Your Majesty/Your Highness: the way you address the King, Queen or other members of their family (also called “The Royal Court”).

courtiers: people in society in the upper class who were allowed to mix socially with each other and with the king’s family.

monsieur (or sir)/madame (the way to address someone if married); monsieur(sir)/mademoiselle (if unmarried)

The brothers Grimm: Two German brothers who spent years collecting and researching folk tales (plus history and linguistics) early in the 19th century. Their collection (known as "Grimm's Fairy Tales") included many of the West’s most famous stories, including Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin.

Danielle de Barbarac: the young lady at the center of this story

Nicole de Lancret: Danielle’s mother, who had died when Danielle was a small child.

Auguste: Danielle’s loving father; a wealthy businessman who marries again about a week before he died of a heart attack. Although wealthy enough to own land, Danielle’s parents were not courtiers.

Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent: Danielle’s stepmother. Her daughters are Marguerite (who is very selfish) and Jacqueline (who has a kind, simple heart, and who is afraid to stand up to her mother or sister)

Maurice: the manager of Auguste’s house/manor. He and his wife were loved and respected servants, but Rodmilla sells Maurice to get money. Danielle “dressed above her station” (against the law) in order to buy Maurice back—this led to her first conversation with the prince.

Monsiuer le seigneur: I think this is French for “master”—the respectful way Maurice addresses his boss (Auguste)

Gustave: Danielle’s childhood friend, who also plays a role as a young adult (and painter)

Utopia: a book by Sir Thomas More about the “perfect” world; Danielle loves this book because it was the last thing her father gave her before he died

King Francis: King of France

Prince Henry: the Crown Prince

Signor Leonardo da Vinci (達文西): a famous Italian inventor and painter (of the Mona Lisa), who many people think was “ahead of his time.” The prince calls Da Vinci “the founder of forward thinking” while King Henry is the “the king of backward.”

Captain Laurent: a senior army leader and friend/body guard to the Prince

Comtesse (in French), Countess (in English). This courtier’s social level would be higher than a Baroness, which is one reason why Danielle’s stepmother is mad when Danielle lies by saying her mother is a Comtesse.

cinders, ash, soot: the dirty stuff left after a fire (and around a fireplace)

folk tales: traditional stories about exciting imaginary events (though sometimes they started about something true and then were exaggerated)

to slip his shoe (of a horse): when a horse accidentally loses his horseshoe

fortnight: two weeks (BrE)

to be coy: unwilling to give information

everyday rustics: common people, peasants, commoners (老百姓)

arrogant: behaving in an unpleasant or rude way because you think you are more important than other people

an interlude: a short romantic talk or relationship, but normally a quiet time in the middle of a play, war, etc.

a masked ball; a masque: a dance, at which all of the people wear a mask or costume

compromise: an agreement that is achieved after everyone involved accepts less than what they wanted at first, or the act of making this agreement

to be engaged: to promise to marry someone (this was a lie that Rodmilla told the queen)

an arranged marriage: when fathers agree that their children should marry, without asking the children

divorce: to end a marriage (this was rare in Europe—and worldwide—until modern times when marriage was based on feelings instead of a promise, even if the promise was made by one’s parents)

intrigue: (n) secret plans to harm sb, or something mysterious and therefore interesting

antique: something old and usually valuable because of its age (but in this movie it used as an unkind joke about Danielle’s mother’s old dress)

contradiction: a difference between two statements, beliefs, or ideas about something that means they cannot both be true

passion: a very strong feeling for or about something or someone

to be compensated: to be paid for doing something

flattery: praise (often used humorously or to say you don’t believe the praise)

a wealthy benefactor: a rich person who will take care of you

monastery: a place where religious people live and study. Before the printing press was invented, the monks (men who lived in a monastery) copied books by hand, so they had the biggest libraries and had more knowledge than most people.

gypsy: an ethnic group of people who travel from town to town, often making a living by entertaining others (sing/dance) or by thief (these people have been looked down on by many “settled” people groups)

an insidious joke: (when Rodmilla found out that Danielle had called her mother a Comtesse) a seemingly harmless lie that ends up causing great harm or that makes others look stupid

to be fickle: undependable because sb changes his/her mind a lot (“men are fickle”)

to be feisty: (negative) to show a strong, determined character, and being willing to argue

to run away: to leave home (or a prison, the army, etc.) without permission

stubborn: unreasonable or difficult to deal with because you won’t change your mind

to arrive in style: to come to an event in a way that is comfortable and/or very expensive

1. I can still whip you. I slaughtered him. He needs a good whipping. It can’t save you from a sound lashing. (to “whip” someone is to beat them in a fight or to punish them with a leather whip, a lash, or something similar)

2. We’re two peas in a pod. (meaning: we are exactly the same in many ways)

3. It’s tradition. (meaning: this is something our family has always done for a long time in this situation)

4. A sapling cannot grow in the shadow of a mighty oak. (a small tree can’t grow when it is too close to a giant tree—nor can a prince grow up when under the control of his father the king)

5. I want to be free of my gilded (i.e., gold) cage.

6. Have you lost your marbles? (are you crazy? or that’s a very bad idea)

7. “If you suffer your people to be ill-educated and their manners corrupted from infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded but that you first make thieves and then punish them?” (meaning: If you won’t let your people get an education, they will behave badly. If you punish such people for acting badly, then you have made them bad and punished them for what you made them.)

8. The common people are the legs Royal people stand on.

9. You were born to privilege, and with that comes specific obligations. (said three times in the movie; privilege means special advantage, wealth or position; an obligation is a legal or moral duty)

10. Bite your tongue. (meaning: you shouldn’t say that because it would hurt someone’s feelings or make things worse)

11. How can anyone love a pebble in their shoe? (a pebble is a small rock; how can you love someone who irritates you)

12. I’m a businessman, not a philanthropist. (meaning: I’m not a rich man who likes to give away money to help others—there is always something in the deal that helps me)

13. Waste not, want not. (If we use this carefully, we’ll still have some if we need it later)

14. You can’t leave everything to fate; she is busy. Sometimes you have to help her. (fate is that mysterious power that some people think control what happens in people's lives)

15. How do you live with this kind of passion? You have more conviction in one memory than I have in my entire being. (conviction is a strong feeling about something about which you have no doubts)

16. Your mouth has me hypnotized. (meaning: What you say is so interesting that I can’t think of anything else.)

17a. I know that a life without love is no life at all.

17b. And love without trust—what of that?