Sweetmoss – A medicinal plant with antiseptic, cleansing and healing properties. It is also used to reduce fevers.
T
T’Quel – The misty entity that lies in the v-shaped valley of the northern mountains. It is a mist that is also a gateway to another world (Earth).
Tacitus – Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (56–117) was a Roman Empire historian. His two works, The Annals and the Histories, tell of the reigns of Emperors Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, from 69 AD to 96 AD.
Tanistry – This is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist was the heir-apparent among the royal dynasties and would succeed to the chieftanship or to the kingship. In addition, blood tanistry is the principle that “the most talented male member of the royal dynasty should inherit the throne, commonly by murder and war”. Because all male members of the royal clan are considered to have equally legitimate claims on power, the ruler was the person who eliminated his competitors.
Tanquelameir – Castle of Lord Arovan.
Tarna – Old Elfish for the T’Quel stones/jewels.
Tarquel River – The river that flows east to west along the foot of the mountains in which the T’Quel sits.
Taure – Ancient capital of Alfheimr, now in ruins
Taured – Capital/castle fortress of King Huor – on the south-west coast of Tauredhel (Wood Elves).
Three Irish Brothers – In 498 three brothers set out for Scotland from Ireland. The eldest set himself up as the king of the Irish colony of Dalriada. The second brother set up his headquarters at Dunollie, near present day Oban. The youngest brother sailed for the Island of Islay. The three are reported to have done this in response to a prophecy that their descendants would rule Britain forevermore.
Three Witches or Weird Sisters – These three are characters in William Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’. Their origin lies in ‘Holinshed’s Chronicles’ (1587), which was a history of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Toisiche – Scottish Gaelic word for prince or king.
Toish – (Elfish) An Elfish word for Prince. It is used by all male members of the royal house, however distant they are from the line of succession.
Torc – Of old/ancient elfish make. When worn they enable the wearer to understand languages, elfish, human and that of all creatures that are intelligent and that have a language. There are a finite number of torcs, as the elves no longer have the knowledge to make them. It is therefore, usually, only the rich elves or those of high rank who possess them.
Twelfth Century Renaissance - A movement built upon the spread of monasticism and the resultant increase of literacy in Europe. There was a burgeoning output especially in the areas of literature, philosophy, theology and architecture.
Two Dragons Legend – When the Roman Empire collapsed in the fifth century the country entered into an era of chaos and war. It is an historical period full of mystery. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote that Merlin first proved himself as a youth when a British king chose him as a sacrifice. King Vortigern was building a fort on a mountain in Wales to protect his kingdom from the invading Anglo-Saxons, but each time the fort was close to completion the foundations collapsed. Vortigern's advisors suggested that, to put things right, a boy must be sacrificed. As Merlin was about to die, he told the king that the problems were being caused by two dragons that lived in a cave underneath the fort's foundations. The pool was discovered and the dragons released. Vortigern was so impressed by Merlin's knowledge that he made him his chief advisor.
V
Vagjyrein – The Guardians of the T’Quel.
Valhalla – (Old Norse: Valholl) – Hall of the Slain. In Norse mythology this was presided over by the God Odin. The hall had five hundred and forty doors. The Valkyries, Odin's messengers and spirits of war, brought half of the heroes who died on battlefields.
Valle Crucis Abbey – It is near the town of Llangollen in North Wales. The present ruins date from around the year 1200, but a monastic building has stood on this spot since the early Dark Ages. It was here that records concerning the legend of Merlin and the two dragons were preserved to be consulted by the ninth-century monk Nennius and the twelfth-century cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth.
Vikingr – In Old Norse, this is what the Vikings called themselves. The word appears on several rune stones found in Scandinavia. In the Icelanders' sagas, víking refers to an overseas expedition (Old Norse - fara i víking "to go on an expedition"), and víkingr, to a seaman or warrior taking part in such an expedition.
Vikings – The Vikings were the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late eighth to the mid-eleventh century.
W
Whisperers – Elves who have the ability to hear thoughts and also to influence minds. It is thought that there are, at present, only about 3 or 4 alive within the Five Kingdoms.
Whithorn – Whithorn is a former royal burgh in Scotland, about ten miles south of Wigtown. The town is the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, Candida Casa.
Wielders – Elves who can make magic (the ancient magic). They used to be numerous (in ancient days) but there are not many now. Some are very powerful and others not so. Many live within the households of Kings and Lords.
Wise Ones – A group of elves responsible for the upkeep of tradition and history and for their education and promulgation.
* * * * *
Another Author’s Note - Quotes from Lord Arovan’s Book
If you are interested enough to read on, what follows will give you a rare insight into knowledge the characters do not yet have. Kirsty and Aranel only know the facts, if any, that Kirsty can remember and she won’t be able to translate all the quotes until she gets back to Scotland and can access the Internet. They’ll find out the majority of the answers in the second book, but not before they experience a few unexpected adventures and some false leads, or should I say some clues that Kirsty might interpret in an originally wrong manner?
The solution as to why Lord Arovan included these quotes in the book he gave Bob/Oropher to give to Kirsty will be revealed in the next book, ‘Enduring Barrier’.
If you wish to try out your powers of deduction, you might like to ask yourself the following questions – What historical personage is the Tathar? – Where are the four Scottish gates? – Are there English gates and, if so, how many and where? – Who are the Vagjyrein trios? – Who will be the Tathar’s successor?
The clues are all there, but remember, Lord Arovan could be wrong. However, there is information in the Glossary, which might help.
Hint – Think in threes and investigate historical disappearances!
* * * * *
The Quotes from Kirsty’s Book – in the order they were written – the quotes written in the green ink are marked with a **.
Quote (I)
(I) Cui dono lepidum novum labellum arida modo pumice expolitum?
To whom do I present this lovely new little book just now polished with a dry pumice?
Kirstvan, tibi.
Kirsty, use it well
Gaius Valerius Catullus (BC c.84 – BC c.54), a poet of the Republican period of the Roman Empire.
Quote (II)
(II)** The king sits in Dumferling toune, Drinking the blude-reid wine: ‘O whar will I get guid sailor, To sail this schip of mine?’
‘The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens’
‘Sir Patrick Spens,’ as the poem is known, was first printed in 1765 and tells a story that is based on two voyages of thirteenth-century Scots noblemen to conduct princesses over the sea. Margaret, daughter of King Alexander III of the Scots, was married to King Eric of Norway in 1281. Many people in her escort drowned on their voyage home. Her daughter, also named Margaret, was drowned with her escort on the way to become Queen of the Scots in 1290.
Quote (III)
(III)** Now fair weill Raineach, wi
th thy loch and ile, to me thow wes richt traist baith evin and morne thow wes the place that wald me nocht begyle quhen I haue bene oft at the kingis horne yit may thou ban the houre I wes borne for vncourtuuslie I quite thee thy hyre that left the birnand in ane felloun fyre.
Duncan MacGregor, executed 15th of June 1552 in Perth.
Quote (IV) (1 of 2)
(IV) O Merlin in your crystal cave
Deep in the diamond of the day
Will there ever be a singer
Whose smooth music will smooth away
The furrow drawn by Adam's finger
Across the meadow and the wave?
Or a runner who'll outrun
Man's long shadow driving on
Burst through the gates of history
And hang the apple on the tree
Will your sorcery ever show
The sleeping bride shut in her bower
The day wreathed in its mound of snow
And to me locked in his tower?
Edwin Muir (1887-1959)
Quote (II)(repeated)
(II)** The king sits in Dumferling toune, Drinking the blude-reid wine: ‘O whar will I get guid sailor, To sail this schip of mine?’
‘The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens’
Quote (V)
(V) Ni haeddid gwyr bychan ysgrythurau’r arglwydd ohonof tu hwnt Caer Wydyr ni welsant wroldeb Arthur Tri-ugen can-wr a safai ar y mur ‘Roedd annodd ymadrodd a’i gwyliadwr Tri llenwad Prydwen a aeth ag Arthur Namyn saith, ni ddaeth llu o Gaer Goludd. Ni haeddid gwyr bychan, llaes eu tariannau crwn, ohonof ni wyddant pa ddyd y crëwyd pwy pa awr o gannol dydd y genid Cwy. Ef wnaeth aradr nid aeth i ddolau Defwy. Ni wyddant hwy yr ych brych bras eu penffrwyn Saith-ugain cadwyn yn ei aerwy a phan aethom ni gyda Arthur, ymweliad galarus Namyn saith, ni ddaeth llu o Gaer Ucheldir Duw.
Those little men of the lord's scribes are undeserving of me. Beyond the Fortress of Glass none saw Arthur's valour. Three-score centuries of men stood upon its wall. It was difficult to discourse with their sentinel. Three companies of Prydwen went along with Arthur. Except for seven no host emerged from the Fortress of Hindrance. Those little men, low-slung their round-shields, are undeserving of me. They know not which day was created whom, what hour of the mid-day was Cwy born. He who made the plough, did not go to the meadows of Defwy. They do not know, the brindled oxen, broad their halters. Seven-score links in his neck-chain. And when we went with Arthur, dolorous visit. Except for seven, no host emerged from the Fortress of God's Heights
This is the poem Preiddeu Annwfn (The Spoils of Annwfn) from the Llyfr Taliesin, the Book of Taliesin. It is a poem about King Arthur, recording a raid made by Arthur and his men in the mythical country of Annwfn to get back its treasures.
Quote (VI)
(VI) Lytil Jhon and Robyne Hude
Wayth-men ware commendyd gude
InYngil-wode and Barnysdale
Thai oysyd all this tyme thare trawale.
Andrew of Wyntoun Orygnale Chroncicle (c1420)
(VI) Hear undernead dis laitl stean
Lais Robert Earl of Huntingun
Near arcir der as hie sa geud
An pipl kauld im Robin Heud
Sic utlaws as hi an is men
Vil England nivr si agen.
Obiit 24 Kal Dekembris 1247
Inscription found amongst the papers of the Dean or York and on a grave in the grounds of Kirklees Priory.
Quote (VII)
(VII) Swa cwaed eardstapa, earfepa gemyndig, wrapra waelsleahta, winemaega hryre:
So spoke the wanderer, mindful of hardships, of fierce slaughters, and the downfall of kinsmen:
The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved in a collection of mediaeval works known as the Exeter Book that dates from the later part of the tenth century.
Quote (VIII)
(VIII)** Vita Sancti Niniani
The ‘Life of Saint Ninian’ is a Christian group of writings about the lives of the saints, written in Latin in the middle of the twelfth century. It is probably largely based on the life of the early missionary Finnian whose name changed through time to Ninian. The Venerable Bede wrote that Ninian was a Briton who learnt his Christianity in Rome and that he converted the more southerly Picts, the ones who lived in what is now southern Scotland. His church at Whithorn was built from stone and painted white, unusual at that time.
Quote (IX)
(IX)C(II) Ave, colenda Trinitas; ave, perennis unitas, Pater Deus, Nate Deus,et Deus alme Spiritus. Haec tibi nunc gratuita depromimus praeconia, quae tibi sint gratissima et nobis saluberrima. Te trinum semper laudamus atque unum adoramus: tuae dulcis clementiaesentiamus munimina. O Trinitas, O Unitas, adesto supplicantibus et angelorum laudibus admitte quod persolvimus. ‘Non’.
All hail, adored Trinity; All hail, eternal Unity; O God the Father, God the Son, And God the Spirit, ever One. Behold to Thee, this festal day, We meekly pour our thankful lay. O let our work accepted be, That sweetest work of praising Thee. Three Persons praise we evermore. One only God our hearts adore; In Thy sure mercy ever kind. May we our true protection find. O Trinity! O Unity! Be present as we worship Thee; And with the songs that angels sing. Unite the hymns of praise we bring. ‘No’.
This hymn is known to have been in use in England before the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is not known to have been in use after this date. It was printed in The Latin Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church, 1851 as an anonymous Latin hymn of the eleventh century.
(IX)C(II)** 0 quanta, qualia sunt illa Sabbata, Quae semper celebrat superna curia, Quae fessis requies, quae merces fortibus, Cum erit omnia Deus in omnibus! ‘Sic’.
O what their joy and their glory must be, those endless Sabbaths the blessed ones see; crown for the valiant, to weary ones rest: God shall be All, and in all ever blest. ‘Yes’.
Peter Abelard (1079 – 1142)
(IX)C(II) Alle psallite cum luya. Alle concrepando psallite cum luya. Alle corde voto. Deo toto, psallite cum luya. Alleluya. ‘Non’.
All sing praises to God. All loudly sing praises to God. All fully devoted hearts sing praises to God. Alleluia. ‘No’.
This hymn is an anonymous three-part choral musical composition in Latin from the early thirteenth century. It is recorded in the Parisian Montpellier Codex. The lyrics are based on the word Alleluia, which is repeated throughout.
Quote (XIV)
(XIV)** St Brendan and his whole community prostrated themselves, glorifying God and saying, ‘The Lord is righteous in all His ways; and holy in all His works’. When they had finished praying, Brendan said: ‘let us take some refreshment and carry out the Lord’s “new commandment”.
I am resolved, if it be God’s will, to seek out that Land of Promise of the Saints which our father Barinthus described.
Brendan bade farewell to the body of his community, commended them to the prior’s care, and set out westwards with his group of fourteen monks to the island of a holy monk called Enda.
The Voyage of St Brendan the Abbot (c.900 AD)
Quote (XV)
(XV) Fore then neidfaerae naenig uiuurthit thonc suotturra than him tharf sie to ymb hycggannae aer his hin iongae huaet his gastae godaes arththa yflaes aefter deothdaege doemid uueorthae.
Before the inevitable journey hence, no man is wiser than is needful that he may consider, ere the soul departs, what good or evil it hath done and how it shall be judged after its departure.
History of the English Church and People, The Venerable Bede (673 – 735)
Quote (X)
(X) So Kinadius son of Alpini, first of the Scots, ruled this Pictland prosperously for sixteen years.
In the seventh year of his reign he transported the relics of St. Columba to a church that he had built.
The Pictish Chronicle. The original manuscript appears to have dated from the early years of the reign of King Kenneth II of the Scots (ruled 971-995). This is because he was the last king mentioned in the chronicle and the author did not know the date of his death.
r /> Quote (XI)
(XI) Wenn deine Mutter alt geworden
Und alter du geworden bist
Wenn ihr, was fruher leicht und muhelos
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
Quote (IV (2 of 2)
(IV) Chap. XVI. How the Britons obtained their first victory over the Angles, under the command of Ambrosius, A Roman [456 AD]
When the army of the enemy, having destroyed and dispersed the natives, had returned home to their own settlements, the Britons began by degrees to take heart, and gather strength, sallying out of the lurking places where they had concealed themselves, and with one accord imploring the Divine help, that they might not utterly be destroyed. They had at that time for their leader, Ambrosius Aurelianus, a man of worth. Under him the Britons revived, and offering battle to the victors, gained the victory.
History of the English Church and People, The Venerable Bede (673 – 735)
Quote (XIII)
(XIII) Be these things as they may, Godiva was the greatest lady in England, save two: Edith, Harold's sister, the nominal wife of Edward the Confessor; and Githa, or Gyda, as her own Danes called her, Harold's mother, niece of Canute the Great. Great was Godiva; and might have been proud enough, had she been inclined to that pleasant sin. And even then (for there is a skeleton, they say, in every house) she carried that about her which might well keep her humble; namely, shame at the misconduct of Hereward, her son.
Charles Kingsley (1819-75)
Quote (XVI)
(XVI) Yet, as we crowded through the door,
We only saw a table spread
For dinner, meat, and cheese and bread;