Pasha

GLOSSARY

amain

with intent of force and vigour

apoplexy

a stroke

arabesque

in the ornamental Arab style of Baghdad, Samarkand, etc.

baldric

leather sling over the shoulder to suspend the scabbard

Balkans

southeast Europe; the general geographic area lying between Italy and Turkey

barge

boat of slight and spacious construction for use of the captain or admiral

becket

small piece of rope with a knot in one end and an eye in the other to keep an item confined

belfry

ornamental shelter for the ship’s bell forward

blashy

dirty weather, miserable and wet, not strong enough to be called a storm

broadside

the entire side of a ship; in gunnery, all the guns on that side

bulwark

the raised edge of the upper deck

capstan

rotating device operated with long bars to lift heavy weights

coach

a frigate captain’s quarters consist of a great cabin, with a bedplace and coach where ship’s administration was performed

convoy

ships sailing in company provided with an escort

corvette

flush-decked, three-masted armed vessel smaller than a frigate

cuirass

soldier’s breastplate

cutter

a ship’s boat, broader and deeper than a pinnace

devoir

an act of civility and respect due another

Divan

highest council of state under the sultan; courtly poetry

Dons

the Spanish

dragoman

an interpreter and adviser of Levantine languages

earnest, an

money in advance as a goodwill gesture

encomium

formal expression of warm praise for services completed

escritoire

writing desk with compartments for accessories, often highly ornamental

escutcheon

a shield or other containing armorial bearings

fo’c’sle

forecastle: upper deck above the bow section; in the merchant service the enclosed space below where seamen mess

gregale

northeasterly gale in the Mediterranean; St Paul was wrecked by one on his way to Rome

guardo

an unfair move on a landman; as in a guardship for receiving press-gang victims

gun-room

in a large ship, the gunner’s abode; in a frigate, the officers’ dining and mess room

hospodar

vassal Slavic ruler in the Ottoman Empire

instanter

that very moment; schoolboy Latin

Janissaries

sultan’s elite household troops

kedge

an anchor light enough to be taken to a distance by a boat to allow the ship to haul itself up to it

knittles

the small clew-lines from the edge of the canvas converging in an eye for slinging the hammock

landau

graceful open carriage with facing seats

loom

the shaft of an oar

luff

the edge of the sail closer to the wind; also, slang for lieutenant

magazines

storeplace for gunpowder

Nizam-i Cedid

new army established following reforms of Sultan Selim III

ostler

one employed at a hostelry or stable to look after horses

Pasha, Bey, Efendi

Ottoman honorifics in descending order

Peace of Amiens

peace that separated the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic war that followed

pennant

a long narrow flag; not to be confused with pendant

pilot

one with local nautical knowledge as an adviser; also an authoritative printed guide

piping the eye

crying, as in a child

poilu

term of endearment for French infantryman similar to “Tommy”

posset

spiced drink of hot milk curdled with ale

post-chaise

fast horse-drawn closed four-wheeled carriage

posy ring

ring with inscribed words

preventer tackles

rigged to prevent a spar taking charge in a blow

quarters

after the ship is cleared for action, the men close up at quarters for battle

reefer

midshipman

Reis-ul Kuttab

essentially the Ottoman foreign ministry

riband

ornate ribbon used in military decorations

scabbard

the sheath of a sword or bayonet

seraglio

strictly, the living quarters of the harem (wives and concubines), generalised to harem today

sextant

navigational instrument with a 60° arc, used for determining latitudes

shab

shabaroon; disreputable and unreliable

sky hook

mythical device for hoisting higher than the masthead

slasher

cutlass; barkers and slashers-pistols and cutlasses

spar

general term for mast, yard, boom, etc.

staysail

a triangular sail hoisted on the stays between the masts

stopper

to check or hold fast one rope by means of another

Sublime Porte

term for the state apparatus for receiving foreign

envoys in the Ottoman Court

tarpaulin officer

officer who started as a common seaman

Tobias Smollett

early picaresque novelist of the sea; see

Roderick Random

trusties

those men trusted to return to the ship if given liberty

Ulema

body of Islamic scholars in counsel to the sultan

victuals

provisions for the ship’s company

weigh anchor

to raise it clear of the seabed, metaphorically to start a voyage

yamak

auxiliary soldier in the Ottoman Army

zindiq

infidel, heretic

JULIAN STOCKWIN was sent at the age of fourteen to TS Indefatigable, a tough sea-training school. He joined the British Navy at fifteen, transferred to the Australian Navy when his family emigrated, and saw active service in Vietnam. A teacher and an educational psychologist, he was commissioned into the Royal Naval Reserve and awarded the MBE. Retired from the RNR with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he now lives in Devon, England.

>WILL KYDD LAY SIEGE TO THE ANCIENT CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE?

Thomas Kydd and the crew of L’Aurore bid farewell to the balmy waters of the Caribbean. Once home, Kydd finds his exploits are the talk of London and he and his best friend and confidential secretary, Nicholas Renzi, must part ways for good.

When British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Charles Arbuthnot, reports that the French (in an attempt to secure a vital passage to India) have been whipping up anti-English sentiment and actively wooing the Turks; Kydd is sent to the Dardanelles.

Braving treacherous currents, unreliable winds, and giant bombards, Kydd rescues the ambassador. But as the fleet waits for a response to their ultimatum, the French help strengthen Turkish defenses and an attempted coup lands Renzi in prison!

Bir gul mu var bu gulsen-i ‘alemde harsiz

(Does any bloom, in this rose-garden world, lack thorns?)

– Divan poetry from the court of Sultan Selim III