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Scott's Lady of the Lake
GLOSSARY
Arcade. A series of arches supported by columns or piers, either open or backed by masonry.
Augury. 1. The art or practice of foretelling events. 2. An omen or prediction.
Barret cap. A kind of cap or head gear formerly worn by soldiers.
Battlement. A wall or rampart around the top of a castle, with openings to look through and annoy the enemy.
Black-jack. A capacious drinking cup or can formerly made of waxed leather.
Bracken. Large coarse fern.
Bulwark. A rampart; a fortification.
Carpet knight. A person knighted on some other ground than that of military service; a knight who has not known the hardships of war.
Close. To grapple; to come to close quarters in fight.
Coif. A kind of cap worn by Scottish matrons.
Crest. 1. The plume or decoration on the top of a helmet. 2. The device over a coat of arms. 3. The ridge of the neck of a horse or dog.
Dicer. A gamester.
Drawbridge. A bridge at the entrance of a castle, which, when lowered by chains, gave access across the moat or ditch surrounding the structure.
Embossed. (A technical hunting term.) Flecked or spotted with foam.
Favor. Something which was bestowed as a token of good will or of love, as a glove or a knot of ribbon, to be worn habitually by a knight-errant.
Feint. (A technical fencing term.) A seeming aim at one part when it is intended to strike another.
Feudal. Pertaining to that political form in which there was a chain of persons holding land of one another on condition of performing certain services. Every man in the chain was bound to his immediate superior, held land from him, took oath of allegiance to him, and became his man.
Flourish. A trumpet call; a fanfare or prelude by one or more trumpets performed on the approach of any person of distinction.
Frontlet. The front of a stag’s head; the horns.
Guard. In fencing, a position of passive defense.
Halberd. A long-handled weapon armed with a steel point, and having a crosspiece of steel with a cutting edge.
Henchman. A groom; an attendant or follower.
Jack. An upper garment of leather, worn for defense by common soldiers. It was sometimes strengthened by small pieces of metal stitched into it.
Jennet. A small Spanish horse.
Ken. Sight; knowledge.
Law. “To give law” to a stag is to allow it a start of a certain distance or time before the hounds are slipped, the object being to insure a long chase.
Mew. A cage for hawks while mewing or moulting: hence an inclosure, a place of confinement.
Pass. (A term in fencing.) To thrust with a sword.
Pennon. A swallow-tailed flag or streamer.
Poleax. An ax fixed to a pole or handle. It was formerly used by mounted soldiers.
Prime. In the Roman Catholic Church the first canonical hour of prayer, six o’clock in the morning, generally the first quarter of the day.
Quarterstaff. A stout staff used as a weapon of defense. In using it, one hand was placed in the middle, and the other halfway between the middle and the end.
Signet. 1. A seal. 2. A ring containing a signet or private seal.
Slip. To let slip; to loose hands from the noose; to be sent in pursuit of game.
Squire. An attendant upon a knight.
Stirrup cup. A cup of wine drunk on parting from a friend on horseback.
Store. (An obsolete adjective.) Accumulated; stored up.
Strath. A valley of considerable size, through which a river flows.
Targe. Target-shield.
Tine-man. An officer of the forest, who had the nocturnal care of vert and venison.
Troll. 1. A song the parts of which are sung in succession; a round. 2. To sing in the manner of a catch or round, also in a full, jovial voice.
Vair. The skin of the squirrel, much used in the fourteenth century as fur for garments.
Vantage coign. A position of advantage for observing or operating.
Ward. A guarding or defensive position or motion in fencing.
Warder. One who wards or keeps.
Whinyard. A short sword or knife.
1
The poet invokes the spirit that animated the ancient Scottish minstrels, whose songs were usually accompanied by the music of the harp.
2
Called also the “wizard elm,” because forked twigs from the tree were used as divining rods.
3
A Scotch abbot of the seventh century.
4
The Romans gave the name Caledonia to that part of Scotland north of the Clyde and Forth.
5
St. Monan was a Scotch monk of the fourth century. The rill cannot be identified.
7
For the meaning of technical terms, colloquialisms, and unusual words not to be found in a school dictionary, see Glossary at the end of volume.
8
The heath or heather is a small ever-green shrub very common in the Scottish Highlands.
9
The head of a stag is said to be beamed after its fourth-year horns appear.
10
“Tainted gale,” i.e., the wind scented with the odor of the pursuers.
12
A pack of hounds is said to "open" when the dogs begin to bark, upon recovering the scent or catching sight of the game.
13
A confused or boisterous gathering.
14
Sight.
15
A deep pool.
16
Severely.
17
Or Monteith, a picturesque district of Scotland watered by the river Teith.
18
An estate about two miles from Callander on the wooded banks of the Keltie.
19
Bridge.
20
Spur.
21
Thicket; underbrush.
22
The trunk of a tree.
23
Ben Venue.
24
“Turn to bay,” i.e., to face an antagonist, when escape is no longer possible.
25
“The Trosachs” is the name now applied to the valley between Lochs Katrine and Achray.
26
Echoed back their barks or chidings.
27
In.
28
The river which flows through Paris, France.
29
Be to (from the old verb worthen, “to become”).
30
“Hied his way,” i.e., hastened.
31
“The western waves,” etc., i.e., the horizontal rays of the setting sun.
32
Isolated.
33
The Tower of Babel (see Gen. xi. 1-9).
34
The many-storied tower-like temples of the Chinese and Hindoos are called “pagodas.” About each story there is a balcony decorated with pendants or numerous projecting points or crests.
35
Bright.
36
Kind; bountiful.
37
The trembling poplar, so called from the trembling of its leaves, which move with the slightest impulse of the air.
38
Careful.
39
A bushy shrub common in western Europe.
40
Used adverbially.
41
“Little Mountain,” east of Loch Katrine.
42
The first canonical hour of the day in the Catholic Church, beginning properly at midnight. Here referring to the striking of the hour by the "cloister" bell.
43
“Drop a bead,” i.e., say a prayer. The rosary used by Catholics is a string of beads by which count may be kept of the prayers recited.
44
Happen; befall.
45
(Nā´yăd.) In classic mythology, one of the lower female deities who presided over lakes, streams, and fountains, as the Nymphs presided over mountains, forests, and meadows.
46
The Graces were in classic mythology three lovely sisters who attended Apollo and Venus.
47
A band used by Scottish maidens to bind the hair.
48
(Plāyed.) Several yards’ length of usually checkered woolen cloth called "tartan," which the Scottish Highlanders of both sexes wound about their bodies, and which formed a characteristic feature of their national costume.
49
Boat.
50
Trim or arrange.
51
Of wisdom.
52
Need of food.
53
Bewildered.
54
Heather, of which the Highlanders’ rude couches were made.
55
(Tär´mĭ-gan.) The white grouse.
56
Lake.
57
Crucifix or cross of Christ.
58
“Vision’d future,” i.e., visions of the future.
59
Lincoln green is a kind of cloth made in Lincoln.
60
“Fair degree,” i.e., high rank.
61
Wandering.
62
True.
63
“High emprise,” i.e., dangerous adventures.
64
“Idæan vine,” i.e., a translation of the Latin name of the red whortleberry, Vitis Idæa; but this is a shrub, and could not be “taught to twine.”
65
Which could.
66
Small shield.
67
Hangings used to decorate the walls of a room.
68
Endure.
69
Ferragus and Ascabart were two giants of romantic fable. The former appears in Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso; the latter in the History of Bevis of Hampton. His effigy may be seen guarding the gate at Southampton.
70
Dame Margaret was Roderick Dhu’s mother, but had acted as mother to Ellen, and held a higher place in her affections than the ties of blood would warrant.
71
Bitterest.
72
An old name of Stirling Castle.
73
Fitz means “son” in Norman French.
74
“By the misfortunes of the earlier Jameses and the internal feuds of the Scottish chiefs, the kingly power had become little more than a name.”
75
Knows.
76
A half-brother of James V. (James Fitz-James).
77
Hilly or undulating land.
78
Refreshing.
79
The Highlanders’ battle air, played upon the bagpipes.
80
Untilled land.
81
A kind of heron said to utter a loud and peculiar booming note.
82
(Rē-vāl´yĕ.) The morning call to soldiers to arise.
83
A mailed glove used by warriors in the middle ages to protect their hands from wounds.
84
Repeated.
85
A small European song bird.
86
(Măt´in.) Pertaining to the morning.
87
Highland chieftains often retained in their service a bard or minstrel, who was well versed not only in the genealogy and achievements of the particular clan or family to which he was attached, but in the more general history of Scotland as well.
88
Ranged in order of battle.
89
Recompense.
90
Of ducks.
91
The ancient and powerful family of Graham of Dumbarton and Stirling supplied some of the most remarkable characters in Scottish annals.
92
Long ago.
93
A Scotch abbot of the seventh century.
94
Bothwell Castle on the Clyde, nine miles from Glasgow, was the principal seat of the Earls of Angus, the elder branch of the Douglas family, until 1528, when James V. escaped from his virtual imprisonment by Angus acting as regent, and drove the Douglases into exile, confiscating their estates (See Introduction).
95
Bagpipe.
96
The river Tweed is on the southern boundary of Scotland. The Spey is a river of the extreme north.
97
Snatch away.
98
Beguiled.
99
The Bleeding Heart was the cognizance of the Douglas family in memory of the heart of Bruce, which that monarch on his deathbed bequeathed to James Douglas, that he might carry it upon a crusade to the Holy City.
100
A rustic Highland dance which takes its name from the strath or broad valley of the Spey.
101
“The Scottish Highlander calls himself Gael, and terms the Lowlanders Sassenach or Saxons.”
102
Gregor, the progenitor of the clan MacGregor, was supposed to be the son of a Scotch King Alpine: hence the MacGregors are sometimes called MacAlpines.
103
The district lying south of Loch Lomond.
104
Dhu in Gaelic.
105
“In Holy-Rood,” i.e., in the very presence of royalty. Holyrood was the King’s palace in Edinburgh.
106
A person who had been outlawed, or declared without the protection of the law, could not bring an action at law. Any one could steal his property, or even kill him, without fear of legal punishment.
107
Reward.
108
Roderick and Ellen, being cousins, could not marry without dispensation, or special license from the Pope.
109
Shields.
110
Kilmaronock, a village about two miles southeast of Loch Lomond, has a chapel or convent dedicated to St. Maronnan, of whom little is remembered.
111
“I grant him,” i.e., I grant that he is.
112
A cascade on the Keltie.
113
Unless.
114
Quenched.
115
Archibald Douglas, so called because so many of his enterprises ended in tine (or “distress”). After being defeated by Harry Hotspur at Homildon Hill in 1402, he joined Hotspur in his rebellion against Henry IV., and in the following year was with him disastrously defeated at Shrewsbury.
116
The Celtic festival celebrated about the 1st of May.
117
A species of grass.
118
A promontory on the north bank of Loch Katrine.
119
The badge or crest of the MacGregors.
120
Gay.
121
Scotch caps.
122
Ribbons attached to the chanters or tubes of a bagpipe for decoration.
123
Chorus.
124
(Bûr´jŭn.) Sprout.
125
Again.
126
Black Roderick, a descendant of Alpine.
127
The district north of Loch Lomond.
128
A valley and localities about Loch Lomond.
129
A valley and localities about Loch Lomond.
130
Battle cry.
131
A valley and localities about Loch Lomond.
132
A valley and localities about Loch Lomond.
133
The battle flag which Earl Douglas won from Hotspur atNewcastle in 1388.
134
A crescent was one of the badges of the Percies.
135
An abbey near Bothwell Castle.
136
Causes to seem poor.
137
Hawks or falcons were trained to pursue small game during the middle ages. When not in flight, they were usually blinded by means of a hood adorned with little bells.
138
Ellen, surrounded by the hounds and with the falcon on her hand, is likened to Diana, the goddess of the chase, in Greek mythology.
139
“Royal ward,” i.e., under the guardianship of the King, Douglas’s chief enemy.
140
Feud.
141
Flattering.
142
See Introduction, p. 13.
143
A tributary of the river Tweed, on the Scottish Border.
144
A tributary of the river Tweed, on the Scottish Border.
145
Hillsides.
146
A tributary of the river Tweed, on the Scottish Border.
147
A tributary of the river Tweed, on the Scottish Border.
148
A sheep pasture.
149
“Your counsel,” etc., i.e., I would have your advice in the emergency I indicate.
150
See Note [99], p. 55.
151
Enough.
152
The windings of the river Forth: hence the inhabitants of that region.
153
Stirling Castle, on the Forth, below the junction of the Frith, was a favorite residence of the Scottish kings.
154
The startled dreamer.
155
“Battled fence,” i.e., battlemented rampart.
156
Astounded.
157
Conflicting.
158
“Checker’d shroud,” i.e., his tartan plaid.
159
Rocky highland or mountain.
160
An officer or secretary who attended closely on the chieftain (from hengst, or “horseman,” i.e., groom).
161
Passport.
162
See Note [166], p. 78.
163
“Ventures happ’d,” i.e., adventures which happened.
164
Those who.
165
“What time,” i.e., when.
166
When a chieftain wished to assemble his clan suddenly, he sent out a swift and trusty messenger, bearing a symbol, called the Fiery Cross, consisting of a rough wooden cross the charred ends of which had been quenched in the blood of a goat. All members of the clan who saw this symbol, and who were capable of bearing arms, were obliged to appear in arms forthwith at the appointed rendezvous. Arrived at the next hamlet, the messenger delivered the symbol and the name of the rendezvous to the principal personage, who immediately forwarded them by a fresh messenger. In this way the signal for gathering was disseminated throughout the territory of a large clan in a surprisingly short space of time.
167
The ritual or religious ceremony with which the Fiery Cross was made.
168
Mountain ash.
169
“Frock and hood,” i.e., the usual garments of monks or hermits.
170
“That monk,” etc., i.e., the impending danger … had drawn that monk, etc.
171
A mountain near the head of Loch Lomond.
172
The Druids were the priests among the ancient Celtic nations in Gaul and Britain. They worshiped in forests, regarded oaks and mistletoe as sacred, and offered human sacrifices.
173
Sheep pen.
174
Bird.
175
Black letter, the name of the Old English or modern Gothic letters used in old manuscript and early printed books.
176
Mysteries.
177
A malicious spirit supposed by the superstitious Scotch people to inhabit lakes and rivers, and to forebode calamity.
178
A fairy supposed to indicate coming death or disaster by her lamentations.
179
Sounds of the same foreboding character.
180
Curse.
181
The ritual referred to in Canto III. was all prepared.
182
About eighteen inches.
183
The Isles of Nuns in Loch Lomond, and place of burial of the descendants of MacGregor.
184
Struck.
185
“Scalp,” etc., i.e., summit the accents heard.
186
Scorched; charred.
187
Upon the recreant who failed to respond to the “dread sign” of the Fiery Cross.
188
A ravine of Benvenue supposed to be haunted by evil spirits.
189
The Pass of the Cattle, above Coir-Uriskin.
190
A meadow at the western end of Loch Vennachar.
191
The shoes or buskins of the Highlanders were made of this hide.
192
Hunting.
193
State of mind.
194
Bushy.
195
An estate between Lochs Achray and Vennachar.
196
The Scottish wail or song over the dead.
197
Full bloom.
198
The side of a hill which the game usually frequents.
199
Trouble.
200
The name of a dog.
201
Behest; summons.
202
The valley in which Loch Lubnaig lies.
203
Season.
204
Tombea and Armandave are names of neighboring farmsteads.
205
Tombea and Armandave are names of neighboring farmsteads.
206
Those composing the bridal procession.
207
Not knowing.
208
Blaze of the heather, which is often set on fire by the shepherds to facilitate a growth of young herbage for the sheep.
209
Noise; bustle.
210
A powerful Lowland family (see Note [91], p. 52).
211
A powerful Lowland family (see Note [91], p. 52).
215
See Note [188], p. 87.
216
Stillness.
217
Silvan deities of Greek mythology, with head and body of a man and legs of a goat.
218
Stops; checks.
219
Hail, Mary! The beginning of the Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary.
220
“Down of eider,” i.e., the soft breast feathers of the eider duck.
221
Wild.
222
“Boune” itself means “ready” in Scotch: hence its use here is tautology.
223
“Inured to bide,” etc., i.e., accustomed to endure privations, the warrior may withstand the coming storm.
224
Command; order.
225
An old Highland mode of “reading the future.” “A person was wrapped up in the skin of a newly slain bullock, and deposited beside a waterfall, or at the bottom of a precipice, or in some other strange, wild, and unusual situation. In this situation he revolved in his mind the question proposed, and whatever was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination passed for the inspiration of the disembodied spirits who haunt the desolate recesses.” —Scott.
226
South of Loch Lomond.
227
Foot soldiers.
228
Without injury.
229
Cut up.
230
Emblazoned.
231
A sword.
232
Black band in the coat of arms of the Earls of Mar.
