Captain Cuellar's Adventures in Connaught & Ulster A.D. 1588. / To Which Is Added an Introduction and Complete Translation of Captain Cuellar's Narrative of the Spanish Armada and His Adventures in Ireland

1.   (1) (2), (3). V.m., initials representing Vuestra merced = your worship, your honour, or sir, you.

4.  Alférez = ensign.

5.  Maesos de Campo—an obsolete form for Maestre de Campo, an ancient military officer of superior rank, who commanded a certain number of troops. In the English State Papers of that period the translation adopted for it is simply camp-master.

6.  Mayorazgos—heirs to estates, by right of primogeniture.

7.  Agravios = offences, insults.

8.  Maesos de Campo. See Note 5.

9.  Avieso = irregular, perverse.

10.  Auditor = a Judge appointed to assist military or naval officers with his advice in Law proceedings.

11.  Fiesta = feast. This is a curious use of the word.

12.  Hecho una sopa de agua—an idiomatic expression, meaning "wet through to the skin."

13.  Arca—coffer, iron chest for money. The dictionary of the Spanish Academy gives a definition of Arca, of which the following is a translation: "A large chest, with flat lid attached to it by hinges or hooks, so that it can be opened and shut, and which is fastened in front with a lock or padlock. It usually consists of plain wood without lining in the interior or covering outside."

14.  Wolves did not disappear from Ireland till the early part of the eighteenth century. There was a presentment for killing them, in the County of Cork, as late as the year 1710.

15.  This might also be translated "that I might recover in it."

16.  The part within the brackets was accidentally omitted in copying the rough draft of the original translation. Montes signifies both mountains and woods. Cuellar uses montaña to signify mountain, and montes apparently for woods. He also makes use of bosque, a wood with thick underbrush, or a thicket.

17.  Encaminaria = would guide, put in the right road.

18.  Paja—coarse grass or straw.

19.  Bosque—wood or thicket, with much underbrush.

20.  Hermosisima por todo extremo. This implies a very strong expression, consisting, as it does, of a double superlative.

21.  Poltron = poltroon.

22.  Amiga = female friend.

23.  Real—a Spanish coin, value a dollar.

24.  Jubon—doublet, jacket.

25.  Paga—literally means payment; but when applied to soldiers or sailors, as in this case, it means monthly pay.

26.  Hacienda Norte de las montañas. Norte, strictly speaking, means the Arctic pole; but, according to the Dictionary of the Spanish Academy, it is also used, metaphorically, to mean direction, or guide, in allusion to the North Star, by which navigators guide themselves with the direction of the mariner's compass.

27.  Aquellos herejes salvajes—literally, heretics, savages, both being nouns.

28.  Fortuna—generally means fortune or chance, but it also signifies a storm or tempest. It is in this latter sense that it appears to be used here; for Cuellar goes on to describe the injured state in which the ship was.

29.  Y los pasaron todos á cuchillo = and they passed them all to the knife. An idiomatic expression in Spanish corresponding to the English one, were put to the sword.

30.  Cuellar has not expressed himself clearly here, but he seems to mean that he did not oppose the blacksmith's wishes.

31.  Muy hermosa por todo extremo. This is a slight modification of a similar expression on a previous occasion. See Note 20.

32.  Corzos = roe-deer. Cervus capreolus, or Capreolus caprea.

33.  Calzas = trousers, hose.

34.  Sayos = loose coats.

35.  Pelotes = goat's hair.

36.  Mantas = blankets.

37.  Anda Santiago. This is a slang expression, meaning to attack. It is derived from the fact that Santiago was the war-cry or watchword of the Spaniards when going into action, Santiago being the patron saint of Spain.

38.  Compuestas = composed, made up.

39.  Por el agua que habia de for medio.

40.  Un trompeta = a trumpeter. This noun is both feminine and masculine, meaning, respectively, a trumpet and a trumpeter. The masculine article un shows that the noun is used here in its masculine form.

41.  Christmas.

42.  Mano de papel = a quire of paper.

43.  Cuellar uses the word courtesy on several occasions where kindness is what he seems to mean.

44.  Mass appears to have been said in the night-time, and the preparations may also have been made during the night, so that the boat might leave at daylight, and not attract too much attention.

[*].  Here the manuscript is stated to be torn and illegible.

45.  Echarnos a nado. Echarse a nado literally means to cast oneself afloat; but it has also a metaphorical signification—viz., to make a desperate attempt. As the same expression is made use of twice close together, it may be that in the first instance it was meant metaphorically; but this is by no means certain.

46.  See preceding Note.