For Hugo’s conception of the power and position
of Spain at this epoch, see Le Rhin: Conclusion,
II, III.
L. 130. Prescott describes Philip as being habitually
grave in manner, unsocial and sombre, and always dressed
in black. The Order of the Golden Fleece was
the only jewel he ever wore.
L. 137. ’Better a ruined kingdom, true
to itself and its king, than one left unharmed to
the profit of the Devil and the heretics. ’—Correspondence
of Philip, quoted by Prescott in the History of Philip
II.
Burgos, the ancient capital of Old Castile.
Aranjuez, a town in the province of Toledo,
where Philip had a summer residence.
la toison d’or, the Golden Fleece, an
order of knighthood founded by Philip the Good, Duke
of Burgundy, in 1420.
grincer un sourire: a bold and vivid expression,
grincer meaning ’to gnash the teeth.’
gastadour, from the Lat. vastator, ravager,
despoiler.
l’Escaut, the Scheldt. The Adour
is a river in Southern France, but no ships for the
Armada came from France. One suspects the influence
of gastadour in the line above.
mestre de camp, an old term for commander of
a regiment.
L. 182. There were no German vessels in the Armada.
ourque, more usually written bourque,
is a small Dutch or Flemish cargo-boat with two masts.
It is something between the modern ketch and the old
Flemish ‘bilander’.
moco, Spanish word for ‘cabin-boy’.
Pausilippe, a promontory near Naples.
Placed by itself under the heading L’Inquisition
in the series of 1859, and preceded by the following
note:—’Le bapteme des volcans est
un ancien usage qui remonte aux premiers temps de la
conquete. Tous les crateres du Nicaragua furent
alors sanctifies, a l’exception du Momotombo,
d’ou l’on ne vit jamais revenir les religieux
qui s’etaient charges d’aller y planter
la croix.’ (SQUIER, Voyage dans l’Amerique
du Sud.)
Momotombo is a volcano in the state of Nicaragua.
E.G.Squier was an American antiquarian and author
who was appointed charge d’affaires to
all the Central American States in 1849. He does
not appear to have written any work with the title
quoted by Hugo. The passage quoted occurs in
his Nicaragua, its people, scenery, and monuments,
published in 1852. He relates in this book an
instance of a bishop being asked to baptize a volcanic
vent which had suddenly opened in a mountain!
Torquemada (1420-1489) was the notorious inquisitor-general
of Castile and Aragon, whose name has become a by-word
for relentless persecution and cruelty.
le golfe d’Otrante, between Italy and
Albania.
