Slang in Iron

• Food: Pottage, horse bread, caudle (drink made with heated milk)
• League: the distance someone could walk in about an hour
• Go thy way – goodbye
• Good morrow – good day
• Lambkin – term of endearment, little lamb
• Demesne – part of the lord’s manorial lands reserved for his own use.
• Destrier – a warhorse led by the right hand
• Justices in Eyre – the people that travel throughout Iron and carry out the king’s justice.
• Feudalism - ystem of governing whereby semi-autonomous landed nobility had certain well defined responsibilities to the King, in return for the use of grants of land (fiefs) exploited with the labour of a semi-free peasantry (serfs)
• Treasurer – financial officer
• Chancellor – emperor’s secretary
• Heir apparent – declared heir to the throne
• Heir presumptive – assumed heir to the throne when there is no declared heir in the case the king dies
• Justiciar – head of the royal justice system and the king’s viceroy during his absence of the country
• Knight – a knight is granted a parcel of land by their higher noble lords in return for swearing loyalty as their vassals. Traditionally an Iron Knight is born of noble blood and trained for knighthood from a young age. Upon completion of their training, they are sworn in and receive the Iron Knight title, then they are granted a small parcel of a House’s land in return for loyalty, protection, and service. A child starts their knighthood training at age seven when they become a page. They are turned over to the care of the castle’s lord and begin a training regime with huntsmen and falconers, and academic training with witnesses. They carry and clean armor, saddle horses, pack baggage. Then, when the page turns 14, he becomes a squire. Sworn in on a sword by a witness, continues training with their weapon, and is allowed to own armor. Required to master the seven points of agility: riding, swimming and diving, shooting different types of weapons, climbing, participation in tournaments, wrestling, fencing, long jumping, and dancing all while wearing armor. At age 21, the squire is eligible for knighthood. Ritual bath or prayer vigil under the Burn for the ceremony. They swear an oath of fealty to their lord and are knighted by the master of ceremony. A squire could be eligible for knighthood early for exemplary service. Only on very rare occasions would a non-noble be knighted, such as Iqhawe of no tribe. Chivalry is very important for knights. All knights wear the heavy full plate iron armor of Iron, and ride horses. They wear long capes attached to their plate that hold their House insignia they are sworn to.
• Man-at-arms – a man holding land in return for military service.
• Bannermen – A House’s bannermen are their soldiers sworn fealty to the House, recruited by the House’s Knights and Lords. They usually have other jobs, but are to be called upon for military action.
• Tithe – one tenth of a man’s produce and income due as a tax to support the church
• “To call a spade a spade”
• “To sink or swim” – the water ordeal, practice of judging whether a person was innocent or guilty by casting him or her into a lake.
• A red letter day – all feasts are marked in the calendar in red.
• Hue and Cry – If you see a crime being committed, you are obliged to raise hue and cry, that is to make noise and shout, to warn the rest of the community.
• Throw down the gauntlet
• To Curry Favour –
• A baker’s dozen – thirteen
• The apple of one’s eye – a much loved person or thing
• Hither: here
• Privy
• Prithee/Pray thee: please
• Anon: later on
• Wind-sucker: jealous person
• Mayhap: maybe
• Thither: there
• Bellytimber: food
• Morrow: morning, day
• Woodness: madness or insanity
• Kiss the hare’s foot: to miss dinner and be left with the scraps
• Nose of wax: a fickle personality
• Beauteous: beautiful
• Keak: to cackle
• By my troth: I promise
• Going to siege: to go to the bathroom
• My peerless paramour: my sweetheart
• Ethos spade you: have a nice day
• Fare thee well: have a nice day
• I cry your mercy: beg your pardon
• Gramercy: thank you, or to denote surprise
• A plague upon thee: screw you
• Sot: A drunk
• Hedge-born: low-class
• Cock/Prick: Dick
• Cunt: Vagina
• Plough/Sex: Sex
• Harsh swear words quite common:
• Gropecuntelane: where the prostitutes hung out
• Piss lane, arse street
• By a whore’s cunt
• Shiny like a lord’s arse
• As hard to get into as a lady’s cunt / as easy to get into as a whore’s cunt
• Bastard
• Foot licker
• Lice-infested
• Malcontent
• Ox-bottomed
• Poxridden
• Peasant
• Insults and Slang in a Medieval Setting - Advent of the Mists (adventmud.org)
• Religious ones held more impact:
• By Ethos’ spear!
• Burn take you
• Your soul is shriveled and small
• Soulless!
• Soul Eater take you: big insult to wish that the person doesn’t get to go to the Burn
• Gods be damned! (Ethos and Ydall)
• Solly Scum/Savage – referencing Soleri.
• Flight of Ethos – the path your soul takes as it rises to the Burn.