Acropolis: The heavily fortified portion of a Greek kastron.
Akincis: Ottoman irregular, light cavalry, often serving as scouts or a vanguard to the regular army.
Bogomil: A Christian group considered heretical by both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. They were sometimes punished for their beliefs by
branding on the face.
Boukellaton: A dense, ring-shaped loaf of bread baked twice and dried to give it a long shelf life. Normally eaten after being soaked in oil or wine.
Boyar: A high-ranking member of the feudal nobility in Bulgaria and other eastern European societies.
Byzantine Empire: The Byzantine Empire was the eastern half of the Roman Empire, though contemporaries did not use the term. The Byzantines referred to themselves as Romans, and their neighbors often referred to them as Greeks. Their capital was Constantinople and their religion was Orthodox Christian. By the time of this novel, their borders had shrunk significantly, but their cultural influence remained strong.
Chausses: In the context of this novel, leg armor made of mail.
Corselet: A piece of armor meant to protect the torso. It was normally hip length, with or without sleeves. Often made of lamellar in this novel’s
setting.
Courser: A warhorse, known for strength and speed.
Cupola: Dome-like architectural feature often found on the roof of medieval Serbian churches.
Dalmatica: A garment with wide, three-quarters-length sleeves and a roughly knee-length skirt, generally layered over a tunic. Could be worn by men or women.
Dama: Term of respect for a Serbian noblewoman.
Destrier: The most valuable type of warhorse, trained for battle and tournaments.
Effendi: Turkish title of respect.
Ghazi: For the purposes of this novel, the term refers to an Ottoman raider who depended on plunder for his pay. The word has a more expansive
definition outside the setting of the fourteenth-century Balkan Peninsula, but the more limited definition is used for clarity and accuracy in this
book’s historical setting.
Grad: A fortified Slavic town.
Great Mortality: The term people in this book’s setting used to refer to the plague now known as the Black Death, which swept through Europe,
peaking in the late 1340s and early 1350s.
Grody: A fortified area of a Slavic town or village.
Gusle: A single-stringed musical instrument held in the lap and played with a bow.
Hauberk: A shirt of mail armor, usually with sleeves, normally mid-thigh in length.
Ispán: Hungarian nobleman who commanded a district and had administrative, judicial, and military duties.
Janissaries: Elite Ottoman infantry. Until the seventeenth century, they were formed largely of Christian children taken from their homes and forcibly converted to Islam.
Kastron: A fortified Byzantine town.
Király: Hungarian term for a king.
Knez: Serbian term for a prince.
Kral: Serbian and Bosnian term for a king.
Lamellar: A type of body armor made from laced plates of leather, horn, or metal.
Meroph: A Serbian serf. Merophs owed labor and/or tribute to their feudal lord and to the church.
Narthex: The entrance area, antechamber, or court of an Orthodox Church.
Nave: The main part of an Orthodox Church between the narthex and the sanctuary.
Ottoman Empire: A Turkish empire established in Asia Minor, then expanded into Europe. Murad I, the founder’s grandson, is sultan during
most of this story. In the 1380s, many Balkan Christian rulers were vassals to the Ottomans, but Turkish control was not yet complete. The
Ottomans were Muslims. They saw Europe as a new frontier—a land of opportunity and destiny.
Palfrey: A horse valued for its smooth gait. Ideal for riding long distances.
Pasha: Ottoman title for a high-ranking military or civic leader.
Scimitar: A sword with a curved blade.
Serbian Empire: The Medieval Serbian Empire reached its zenith in the middle of the fourteenth century and included much of the Balkan Peninsula. It suffered serious setbacks with the death of Emperor Stefan Dušan in 1355 and a devastating loss at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371. The Serb religion was Christian Orthodox, and their culture was heavily affected by both Byzantine and Italian influences.
Signor: A polite term of address in medieval Italian cultures for men of rank.
Sipahi: Ottoman cavalryman, compensated by salary or land grant.
Spathion: Type of sword common in the late Byzantine era, about three feet long with a double-edged blade.
Spaulder: A piece of armor covering the shoulder.
Tessera: A piece of glass, stone, or ceramic that makes up a mosaic (plural:tesserae).
Timar: An Ottoman fief, or land grant, bestowed by the sultan to military or civic supporters. Timar holders drew revenues from their land and owed their allegiance and service to the sultan.
Vlach: An ethnic group in the Balkans, often shepherds during the Middle Ages.
Župa: A geographic area ruled by a župan.
Župan: Serb lord, comparable to a count.
A. L. Sowards 