32. The house of Comnenus, rulers of the Byzantine empire.
33. Mother of John, grandmother of Arthur, and heiress of Aquitaine.
34. According to R. Coggeshall, Philip virtually declared himself
still ignorant on the point six months later.
35. These were the alternative versions proposed by John's friends,
according to M. Paris.
36. Johannem Mollegladium. This nickname is no doubt a translation of one which must have been applied to John in French, though unluckily its vernacular form is lost. It has been suggested that "if the phrase had any English equivalent, it would probably be something embracing a more direct metaphor than 'Softsword'—something like 'Tinsword,' or, better still, if the thirteenth century knew of putty, 'John Puttysword.'"
37. In 1199, by acknowledging Arthur as their liege lord and Richard's lawful heir.
38. I.e., "May the band that binds the felts and spars of the yurt never decay"; in other words, may he ever be prosperous—a favorite Mongol wish.
39. Transports.
40. The Petrion, which is repeatedly mentioned by contemporary writers, was a district built on the slope of a hill running parallel to the Golden Horn for about one-third of the length of the harbor walls eastward from Blachern. It had apparently been a neglected spot during the early centuries of the history of Constantinople, but had lately come to be the residence of numerous hermits, and the site of several monasteries and convents. A great part is now occupied by the Jewish colony of Galata.
41. Nicetas' Chronicate, Greek authority on the Latin conquest.