Paris (pp 502–511)

Jack Shaftoe navigates the winter streets of Paris, living among Armenian merchants and observing the city’s complex social and financial hierarchies as news of a royal death arrives from England.

“selling themselves as galley-slaves, just to get warm” — In 17th-century France, being sentenced to the galleys was a brutal punishment, though the extreme poverty of the era meant the state-provided sustenance of a slave was sometimes preferable to freezing.

“the Lieutenant of Police could scan a torrent of people” — This refers to the Lieutenant General of Police, an office created by Louis XIV in 1667 to modernize urban order, lighting, and surveillance in Paris.

“sailed the first ship of coffee, ever, into Marseille in 1644” — Marseille was the primary entry point for coffee into France from the Levant, with the first commercial shipments arriving in the mid-17th century.

“nuts caught in the mangle of the Thirty Years’ War” — A devastating series of conflicts in Central Europe (1618–1648), the Thirty Years’ War involved most European powers and resulted in millions of deaths.

“family in Isfahan” — The capital of the Safavid Empire in Persia, Isfahan was a major center of global trade and home to a significant Armenian merchant community.

“Place Dauphine, which was the sharp downstream tip of the Île de la Cité” — A public square in Paris completed under Henry IV, Place Dauphine was a center of commerce and public spectacles located near the Pont Neuf.

“spang in the center of the Pont-Neuf” — The Pont-Neuf was the oldest standing bridge across the Seine and the social heart of the city, famous for its bustling street life and lack of houses.

“St. Germain des Pres, outside the walls: a large quadrangle of monks’ residences” — A powerful Benedictine monastery, the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés sat outside the city walls; its surrounding district became a fashionable site for the famous Saint-Germain Fair.

“cross the green before Les Invalides—surrounded by its own wall and moat” — Les Invalides was a complex initiated by Louis XIV in 1670 as a home and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers.

“which, in those pre-Martinet days, basically meant counting them” — Jean Martinet was a French drillmaster who revolutionized the army with rigid discipline; his name became a synonym for a strict disciplinarian.

“spent some time campaigning under John Churchill, alongside the French, in Germany” — John Churchill was a brilliant English general who served under the French before becoming their greatest adversary during the War of the Spanish Succession.

“southern part of the Marais, near the river” — The Marais was an aristocratic district of Paris known for its high concentration of “hôtels particuliers” (grand townhouses) built by the nobility.

“statue of King Looie’s dear old pop, Looie the Thirteenth—on horseback” — An equestrian statue of Louis XIII stood in the center of the Place Royale until it was destroyed during the French Revolution.

“statue of King Looie as Roman general” — Louis XIV, the “Sun King,” utilized Roman iconography to project his absolute monarchy and authority over France.

“trading-courts at Leipzig and the Stock Exchange at Amsterdam” — Established in 1602, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange is considered the oldest modern securities market, reflecting Dutch financial power.

“Four horses, all white as clouds, save for pink eyes and mottled hooves” — The description of albino horses refers to a rare genetic trait; in this era, such horses were highly prized status symbols for royalty.

“Jack proceeded crosstown to Les Halles” — Known as “the belly of Paris,” Les Halles was the traditional central market and a chaotic hub of commerce for centuries.

“Emmerdeur” — A French vulgarity roughly translating to “troublemaker,” though in this context, the Emmerdeur refers to Jack’s disguise as a “shitter” covered in filth.

“one of the latter began to play accompanying music on a cornemuse” — The cornemuse is a type of traditional French bagpipe common in folk music and street performances during the Baroque period.

“bills of exchange” — A precursor to modern paper money, bills of exchange allowed merchants to transfer large sums across borders without carrying physical gold or silver.

“maneuvered round the trundling manure-carts all the way to the Bastille” — The Bastille was a fortress that served as a state prison and armory, standing as a symbol of royal authority at the city’s eastern edge.

“To Lyons was a long journey, almost all the way to Italy” — In the 17th century, Lyon was a major European banking and silk-trading hub linking French and Italian financial markets.

“The countryside was divided up into innumerable separate pays with their own tolls” — Pre-Revolutionary France was divided into pays with complex internal customs barriers that significantly slowed domestic trade.

“headed for Genoa and Marseilles” — Genoese bankers operated a sophisticated private postal and intelligence network that often moved news faster than official state channels.