[1] Luna, a village 30 miles north of Saragossa on the Arba-de-Biel.

[2] Aragón, formerly a kingdom of Spain comprising the present provinces of Saragossa, Huesca, and Teruel. The King of Aragon at the time of "El Trovador" was Alfonso V, the Magnanimous.

[3] Zaragoza, Saragossa, the capital of Aragon, a city of 100,000 inhabitants, situated on the right bank of the Ebro.

[4] sala corta, a drop-scene, in order to allow the arrangement of the scenery for Scene 2.

[5] Aljafería. The Castillo de la Aljafería, outside of the western gate, owes its name to the sheik Abou Dja'far Ahmed who built it. It served later as the residence of the kings of Aragon and the palace of the Inquisition. Partially destroyed in 1809, it has been restored and now serves as a barracks. In visiting it one is shown the "Torreta," the prison which figures in Act V.

[6] a palos, with blows.

[7] al otro día, on the next day.

[8] a guiarse por mis consejos, if they had let themselves be guided by my counsels.

[9] ¡Pues por supuesto! Of course.

[10] Dime con quién andas, y te diré quién eres, an old Spanish proverb resembling our "birds of a feather," etc.

[11] ni por ésas, nor was that of avail.

[12] unos ojos tan relucientes, "unos sometimes seems to mean little more than 'a pair of.'" (Hills and Ford's Spanish Grammar.)

[13] un no sé qué de diabólico, something diabolical.

[14] en tiempos de antaño, last year.

[15] Urgel, the seat of a bishopric on the south slope of the Pyrenees, northeast of Saragossa.—que en mala hora naciera, curse him; lit. "who would that he were born in an evil hour."

[16] en cuanto a lo demás, i.e. in other respects.

[17] para lo cual, i.e. para entrar en la habitación de Leonor.

[18] a lo más oculto del jardín, the neuter form of the article is used before the masculine form of an adjective, when the adjective is used substantively as the name of a color or as an abstract noun.

[19] con quién se las había, "with whom she was having them," i.e. with whom she was speaking.

[20] llegan a saber, come to know.

[21] para lo que ha dormido, i.e. para lo poco que ha dormido.

[22] no nos eche de menos, let him not miss us.

[23] Guillén (or Guilhén), a Catalan form. The Castillian form of this name is Guillermo or Guillelmo.

[24] al de Luna, "Before a relative clause, and before a phrase introduced by de, the definite article is generally used instead of a demonstrative or personal pronoun." (Hills and Ford's Spanish Grammar.)

[25] vos instead of usted is archaic.

[26] Nunca lo fuerais, por Dios, would to God that you were not.

[27] ¡Ay de mi! Alas for me!

[28] ¿Os pesa de mi venida? Are you sorry because of my coming?

[29] no tengo nada, nothing is the matter with me.

[30] vía, poetic for veía.

[31] sino, if not. Notice the etymological meaning of the word.

[32] hidalgo de pobre cuna is vocative.

[33] le debieron de matar, they must have killed him.

[34] ¿cómo os va de aquella herida? How is your wound?

[35] Jerusalén. There still exists a "Convento de Jerusalén" in Saragossa in the Paseo de la Independencia.

[36] Velilla. A small town on the Ebro below Saragossa, so-called from the alarm bell of its church, San Nicolas, which was said to toll of its own accord whenever a great calamity was to befall Aragon. It was cast by the Goths who, according to tradition, threw into the fused metal one of the thirty pieces of silver received by Judas.

[37] lo, i.e. religiosa.

[38] del mismo altar, of the altar itself.

[39] entre, subjunctive after a verb of commanding.

[40] la voy a perder, I am going to lose her.

[41] Hoy mismo, this very day.

[42] entrar a saco, to sack.

[43] Castellar, a castle situated about 10 miles west of Saragossa.

[44] Debe de haber, there must be. Cf. hay, "there is."

[45] puerta del Sol, a square in the eastern part of Saragossa.

[46] Pluguiera, from placer, optative subjunctive.

[47] no las tengo yo todas conmigo, I am disturbed; literally, "I haven't them all with me," i.e. my wits, self-confidence.

[48] Quiera, optative subjunctive.

[49] haga, subjunctive after a relative with indefinite antecedent.

[50] de la hoguera en derredor, i.e. en derredor de la hoguera.

[51] al siniestro resplandor, i.e. de la llama trémula.

[52] niño, young.

[53] Haro, a city of 7976 inhabitants and centre of the celebrated vineyards of Rioja, situated on the Ebro 220 kilometres above Saragossa.

[54] Vizcaya, one of the "Basque" provinces in the north of Spain. Its capitol, Bilbao, now a city of 74,093 inhabitants, was founded in 1300 by Diego Lopez de Haro, the person mentioned in this passage.

[55] Alcázar, a Moorish word.

[56] dieron en decir, insisted in saying or people would have it that.

[57] mal de ojo, the evil eye.

[58] Yo no hacía otra cosa que, I did nothing but.

[59] Artal, the family name of Nuño.

[60] Que no sepa nunca, optative subjunctive.

[61] Estuvo en poco que no se lo descubriera, He came very near finding it out.

[62] ¿qué os hicisteis? Leonor is addressing the "tiempos en que amor solía..."

[63] a la prenda, notice the "personal a."

[64] al cielo, notice "personal a."

[65] Pues que, well then.

[66] Calle corta, drop-scene.

[67] por la espalda y por la frente, from in front and behind.

[68] Ya vuelve, she is coming to consciousness.

[69] los suyos, i.e. sus soldados.

[70] Que se escapara, to think that he should have escaped.

[71] los suyos, see page 45, note 1.

[72] Catalanes, from Cataluña, the northeastern province of Spain.

[73] que nos hacían gran falta, of whom we had great need.

[74] por qué arman ese alboroto, Why do they raise this disturbance?

[75] sea atrevido a, dare to.

[76] a contártelo yo, upon my letting it to you; if I were to tell you.

[77] tan sólo ha sido, see vocabulary under tan.

[78] al tocarle osado, upon boldly touching it.

[79] Manrique's dream, though having no importance in the solution of the drama, is of considerable dramatic value as it foreshadows the catastrophe. The phantom of the dream is to be interpreted as Azucena, and the change of Leonor in the dream foreshadows her death in Act V.

[80] lleva a cuchillo, takes with the sword, or puts to the sword.

[81] puntas de hechicera, cf. Act I, Scene 1, ribetes de bruja.

[82] fratricido, Leonor uses this word in a general sense, of course not knowing the specific sense which the spectator may apply to it.

[83] Ruiz is complaining because he has had to pay a high price for the bottle.

[84] Hagan bien para hacer bien, "do good that good be done," i.e. pray. This is from the prayer for those about to die.

[85] Ya no puedo ser del Conde, I cannot be the Count's.

[86] Valencia, a city on the eastern coast of Spain, at this time in state of civil warfare.

[87] plugo, from placer.

[88] Como su madre, i.e. Azucena's.

[89] por todo un Dios, for heaven's sake.

[90] ¿Qué tienes? What is the matter with you?

[91] se acaba por instantes, is slowly ebbing away.

[92] día, by day.

[93] Azucena addresses her own mother.

[94] Azucena has not the courage to see Manrique die and is going to reveal his identity in order to prevent the execution, but she is too late.

[95] See note [94].