The Sicilian’s Tale

This story of King Robert of Sicily is very old, as it is found among the short stories of the Gesta Romanorum written in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

17. seditious: tending towards disorder and treason.

52. besprent: poetic for besprinkled.

66. seneschal: the official in the household of a prince of high noble who had the supervision of feasts and ceremonies.

106. Saturnian: the fabled reign of the god Saturn was the golden age of the world, characterized by simplicity, virtue, and happiness.

110. Enceladus, the giant. Longfellow’s poem "Enceladus" emphasizes this reference. For the story of the giants and the punishment of
Enceladus see any good Greek mythology.