allegory
a form of metaphor in which abstract ideas or principles are represented as concrete - as characters, figures, or events. In Everyman, for example, abstract ideas like good deeds and strength are represented as people named Good Deeds and Strength.
alms
good deeds
baleys
whip
book of count
literally is a "book of account": the same as a book of reckoning
book of reckoning
see "reckoning": the "book of reckoning" is the book in which, in Christian doctrine, all a person's sins and good deeds are recorded
cousin
in medieval English, not the same as the modern version: it is a more general term meaning "member of the same family"
dread
(medieval English) fear
fain
(medieval English) glad
fellowship
friendship, company
forsake
desert, leave behind, run away from
Job
a character in the Old Testament who maintained his faith in God even when tested with severe hardship and misfortune
kind
(in medieval English) kindred, family, blood relations
quick
(medieval English) alive
reckoning
"reckoning" means literally "counting up", but colloquially, a "day of reckoning" is the time when man will be judged by God, and all his actions and behaviour taken into account
richesse
(medieval English) riches, wealth
sacrament
in the words of Augustus of Hippo, "a visible sign of an invisible reality". A sacrament is a manifestation of God's presence in a concrete form - most typically, in the way that Christians believe Jesus to be physically present in the Communion bread and wine.
tapster
an inn keeper, pub owner or tavern keeper
timorous
nervous, frightened, shy
treatise
a long consideration of a certain subject in depth
unkind
(medieval English) undutiful
