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Chapter XIV Summary
Chapter XIV Summary
As a parting gift Master Palaemon gives him the sword Terminus Est, and Severian also takes the brown book. His presence on the bridge causes a disturbance, so he is interviewed by a lochage.
TERMINOLOGY
TERMINOLOGY
baldric - contrary to instincts, this is not a man named Richard who has no hair on his head. A baldric is a wide belt worn over one shoulder to support a sword.
hydragyrum - quicksilver or mercury.
quaesitor - an official who signals the carnifex to begin his task.
Moira - Greek term for one's personal fate, destiny. A sacred lottery; luck as an instrument of the Increate.
paterissa - a staff topped with a cross.
thalamegii - large, richly decorated barges used for luxurious water travel, ceremonies, floating parties, and the like.
bartizan - a turret or small tower that clings to a wall or other structure because it has no foundation itself.
extern - a foreigner; one born on Urth outside of the Commonwealth.
flageolet - a small wind instrument similar to a recorder.
peltast - a moderately armored foot soldier with a shield armed with a short spear or javelins
lochage - the commander of a unit of one hundred men
cuirass - hardened leather armor that covers the body from neck to waist.
Talarican - just some exhultant.
Ascians - the invaders of the Commonwealth from the north.
POST READING THOUGHTS
POST READING THOUGHTS
Those peltasts are something. They have transparent shields and blazing spears. Sounds like something our of William Blake. Anyway, it is a fine example of the juxtaposition of antiquity and the far-flung future that this book offers.
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