[714.] quisistes=quisisteis. The obsolete form continued in general usage up to the 17th century and was still used by Calderón, though a grammar gave the modern form as early as 1555. See Menéndez Pidal's Manual elemental de gramática histórica española, pp. 189, 190.
[745.] Adamuz is a town of about five thousand inhabitants, situated in the mountains twenty-five miles northeast of Cordova in the midst of a prosperous olive-growing country. It has a church, three schools, two inns, an Ayuntamiento and two religious communities. There is a local tradition to the effect that Adamuz, several centuries ago, boasted of a population of about twenty thousand and was one of the important centers of the Sierra Morena, and that it was swept by an epidemic which carried away almost the entire population. However, nothing exists in the archives of the Ayuntamiento to confirm or deny the tradition. (For all the information concerning the town and its vicinity, the editor is indebted to the kindness of the Reverend Señor José Melendo, curate of Adamuz.)
[748.] Adamuz, pueblo sin luz. This refrain is not now current in the place and its origin cannot be definitely determined. It may be a reflection upon the state of intelligence of the inhabitants of the town and a pure creation of the poet, but rather would it seem to be due to the natural features of the town, for it is situated in a fold of the mountains.
[750.] Sierra-Morena is a mountainous region extending from east to west from the head waters of the Guadalquivir to the Portuguese border. It is mentioned in many of the Spanish romances and is assured of immortality as the scene of some of the adventures of the "ingenioso hidalgo" Don Quijote.
[768.] El término perdonad. The innkeeper regarded the indiano as a person of distinction and offers apology for mentioning in his presence anything so lowly as a caballo de alabarda, "nag, hack."
[770.] propria=propia.
[793.] camino real. A good road now extends from Cordova to Adamuz, but it does not cross the Sierra Morena. If such a royal highway from Andalusia to Madrid ever existed it has long since disappeared and given place to the railways and the important "carretera" which extends up the Guadalquivir and through the Puerto de Despeñaperros.
[813.] Bien está lo hecho, What is done is well done.
[824.] Holofernes... Judit. The comparison suggested is based upon the story related in the Book of Judith of the Bible. Judith determined to free the children of Israel from the invading Assyrians under the leadership of Holofernes and for this purpose went to the camp of Holofernes who received her kindly and celebrated her coming with feasting. When he was sufficiently under the influence of wine she cut off his head and carried it back with her to her own people who pursued the leaderless and disorganized Assyrians and gained a complete victory over them.
[835.] érades=erais. This obsolete form of the verb was often used by Lope de Vega and his contemporaries. It is from the Latin eratis. (See Menéndez Pidal, Manual elemental de gramática histórica española, paragraph 107, I.)