Cart and Cwidder (UK)

by Diana Wynne Jones

  Grand Father, the most respectful of the titles of the One, possibly derived from the fact that most kings and many earls claimed to be descended from the One.

  Great Girl (or boy), Lawschool slang for the pupil who comes top in the oral examinations held just before Midsummer.

  Great Ones, the term for the Undying in the Holy Islands.

  Great Uprising, the name for the countrywide revolution in Dalemark which brought Amil the Great to the throne. The Uprising began in the North around Kernsburgh and, almost simultaneously, in the South in the city of Holand, where a mob stormed the palace of the Earl and then had to fight a bloody battle with soldiers hastily sent by Dermath and Waywold. In the North a number of lords and earls who did not at once side with the rebels were killed or forced to go overseas.

  Green roads, the system of highways said to have been made by King Hern. They remained for many centuries, being remarkably well engineered, never steep, despite running through the peaks of North Dalemark, and deliberately grassed for ease of travel by horseback. Many people believed that the Undying made and maintained the green roads, particularly as they continued to exist long after the main centres of civilisation had moved down to the valleys. The roads were used as drove roads and by those who wished to travel quickly from dale to dale, until Alk took them over as railways in the reign of Amil the Great.

  Gregin, Alk’s valet in Aberath in North Dalemark.

  Grittling, the traditional ball game of the Lawschool at Gardale.

  Guilds, organised companies of craftsmen and merchants in South Dalemark. Most guilds were formed at the time of the Adon, when the men of many trades realised that the South was becoming increasingly estranged from the North, while the Southern earls grew ever more powerful. Almost every trade, including the Singers, took hasty steps to obtain the protection of the law, usually by petitioning the Adon for a Royal Charter, so that in after years the earls could not easily disband them. The guilds generally kept a low profile, looking after their own members and the widows and orphans of members, training apprentices, educating children, saving money and paying taxes promptly. They had considerable power and were suspected by the Southern earls to be quietly financing the various uprisings, though nothing was ever proved.

  In the North guilds were almost unknown.

  Gull, eldest son of Closti the Clam and Anoreth of the Undying, the only one of Closti’s sons to go to the wars. Gull was captured early in the fighting by the Heathen invaders and interrogated by the mage Kankredin, who returned him to his own side little better than an idiot. Gull is thought to be the same person as the Southern hero Gann, and if this is the case, it seems that Gull did eventually recover from Kankredin’s treatment of him.

  Guns were invented at the time of the Adon but never much used in North Dalemark. The South used guns extensively, although they were forbidden to all but earls, lords and their hearthmen. The early guns were clumsy and inaccurate and used mostly for sport until Hobin invented the rifled barrel, which had a spiral groove down the inside that caused the gun to shoot far more accurately. There was then a rush to buy guns. Waywold and Canderack drove a thriving trade smuggling guns to the North.

  Gunsmiths’ Guild, to which Hobin belonged, together with all other gunsmiths, was a very sober and respectable body of men who, in fact, spent the majority of their meetings laying careful plans for the Great Uprising.

  Hadd, the angry and tyrannical Earl of Holand in South Dalemark who, after a lifetime of injustice, quarrelling with Earl Henda, terrorising his family, and overtaxing and suppressing his subjects, was murdered at the Sea Festival by an unknown marksman.

  Halain, a spy for the Earl of the South Dales who had infiltrated the freedom fighters in Neathdale in South Dalemark.

  Halian Tan Haleth, Lord of Mountain Rivers, is an old name for Tanamil. A legend about him was woven into the rugcoat given by Anoreth to Closti on their marriage but is otherwise unknown.

  Halida, the wife of Keril, Earl of Hannart, who was born a poor relation of a lord in Canderack in South Dalemark. When Keril was taking part in an uprising in South Dalemark as a young man, Halida helped him escape capture and fled North with him.

  Haligland, a country on the other continent, peopled by emigrants from prehistoric Dalemark several centuries before the reign of King Hern. Once in Haligland, they developed a clan system, a science of magery and a religion of the One. Modern Haligland is an oil-rich republic, still with a clan system and a fanatical religion, but one which denies vehemently any connection with the uncanny.

  Ham, the partner and mate of Siriol aboard the Flower of Holand. Ham’s full name, like so many in Holand, was Alhammitt. He was a large, good-natured, unintelligent man who was killed in the violence following the storming of the palace in Holand during the Great Uprising.

  Hammit, a South Dalemark name, one of the many abbreviations of Alhammitt.

  Hand organ, a musical instrument with pipes, bellows and keyboard, like a very small church organ. It had a sweet, piping tone, strong enough to be heard above the noise of a crowd. The player carried the organ on his or her right arm and pumped it with the left hand while playing the keyboard with the right.

  Hands to the North, an unknown group of secret freedom fighters in Holand in South Dalemark. They were quite possibly invented either by Harl Haddsson as cover for his attempt to assassinate Earl Hadd or by Harchad Haddsson as an excuse to pull down buildings to give his assassin a clear shot at Earl Hadd.

  The Hanging of Filli Ray, a popular ballad about a young outlaw who was hanged for having the temerity to court a lord’s daughter. The version sung in the South concluded with the arrival of the Earl, who reveals, too late, that Filli Ray is his son. In the North it is the King who arrives too late.

  Hannart, the leading earldom of North Dalemark, famous for its music, its flowers, its buildings and the frank, outspoken nature of its people, and reputed to be the first civilised area of Dalemark. Certainly some of the buildings in the town of Hannart itself are thought to date back to the days of King Hern. Throughout much of history Hannart stood for freedom, justice and opposition to the South and its ways. Its heyday was from the reign of the Adon to that of Amil the Great, when it was also a centre of learning, but it became steadily less important from the time of the Great Uprising until it passed by marriage into the royal family and was adopted by the Crown Prince as his country retreat. Nowadays Hannart is mostly famous as a beauty spot and for the remains of the giant steam organ at the north end of its dale.

  Harchad, second son of Earl Hadd of Holand in South Dalemark, head of Hadd’s secret police and master of his spies, said to be the cruellest man in Dalemark.

  Hardimers, the name given to disciplinary officers at the Gardale Lawschool.

  Harilla Harlsdaughter, eldest girl cousin of Hildrida and Ynen and betrothed at an early age to the Lord of Mark by her grandfather, Earl Hadd.

  Harl Haddsson, the eldest of the Earl of Holand’s three sons, a fat and seemingly indolent man, who became Earl of Holand for a year following the death of Hadd, during which time Holanders took to saying that Earl Hadd was preferable. He was killed when the mob stormed the palace in Holand during the Great Uprising.

  Harvest, the Northern term for the Autumn Festival.

  Headman, the leader or chieftain of a village in prehistoric Dalemark. The office combined the functions of major, priest and judge and was usually handed down from father to son.

  Hearthmen, a privileged band of soldier companions sworn to a lord or earl and personally responsible to him only, who lived in their hearthlord’s mansion with him and formed a private army when need arose. A lord was also said to be the hearthman of the earl who was his overlord if he had sworn to follow the earl to war. In the South of Dalemark hearthpeople were always men, but many lords and earls of the North swore in women too. The maintaining of hearthpeople was forbidden by royal decree in the reign of Amil II.

  Heathens, emigrants from Haligland who i
nvaded the prehistoric kingdom of Dalemark and eventually intermarried with the natives. They brought with them their women and children and the mage Kankredin and his college of lesser mages, intending to settle, and introduced to the country both the worship of the One and many magical practices that were previously unknown. Their main, disastrous invasion is described in the spellcoats, but it seems certain that small boatloads of Heathens had been arriving for decades previously, compelled by the harsh conditions in Haligland to find better living and possibly inspired by legends of their former home in the Riverlands.

  Henda, Earl of Andmark in central South Dalemark, a violent and paranoid man who spent much of his time quarrelling with the Earl of Holand and lived in constant dread of plots from the North. He was beheaded by his own hearthmen during the Great Uprising.

  Herison, Lawschool slang meaning “the right to start grittling until the next full moon”.

  Hern, the second son of Closti the Clam and Anoreth of the Undying, who became the first known King of Dalemark. Most of what is known of him is legend, like the story of his defeat of the mage Kankredin, but numerous laws, customs and sayings are said to be his, and it is fairly certain that he founded the city of Kernsburgh, moving the seat of the throne there from his early base in Hannart and constructing the system of roads now known as the green roads or the paths of the Undying.

  The name Hern means “heron”.

  Hestefan, one of the travelling Singers, of whom little is known beyond the facts that he befriended both Dagner and Moril Clennensson and became a follower of Noreth of Kredindale during her bid for the crown of Dalemark.

  High Mill, a village twenty miles northeast of the port of Holand, on the rising ground towards Dermath, well known as a beauty spot.

  Highside, the dormitory house at the Gardale Lawschool to which Hildrida Navissdaughter belonged.

  High Tross, one of the islands of the Holy Islands, so called from its high and rocky outline.

  Hildrida Navissdaughter, one of the company who sailed North to Aberath in the yacht Wind’s Road, granddaughter of Hadd, Earl of Holand, betrothed to Lithar, Lord of the Holy Islands, at the age of nine. After spending several years at the Lawschool in Gardale, Hildrida was able to annul this betrothal, and practised as a law-woman in the North Dales until Amil the Great appointed her Warden of the Holy Islands upon her marriage. Hildrida seems to have preferred living in Kernsburgh, however, where she became a leader of fashion and notorious for her quarrels with her stepmother, Eltruda.

  Hildy, the pet name of Hildrida Navissdaughter.

  Hobin, known as Bloody Hobin, the elder of two brothers devoted in different ways to freedom fighting. He was born in Waywold in South Dalemark of a family which seems to have been secret hereditary guardians of the kingstone, and he became a brilliant and innovative gunsmith, highly respected by his guild and much in favour with the earls of Holand, Waywold and Dermath. He then moved to Holand, where he married Milda, Mitt’s mother, and bided his time, building up a hidden stock of weapons and an organisation of sober revolutionaries like himself, until word came from the North that Amil the Great had seized the crown. Hobin sensed the time was ripe and at once led a massive revolt in Holand, which spread to Dermath and Waywold and rapidly became a bloodbath. Hobin killed so many people, many of them innocent, that Amil himself was forced to intervene. It was said that Hobin shot himself rather than submit to a King. This may be true, but the story that he shot his wife and daughters at the same time is probably a fabrication.

  Hoe, a village on the rising ground west of Holand in South Dalemark.

  Hoe Point, the second major landmark for ships sailing northwest out of Holand. Sailors took care to know it well because a strong current flowed northwards from there.

  Holand, the leading earldom of South Dalemark, a sizable city, a flourishing seaport, and the seat of Earl Hadd, situated in the extreme south of Dalemark.

  Hollisay, one of the Holy Islands, named from the number of holly bushes that grow there.

  Holy Islands, a scatter of islands in the bay between the Point of Hark and Carrow Head, famous as a haven for shipping. The islands are home to a strange, fey people and full of legends of the Undying. They are part of the King’s Lands and owe no allegiance to any earl, but in the long interregnum between the Adon and Amil the Great they were regarded as part of South Dalemark and claimed by whoever was the strongest earl. Amil the Great rectified this by appointing a Warden of the Islands and spent much time there himself helping Ynen Navisson build his new fleet and experiment with steamships.

  Holy Isle, the centremost island of the Holy Islands and rightly named. Only those who are meant to go to it can find it.

  Honker, Ganner Sagersson.

  Horsehair drums, traditional crude drums made of horsehide with the hair still on it, beaten loudly at the Holand Sea Festival, probably because Old Ammet was thought to govern the wild horses of the sea.

  Horses of the sea were said to belong to Old Ammet and to appear galloping round a ship that was doomed.

  Hurrel, Lawschool slang for a big push at grittling, a real scrimmage.

  Incantation, a measured alliterative way of speaking, passed down from Singer to Singer and only used on the most solemn occasions.

  Irana Harchadsdaughter, one of Earl Hadd’s many grandchildren, cousin of Hildrida and Ynen, betrothed at an early age to Agnet, third son of the Earl of Waywold in South Dalemark.

  “I sent the hidden death …”, one of Kankredin’s two chief mages, who seems to have had no name apart from the boastful spell woven into his gown.

  “I sing for Osfameron, I move in more than one world” are the words inlaid in Moril Clennensson’s cwidder in the old writing, by which the cwidder describes itself. Compare Tanaqui’s weaving. It is possible these words cause the cwidder to behave as it does.

  Island people, the inhabitants of the Holy Islands who are something of a race unto themselves, being small and brown, with dark eyes and pale hair. Their singsong accent is unlike any other in Dalemark. They are said to be remnants of the first people ever to settle the country.

  Isle of Gard, the ruling island of the Holy Islands where the Lord’s mansion and the main fleet are.

  “I tortured the beast …”, one of Kankredin’s two chief mages, known only by the words woven in his gown.

  Jay, herald and captain to the King of the Riverlands. Jay seems to have started as a minor, though trusted, herald, but he distinguished himself in the wars with the Heathens, when he lost an arm and endeared himself to the King by his cheerfulness, and became the favourite of the King in exile.

  Jenro, a Holy Islander, coxswain aboard the flagship Wheatsheaf.

  Jolly Holanders, a sea shanty that was known and loved all over South Dalemark.

  Justice, an essential part of the corrupt legal system of South Dalemark before the reforms of Amil the Great. A justice was appointed and paid by an earl and did the earl’s bidding, sitting as a magistrate and hearing only such cases as interested his employer or could bring the justice himself a bribe. The South had no access to the Lawschool of the North, and justices seldom had any legal training. They had to rely on their clerks, who were equally corrupt, to tell them what the law was.

  K at the beginning of a personal name was only used in North Dalemark. In the slurred and softer dialect of the South a K becomes either C (pronounced KH) or H. For instance, the Southern form of the name Keril is Harl; or there are sometimes two forms of a Northern name, as in the name Kialan, which appears in the South both as Collen and as Halain.

  Kanart, an Earl of Dropwater killed in battle during the Adon’s wars.

  Kanarthi, the conjectured Northern form of the name Cennoreth.

  Kankredin, an evil magician, sometimes called the mage of mages, who accompanied the Heathen invaders from Haligland, intending to use them to help him usurp the power and position of the One. Kankredin was himself of the Undying and had increased his powers by magically passing through
death, which made him virtually impossible to kill. Though legend claims that King Hern overthrew him, Kankredin appears again in stories long before the time of the Adon and was later said by the North to be the cause of all the evils in the South. It is claimed that Amil the Great frustrated an attempt by Kankredin to take over the North too.

  Kappin, Lawschool slang for fighting to hold the team’s position.

  Karet, a hearthman of Aberath.

  Kars Adon, son of Kiniron, who became clan head and High Lord after his father died in the invasion of prehistoric Dalemark. Though Kars Adon was barely fifteen and crippled from birth, he was held in great honour by all his subjects. This was partly due to the custom of the clans, but mostly to the character of Kars Adon himself.

  Kastri, the Adon’s son by his first wife and ancestor of Earl Keril of Hannart, who accompanied his father and Manaliabrid into exile.

  Ked, a lowborn member of Clan Rath, aged about eight, who had a bad reputation as a liar.

  Keril, Earl of Hannart, descended from the Adon and generally considered the most influential man in North Dalemark. As a young man he had high ideals and set out to free the South by helping in an uprising. The rebellion failed, and Keril had to be rescued and smuggled North by Halida, whom he married. He arrived back in Hannart to find his father dying and himself with a price on his head in the South. This seems to have given Keril a strong distaste for revolution of the violent kind. As an earl he supported the Southern freedom fighters surreptitiously, with money and advice, apparently hoping for a peaceful political solution, no doubt with himself as chief negotiator, for he possessed a lively and devious political mind. Unfortunately this same deviousness caused him to miscalculate gravely in the case of Navis Haddsson, and he had, as a result, to watch the gradual fading of Hannart as a power in the land.

  Kern, the Northern form of the name Hern.

  Kernsburgh, the capital city of Dalemark, situated nearly at the centre of the country. Kernsburgh was founded by King Hern and flourished for many centuries until the kingship shifted to Hannart, Canderack and elsewhere, after which it fell into ruins. At the time of the Great Uprising it was little more than grassy humps in the ground. Amil the Great’s first act as King was to rebuild Kernsburgh, and from then on the city grew continually, to become the seat of government, centre of commerce and international metropolis it is two hundred years later.