Now that advance review copies of Five Wounds have begun to go out, I am adding a glossary of some of the words I have used with which some readers may not be familiar.

If there is anything else you would like explaining/adding, do let me know!

Angelus – a religious devotion. In pre-Reformation England, the noonday Angelus would be marked by the ringing of a bell and workers would stop work.

attainder -the legal state of being deprived of property and titles due to a ‘taint’ from committing a capital crime

beast gate – the gates dividing pasture where animals were grazed from the wilder surrounding land

coney – rabbit, rabbit fur

dowry – the money/property given by the bride’s family to the groom’s family as part of the marriage settlement (see also: jointure)

fripperer – a seller of second-hand clothes

halberd – a weapon consisting of a long pole with an axe-like head at one end, topped with a spike and with a hook at the back

jess – string for tethering a hawk, tied round its ankles

jointure – the money given by the groom’s family to a widow after her husband’s death. Together with the dowry this would be negotiated as part of the marriage agreement.

kirtle – a dress, later worn under an outer dress called a gown

Lenten lily – daffodil (slightly smaller than our modern daffodils)

Matins – church service held in the morning

mouldwarp – mole

Purgatory – place where Christian sinners were believed to be punished after death before proceeding to Heaven

rapier – a slim, pointed sword

Vespers – church service held in the evening