Thomas Pynchon's Mason & Dixon (1997)
Read Professor Irwin Corey's acceptance speech for Pynchon's 1974 National Book Award for Gravity's Rainbow.
Also, have a look at Douglas Kløvedal Lannark's exhaustive documenting of "love" in Gravity's Rainbow.
H
Hadley, John (1682-1744)
270; English mathematician who invented the reflecting telescope and the reflecting (Hadley's) quadrant.
Hadrian's Wall
282; The Wall, located in Britain, was built by order of the Emperor Hadrian, probably given during his visit to Britain in AD 122. Hadrian wanted to mark the northern boundary of his Empire. Expansion further north came later when from AD 140 to 163 Hadrian's Wall was briefly replaced by the Antonine Wall. The frontier soon moved south again, back to Hadrian's Wall. Interestingly, there is little evidence of major conflict on Hadrian's Wall. [From Hadrian's Wall - World Heritage Site]
Ha-Ha
17; a ditch with a wall on its inner side below ground level, forming a boundary to a garden or park without interrupting the view from within, being visible only from a close proximity (OED, 18th Ed.)
Hailstone, Mr.
192
Haimo of Halberstadt
385; doctor
Half-Hunter
298
Halfpenny, Mr.
722; author of Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste
Halifax Packet
554; transports M&D back to England; 704
Haligast, Squire
366;435
Halley, Dr. Edmund (1656-1742)
131; English astronomer & mathematician; in 1676 he went to St. Helena to make the first catalogue of the stars in the southern hemisphere; he was the first to recommend observing the Transit of Venus to determine the sun's parallax; he predicted the return of the comet that was thereafter named for him; 152; 187; 438; 631
Hammerfost Island
738; where Dixon stayed on his way to the Hollow Earth; a small town (pop. 9,561 in 1995) in Finnmark co., No. Norway, on Kvaløy island. It is the northernmost town of Europe, but its harbor is always ice-free. Tourists are attracted by its uninterrupted daylight from May 17 to July 29. There are fish-processing plants. Chartered c.1795, Hammerfest was heavily damaged by British naval bombardment in 1809, by fire in 1890, and by retreating German forces in 1944. (Courtesy of Columbia Encyclopedia at Bartleby.com)
Handel, George Friederic (1685-1759)
229; German-English composer of great reknown
Hanger
365; a sword worn at the side; especially, in the 18th century, a short, curved sword. This is what Dimdown uses to attack Armand Allegre; 381; 386
Hannings, John
460
Hanover
226; 551
Hansel
551
Harland, Mr. & Mrs. John
330; M&D set up their observatory on his farm; 393; 441
Harris's Ferry
310; river crossing ferry at the site of present-day Harrisburg, capital of Pennsylvania and not too many miles (c. 50 miles?) north of the M-D line on the Susquehanna River
Harris
658; Philadelphia land speculator at the M-D Line
Harrison, John (1693-1776)
201; English horologist who invented a timekeeper (chronometer) capable of compensating for errors due to variations of climate, thus solving the problem of determining longitude at sea and finally claiming the huge prize offered by the government; 213; 322; 436; 728
Harrold, Captain
99
Hatchoir
381
Hawke, Edward, Admiral (1710-81)
27; British admiral in command of the fleet blockading the French naval station of Brest in 1759. The French fleet was badly needed to assist the French army in Canada and in 1759, the French admiral Count de Conflans made a run at breaking the blockade. However, Hawke's fleet caught up to them and drove them into Quiberon Bay where nine French ships were destroyed, virtually incapacitating the fleet. This was key in Britains taking Canada from the French; 52
Head of Elk
397; refers to the head of Maryland's Elk River. It flows through Cecil County and into Chesapeake Bay in the NE corner of Maryland just west of the Delaware border. Head of Elk was of strategic significance in the Revolutionary War: [MORE]
"Hearts of Oak"
53
Heinz
551
Helen of Troy
176; 179
Helgi
634; See Finnbogi
Heliotrope
549; reddish-purple colour
Hellfire Club
110; indulged in orgies at Medmenham Abbey; 418; See also Wilkes, John
Henry, Patrick (1736-99)
395; American statesman & lawyer born in Hanover county, Virginia; 488
Henry VIII (1491-1547)
392; king of England from1509, and quite rotund
Hepatomachy
378; "hepato" = relating to the liver; "-machy" = dispute, controversy; the ancients considered the liver the seat of love; thus "Hepatomachy" might very well be "romantic intrigues"
Hercules
249; "labor like"
Heriulfsson, Biarni
634;
Hermuthruda
352; Queen of Scotland
Herod
632
Herodotus
350
Herren, the
152; German: "Masters"
Herren XVII
58;
Herschel, Sir William (1738-1822)
213; British astronomer who, in 1781, discovered Uranus; 708
Hesperus
96; Hesperos was the god of the Evening Star (the Planet Venus). He was depicted as a white-winged god crowned with a starry oreole - a male version of Astraia. In vase-paintings usually only his face was shown shining in the heavens - from Theoi Project - A Guide to Greek Gods, Spirits & Monsters
Hester, Aunt
199; Charles Mason's sister, married to Elroy; 762
Hetty, Aunt
200; aka Aunt Hester; 763
Hia Emperors
623; The Xia Dynasty, established by Yu, ran from ca. 2205-1766 BC. This is said to be the empire that introduced slavery to China. The emperor was Chung K'ang, said to have ruled from 2159-2147 BC.
Hibernia
309; aka Ireland
Hickman, Thomas
450; on M-D Line kitchen crew; 460; veteran of Braddock's defeat, 614
Hindoo
567
Hipparchus
574
History
44; 68; 75; 349-51; 530; 565; 579; Bad, 615; 629; 708; 747
H.M.S.
Emerald
738
Hob Headless
215; goblin; 505
Hobab
297; working on Obs in Philadelphia
Hogarthian Society, Gin's
247; English satirical painter and caricaturist, William Hogarth (1697-1764) painted "modern moral subjects," including Gin Lane, a series of cartoons depicting the appalling levels of alcoholism and public drunkenness that resulted from the development of gin as the first drinkable distilled liquor that the urban poor could afford to abuse. The term "Hogarthian" often refers more to scenes of squalor and depravity than to Hogarth himself.
Hollow-Earthers
"A complete, largely unsens'd World, held within our own [...] waiting for some Summons to Light" 548; Dixon, 603; "the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth" 707; Mason taken by Being with "Very large eyes" 739
Honorable John
252
Hood, Zacharia
570; Maryland's Stamp Distributor
Hoogli
196; river in East Bengal, on which Calcutta (as in "Black Hole of") is located
Hooke, Dr.
188
Hoomp
602
Horst, Young
661
Hothouse Rose
520
Hottentot-Land
7;
Hounslow Heath
208
Howard
764; "Fine with me, as Howard says to Howard, only please try not to kick that Switch to the main Battery, lest Mr. Dixon, -- oh dear. -- Ingvarr. What did I just say?" - a reference to the Three Stooges: Larry Fine, Moe Howard & Curly Howard [Thanks to Joe Gioia]
Howdah
562; a seat or covered pavilion on the back of an elephant; 572
Hsi and Ho
622-28; The earliest recorded solar eclipse was 22 October 2134 BC. Ancient Chinese records note that "the Sun and Moon did not meet harmoniously." The two Chinese royal astronomers, Hsi and Ho, failed to predict it and were executed by the unhappy emperor; Court Astronomers for one of the Hia Emperors of China, 622-28; The Historickal Personages
Hsiu
623; "or Moon-station of Fang"; The Hsiu are twelve constellations analogous to western zodiacal signs, used to identify position around the Celestial Equator (as the zodiac locates it on the ecliptic). These twelve are also related to the twelve branches in Feng Shui. Fang is the constellation known as Ti-Chieh (Earth's Triumph) and is located within the 72 stars of evil influence. "Fang is a narrow hsiu, only covering a few degrees. Thus, solar eclipses . . . occurring in Fang . . . are moderately rare" (Newton 64)
Huang, Lord
626; "Here we must answer to the Market"; Here are three possible etymologies:
Huang-En or Huang-Fan: Gods of their respective stars.
Huang-Chin Li-Shih: Generic name for the Liu-ting spirits . . . Gold is the elemental force of the West, hence these genii are called the "Athletes of the Western Country," or Region of Gold.
Huang K'un: The God of incense makers and sellers. In the time of Yu, lightening having struck one of the trees in Hsi T'ien, the Western Paradise, one of the branches fell into the Blue River. When cast on the bank, it gave forth so sweet a perfume that it was taken and presented to the Emperor. No one but Huang K'un was able to explain its origin. Yu had incense-sticks made from it and ordered them to be burnt in honor of the Gods. From that time Huang K'un was regarded as the first promoter of this nation-wide industry.
Hu Gadarn
Humphrey, Duke
560
Hum-strum
228; O.E.D.: fr hum + strum, a roughly made or out of tune musical instrument; a hurdy gurdy
Hunter, Elizabeth
239; Thomas Hunter's third wife who married Ralph Dixon (George Dixon's father) after Thos Hunter died
Hunter, Jeremiah
239; Thomas Hunter's brother
Hunter, Mary
229; Jeremiah Dixon's mother; 238; from a Newcastle family, 239
Hunter, Thomas
239; Mary Hunter's father
Hunters
43; Jeremiah Dixon's maternal branch of the family, Quakers all
Hurricanoe/Hurricane
413; aka "Hurricane" (a large private party - 18th cent.); at Castle Lepton; 527
Hurworth
215; town about 3.5 miles south of Darlington and one mile east of Croft Bridge in Durham County, England
Hutchinson, Governor
128; of St. Helena
Hynes, Tom
7; eventual husband of Catherine Wheat; 575; [Historical Sources]
Hynes, William
575; Tom's father
Hysteresis
630: Oxford English Dictionary: "A phenomenon observed in some physical systems, by which changes in a property (e.g. magnetization, or length) lag behind changes in an agent on which they depend (e.g. magnetizing force, or stress), so that the value of the former at any moment depends on the manner of the previous variation of the latter (e.g. whether it was increasing or decreasing in value)"; [MORE]
