Zoroastrian antagonist god, and source of all evil.

The city from which Cosmas Ducas rules Burgundy.

Alesia was the site of Caesar's final victory over Vercingetorix (in 52 BC), and thus the conclusion of the Roman conquest of Gaul. In our history, it did not exist as a city past the Roman era.

• Caesar's De Bello Gallico, via gutenberg (see book VII, page LXVIII to LXXXIV)

Brother of King James III of Scotland.

• Genealogy (via thepeerage.com)

Wife of Richard III of England (after an earlier marriage to Edward, the son of Henry VI). Daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. Sister of Isabel Neville. Mother of Edward of Middleham.

• Genealogy (via thepeerage.com)

Brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville. Son of Jacquetta of Luxembourg (see p277).

Rivers was an influential nobleman in Edward's court; he acted as guardian to the young Prince Edward. After the King's death, Rivers met with Richard and Buckingham while escorting the Prince back to London. They arrested Rivers, and (in our history) he was executed shortly thereafter. (See p282-283.)

• Genealogy (via thepeerage.com)

Greek god of music. Also called "Phoebus Apollo," in his aspect of the god of light and the sun.

Italian physician. A vampire.

Described as a god -- at least, among the Welsh.

He is important enough a cultural figure that he has a universally-accepted history (in our world, he does not) and "Arthur's Triumph" (over the Saxons, in 515 AD) is an epoch for naming dates. (See p357 for another possible reference to this battle.)

Some of the side characters of TDW, particularly in chapters 3 and 4, have names taken from famous Italian artists of our history.

• Ercole da Siena (p96-97): The da Siena school was a group of painters in Tuscany, named after its founder, Guido da Siena.
• Antonio Della Robbia: The Della Robbias were a family of noted Florentine sculptors and ceramic artists.
• Claudio Falcone: Aniello Falcone was a painter from Naples.
• Pier Leone: Pier Leone Ghezzi was a portraitist and caricaturist in Rome.

This is not a strong pattern. (Aniello Falcone and Pier Leone Ghezzi postdate the TDW era. And "da Siena" just means "from Siena.") It could well be coincidence; there were plenty of artists in Renaissance Italy. Nonetheless, I document it in the spirit of thoroughness.

Greek god of healing.

A squire serving Richard of Gloucester.

An alias of Colin.

Second rank of the Mithraic mystery cult. (Latin: Nymphus)

Italian architect.

Since Christianity is not a dominant religion in TDW, there is no equivalent of our Anno Domini calendar.

The book begins in "the one thousand ninety-fifth year of Constantine's City." Taking the founding of Constantinople as 330 AD, this translates as 1424 AD. It also puts "Arthur's Triumph" (over the Saxons) at 515 AD.

(All dates in this concordance will be given in Anno Domini, for the benefit of modern readers. Where dates are derived, I have reckoned them in whole years, so values may be off by one.)

The book gives months their modern names. Days within the month are also counted in the modern way (as opposed to the Roman model of ides, nones, kalends; see p45).

An alias of Cynthia Ricci. In this guise, her white hair is dyed gold with saffron.

The name has no particular meaning besides similarity to her real name. Although "Ricardi" is "Richard," which might indicate one of the Richards of England.

Mother of Edward IV of England, George Plantagenet the Duke of Clarence, and Richard Plantagenet (who becomes Richard III of England). Wife of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.

(Cecily Neville is related to Isabel and Anne Neville; their grandfather was Cecily's brother.)

• Genealogy (via thepeerage.com)
• Cecily Neville's will, 1495, via UK National Archives

French mercenary.

Christians exist in TDW history, but they are a small and rarely-considered sect. The term "Christian" does not appear; they are called Jeshites or Maccabees (see p207).

People identified as Christians in TDW:

• Colin
• Mary Setright
• the outlaw group in Scotland (p207)
• the farmer in Scotland (p223)

We may also presume that Constantine I was a Christian, as he was in our history, although this is not stated explicitly.

An Emperor of Rome. Annexed several territories to the Empire, including much of Britain.

• Apocolocyntosis (The Pumpkinification of Claudius), Seneca the Younger, tr. W.H.D. Rouse, via gutenberg

Scottish spy for Richard of Gloucester. He previously worked for Warwick.

He is a Jeshite, although this is not discovered until the end of chapter 8.

An English gentleman who was executed for posting seditious rhymes about Richard III, and (more importantly) for supporting Henry Tydder to overthrow him.

Roman Emperor; officially accepted Christianity as a religion in the Empire. He also moved the capital of the Empire to the city of Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople in 330 AD.

Capital of the Byzantine empire; founded by Emperor Constantine I in 330 AD.

Called Constantine's City, the Beautiful City, New Rome. Its founding is the calendrical epoch.

It is reasonable to assume that the Sack of Constantinople never happened simply because there was no unified Church of Rome sending Crusades eastward.

Greek aristocrat of the Ducas line; strategos (governor) of the Imperial province of Burgundy.

Father of Dimitrios Ducas, brother of Philip Ducas, husband of Iphigenia.

Goddess of fertility and the Earth, in Greece and Anatolia.

Possibly paired with Mithras in TDW history.

Italian doctor. One of the four protagonists of TDW.

Daughter of Vittorio Ricci.

Her birth year can be reckoned as 1455 AD. (See p64, p66.)

• Appearances in TDW (graph)

(The true Cyrillic alphabet was a later development.)

• Glagolitic alphabet, via omniglot.com

A dying wizard is able to curse his killers. (But can also refrain from doing so.)

Italian banker. He claims to be a representative of the Medici bank, at the Bern branch (in Switzerland). However, he turns out to be an agent of Milan.

Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon.

The hero of an eponymous epic poem from 12th-century Byzantium.

(Digenes means "dual birth"; Akritas refers to the border guards of the Byzantine Empire. Also spelled "Digenis Acritas" and "Digenes Akrites.")

The epic describes a Syrian Emir, Mousour, who kidnaps Eirene, Princess of Cappadocia, the daughter of a Byzantine general of the Ducas line. The Emir is then captured by the Princess's brothers, converts to Christianity, and marries the Princess.

Their child Digenes grows up into a classical hero: a mighty soldier, hunter, and athlete. He eventually founds a kingdom on the Euphrates.

• Digenes Akrites, via enotes.com

Greek mercenary. One of the four protagonists of TDW.

Son of Cosmas and Iphigenia Ducas.

On p25, his birth year is given as 1454 AD.

• Appearances in TDW (graph)

See Snakes and Dragons.

(Plural "Ducai." Also spelled "Doukas," "Doukai.")

It is likely that the role of the Ducai in TDW history is consistent with ours up until the Sack of Constantinople.

Son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York. Brother of George, Duke of Clarence and of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Married to Elizabeth Woodville. Father of Edward, Prince of Wales and Richard of Salisbury.

Edward seized the throne from Henry VI in 1461, with the aid of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (see p147). Henry took it back in 1470 (p147), but only briefly.

• Edward IV (via brittania.com)
• Edward IV (via www.royal.gov.uk)
• Genealogy (via thepeerage.com)

Son of Richard III of England and Anne Neville.

• Genealogy (via thepeerage.com)

Son of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville; brother of Richard of Salisbury. As heir, the Prince of Wales; later (briefly) Edward V of England.

When Edward IV died, Edward V was a boy (12 in our history, 10 in Dragon history). He immediately became a pawn between his own family (Richard) and the Woodville family (particularly his guardian Rivers and his mother the Queen).

• Edward V (via brittania.com)
• Edward V (via www.royal.gov.uk)
• Genealogy (via thepeerage.com)

A motif.

A servant at Middleham Castle. Gregory's lover and blood donor. Possibly Dimitrios's lover, earlier.

Married to Edward IV of England. Sister of Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers. Mother of Edward, Prince of Wales and Richard of Salisbury.

Elizabeth married Edward secretly, in 1464. This was an unpleasant surprise for Warwick, who had helped him onto the throne (see p148).

Later, when Edward died, Richard accused Edward of having already been married to someone else. (Thus making his marriage to Elizabeth invalid, and their children illegitimate. See p332.)

• Genealogy (via thepeerage.com)

• Julius Caesar
• Claudius
• Hadrian
• Maximin Daia
• Constantine I
• Julian the Wise
• Justinian and Theodora
• Manuel I Comnene

Hywel's "enterprise" is the overthrow of the Byzantine empire.

Note that Hywel has held this intent since he was a boy, fourteen at most. See p240.

Greek goddess of discord.

A Gallic god, depicted as a woodcutter.

• About Esus (Michael J Dangler)

Eunuchs are a fairly common sight in the Empire. A eunuch cannot be accepted as Emperor.

An example (that is, written copy) of the Act of Parliament making George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence the heir of Henry VI. (This would have been passed during Henry's brief return to power in 1470 AD.)