Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village: Mogg–Edgar

by Laura Amy Schlitz
Through vivid verse monologues, Laura Amy Schlitz brings the diverse inhabitants of a medieval English village to life.

Here are links to our lists for the collection: Hugo–Constance, Mogg–Edgar, Isobel–Pask, Piers–Giles
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. canny
    showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
    But he was strong, and canny with his pennies: somehow he saved up enough for a cow—Our Cow.
  2. fawning
    attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
    And Mother is scraping and fawning, “If you please, sir...begging your lordship’s pardon.”
  3. meek
    humble in spirit or manner
    There’s Mother, so meek, and blind in one eye, her hair falling out, and her shift full of holes—making a fool of his lordship.
  4. vermin
    any of various small animals or insects that are pests
    Flour in the flour sack, vermin in the flour.
  5. hypocrite
    a person who professes beliefs that he or she does not hold
    We’re hypocrites and liars—and we all get fed.
  6. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    Nobody ale-drunk, nobody yelling, or hitting or jeering “Lack-a-wit.”
  7. snicker
    laugh quietly
    When they see him they whisper and snicker and throw rocks.
  8. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    My lord grandfather fought in the Crusades with Richard the Lion-Heart. He told me tales: how he spitted Saracens upon his lance, cleaved them in twain, slashed open their skulls, to save the Holy City.
  9. brawny
    possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful
    I could see myself, a brawny stallion between my knees, riding into battle.
  10. chivalry
    the medieval principles governing knightly conduct
    I would be valiant, open-handed, frank, and pure of heart, courteous—the soul of chivalry.
  11. heathen
    not acknowledging the God of Christianity, Judaism and Islam
    I would ride into battle, slash—cut—left—right—sharpen my sword on the Saracen’s throat—crush the bones of the heathen horde—all for the glory of Our Lord!
  12. scourge
    whip
    Except there is no money, and my mother says I have to be a monk—read Latin and pray, scourge myself, and sing at every Mass—and cross myself a thousand times a day.
  13. pilgrimage
    a journey to a sacred place
    We have already mentioned that medieval Christians were fond of going on pilgrimage.
  14. homage
    respectful deference
    Pilgrims paid homage to Christ by visiting Bethlehem, where He was born, and Jerusalem, where He met His death.
  15. tolerant
    showing respect for the rights or opinions of others
    Its Muslim inhabitants were tolerant of Christians and allowed Christian pilgrims to visit their city.
  16. hospitable
    disposed to treat guests and strangers with generosity
    When they captured Jerusalem, they were less hospitable: Christian pilgrims entering Jerusalem could expect to be killed, tortured, or sold into slavery.
  17. generic
    relating to or applicable to an entire class or group
    The Pope, Urban II, called for volunteers to “free the Holy City” from “the Saracens”—a generic name given to all Islamic peoples, including the Muslims who had allowed Christian pilgrims to visit Palestine in the first place.
  18. permissible
    that may be accepted or conceded
    For the first time in the history of the Christian church, people had been told by the Pope that killing people was not only permissible, but a religious duty.
  19. tedium
    dullness owing to length or slowness
    Ordinary people could escape the tedium of their everyday lives, see the world, kill Muslims, and go to heaven in the bargain.
  20. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    Since the Christians they met spoke unfamiliar languages and wore unfamiliar clothes, the Crusaders assumed they were some kind of Muslims.
  21. poverty
    the state of having little or no money and possessions
    Thirty to forty thousand children from France and Germany set off to Palestine, believing that God would favor their cause because of their faith, love, and poverty.
  22. fervor
    the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
    Another thing I wish to stress is that the Crusades were an unholy muddle of political motives, greed, savage brutality, and religious fervor.
  23. ironic
    displaying incongruity between what is expected and what is
    It is ironic, but when we say someone is a “crusader,” we generally mean he is striving to do something noble: he is trying to improve the world.
  24. qualm
    uneasiness about the fitness of an action
    ’Twas I who stole thee, two years’ hence, climbed to the heights with many a qualm, scooped thee from thy mother’s nest.
  25. callow
    young and inexperienced
    He would let thee starve and pine—a callow, shallow, pampered youth.
  26. prestige
    a high standing achieved through success or influence
    Though hawking had a practical purpose—obtaining meat for the table—this was perhaps less important than the excitement and prestige
    the sport provided.
  27. status
    the relative position or standing of things or persons
    Large birds of prey were status symbols because they were so expensive.
  28. infinite
    having no limits or boundaries in time or space
    It took time and infinite patience to train a bird for hunting.
  29. tether
    tie with a rope
    A bird would require a carefully crafted leather hood, jesses (strips of leather attached to the talons), and a leash, which tethered the bird to its perch.
  30. monologue
    a dramatic speech by a single actor
    In this monologue, Edgar is gambling that the punishment for setting Simon’s hawk free will not be more than he can bear.
Created on Thu Feb 06 20:21:12 EST 2014 (updated Thu Aug 16 14:27:23 EDT 2018)

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