years before the start of the First Crusade.

lady’s mantle.
A medicinal herb favored for treatment of female health issues.

lavender.
A medicinal and aromatic strewing herb.

lemon balm.
A flowering plant favored by beekeepers for honey production.

linden.
A medicinal herb.

London.
King William’s base of operations, and the most important city in England dating to before the era of the Roman occupation.

London’s West Minster.
Westminster Cathedral.

lungwort.
A medicinal herb favored for treatment of upper respiratory health issues.

ma chere (mah SHARE-eh; French).
Phrase meaning “my dear” as spoken to a female person or animal. If addressing a male, it becomes
mon cher
.

ma demoiselle (“aged” French).
Phrase meaning “my lady,” based upon present-day French
mademoiselle
(“miss;” i.e., a polite form of address for a girl or unmarried woman).

mais (MAY; French).
The conjunction “but.”

mark.

1. Slang term for a coin of large denomination, usually gold.
   
2. Slang term for “target.”
   

matins.
First of eight Christian canonical hours of the day. Properly occurring at midnight, the prayer service is sometimes combined with lauds, which is held at dawn. Origin: Latin
matutinus
(“of the morning”).

meadow saffron.
An herb that attracts bees for honey production but also can be distilled into a lethal poison.

merde (MAIRD; French).
Slang term for excrement.

Minster, the.
Colloquial term for a cathedral church. Derived from Old English
mynster
, which probably evolved from Church Latin
monasterium
(“monastery”), implying that the term originally applied to any church connected to a monastic settlement.

mint.
An herb used for aromatic, culinary, and medicinal purposes.

moi (MWAH; French).
“Me.”

mon ami (pl. mes amis; French).
“My (male) friend(s).” When pronouncing
amis
, the
s
is silent unless it occurs before a word beginning with a vowel.

mon amour (French).
Term of endearment meaning “my love;” suitable for addressing persons of either gender.

mon coeur tu as (mohn cur too ah; French).
“You have my heart” (familiar form; formal form is
mon coeur vous avez
).

mon Dieu (French).
Phrase meaning “my God,” often used as an exclamation of surprise or shock.

mon seigneur (mohn sin-YOUR; “aged” French).
Phrase meaning “my lord,” based upon present-day French
monseigneur
(“mister”).

mullein.
A plant whose downy yellow flowers form on spikes, favored by beekeepers for honey production.

Noir (NWAR; “black,” French).
A huge black hound probably descended from the original
Pugnaces Britanniae
(“combative ones of Britain”) breed of war-dog exported from Britain throughout the Roman Empire and often used to fight bears, lions, and other large animals in gladiatorial arenas.

non (French).
“No.” The last
n
is silent.

nones.
Sixth Christian canonical hour and ninth hour of daylight, around 3 p.m. Origin: Latin
nonus
(“ninth”).

Norman.
Of or pertaining to the inhabitants of Normandy, who were predominantly Scandinavian (Viking) in origin, not French (Celto-Goth).

Normandy.
Duchy centered around the city of Rouen that came under the control of Scandinavian king Rollo in the 10th century.

Otherworld, the.
Domain of elves and fairies in Welsh mythology.

oui (WE; French).
“Yes.”

pardonez-moi (par-DOH-nay mwah; French).
“Pardon me” (formal form of address; informal form is
pardon-moi
).

Persephone.
Greek goddess of spring and mythical analogy to Kendra’s experience with Ulfric.

prime.
Third Christian canonical hour and first full hour of daylight, around 6 a.m. Origin: Latin
primus
(“first” or “chief”).

River Brue.
A sea-bound river originating in the White Sheet Downs that flows south of Glastonbury. It was a major source of flooding in the area, along with its companion watercourse, the River Axe, disrupting travel on a regular basis. This situation was improved over time, starting with the construction of a channel in the 12th century.

rose hips.
The bottom portion of the rose blossom, which is rich in vitamin C and therefore useful in treating upper-respiratory ailments.

saffron.
An herb that yields a yellow dye.

Salisbury Plain.
A 300-square-mile chalk plateau in southern central England (Wiltshire and Hampshire counties), largely uninhabited to this day and most famous for being the site of Stonehenge.

Sarum.
A hill fort in Wiltshire, southern England dating to three millennia before the Roman occupation, now in ruins and referred to as Old Sarum ever since the early 13th century, when the settlement was relocated due to the burgeoning population; and the old castle, cathedral, and other buildings were razed for materials. Also known historically as Sorviodunum (Latin, in Roman documents), Caer Gradawc (P-Celtic, in
History of the Kings of Britain
), Searobyrig (Anglo-Saxon documents), and Sarisburia (Norman-French, in the
Domesday Book
).

Saxon(s).
Of or pertaining to the inhabitants of southern England who emigrated to the island from the Saxony region of Germany in the mid-5th century A.D.; name possibly derived from their weapon of choice, the
seax
.

seax (Saxon).
Saxon war-knife, usually measuring 15-18 inches from point to end of hilt.

seulement (SOO-leh-mone; French).
“Only.”

sext.
Fifth Christian canonical and sixth hour of daylight, around 12 p.m. Origin: Latin
sextus
(“sixth”).

shite (Saxon).
Slang term for excrement.

Sign of the Rose, the.
Fictional tavern located near the tannery district of medieval Winchester.

soeur (SUR; French).
A word meaning “sister,” which Delwin uses in the phrase
ma soeur chere
(“my dear sister”).

sol (French).
Old French word for a small bronze coin of low denomination; origin of the more recent slang term,
sou
.

Somerset.
Region of southern England where Glastonbury is located.

St. Mary’s Church.
A poor backstreet church in Winchester that did exist on Tanner Street in the 11th century, according to a map in the collection of the library on the main campus of Auburn University.

surcoat.
A garment worn over armor and embroidered with the knight’s shield design. Historically, it wouldn’t begin to see this type of use consistently for another hundred years, when the rules of heraldry began being formalized, but I needed it for the purposes of this story.

swinhund (SVINE-hoond; Saxon).
An epithet literally meaning “pig-dog,” a compound of Old English
swin
(“pig”) and
hund
(“hound”).

swive (SVIVE; Saxon).
A colloquial term for the act of copulation, from Old English
swifan
(“to move” or “to sweep”).

tabard.
A short, sturdy coat worn by peasants and foot soldiers; in the case of the latter, it is emblazoned with the lord’s coat-of-arms.

Tanner Street.
Part of the geography of medieval Winchester, according to a map in the collection of the library on the main campus of Auburn University, Alabama.

tansy.
A plant whose flowers form as yellow globes, favored by beekeepers for honey production.

tas de merde (tah deh maird; French).
Alain’s Saxon companions-at-arms would say, “shite-pile.”

Thane (Saxon).
An ancient English landed title roughly equivalent to that of baron, but status was ranked by how much acreage was governed. “Thane” is the Shakespearean-era spelling of the older form
thegn
, which I elected to use for ease of pronunciation. Origin: Anglo-Saxon
þegn
or
ðegn
(both mean “retainer”). Under the Norman system of governance, the wealthiest thanes eventually became designated as barons, and the less wealthy thanes were integrated into the knightly class.

Thornhill.
Fictional manor, pastures, and croplands adjoining Church lands near the town of Glastonbury and Glastonbury Tor, governed by Thane Ulfric. Corresponds to present-day Wearyall Hill, where Joseph of Arimathea was reported to have planted the staff that subsequently became the Christmas-blooming Glastonbury thorn tree.

Throne of England, the; also, the Crown.
Terms applied to either the office of kingship or to the king himself.

thyme.
A flowering, ground-hugging plant favored by beekeepers for honey production that also has culinary uses for flavoring meats and salads.

tierce.
Fourth Christian canonical hour and third hour of daylight, around 9 a.m. Origin: Latin
tertius
(“third”).

trews.
Loose-fitting trousers made of leather, wool, or linen.

tu sais ton papa (too say tone paPA; French).
The informal phrase meaning “you know your father.” In formal speech, the phrase is
vous savez votre père
.

un cadeau (uhn cah-DOH; French).
Phrase meaning “a gift.”

valerian.
A medicinal herb used in the treatment of pain.

vespers.
Seventh Christian canonical hour, occurring at sunset. Origin: Latin
vespera
(“evening”).

vite (VEET-eh; French).
Word meaning “hasten” or “hurry,” and often used as an interjection.

Wessex.
Ancient kingdom designation derived from the phrase “West Saxons” (as opposed to Essex and Sussex, realms of the East and South Saxons, respectively), which became a county when England was unified under a single king.

willow bark.
A medicinal herb used in the treatment of headaches and other types of pain.

Winchester, Hampshire, England.
One of the original 33 royal burhs designated by Alfred the Great, former capital of England until just after the Norman Conquest, when King William transferred that function to London, and headquarters of Regent Odo whenever William was residing somewhere other than England.

wormwood.
A flowering herb favored by groundskeepers for its ability to repel bees.

York, North Yorkshire, England.
Headquarters of Regent William FitzOsbern whenever King William was residing somewhere other than England.

Acknowledgements

T
HOUGH A ROMANTIC concept, in this day and age of social networking there is no such thing as the “lonely writer’s garret.” As much as I would like to wall myself into a garret at times—providing it came equipped with a good enough Internet connection to conduct research, keep tabs on my family, and place orders—I am grateful to writer-friends such as K.R. Thompson, who has been instrumental in pulling me out of my shell to get my books into the hands of local readers; and Robin Allen, a “pre-Facebook” friend who always stands ready and willing to critique a cover concept or a synopsis. In one of life’s little ironies, Robin also happened to be one of the contest judges for a prepublication version of the first three chapters of
Snow in July
, unbeknownst to either of us. Imagine our surprise when I sent her the first cover concept for her feedback, and she realized the title sounded very familiar! Even funnier was her underlying thought as she had critiqued the contest entry itself: “I have to tell Kim about this one. It seems to be right up her alley.”