[28]Nicomedia was the capital of Bithynia. It was the residence of Diocletian, Constantine, and other Roman emperors.
[29]“Giaour,” a Turkish word, meaning “infidel.” It has also an added signification of contempt and hate, and was applied by the Turks to designate adherents of other religions than Mohammedanism.
[30]The handjar, an obsolete weapon, was a sword with very broad blade, and leaf-shaped. It was sometimes used as a projectile.
[31]“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.” Matthew x, 29.
[32]The Templars were a military order, taking their name from the temple of Solomon, where they had their early headquarters in Jerusalem. The order was founded in 1118, and its object was to protect pilgrims on the way to the shrines in the Holy Land. They spread rapidly and rose to great power; but after being charged with heresy, immorality, and other offences, the order was suppressed by the Council of Vienne in 1312.
The Knights of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem were organized early in the twelfth century. The order was a religious and charitable body, and was also semi-military in character. Associations which trace their origin to this order are still in existence, among them the “Johannites” in Germany, and the Knights of St. John in England.
[33]This was the Teutonic Order, or Teutonic Knights of St. Mary’s Hospital at Jerusalem. Its name is derived from a German hospital founded at Jerusalem in 1128. It at one time played an important part in the political history of northern Europe and it had much to do with the spread of Christianity and German national life. About all left of the order now is a semi-religious knighthood in Austria presided over by an archduke, which was restored in 1840, after Napoleon suppressed the whole order (1809).
LIFE STORIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
BIOGRAPHICAL ROMANCES
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY
GEORGE P. UPTON
A new, interesting, and very useful series that will be found especially
suitable for school libraries and for supplementary reading