Anne of Geierstein; Or, The Maiden of the Mist. Volume 1 (of 2) Read online

  EDITOR'S NOTES.

  (_a_) p. 3. Laupen and Sempach. The former battle was fought in 1339,and resulted in a triumph of the city of Berne over the neighbouring_noblesse_. Sempach (July 9, 1386) was the famous victory of Uri,Schwyz, Unterwalden, and Lucerne over a much larger force of Austrianchivalry. Leopold III. and Arnold von Winkelried fell in this action.

  (_b_) p. 6. "A large body of whom had long since invaded the ForestCantons." This foray was called the English, or Gugler, war (1374-75).Enguerrand (Ingelram) de Coucy, husband of Isabella, daughter ofEdward III., was endeavouring to gain some towns in the Aargau, whichhe claimed through his mother, Catherine, daughter of Leopold III.,who fell at Sempach in 1386. Many Englishmen served under Enguerrand:they were routed in the Entlibuch, in 1375, by the men of Lucerne,Schwyz, Berne, and Unterwalden.

  (_c_) p. 65. "The war of Zurich." Civil war, mainly arising from theconquests and ambitions of the Cantons, broke out in 1436, and, withintervals, lasted till 1450. Zurich renounced the Hapsburg alliance,and most of her lost lands were restored by her opponents, theConfederates.

  (_d_) p. 86. "The Chapel of St. Jacob." Zurich was defeated at St.Jacob, on the Sihl, in 1443. There was also a battle near the Leperhospital of St. Jacob on the Birs, on August 26, 1444.

  (_e_) p. 100. "_Usum non habeo._" The reference, of course, is toDavid's refusal of armour before his duel with Goliath.

  (_f_) p. 113. "The Duke of Burgundy's possessions in Alsatianterritory." A history of these complex matters cannot be written in anote to a romance. The reader who is anxious for information mayconsult Mr. Kirk's "Charles the Bold," vol. ii. book iv. ch. iv.(London, 1863). Mr. Kirk supplies an interesting defence of Hagenbach,and does not believe in a spontaneous popular insurrection, caused byhis tyranny. The intrigues of Louis XI. receive the credit, ordiscredit, of the whole affair, which culminated in the ruin ofBurgundy. The Swiss declared war "simply as the strong, intelligent,hired bravoes of a foreign potentate, too weak, too timid, or toocrafty to strike with his own hand."

  (_g_) p. 214. "Double gangers." This is the appearance described andcriticised by Mr. Kirk in his "Secret Commonwealth" (1691) as "TheCo-Walker." The learned author explains that we have all our spiritualshadows in the "Secret Commonwealth": it is these which are sometimesseen when the real human being is not present. The end of the"Co-Walker" is that he "goes to his own herd." Goethe is said to haveseen his own co-walker, and the same experience occurred to a livingperson of the Editor's acquaintance, in the open air, where no mirrorcould account for the hallucination. Even the sceptical Lucretiusadmits the existence of such apparitions, which he explains by whatKirk calls "exuvious fumes." The passage is not very intelligible,because the author's ideas were not very distinct.

  (_h_) p. 299. "A tall man, attired in red." The headsman was, in fact,"a short man with a short sword," the executioner of Colmar (Kirk,"Charles the Bold," ii. 240). Hagenbach was racked four times beforehis death. "Schilling confesses that a general sympathy was excited byHagenbach's Christian-like demeanour." His real name was Peter. Mr.Kirk endeavours to "whitewash" Hagenbach. As that unfortunate hero had"a gaunt countenance deeply caved between the jaw-bones, and restlesssearching blood-shot eyes" ("Vitae SS. Gervasii et Prothasii," 1506),we may presume that his character was unamiable.

  ANDREW LANG.

  _May 1894._

  GLOSSARY.

  =Abye=, to pay the penalty of, to atone for.

  =Aigrette=, a plume of feathers.

  =Alembic=, an old chemical apparatus or vessel, used for distilling.

  =Astucious=, astute, shrewd, cunning.

  =Baaren-hauter=, a nickname for a German private soldier.

  =Ban-dog=, a large fierce dog.

  =Banneret=, a standard-bearer.

  =Banquette=, the walk behind the parapet of a fortress.

  =Barbican=, the outwork defending the gate of a fortress.

  =Bartizan=, a small overhanging turret or projecting parapet.

  =Brache=, a kind of sporting dog.

  =Braggadocio=, a blusterer, a boaster.

  =Caftan=, a long robe worn by men in the East.

  "=Cour pleniere=," in ancient French history a gathering of all a king's vassals.

  =Cresset=, a large kind of candlestick for holding a small fire or illuminant.

  =Dalmatic=, =dalmatique=, a long ecclesiastical robe.

  =Diet=, the national assembly.

  =Doomsmen=, all who gathered at the doom, or great popular court of the ancient Scandinavians.

  =Dorf=, a village.

  =Double-ganger=, =Doppelgaenger=, a spectral counterpart of a living person.

  =Earth-shoot=, a landslip.

  =Emprise=, feat, enterprise.

  =Espadon=, a long heavy sword.

  "=Fain, to make one=," to please, to give pleasure or joy to.

  =Faustrecht=, the right claimed by the petty barons of the Empire to wage private warfare.

  =Folter-kammer=, a torture-chamber.

  =Gammon=, a smoked ham.

  =Gauds=, trinkets, ornaments.

  =Gear=, business, affair; property.

  =Geierstein=, vulture-stone.

  =Graffs-lust=, the count's delight.

  =Hauberk=, a shirt of mail.

  =Hauptman=, a captain.

  =Hundred=, an old subdivision of the English counties.

  =Kreutzer=, a German copper coin, worth one third of a penny English.

  =Lammer-geier=, the bearded vulture.

  =Landamman=, the chief magistrate in a Swiss canton.

  =Landvogt=, a bailiff.

  =Lanzknecht=, a German mercenary soldier.

  =Largesse=, a free distribution of money.

  =Leaguer=, a camp.

  =Losel=, a slothful person.

  =Lyme-hound=, a large dog.

  "=Maen Gorsedd=," the stone of the British bards.

  =Mail=, a trunk.

  =Mainour=, a thing stolen, discovered in the hands of the thief.

  =Malecredence=, mistrust.

  =Merlin=, a kind of hawk, formerly trained to hunt game birds.

  =Minnesinger=, a poet-minstrel of mediaeval Germany.

  =Montero-cap=, a horseman's scarlet cap of fine Spanish cloth trimmed with fur.

  =Morisco=, a Moor of Spain.

  =Palmer=, a pilgrim to the Holy Land.

  "=Par amours=," forbidden love.

  =Partisan=, a kind of pike or halberd.

  =Peltry=, skins and furs of wild animals.

  =Pight=, pitched, placed, fixed.

  =Ptisan=, a decoction of barley.

  =Rigadoon=, a dance with a peculiar hopping step.

  "=Roba di guadagno=," profitable goods.

  =Romaunt=, a story or tale in verse.

  =Saltire-wise=, two lines crossing one another diagonally like a St. Andrew's cross.

  =Samite=, a textile made of gold cloth or satin.

  =Schlaf-trunk=, a sleeping-draught.

  =Schwarz-bier=, black beer.

  =Schwarz-reiter=, a German mercenary horse-soldier

  =Seigniory=, the right of ownership vested in a feudal superior or lord.

  =Shaveling=, a priest.

  =Soothfast=, true, worthy of belief.

  =Stoup=, a drinking-cup.

  =Strappado=, a cruel form of military punishment.

  =Strick-kind=, the child of the cord--the prisoner on trial before the Vehmic Tribunal.

  =Switzer=, a native of Switzerland.

  =Thane=, intermediate between a freeman and a noble.

  =Treillage=, trellis-work.

  =Vail=, to doff, to lower, to
take off.

  =Verjaembt=, condemned by the Vehmic Tribunal.

  =Vestiary=, a room for keeping vestments.

  =Visne=, venue, the place where a law action can be tried.

  =Wapentake=, an old subdivision of the English counties.

  =Warrand=, a defender.

  =Wassail=, ale or wine sweetened and flavoured with spices.

  =Welked=, marked with protuberances or ridges.

  =Wimple=, a shawl worn by women out of doors.

  =Wroge=, =Vroge=, lists of offences that called for the attention of the court.

  =Yung-herr=, =Jung-her=, =Junker=, a young man.

  =Zechin=, a Venetian gold coin, worth from 9_s._ to 10_s._

  END OF VOL. I.

  _Printed by_ BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. _Edinburgh and London._

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  Transcriber's note:

  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

  Inconsistent spelling, hyphenation, and capitalization (e.g. hisgrace/Grace) in the original document have been preserved.