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.
Courser: A warhorse known for strength and speed.
Cupola: Dome-like architectural feature often found on the roof of medieval
Serbian churches.
Dama: Term of respect for a Serbian noblewoman.
Destrier: The most valuable type of warhorse, trained for battle and tournaments.
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 contemporary people 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 town or village.
Guslar: A musician who sings and plays the gusle, a single-stringed instrument held in the lap and played with a bow.
Hauberk: A shirt of mail armor, usually with sleeves and reaching to the
midthigh.
Kral: Serbian term for king.
Lamellar: A type of body armor made from laced plates of leather, horn, or
metal.
Meroph: A 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 that was established in Asia Minor, then expanded into Europe. Murad I, the founder’s grandson, is sultan during this story. By the 1370s, many Balkan Christian rulers were vassals to the Ottomans, but Turkish control was not yet complete, nor were their rival Turkish tribes in Anatolia vanquished. 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.
Satnik: Serbian official, subordinate to the župan, with military and civil responsibilities.
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 the 1371 Battle of Maritsa, as portrayed in this novel. The Serb religion was largely Christian Orthodox, and their culture was heavily affected by both Byzantine and Italian influences.
Spathion: Type of sword common in the late Byzantine era, about three feet long with a double-edged blade.
Župa: A geographic area ruled by a župan.
Župan: Serb lord, comparable to a count.
A. L. Sowards 