Catherine, Called Birdy: December–January

by Karen Cushman
In medieval England, an unconventional teenage girl records events in her daily life, including her attempts to thwart her father's plans to marry her off.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: September, October, November, December–January, February, March–April, May–July, August–September
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. peddler
    someone who travels about selling wares
    People were packed all around the church square, villagers and strangers, priests and children, peddlers and players, and hawkers selling every kind of food and drink.
  2. hawk
    sell or offer for sale from place to place
    People were packed all around the church square, villagers and strangers, priests and children, peddlers and players, and hawkers selling every kind of food and drink.
  3. tread
    a step in walking or running
    And in the rear marched hundreds of soldiers in battle dress, without a smile or a wave for us, without a sound, except for the slow measured tread of their boots.
  4. pomp
    ceremonial elegance and splendor
    Gerd and I ran home, trembling with fear that the king had died, for who else would be taken to London with such a company, such pomp, and such grief?
  5. sodden
    wet through and through; thoroughly wet
    Because of the rain he arrived so sodden and beslombered with muck that I did not know him.
  6. profanity
    vulgar or irreverent speech or action
    Thomas says the king and the people of his court have chosen each his own special profanity so that they don’t have to say “Deus!” or “Corpus bones!” or “Benedicite!” as we ordinary folk do.
  7. hermit
    one retired from society for religious reasons
    9TH DAY OF DECEMBER, Feast of Saint Wolfeius, first hermit in Norfolk
  8. deliverance
    recovery or preservation from loss or danger
    I see no deliverance.
  9. truss
    tie the wings and legs of a bird before cooking it
    Morwenna threatens to truss me like a goose and dump me in the river if I continue in my quest for the perfect profanity.
  10. modesty
    freedom from vanity or conceit
    So I grew quite lively and talkative, bubbling with praise for our chests of treasure and untold acres and countless tenants and hoards of silver and for the modesty that prompted my father to hide his wealth and appear as a mere country knight.
  11. prompt
    serve as the inciting cause of
    So I grew quite lively and talkative, bubbling with praise for our chests of treasure and untold acres and countless tenants and hoards of silver and for the modesty that prompted my father to hide his wealth and appear as a mere country knight.
  12. dowry
    money brought by a woman to her husband at marriage
    Poor Fire Eyes tumbled down the stairs from the solar, hands over his head, and rolled across the hall floor to the door and out while my father bellowed from above, “Dowry! Manors! Treasure! You want me to pay you to take the girl? Dowry? I’ll give you her dowry!”
  13. comely
    very pleasing to the eye
    And as the comely young man ran across the yard on his way to the stable and freedom, a brimming chamber pot came flying from the solar window and landed on his head.
  14. acquitted
    declared not guilty of a specific offense or crime
    19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, Feast of Saint Nemesius, acquitted of theft but executed for being a Christian
  15. sham
    make a pretense of
    Thomas and his friend Ralph acted out the battle of the holly and ivy, arguing over who God loved best, bickering in high voices and shamming a tournament of plants.
  16. mull
    heat with sugar and spices to make a hot drink
    We also had herring pie, fried milk, onion and mustard omelette, turnip soup, figs stuffed with cinnamon and hard-boiled eggs, mulled pear cider, and more.
  17. gilt
    having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
    I was very stirred when John Over-Bridge carried in the gilt star on a long pole, which the three wise men and the shepherds followed to the Holy Manger.
  18. anoint
    administer an oil or ointment to, often ceremonially
    I anointed it with a paste of sow bugs, moss, and goose grease, although he said he suffered more from the stink than from the pain of the burn.
  19. leprosy
    communicable disease characterized by wasting of body parts
    31ST DAY OF DECEMBER, Feast of Saint Sylvester, the pope who cured the emperor Constantine of leprosy.
  20. smitten
    marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness
    William Steward grew smitten and made flowery speeches to her, but we put snow down his pants to cool his passion.
  21. flowery
    marked by elaborate rhetoric and elaborated with details
    William Steward grew smitten and made flowery speeches to her, but we put snow down his pants to cool his passion.
  22. joust
    a combat between mounted knights tilting against each other
    Walter is going to the king to complain and there may be a joust between them at the next tournament, though no one stole it after all—it fell into the rushes. Should I tell? I would dearly love to see that joust.
  23. friar
    male member of a religious order originally relying on alms
    I told the story of the time Perkin and I dressed his smelliest goat in his granny’s other shift and let it loose in the church while a visiting friar was preaching about the terrors of Hell.
  24. renounce
    turn away from; give up
    26TH DAY OF JANUARY, Feast of Saint Paula, a Roman widow who became a Christian, renounced all amusements, and went to visit the hermits in the Holy Land
  25. patron
    someone who supports or champions something
    29TH DAY OF JANUARY, Feast of Saint Julian the Hospitaler, who accidentally killed both his mother and father and in his grief and remorse built a hospital for the poor. Patron of innkeepers, boatmen, and travelers
Created on Wed Aug 14 14:31:19 EDT 2019 (updated Wed Aug 14 15:35:46 EDT 2019)

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