| Term | Definition |
| avatar | In Hindu theology, the physical manifestation of a god |
| dissolution | death; the process of dissolving into nothingness |
| pest ban | sign indicating contamination by the plague |
| massy | large and heavy |
| castellated abbeys | castle-like monasteries |
| improvisatori | enterntainers who invent new songs or stories for each performance |
| brazier | metal pan for holding fire |
| ebony | a rare, heavy, black wood |
| perforce | of necessity |
| decora | plural, proprieties or proper etiquette |
| piquancy and phanasm | liveliness and fantasy |
| Hernani | a play by Victor Hugo, 1830 |
| unsuited | unmatched |
| masquerade license | freedom from social restraints because the revelers are unidentifiable |
| out-Heroded Herod | outdone Herod the Great (40 - 4 B.C.), famous for his endless offenses against the moral code |
| mummer | actor |
| cerements | shroud |
| devastated | ruined or defeated |
| pestilence | any fatal, epidemic disease |
| sagacious | wise |
| "august" taste | grand; magnificent |
| "neither ingress or egress" | neither of entering or leaving |
| hue | shade or color |
| voluptuous | luxurious and sensuous |
| giddiest | dizziness |
| shrouded | wrapped in a cloth or garment |
| vesture | clothing |
| unimpeded | not blocked or hindered |
| pervaded | spread throughout |
| fete | a festival or feast |
| arabesque | ornate design |
| anon | again |
| cessation | stopping |
| arrested | seized and captured |
| phantasm | something seen but having no physical reality |
| propriety | appropriateness |
| prostrate | lying face down |
| dauntless | fearless; courageous |
| courtiers | people who serve king or queen at court |
| disconcert | confuse or upset |
| spectral | ghost-like |
| revel | a celebration |
| appalls | shocks; horrifies |
| decorum | proper appearance |
| gaunt | thin; underfed-looking |
| impetuosity | impatient |