Terms

Queen Mab A fantastic figure described by Mercutio as the midwife of the fairies. She travels through the night in a tiny chariot and inspires in each sleeper dreams according to their desire: lovers dream of love, courtiers of bows, lawyers of fees. The chariot's... Masked A person who goes to a masked ball wearing a mask and costume. These parties arose at the Carnival of the 15th century and became famous in Venice; in the 16th century, they were festivities with costumes common in Italy. The anonymity of the mask allowed... Pilgrim A traveler who makes, usually on foot, a journey to a sacred place. In the Middle Ages, the most common destinations were Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela, as well as places tied to saints' tombs and relics. The journey was a practice of devotion,... Friar A form of address for a friar, a member of a mendicant order who takes vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and lives on alms, usually in a convent. It comes from the Latin frater, brother. The Franciscans, founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1210, and... Cell A small room with minimal furniture, used by a monk, a nun or a hermit to live and pray. It may stand inside a monastery or convent, or be an isolated building. The first cells appeared in the Egyptian desert in the mid-3rd century, with the first Christian... Duel A combat arranged between two people with equal weapons, governed by a code of honor: one fought to obtain satisfaction and restore an offended reputation, not necessarily to kill. The first published codes emerged in Renaissance Italy, and the sword,... Banishment A punishment that expels someone from their land, without the right to return. In Roman law, exile could be an alternative to the death penalty. In medieval Italian cities it was a common sentence: the poet Dante was condemned to exile by Florence in 1302... Plague An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted mainly by fleas. The Black Death devastated Europe from 1346 to 1353, and the disease was present somewhere on the continent in every year until 1671. Fearing contagion, the sick were... Mantua City and state in northern Italy, ruled by the Gonzaga family from 1328. It became a marquisate in 1433 and a duchy in 1530, and as a duchy it was an independent state, with its own government, until 1797. Under the Gonzaga, it was one of the main centers of... Apothecary A professional who prepared and sold remedies before the pharmacist existed, in shops known as apothecaries. He supplied medicines to physicians, surgeons and patients, and also sold poisons, kept in specially shaped containers to prevent accidents. Over...