revenger: one who takes vengeance
rich-guarded: richly embroidered
roarer: one who swears a lot; a loudmouth, bully, roisterer
ruffler: sturdy beggar or rogue claiming to be an ex-soldier
runagate: vagabond, fugitive, renegade
rutter: navigators’ chart showing prominent coastal features; or a swindler
scarlet whore of Babylon: Roman Catholic church (as seen by Protestants)
sconce: (1) small fortress; (2) lantern or candlestick with screen to keep from wind; (3) a bracket candlestick fixed to the wall
scryer: crystal-ball gazer, fortune-teller
scutes: small fishing boats
searcher, Searcher of the Dead: pathologist (person appointed to view dead bodies and to make report upon the cause of death)
seminary: Catholic priest from one of the European seminaries
smock: (1) shift or under-petticoat; (2) wench, derogatory term for a woman
snaphaunce: early flintlock weapon from Germany
snout-fair: handsome
solar: upper room with large window to let in sunlight
sotweed: tobacco-worth its weight in silver, says the seventeenth-century historian John Aubrey
souse: pickled pork, especially ears and trotters
sovereign: gold coin of varying values up to thirty shillings
stairs, water-stairs: landing stage on river
stayed him: stopped him in his tracks
stew: brothel
Stilliard, Steelyard: London premises of the Hanseatic merchants, from German
stomacher: ornamental covering for chest or abdomen, worn under the lattice of a bodice (also called foreparts)
stones: testicles
stow you: shut up
stranger: foreigner, immigrant
strumpet: loose woman
subtlety: exquisite, sugary dish, often ornamental
sumpter: packhorse or mule; beast of burden
swain: young man; a lover or suitor, particularly rustic
swive: to copulate
tables: backgammon
tallow: cheap, smelly, smoky candle wax made of sheep fat
tilt-boat: large rowing boat with an awning (tilt)-a river taxi
tipstaff: sheriff’s officer; constable or bailiff
Tom o’Bedlam: madman or ex-inmate of Bedlam
tow: strands of flax, hemp, or jute used in torches
toy: (1) trifle or small object; (2) whim
trencher: large, flat plate of wood
trillibub: bag of guts, entrails
trug: slut, whore
trugging-house: brothel
turnkey: jailer, gaoler
unspotted lamb of the Lord: a Puritan
vaulting-house: brothel
verinshe: superior tobacco from Venezuela
viol: stringed instrument of five to seven strings, played with a bow
wainscot: paneling
wanton: lascivious, immoral
wattle, wattlework: twigs and poles for building; wickerwork. Used with daub.
wheel-lock: matchless gun. A serrated steel wheel is spun against a plate-the resultant sparks ignite the gunpowder.
wherry: light rowing boat used to ferry goods and people on rivers; a large river barge
whittawer: a glover, one who works with white leather
Winchester geese: prostitutes (Southwark, where many whores plied their trade, was largely owned by the Bishops of Winchester.)
wink at: to overlook an indiscretion
wit: cleverness
yard: male member
About the Author
After a career in national newspapers, Rory Clements now lives with his family in an old farmhouse in Norfolk, England, and writes full-time.
