Djansha, uninformed about military matters:
"...did not know a mangonel from a supply train..." (VII, p. 115) (Scroll down.)
When she was young, her father greeted her wearing only a pourpoint. (p. 116)
Some Catalans hold two Genoese merchants to ransom for "...three thousand gold hyperpera..." (VIII, p. 118) Compare ducats and florins.
A type of boat is a "leny" with a lugsail. (p. 119) In one, Lucas sails "...up the whole Sea of Marmara..." (ibid.) and along the Bosporus to attack Pera, a district of Constantinople.
That brings me to the end of some hand written notes and I must now eat before going out. We are not yet half way through this fact-packed historical novel.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I was interested enough to look up the "hyperpyron," the reformed gold coinage introduced by Alexius I to replace the debased and discredited nomisma. Alexius' plan called for the coins to be minted weighing 4.45 grams and comprising 20.5 carats in fine gold. However, by the time of ROGUE SWORD, Andronicus II's bungling had led to the coin being minted with only 12 carats of gold.
That would explain why the Catalans demanded what otherwise seemed a fantastically large ransom from their hapless Genoese captives! To compensate for the debasing of the coins.
Ad astra! Sean
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