Medieval Word of the Day

Sou: A French coin of little value

Medieval Word of the Day

Pommel: A counterweight, usually in the shape of a circle or ball, at the top of the handle (hilt) of a sword or dagger, often intricately decorated; derived from Latin word for “little apple”

The circular top of this sword is the "pommel"

(Thank you to Arms & Armor for this image)

Medieval Word of the Day

lèse majesté: Literally “injured majesty”; a crime such as treason committed against the king

Go to Google Translate, type lèse majesté under French and click on the little "listen" iconto hear how to pronounce this phrase.

Medieval Word of the Day

Wardrobe: A medieval wardrobe could be a free standing closet like this:

(courtesy of Early Oak Reproductions)

But in Dangerous Favor, "wardrobe" refers to a room or (for a king or great noble) a series of rooms in a castle that housed his robes, jewelry, and other personal valuables (including spices!), as well as cash and important documents; the King’s Wardrobe included his personal treasury

Medieval Word of the Day

Seneschal: Official in a medieval household responsible for the supervision and management of a nobleman’s estates

Medieval Word of the Day

mesnie privée: A lord’s inner circle of most trusted knights, specifically those who travel together with their lord to fight in tournaments and wars

I don't know if this king and his companions are riding off to a tournament, but they might be!

If you'd like to know how to pronounce this phrase, go to Google Translate, type mesnie privée under French and click on the little "listen" icon

Hug a Medievalist Day: Winner!

Are you all having a wonderful Hug a Medievalist Day? I hope you've remembered to do just that. (Hug a medievalist, that is.)


Random.org just drew the winner of my Hug a Medievalist Day giveaway, and the winner of Walk with Danger is....Kari Pike! Kari would like to hug William Tyndale. Considering the fiery end he came to, he could probably have used a few hugs!


Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway! 


Until next year...huzzah!

Medieval Word of the Day

Embrasure: The space between two merlons on a castle wall

Embrasure is another word for crenel. Click on the word merlon above to see an example of merlons and crenels/embrasures.

Medieval Word of the Day

Unlike my previous novels, which took place in Poitou, Dangerous Favor takes place in Normandy.


Normandy: A region of northern France bordering the English Channel, ruled by Henry II of England during the Middle Ages; assigned inheritance of Henry’s eldest son, Henry, the Young King (along with England and Anjou)

Rouen: Capital of Normandy

You can see Normandy on this map directly across the channel from England (D. of Normandie)

Medieval Word of the Day

Sennight: One week (from seven nights) 


Fortnight: Two weeks (from fourteen nights)

Medieval Word of the Day

Refuge: Roped off areas set apart on a tournament field for knights to rest or rearm during the combat; also called recets

Hug a Medievalist Day 2012

Last year, I completely missed Hug a Medievalist Day (this font is called trebuchet, which was a medieval siege engine similar to a catapult, so it seems appropriate to use it here) although we did hold a belated giveaway. This year I'm on top of this extraordinarily important date! We're celebrating here at Medieval Research with Joyce by giving away one of my all time favorite medieval novels, Walk with Peril, by D.V.S. Jackson. If you haven't read my review of this book, you can read it here.

Walk with Peril has long been out of print, but I've snagged an old used copy and I'm giving it away for Hug a Medievalist Day! This giveaway is going to work pretty much the same way last year's did: to enter, leave a comment telling me name of the medievalist you would most like to hug on Hug a Medievalist Day. It can be an actual figure from medieval history, a fictional character (like Robin Hood), a character from a medieval novel, a favorite teacher who taught you about the Middle Ages, a favorite character at your local *Renaissance Festival, or even your favorite *RenFest day companion (husband, sister, brother, child, friend). I'll give you an extra entry if you begin your comment with the word "Huzzah!"

(*I'm including Renaissance Festivals because that's the closest excuse some of us can find to play medieval dress up!)

Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win!

The deadline is midnight PST on Hug a Medievalist Day, i.e., March 31. The winner will be drawn by Random.org.

USA entries only.

HUZZAH!

(Join Hug a Medievalist Day on Facebook and/or follow on Twitter)

OFFICIAL RULES:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

USA entries only

Entrants must be 18 years or older

Entries may be left in a comment or sent via email to jdipastena@yahoo.com

Winners will be selected on March 31. Winners have 48 hours to respond to an email notifying them of their win.

Prizes not claimed within 48 hours will be reawarded

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW

Medieval Word of the Day

Mêlée: A mock battle between two opposing teams of knights that formed the tournament of the 12^th Century

One on one jousting had not yet become popularized in the 12th century. The mêlée, with two groups of knights basically crashing at each other over an artificial battlefield, was the norm. Think "team sports!"

Chaos like in the picture above was the order of the day in the medieval mêlée. Only you weren't supposed to stab anyone's eye out, so that one knight there is being very bad. Although accidents did happen and some knights were killed, that was never the goal. You wanted to capture your opponent and hold him for ransom. Tournaments were intended to be practice for real battle, when stabbing opponents' eyes out would have been perfectly legal.

Medieval Word of the Day

In my new medieval romance, Dangerous Favor, my heroine, Mathilde, grants a favor (hence my title) to my hero, Etienne, before he enters a tournament. What is a favor, you ask?


Favor/Token: Trinkets that ladies awarded to knights to denote him as her “champion” in a tournament; favors/tokens might include handkerchiefs, girdles, tassels, sleeves, gloves, scarves, ribbons, etc; these favors/tokens were worn in the knight’s helmet or about his arm and might be kept after the tournament or returned to the lady. 


Here is a picture of a lady tying a favor around a knight's arm.

(God Speed, by Edmund Blair Leighton)

Medieval Word of the Day

Destrier: A knight’s war horse 

(From Papy Martial Alias Centurion)