cabalistic figures secret or occult figures.
a folio tome; here, a large book.
Chronicles of England a history of England by Holinshed, written in 1577.
tankard a large drinking cup with a handle and, often, a hinged lid.
steel headpiece, a cuirass, a gorget, and greaves … gauntlets here, all parts of a suit of armor.
Pequot war raids on Indian villages by Massachusetts settlers in 1637.
Bacon, Coke, Noye and Finch English lawyers of the 16th and 17th centuries who added to British common law.
exigencies great needs; a situation calling for immediate action or attention.
eldritch eerie, weird.
