Notre-Dame de Paris — Page 6
It must be stated, in honor of the good sense of the loungers of Paris, that the greater part of this crowd directed their steps towards the bonfire, which was quite in season, or towards the mystery play, which was to be presented in the grand hall of the Palais de Justice (the courts of law), which was well roofed and walled; and that the curious left the poor, scantily flowered maypole to shiver all alone beneath the sky of January, in the cemetery of the Chapel of Braque.
Hay que decir, en honor al buen sentido de los paseantes de París, que la mayor parte de esta multitud dirigió sus pasos hacia la hoguera, que era muy apropiada para la estación, o hacia el misterio que había de representarse en la gran sala del Palacio de Justicia, que estaba bien techada y amurallada; y que los curiosos dejaron al pobre mayo, escasamente adornado de flores, temblando de frío y solitario bajo el cielo de enero, en el cementerio de la Capilla de Braque.
The populace thronged the avenues of the law courts in particular, because they knew that the Flemish ambassadors, who had arrived two days previously, intended to be present at the representation of the mystery, and at the election of the Pope of the Fools, which was also to take place in the grand hall.
El pueblo se agolpaba en particular en las avenidas del Palacio de Justicia, porque sabía que los embajadores flamencos, que habían llegado dos días antes, tenían intención de asistir a la representación del misterio y a la elección del Papa de los Locos, que también había de celebrarse en la gran sala.
It was no easy matter on that day, to force one's way into that grand hall, although it was then reputed to be the largest covered enclosure in the world (it is true that Sauval had not yet measured the grand hall of the Château of Montargis). The palace place, encumbered with people, offered to the curious gazers at the windows the aspect of a sea; into which five or six streets, like so many mouths of rivers, discharged every moment fresh floods of heads.
No era cosa fácil abrirse paso aquel día hacia aquella gran sala, aunque en aquel entonces tenía fama de ser el recinto cubierto más grande del mundo (es cierto que Sauval no había medido aún la gran sala del Castillo de Montargis). La plaza del palacio, atestada de gente, ofrecía a los curiosos que miraban desde las ventanas el aspecto de un mar, en el que cinco o seis calles, como otras tantas bocas de ríos, desembocaban a cada momento frescos torrentes de cabezas.
Vocabulary
- Hay
- There is/are; expression of existence
- que
- That, which, or what; common conjunction
- decir
- To say or tell something
- en
- In, on, or at a place or time
- honor
- Honor; respect or recognition given to someone
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'el' meaning 'to the'
- buen
- Good; shortened form of 'bueno' before nouns
- sentido
- Sense, meaning, or direction of something
- de
- Of, from; common preposition indicating possession
- los
- The; definite article for masculine plural nouns
- paseantes
- Passersby or people strolling through a place
- la
- The; definite article for feminine singular nouns
- mayor
- Greater, larger, or older; comparative adjective
- parte
- Part, portion, or section of a whole
- esta
- This; demonstrative adjective for feminine nouns
- multitud
- Crowd or multitude of people gathered together
- dirigió
- Directed or headed toward a specific destination
- sus
- His, her, their, or your possessive adjective
- pasos
- Steps or paces taken while walking
- hacia
- Toward; preposition indicating direction of movement
- hoguera
- Bonfire or large open fire outdoors
- era
- Was; past imperfect tense of 'ser'
- muy
- Very; adverb intensifying adjectives or adverbs
- apropiada
- Appropriate or suitable for a given situation
- para
- For, in order to; preposition of purpose
- estación
- Season of the year or train/bus station
- misterio
- Mystery; something secret or unexplained
- había
- There was/had been; past imperfect of 'haber'
- representarse
- To be performed or staged as a show
- gran
- Great or large; shortened form before nouns
- sala
- Hall, room, or large indoor gathering space
- del
- Contraction of 'de' and 'el' meaning 'of the'
- Palacio
- Palace; large official or royal building
- Justicia
- Justice; fairness or the legal system
- estaba
- Was; past imperfect tense of 'estar'
- bien
- Well, good; adverb indicating quality or approval
- techada
- Roofed; having a roof covering a structure
- amurallada
- Walled; surrounded or enclosed by walls
- curiosos
- Curious onlookers eager to see something
- dejaron
- Left or abandoned something or someone behind
- pobre
- Poor; lacking resources or deserving of pity
- mayo
- May; fifth month of the year or maypole
- escasamente
- Scarcely or barely; with very little amount
- adornado
- Decorated or adorned with ornamental elements
- flores
- Flowers; blooming plants used for decoration
- temblando
- Trembling or shaking from cold or fear
- frío
- Cold; low temperature or feeling of coldness
- solitario
- Solitary or lonely; alone without company
- bajo
- Under, below, or low; preposition or adjective
- cielo
- Sky or heaven above the earth
- enero
- January; first month of the year
- cementerio
- Cemetery; place where the dead are buried
- Capilla
- Chapel; small church or place of worship
- pueblo
- People, town, or village as a community
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs
- agolpaba
- Crowded or pressed together in large numbers
- particular
- Particular, specific, or private; adjective of specificity
- las
- The; definite article for feminine plural nouns
- avenidas
- Avenues; wide streets or boulevards in a city
- porque
- Because; conjunction explaining a reason or cause
- sabía
- Knew; past imperfect of 'saber' meaning to know
- embajadores
- Ambassadors; official diplomatic representatives of countries
- flamencos
- Flemish; relating to Flanders or its people
- habían
- Had; past perfect auxiliary form of 'haber'
- llegado
- Arrived; past participle of 'llegar'
- dos
- Two; the number two
- días
- Days; plural of 'día', units of time
- antes
- Before; adverb indicating something happened earlier
- tenían
- Had; past imperfect of 'tener' meaning to have
- intención
- Intention or plan to do something
- asistir
- To attend or be present at an event
- a
- To, at; preposition indicating direction or recipient
- representación
- Performance, representation, or theatrical show
- elección
- Election or selection of someone for a role
- Papa
- Pope; head of the Roman Catholic Church
- Locos
- Fools or madmen; plural of 'loco'
- también
- Also or too; adverb adding additional information
- celebrarse
- To be celebrated or take place as an event
- No
- No or not; negation word in Spanish
- cosa
- Thing; a general object or matter
- fácil
- Easy; not difficult to do or understand
- abrirse
- To open oneself or make one's way through
- paso
- Step, passage, or way through a crowd
- aquel
- That; demonstrative adjective for distant masculine nouns
- día
- Day; a 24-hour period of time
- aquella
- That; demonstrative adjective for distant feminine nouns
- aunque
- Although or even though; concessive conjunction
- entonces
- Then; adverb referring to a past time
- fama
- Fame or reputation known by many people
- ser
- To be; essential verb indicating identity or nature
- recinto
- Enclosure or enclosed space within boundaries
- cubierto
- Covered or roofed; past participle of 'cubrir'
- más
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- grande
- Large or great in size or importance
- mundo
- World; the earth or all of humanity
- es
- Is; third person singular present of 'ser'
- cierto
- Certain or true; expressing confirmed truth
- no
- No or not; standard negation in Spanish
- medido
- Measured; past participle of 'medir'
- aún
- Still or yet; adverb indicating ongoing state
- Castillo
- Castle; a large fortified medieval building
- plaza
- Square or public open space in a town
- palacio
- Palace; a grand official or royal residence
- atestada
- Packed or crammed full of people
- gente
- People; a group of persons in general
- ofrecía
- Offered or presented; past imperfect of 'ofrecer'
- miraban
- Were looking or watching; past imperfect of 'mirar'
- desde
- From or since; preposition indicating starting point
- ventanas
- Windows; openings in a wall for light
- aspecto
- Aspect or appearance of something or someone
- un
- A or an; indefinite article for masculine nouns
- mar
- Sea; large body of saltwater
- cinco
- Five; the number five
- seis
- Six; the number six
- calles
- Streets; roads in a town or city
- como
- Like, as, or how; conjunction of comparison
- otras
- Other; referring to different feminine plural things
- tantas
- So many; referring to a large feminine plural quantity
- bocas
- Mouths or openings; plural of 'boca'
- ríos
- Rivers; large natural streams of flowing water
- desembocaban
- Flowed into or emptied out at a point
- cada
- Each or every; distributive adjective in Spanish
- momento
- Moment; a very brief period of time
- frescos
- Fresh or cool; describing new arrivals or breezes
- torrentes
- Torrents; rushing streams or floods of something
- cabezas
- Heads; plural of 'cabeza', top part of body
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