Tristram Shandy Terms

Humors were an ancient Greek and Roman medical concept for the various substances that determined human health: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. Psychical and mental ailments were thought to be the result of… read analysis of Humors

Animal spirits were part of an ancient Greek theory of human life which remained popular through the eighteenth century, postulating that the brain contained animal spirits which, along with blood, vital spirits, and psychic spirits… read analysis of Animal Spirits

A homunculus is a miniature yet fully formed person, believed in the early eighteenth century to be the form out of which a fetus grows into a child. read analysis of Homunculus

Fortifications are military structures and landscaping built for defensive purposes, often around towns and castles. By the eighteenth century fortifications in Europe had become a highly developed science, with elaborate series of geometric walls and… read analysis of Fortifications

The Inquisition was a movement in the Catholic Church seeking to root out heresy by prosecuting, imprisoning, and executing accused heretics and enemies of the Church. The Inquisition began in France in the twelfth century… read analysis of The Inquisition

Obstetrics is the field of medicine focusing on pregnancy and childbirth. The eighteenth century saw the development of modern, scientific obstetrics in Europe, as doctors replaced midwifes and their traditional approaches. read analysis of Obstetrics

A mortar is a kind of cannon which fires on targets indirectly through high-arch trajectories. Mortars are typically large, squat, and upwards facing, which is why Trim makes use of Walter’s boots to build… read analysis of Mortar

A jointure is a legal term for the estate left to a wife after the death of her husband, paid for by the husband’s family either in land or income until her death. read analysis of Jointure

A bend dexter is a heraldry term for a diagonal band crossing a coat of arms from the top left to the bottom right. read analysis of Bend Dexter

A bend sinister is a heraldry term for a diagonal band crossing a coat of arms from the top right to the bottom left, the opposite of a bend dexter. A bend sinister indicates… read analysis of Bend Sinister

Radical heat, also called innate heat, was part of an ancient Greek system of medicine which considered the imbalance between radical heat and radical moisture to be the origin of human health issues. This theory… read analysis of Radical Heat

Radical moisture was part of an ancient Greek system of medicine which considered the imbalance between radical moisture and radical heat to be the origin of human health issues. This theory had largely fallen out… read analysis of Radical Moisture

A cataplasm is another term for poultice, a medical treatment used to reduce inflammation in which a moist mass, often made of plant material, is held down with a cloth. read analysis of Cataplasm

A water-drinker is an antiquated term for a teetotaler, or sober person. read analysis of Water-drinker

Trim’s Turkish tobacco pipes are hookah pipes, a Middle Eastern device for vaporizing and smoking tobacco. read analysis of Turkish Tobacco Pipes