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.
Bisogna riconoscere, in onore del buon senso dei perdigiorno di Parigi, che la maggior parte di quella folla dirigeva i propri passi verso il falò, che era del tutto di stagione, o verso il dramma allegorico, che doveva essere rappresentato nella grande sala del Palazzo di Giustizia (il tribunale), che era ben coperta e murata; e che i curiosi abbandonarono il povero albero di maggio, scarsamente adornato di fiori, a tremare tutto solo sotto il cielo di gennaio, nel cimitero della Cappella di 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.
Il popolino affollava in particolare i viali del tribunale, perché sapeva che gli ambasciatori fiamminghi, arrivati due giorni prima, intendevano presenziare alla rappresentazione del dramma allegorico e all'elezione del Papa dei Folli, che doveva anch'essa svolgersi nella grande 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.
Non era cosa facile, in quel giorno, farsi strada fino a quella grande sala, benché fosse allora reputata il più grande spazio coperto del mondo (è vero che Sauval non aveva ancora misurato la grande sala dello Château di Montargis). La piazza del palazzo, ingombra di gente, offriva ai curiosi che guardavano dalle finestre l'aspetto di un mare; nel quale cinque o sei strade, come altrettante foci di fiumi, riversavano ad ogni momento nuove ondate di teste.
Vocabulary
- Bisogna
- It is necessary; one must do something
- riconoscere
- To recognize or acknowledge something or someone
- in
- Preposition meaning in, into, or at
- onore
- Honor, respect, or credit given to someone
- del
- Contraction of di and il, meaning of the
- buon
- Good; shortened form of buono before nouns
- senso
- Sense, meaning, or direction of something
- dei
- Contraction of di and i, meaning of the
- perdigiorno
- Idler, loafer; someone who wastes their days
- di
- Preposition meaning of, from, or about
- Parigi
- The Italian name for the city of Paris
- che
- That, which, or who; subordinating conjunction
- la
- Definite article the for feminine singular nouns
- maggior
- Greater, larger; shortened form of maggiore
- parte
- Part, portion, or share of a whole
- quella
- That; feminine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- folla
- Crowd, throng of people gathered together
- dirigeva
- Was directing or heading toward a destination
- i
- Definite article the for masculine plural nouns
- propri
- Own; plural of proprio, indicating possession
- passi
- Steps, paces; plural of passo
- verso
- Toward; preposition indicating direction or destination
- il
- Definite article the for masculine singular nouns
- falò
- Bonfire; large outdoor fire lit for celebration
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- tutto
- All, everything, or whole; totality of something
- stagione
- Season of the year or theatrical performance season
- o
- Or; conjunction presenting an alternative option
- dramma
- Drama; a theatrical play or dramatic work
- allegorico
- Allegorical; using symbols to represent deeper meanings
- doveva
- Had to, was supposed to; past obligation
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian auxiliary verb
- rappresentato
- Performed, represented; past participle of rappresentare
- nella
- Contraction of in and la, meaning in the
- grande
- Large, great, or grand in size or importance
- sala
- Hall or room, typically large and public
- Palazzo
- Palace or large official building; grand structure
- Giustizia
- Justice; fairness or the legal system
- tribunale
- Court of law; judicial tribunal or courthouse
- ben
- Well; shortened form of bene used before adjectives
- coperta
- Covered; provided with a roof or covering
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction in Italian
- murata
- Walled; enclosed or surrounded by walls
- curiosi
- Curious onlookers; people eager to see something
- abbandonarono
- Abandoned, left behind; past tense of abbandonare
- povero
- Poor, unfortunate; used to express pity
- albero
- Tree; a large woody plant
- maggio
- May; fifth month of the year, or maypole
- scarsamente
- Scarcely, barely; insufficiently or poorly decorated
- adornato
- Adorned, decorated; embellished with ornaments
- fiori
- Flowers; plural of fiore
- a
- At, to; basic Italian preposition of place
- tremare
- To tremble or shiver from cold or fear
- solo
- Alone, only; by oneself without company
- sotto
- Under, beneath; preposition indicating lower position
- cielo
- Sky or heaven; the expanse above the earth
- gennaio
- January; first month of the year
- nel
- Contraction of in and il, meaning in the
- cimitero
- Cemetery; a place where the dead are buried
- della
- Contraction of di and la, meaning of the
- Cappella
- Chapel; a small church or place of worship
- Il
- Definite article the for masculine singular nouns
- popolino
- Common people, lower classes; ordinary folk of city
- affollava
- Was crowding, thronging; filling a place densely
- particolare
- Particular, especially; specifically or in detail
- viali
- Avenues or boulevards; wide tree-lined streets
- perché
- Because or why; expressing cause or reason
- sapeva
- Knew; imperfect tense of sapere, to know
- gli
- Definite article the for masculine plural nouns
- ambasciatori
- Ambassadors; diplomatic representatives of a country
- fiamminghi
- Flemish; people or things from Flanders region
- arrivati
- Arrived; past participle of arrivare, to arrive
- due
- Two; the number 2
- giorni
- Days; plural of giorno
- prima
- Before, earlier; indicating prior time or order
- intendevano
- Intended, planned to; imperfect of intendere
- presenziare
- To attend, be present at an official event
- alla
- Contraction of a and la, meaning at the
- rappresentazione
- Performance or representation; theatrical staging of a play
- all'
- Contraction of a and la or lo before vowel
- elezione
- Election; the process of choosing by voting
- Papa
- Pope; head of the Roman Catholic Church
- Folli
- Fools; plural of folle, used in festive context
- anch'
- Also, too; shortened form of anche before vowel
- essa
- She, it; third person feminine singular pronoun
- svolgersi
- To take place, unfold; reflexive of svolgere
- Non
- Not; basic Italian negation word
- cosa
- Thing or what; used as noun or question word
- facile
- Easy; not difficult or requiring little effort
- quel
- That; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
- giorno
- Day; a period of twenty-four hours
- farsi
- To make oneself; reflexive form of fare
- strada
- Street or road; a way for travelling through
- fino
- Until, up to; indicating a limit or endpoint
- benché
- Although, even though; concessive conjunction in Italian
- fosse
- Were, was; imperfect subjunctive of essere
- allora
- Then, at that time; referring to a past moment
- reputata
- Reputed, considered; regarded or believed to be
- più
- More or most; used in comparisons and superlatives
- spazio
- Space, room; area or extent of a place
- coperto
- Covered; enclosed under a roof or canopy
- mondo
- World; the earth and all people on it
- è
- Is; third person singular present tense of essere
- vero
- True, real; something factual or genuine
- non
- Not; Italian negation particle used with verbs
- aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- ancora
- Yet, still; indicating continuity or something not done
- misurato
- Measured; past participle of misurare, to measure
- dello
- Contraction of di and lo, meaning of the
- La
- Definite article the for feminine singular nouns
- piazza
- Town square or public plaza in a city
- palazzo
- Palace or large official building; grand structure
- ingombra
- Cluttered, crowded; obstructed or filled with things
- gente
- People; a group of persons in general
- offriva
- Offered, presented; imperfect of offrire
- ai
- Contraction of a and i, meaning to the
- guardavano
- Were looking, watching; imperfect of guardare
- dalle
- Contraction of da and le, meaning from the
- finestre
- Windows; plural of finestra
- l'
- Definite article the elided before a vowel
- aspetto
- Appearance, aspect; the way something looks
- un
- Indefinite article a or an for masculine nouns
- mare
- Sea; a large body of saltwater
- quale
- Which, that; relative pronoun or interrogative adjective
- cinque
- Five; the number 5
- sei
- Six; the number 6
- strade
- Streets, roads; plural of strada
- come
- Like, as, how; used in comparisons or questions
- altrettante
- As many, equally as many; same number of
- foci
- River mouths; plural of foce, where rivers end
- fiumi
- Rivers; plural of fiume
- riversavano
- Were pouring, flowing; imperfect of riversare
- ad
- To, at; form of a used before vowels
- ogni
- Every, each; referring to all members of a group
- momento
- Moment; a brief period or point in time
- nuove
- New; feminine plural of nuovo
- ondate
- Waves; surges or floods of people or things
- teste
- Heads; plural of testa, meaning head
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