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The Knights of the Cross, a novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz |
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_ [Footnote 1: The Benedictine Abbey at Tyniec was in Poland as important and rich, relatively, as the Abbey of Saint-Germain des Pres in France. In those times the order organized by Saint Benoit (Benedictus) was the most important factor in the civilization and material prosperity of the country. The older contained 17,000 abbeys. From it came 24 Popes; 200 Cardinals; 1,600 Archbishops; 4,000 Bishops; 15,000 Writers; 1,500 Saints; 5,000 Beatified; 43 Emperors, and 44 Kings. These figures are material facts showing the importance of the order. About its influence on art, literature and culture one could write a volume.] [Footnote 2: Two powerful families.] [Footnote 3: Lithuania.] [Footnote 4: Historical fact.] [Footnote 5: Prince.] [Footnote 6: Lithuanian.] [Footnote 7: Money--it is difficult to tell the value exactly.] [Footnote 8: Bishop.] [Footnote 9: Priests.] [Footnote 10: An exclamation of trifling.] [Footnote 11: Prince Kiejstut's daughter.] [Footnote 12: Slave minstrels.] [Footnote 13: A kind of guitar.] [Footnote 14: The names of the noblemen of every country are derived from the estates which they possess--hence the particles before the name of a true nobleman: _de_ in France, for instance, de Nevers, means that the name comes from the place called Nevers; _of_ in England, for instance, Duke of Manchester; _von_ in Germany has the same signification; in Poland z, for instance Macko z Bogdanca--means that the estate Bogdaniec belonged to his family and to him;--in the following centuries the z was changed to _ski_, put on the end of the name and instead of writing z Bogdanca, a man of the same family was called Bogdanski; but it does not follow that every Pole, whose name ends in _ski_ is a nobleman. Therefore the translation of that particular z into English _of_ is only strictly correct, although in other cases z should be translated into English _from_: to write: Baron de Rothschild is absurd and ridiculous, because the sign "red shield" was not an estate, and one cannot put _de_ before it.] [Footnote 15: A wealthy possessor of land--they were freemen and had serfs working for them--some of them were noblemen, and had the right to use coats of arms.] [Footnote 16: Pan--Lord] [Footnote 17: A man coming from Mazowsze--the part of Poland round Warsaw.] [Footnote 18: Count.] [Footnote 19: Back side of the axe.] [Footnote 20: A town surrounded with walls and having a peculiar jurisdiction or a kind of a castle.] [Footnote 21: Inhabitants of Rus'--part of Poland round Lwow--Leopol (Latin), Lemberg (German).] [Footnote 22: Money;--marks.] [Footnote 23: Hail--the war-cry of the family, either because it was numerous like hail or struck sharply like hail.] [Footnote 24: Count.] [Footnote 25: Wdaly--in old Polish--handsome.] [Footnote 26: Beautiful.] [Footnote 27: Abbot of a hundred villages.] [Footnote 28: Ordinary German soldiers.] [Footnote 29: A nobleman holding an estate of the Crown, with or without jurisdiction.] [Footnote 30: Knight of the Cross in Polish.] [Footnote 31: Vocative from Zbyszko.] [Footnote 32: Pater-noster--the Lord's prayer.] [Footnote 33: Historical fact.] [Footnote 34: A military title with jurisdiction--corresponding to general.] [Footnote 35: Historical fact.] [Footnote 36: Bonebreaker.] [Footnote 37: Historical fact.] [Footnote 38: A large building which served for different purposes, but especially, as a depot of broadcloth; in Polish _sukno_, hence its name: _sukiennice_.] [Footnote 39: Noblemen in Lithuania and Russia.] [Footnote 40: The Tartars were divided into Ords--it was a fancy division, without any precise number.] [Footnote 41: Anjou in French.] [Footnote 42: Piasts is family name--the first kings of Poland were Piasts.] [Footnote 43: Mountains in Poland--sometimes improperly called Carpathian Mountains.] [Footnote 44: Priest--or prince in the old Slav language.] [Footnote 45: In Poland they use in the churches a sprinkling brush made of thin shavings of a certain wood--such a brush is called, "kropidlo."] [Footnote 46: The Province of Dobrzyn was seized by the Knights of the Cross on the ground of an unlawful agreement with Wladyslaw Opolczyk.] [Footnote 47: Allusion to beehives on the trees; to take honey from them, the keeper was obliged to climb a rope.] [Footnote 48: Famous battle in which the Germans were defeated by King Wladyslaw Lokietek.] [Footnote 49: Ksiondz--priest.] [Footnote 50: We will go to dissipate.] [Footnote 51: Marienburg in German.] [Footnote 52: King.] [Footnote 53: Friend.] [Footnote 54: Diminutive of _kniaz_--prince.] [Footnote 55: Diminutive from _bojar_--Lord.] [Footnote 56: Marienburg in German.] [Footnote 57: A sort of coat.] [Footnote 58: The bison of Pliny; the urus of Caesar. The bison, destroyed in all other countries of Europe, is only to be found in Poland in the forest of Bialowieza, where a special body of guards takes care of this rare animal.] [Footnote 59: It means here a fort, a stronghold, a castle.] [Footnote 60: Grzywna or mark was equal to half pound of silver.] [Footnote 61: High sharp pointed hat.] [Footnote 62: Crooked.] [Footnote 63: Polish _tata_ = papa; hence the diminutive and endearing terms _tatus, tatutu_ and _tatulku_ = "dear papa," "dear little papa," etc.] [Footnote 64: Another form of diminutive from _tata_--father.] [Footnote 65: Church with certain special privileges. It is a popular expression for the church called _collegiata_, in Latin.] [Footnote 66: Silesia.] [Footnote 67: A popular exclamation of joy--sometimes of distress if it is put with another word.] [Footnote 68: An exclamation of mirth, especially in songs; and while dancing, they exclaim in Poland: hoc! hoc!] [Footnote 69: Wooden beehive excavated in a tree.] [Footnote 70: Kind of fur jacket--bolero.] [Footnote 71: Both words are diminutives of _tata_--father.] [Footnote 72: Diminutive of mother.] [Footnote 73: In 1331.] [Footnote 74: Stronghold--castle.] [Footnote 75: Miss.] [Footnote 76: Breslau in German.] [Footnote 77: Diminutive of _tata_ father.] [Footnote 78: Abbreviation of Przeclaw.] [Footnote 79: Podhale is part of the mountains of Karpaty.] [Footnote 80: Nickname given to bears.] [Footnote 81: Popular name for bear.] [Footnote 82: Wolf.] [Footnote 83: Seminarists students.] [Footnote 84: Diminutive of _wlodyka_.] [Footnote 85: Piece of money; it is twenty-fourth part of _grzywna_ or mark, which was worth half pound of silver; one _skojeg_ was worth about one-third of an ounce.] [Footnote 86: "Bold Mountain"--a place in Poland, where one of the first three Benedictine monasteries was built by the king, Boleslaw Chrobry (the Valiant) 1125. In this monastery is a part of our Saviour's cross--hence pilgrimages to that place.] [Footnote 87: Diminutive of _wlodyka_.] [Footnote 88: Another form of _pan_--lord; when one speaks in commiseration or in sympathy, any noun can take this form.] [Footnote 89: A short prayer for the dead.] [Footnote 90: The famous victory over the Knights of the Cross by the king Wladyslaw Lokietek.] [Footnote 91: Lokiec means an ell in Polish. King Wladyslaw was of the family Piasts, but he was called Lokietek on account of his short stature.] [Footnote 92: Marks.] [Footnote 93: Here it means a commandant.] [Footnote 94: A part of Poland. The people were called Kurpie, on account of their shoes made of the bark of trees. They were all famous marksmen.] [Footnote 95: Krystyn.] [Footnote 96: A woolen material, made by Polish peasants. In some provinces _kilimeks_ are very artistic on account of the odd designs and the harmony of the colors.] [Footnote 97: Szczytno in Polish.] [Footnote 98: Cymbaska who married Ernest Iron Habsburg.] [Footnote 99: The knight Uter, being in love with the virtuous Igerna, wife of Prince Gorlas, with Merlin's help assumed the form of Gorlas, and with Igerna begot the king Arthur.] [Footnote 100: Kind of horn.] [Footnote 101: Wigand of Marburg mentions such cases.] [Footnote 102: There is a custom in Poland, Hungary, Bohemia and some other countries, to break wafers at receptions and parties, on Christmas eve and the following two days, expressing in the meantime good wishes for all manner of prosperity and happiness. The wafers are distributed by the parish that is to say by the priest or sexton. The author refers to that custom.] [Footnote 103: Siebenkirchen in German, a province which now belongs to Hungary, it was then an independent principality.] [Footnote 104: Diminutive of mother; it is a charming expression. The Polish language, like the Italian, has a great variety of diminutives.] [Footnote 105: _Glowacz_ the Polish for the Bohemian _Hlawa_, the latter means "head," but the former means also "big" or "thick head."--(S.A.B.)] [Footnote 106: Lotarynczyk means the man from Lotaringen.] [Footnote 107: _Byway_ means, in this instance, "here we are".] [Footnote 108: _Pontnik_, "Pardoner," one who dispenses indulgences.--(S.A.B.)] [Footnote 109: Called: _Misericordia_.] [Footnote 110: February is called in Polish "Luty," meaning also dreadful, awful, etc.] [Footnote 111: The diminutive of Anna.] [Footnote 112: Lit., She was walking on live coals.] [Footnote 113: Meaning never.] [Footnote 114: Relics of the gallows were preserved down to the year 1818.] [Footnote 115: One Polish mile is about three American miles.] [Footnote 116: _Setnik_, captain over one hundred.] [Footnote 117: The Greater Bear, or Charleswain ... other names are hen and chickens, dipper, etc. Arabic, _Dhiba_.] [Footnote 118: _Wieczny odpoczynek racz mu daj Panie_. "God rest his soul."] _ |
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