I am still drinking breakfast coffee so posting continues for a while.
"...by temperament, he was a benedict, not a womanizer." (The Shield of Time, p. 271)
What is "a benedict"? My lap top does not recognize the word without a capital initial.
"...he drew up a stool in front of a large ambry..." (p. 272)
What is an ambry? I have reread The Shield of Time innumerable times but have read past these two words and simply not noticed them before. I am confident that rereading with sufficient attention generates much new material for blogging.
The ensuing paragraphs are a historical summary of King Roger's military campaigns, necessary background material for Anderson's fictional narrative but again difficult for the reader to retain. We can either skip past the details or study them closely and supplement them with other reading. It is not only the logic of time travel that seems to be endless but also the author's extensive historical knowledge and understanding.
Last night, we watched The Young Montalbano, set in modern Sicily.
8 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
This is how THE RANDOM HOUSE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (1973) defined the word "benedict": "1. a newly married man, esp. one who has been long a bachelor. 2. a married man."
Sean
Sean,
Thank you. Not finding it online, I did not think of trying our Chambers Dictionary!
Paul.
It's almost certainly a reference to the character Benedick in Shakespeare's *Much Ado About Nothing*, who marries after long having said he'd always be a bachelor.
"... if ever the sensible Benedick bear it [the 'yoke' of matrimony] ... let me be vilely painted; and in such great letters as they write, *Here is good horse to hire*, let them signify under my sign, — *Here you may see Benedick the married man*." Act I, Scene I
Hi, David!
Interesting, that the use of the word "benedict" which I quoted from the RANDOM HOUSE DICTIONARY goes back to one of Shakespeare's plays.
I assume the Chambers dictionary has a similar definition to the one I quoted.
Sean
David,
Thank you. What a total surprise.
Sean,
No. Chambers lists "benedict" only as an adjective meaning "blessed" or "benign."
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Darn! In that case, the way Poul Anderson used "benedict" is probably becoming so obscure that dictionaries no longer use the definition I found in the RANDOM HOUSE DICTIONARY.
And, of course, Benedict has been the name of 16 popes.
Sean
Sean,
I really thought that it was a reference to the celibacy of St Benedict. And I never expected to find "benedict" as an adjective.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
In one sense, you are correct. Recall how Poul Anderson used the word "benedict": "...by temperament, he was a benedict, not a womanizer." That can also mean being celibate, as well as a bachelor.
Sean
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