One Knight Stand
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Background Notes - Common Medieval Terms
🕑 Added 2025-03-06 13:14:09 +0000 UTCOr atleast medieval-style terms that get used in historical/fantasy settings enough that they hopefully won't leave the reader going "wtf is that?" Some of these terms tend to pop up in old Arthurian lore quite a bit.
Alack!/Alas! : oh no!
Anon: (see you) later
Belike: maybe, perhaps
Chide: to scold or nag
Churl/Churlish: impolite or mean-spirited person, implying low birth
Coat/Cote of arms: heraldic design often on shield, tabard, or surcoat
Comely: pretty
Cutpurse: thief
Damask: fancy fabric (woven + patterned, often silk or fine linen)
Doxy: prostitute
Ere: before
Ermine: stoat, its fur is often used in high quality clothing (ie "a long cloak lined with ermine")
Fie: a curse (fie upon you = damn you!)
Girded: encircled with belt (often used for belting on a knight's sword)
Hark: listen, pay attention
Heraldry: pageantry, armorial design or insignia
Hither: here
Huzzah!: a cheer (whoo!)
Indeed/In Truth: really
Irascible: hot tempered
Jest: joke
Knave: deceitful fellow, implying low birth
Knight: (usually) high born warrior sworn to the service of a royal, noble, or religious order
Looby: fool
Marry!: an exclamation of shock
Mayhap(s): perhaps
Men-at-arms/Man-at-arms: sworn soldier
Morrow: days or tomorrow
N’er: never
Ostler/Hostler: one who takes care of equines (particularly at inns & waystations)
Oft: often
Page: young servant attendant to nobility, first step in being trained as a knight
Parchment: old-style paper made from untanned animal skins
Parti-coloured Cloth: clothing quartered or split in half with different colors or designs (popular late medieval style)
Perchance: maybe, possibly
Poppet: a doll, a young child
Pray tell: please tell me
Privy: bathroom (outhouse)
Serf: a peasant
Sommat: something
Squire: younger attendant to a knight, second step in becoming knight
Steward: supervisor of the lord's estate
Surcoat: outer garment with insignia worn over armor (to help identify warrior)
Sweeting/sweetling: pet name for both lovers and children
Tabard: short sleeveless coat, often displaying coat-of-arms when worn by knights
Thee: you (singular objective)
Thine: your (used before word beginning with vowels or h or without following noun)
Thither: there
Thou: you (singular subjective)
Thy: your
Thyself: yourself
Tosspot: drunkard
Vellum: higher quality parchment, often made from calfskin
Vexed: annoyed
Wassail!: cheer/toast/drink to the health of something
Wench: a young woman
Wolfess: archaic term for she-wolf
Wherefore: why?
Ye: 1 - you (plural subjective) 2 - the (ie ye olden times)
Yonder: over there
