Benito Cereno Glossary

Glossary of Terms

Abraham's tent

Genesis 18. Abraham's tent is said in the Bible to be open to all visitors; it is a symbol of hospitality, contrasting with the San Dominick

ague

fever

appurtenances

accessory objects

Ashantee

i.e. Ashanti; a people of southern Ghana

battledored

beaten as though by battledores, which are like small tennis rackets with taut leather instead of strings.

berth

place to sleep on a ship

Black Friars

Monks of the order of Saint Dominick, who wore black robes.

bravoes

henchmen, assasins

Caffre

A Black African; also spelled Kaffir or Kafir; considered offensive.

Canary

a wine from the Canary Islands

Cape Horn

The southernmost point of South America

Charles V

Holy Roman Emperor, 1519-36; also King of Spain as Charles I, 1516-36. Retired to a monastery.

Chesterfieldian

Associated with Philip Stanhope (1694-1773), the fourth earl of Chesterfield, who declared that in governing the world's affairs the appearance of morality is more important than the fact of morality. The narrative here demonstrates Delano's simplicity, as "at once Christian and Chesterfieldian" is an oxymoron.

Christopher Colon

Christopher Columbus (1451?-1506), the explorer who made landfall in the "New World" in 1492 under the flag of Castille. His original name and nation are unknown.

City of Kings

Lima, the Spanish colonial center of South America

congé

ceremonious bow

cravat

necktie

cuddy

small cabin

custom house

An official establishment in which vessels and their goods are recorded and cleared.

drule

drool

ebon

poeticization of ebony

Ezekial's Valley of Dry Bones

A vision described in Ezekial 37:1-28.

fag-end

British slang, refering to a cigarette butt; generally, anything that is an unwanted or useless end, in this case, the frayed end of a cable

Freemason

Associated with the Free and Accepted Masons, a secret order with arcane rituals.

Gordian Knots

The Gordian Knot is part of the mythology associated with Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.E.). Alexander is said to have visited Gordium, where there was a famous knot so complex that no one could untie it. As a response to the challenge posed by the knot, Alexander simply cut it with his sword. The Ammon were a Biblical people living along the Jordan river, closely related to the Israelites.

Guy-Fawkish

Associated with Guy Fawkes, (1570-1606), who attemped to execute the Gunpowder Plot (1605) to blow up the English Parliament, thus hoping to incite a Catholic rebellion.

headsman

executioner

heavers

short wooden bars

hidalgo

member of the lower Spanish aristocracy

huzza

huzzah, shout of joy

in specie

in coin

intriguante

one who intrigues

James the First of England

1566-1625, reigned Scotland 1567-1625. Famously squeamish.

Johnson and Byron...Barber and Fletcher

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), critic, author, lexicographer, was one of the most important literary figures of England in the eighteenth century. He was famously attached to and generous towards his black servant, Francis Barber. George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) is one of the most famous Romantic poets. He too was attached to his black servant, William Fletcher.

junk

old, useless rope

malacca

an Asian palm

marlingspike

spike used for spearing marlins

matin

early morning

missal

a book containing what is said at Catholic mass on any given day

Mungo Park

1771-1806. A Scottish explorer of the African continent.

noddy

albatross

Nubian

An inhabitant of Nubia, a region associated with the ancient kingdom of the same name, which spread from southern Egypt to northern Sudan along the Nile.

oakum

rope fibers loosely twisted and combined with tar to make caulk

parterres

ornamental gardens with walks between flower beds

poop

an enclosed structure at the ship's back, above the main deck

Preston Pans

In 1745 the English army was defeated by the Scottish (also known as the Highlanders) at the Battle of Preston Pans.

punctilio

precise observance of social niceties

ratlin

commonly called a ratline; a horizontal rope used as a ladder for climbing aloft

reconnoitre

to make a preliminary survey, especially for purposes of attack

Rothschild

A line of famous financiers of the nineteenth century were named Rothschild.

salver

serving tray

San Dominick

The name of the ship refers to both the order of Saint Dominick, which was the monastic order in charge of the Spanish Inquisition, and to the island of Santo Dominigo, on which a slave rebellion took place in 1799 (also the time setting for "Benito Cereno").

saya-y-manta

Spanish; a woman's robe that reveals only her face

scullion

scullery maid; does kitchen work

settees

long couches

soundings

measurements of depth

spars

the round wooden poles used to support rigging on a ship, such as masts, booms, etc.

stu'n'-sail

studding sails; extra triangular sails raised alongside the large rectangular sails, used to get the most out of light winds

surtout

close-fitting overcoat

tar

sailor; short for tarpaulin

tocsin

alarm bell

toilet

dress, appearance

trades

trade winds

transom

horizontal boards in the stern of a ship

vice-regal

representing the king's authority

wen

abnormal growth or cyst

whale-boat

long, narrow rowboat used for hunting whales

whiskerando

a facetious term for a Spanish old man

windlass

a machine for hoisting or hauling