— J. Huizinga: The Waning of the Middle Ages.
— Hans Talhoffer: Medieval Combat.
— Michael Walsh: Warriors of the Lord.
— George Riley Scott: A History of Torture.
Falconry:
— D. C. Phillott: Observations of Eastern Falconry.
— The Honourable Gerald Lascelles: The Art of Falconry.
Religion:
— The Holy Qur’an.
— The Orthodox Bible.
Psychology:
— Carl Goldberg: Speaking with the Devil.
— Steven Egger: The Need to Kill.
Inspirations:
— Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince (Trans. George Bull).
— Dante: The Divine Comedy (Trans. Henry Longfellow; Illustrated by Gustave Dore).
— Rumi: Poems (Editor: Peter Washington).
— The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Trans. Edward Fitzgerald).
— Bram Stoker: Dracula.
GLOSSARY
Note on language:
Wallachians would have spoken a form of present day Romanian, known as the “limba Romana” or “Roman tongue.” They would have written in Church Slavonic, the language of the Orthodox Faith, or in Latin.
“Osmanlica” was the language of the “House of Osman,” and spoken throughout the land. It was largely Turkish but with many borrowings from Arabic and Persian. For simplicity, I have rendered it without its many accents—cedillas, umlauts, etc.
“Greek” means men of Constantinople. They were not referred to as “Byzantines” at this time.
acemoglan—janissary recruit
agha—senior teacher
akincis—raiders
“bastard” sword—also known as “a hand and a half”
bastinado—stick
Bektashi—branch of Dervish Moslems
belerbey—provincial governor
bey—lord
Bisierica Domnesca—cathedral in Targoviste
bolukbasi—captain of guard
boyar—Wallachian high nobleman
cakircibas—chief falconer
caravanserai—traveler’s inn
cariye—female servant
cobza—stringed instrument
dar ul harb—Abode of War
dar ul Islam—Abode of Peace
dervish—mystical, Persian influenced Moslem
destrier—large war horse
devsirme—levy of Christian youths
doina—Wallachian song/lament
donjon—central keep of castle
effendi—gentleman, master
enderun kolej—Inner School
enishte—uncle
eyass—fledgling hawk taken from nest
falchion—wide-bladed long dagger
Fatih—the Conqueror
Frank—Turkish term for most Europeans
gazi—holy warrior
godze—chosen girl
gomlek—wool tunic
haditha—sayings of the Prophet
hamam—Turkish baths
harem—woman’s quarters in house or palace
hospodar—governor of Wallachia, warlord
imam—Muslim priest and teacher
janissary—elite solider of Turkish army; former Christian slave
jereed—javelin game on horseback
jupan—“lord”—title of great boyars
kahya—stewardess of the harem
Kaziklu Bey—Impaler Lord
kilic—sword
laladaslar—fellow students in the enderun kolej
languier—tree for snakes’ tongues (poison detectors)
logofat—Wallachian chancellor
mamluk—Egyptian military class
mescid—small mosque
Metropolitan—head of Orthodox Church, Wallachia
muezzin—calls the faithful to prayer
ney—Turkish flute
oriflame—war standard
orta—janissary company; school class
Osmanlica—language of Turks
otak—canvas pavilion
palanquin—covered carriage, often carried
pasha—highest ranking Turkish official
peyk—halberdier of the guard, with spleen removed
quillon—sword hand guard
raki—Turkish strong liquor
Roma—gypsy
saray(i)—palace
Sfatul Domnesca—Voivode’s council
shaffron—horse’s head armor
shalvari—Turkish baggy trousers
sipahi—armored cavalryman
solak—archer of the guard
spatar—cavalry commander/knight
taragot—trumpet
tellak—attendant in baths
Tepes—“Impaler”
testudo—Roman “tortoise”—a military tactic of interlocking shields
Thrace—Bulgarian Turkey
tilinca—flute
tug—horsetail war standard
tugra—sultan’s symbol—brand or seal
varcolaci—the undead
vitesji—voivode’s bodyguards
vizier—high official
voivode—warlord and ruler
vornic—senior councillor/magistrate
yaya—peasant recruits
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.C. Humphreys is the author of eleven novels, including The French Executioner, runner-up for the CWA Steel Dagger. His most recent, Vlad, has been translated into nine languages. He lives with his family on an island in British Columbia, Canada. Visit his website at www.cchumphreys.com.