Bohemia (pp 403–412)

Jack and Eliza settle into a volcanic valley in the mountains of Bohemia to survive the winter, using the geothermal heat of a sulfurous spring for warmth.

“digging up brittle rock that smelled like London in the Plague Years. Brimstone!” — Brimstone is an archaic term for sulfur, a common element in volcanic regions. Its association with the “Plague Years” refers to the practice of burning sulfur to fumigate homes, as the pungent odor was believed to drive out the “miasma” of disease.

“Sir Winston Churchill was not really an important man, his son John was briefly important.” — Sir Winston Churchill was a Royalist politician and historian whose primary legacy was his children. His son, John Churchill, would become the 1st Duke of Marlborough and one of history’s greatest military commanders.

“The bed of the favorite mistress of King Charles the Second of England.” — Barbara Palmer, the Duchess of Cleveland, was the most notorious of the King’s mistresses. John Churchill’s early rise in court was famously aided by his affair with her; he reportedly once had to leap out of her window to avoid being caught by the King.

“probably whined about his great loyalty during the Interregnum” — The Interregnum (1649–1660) was the period when England was a republic under Oliver Cromwell following the execution of Charles I. Royalists who remained loyal during this time often demanded lucrative positions once the monarchy was restored.

“John Churchill went to Tangiers for a few years to fight Barbary Pirates.” — The Tangier Garrison was a difficult and expensive English outpost in North Africa. It was a training ground for many English officers who fought against the Barbary Pirates, privateers who captured Europeans for the Ottoman slave trade.

“the Siege of Maestricht—a city in Holland.” — The Siege of Maastricht was a landmark of 17th-century warfare. It was here that the French engineer Vauban perfected his “parallels” system of trench warfare, which revolutionized how fortified cities were taken.

“Charles II had made a pact with, of all people, that King Looie of France” — The secret Treaty of Dover (1670) saw Charles II agree to help Louis XIV against the Dutch and eventually convert to Catholicism. In exchange, the French King provided Charles with secret subsidies that allowed him to rule without calling Parliament.

“located Monsieur D’Artagnan, the officer in ch—” — Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan was a real captain of the Musketeers under Louis XIV. He was killed by a musket ball during the Siege of Maastricht, later becoming the basis for the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers.

“Louis Hector de Villars, have performed” — Claude Louis Hector de Villars was a brilliant French general. He eventually rose to the rank of Marshal General of France, a title held by only six men in the history of the French monarchy.

“Bob went to Westphalia with him and campaigned under French generals… sacking the Palatinate” — The Sacking of the Palatinate refers to the scorched-earth policy used by French forces to prevent enemy armies from foraging. The systematic Devastation of the Palatinate horrified Europe and turned public opinion sharply against Louis XIV.

“the Grand Vizier’s before Vienna” — The Battle of Vienna in 1683 was a pivotal moment in European history. It marked the beginning of the end of Ottoman expansion into Europe after the Siege of Vienna was broken by a relief force.

“John Sobieski was not half bad” — John III Sobieski, the King of Poland, led the largest cavalry charge in history at Vienna. His “Winged Hussars” were instrumental in routing the Ottoman forces.

“Tell me how the Grand Vizier did it.” — Kara Mustafa Pasha was the Ottoman Grand Vizier who commanded the siege. After his defeat, he was executed by strangulation with a silk cord on the orders of the Sultan.

“Duke of Monmouth—King Charles’s bastard—led the charge” — The Duke of Monmouth was the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II. Though a talented soldier, his Protestant faith and royal blood would eventually lead him to lead a tragic rebellion against his uncle, James II.

“proposing to blow up the Holy Roman Emperor’s palace” — The Holy Roman Emperor at this time was Leopold I. The “palace” refers to the Hofburg in Vienna, which the Ottomans attempted to reach by digging tunnels and planting massive mines beneath the city walls.

“If you could find me a length of sound, unbroken deer or sheep intestine” — This refers to early contraception. Stephenson’s annotation: ‘Condoms were made of animal gut at the time. They were often called “French letters” by the English and “English capotes” by the French.’

“I’m trying to locate a certain chakra” — The mention of a chakra reflects the 17th-century interest in “Oriental” philosophy. As trade with the East grew, European intellectuals began to encounter Indian concepts of anatomy and energy, though they often conflated them with Western alchemy.

“ancient clocks that are as big as houses… Death comes out and does a fandango” — Large astronomical clocks were wonders of the age. They featured “automata”—mechanical figures that moved on the hour—often depicting a “Danse Macabre” where a skeleton representing Death would ring a bell or dance.