His Dark Materials Dictionary

| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | V | W | X | Y | Z |

A

Able-Seaman
A sailor, called Jerry, who is on board the vessel sailing out with Lyra to the North. His daemon is a seagull called Belisaria.

Adamant Tower
The tower used by Lord Asriel as headquarters, in his vast basalt fortress. The tower, which has windows facing out in all four directions, is situated on the highest rampart of the fortress.

Aesahættr
The name by which the cliff-ghasts refer to the Subtle Knife. The name was made up from two Norse words meaning God and death. Other names for it are teleutaia and makhaira.

Aërodock
A place of transportation, in Lyra's world.

Alethiometer
A heavy compass like device, which measures truth. The one given to Lyra was presented to Jordan College by Lord Asriel, and is thought to be one of only six ever made. It is believed to have been made in Prague in the seventeenth century. It has thirty six symbols around the edge, and three short hands controlled by three winding wheels. It also has one longer hand that moves freely, of its own accord.

Anbaric
A kind of energy source, and charge, in Lyra's world. There is an Anbaric Park on the road to Yarnton that is full of aerials, wires and porcelain insulators. There are anbarographs in Jordan College's library. Anbarology is a subject for study. Trams are run by anbaric wires. The fence surrounding Bolvangar is filled with anbaric force.

Erik Andersson
A dancer, very much in vogue in Lyra's London.

Angelica
The girl with the red hair, encountered by Lyra and Will, in Cittàgazze. Her younger brother is called Paolo, and her older brother is called Tullio.

Angels
Their name for themselves is Bene Elim. They are also called The Watchers. Angels are human-like winged creatures but instead of being made of flesh they are made of dust. They are extremly old, intelligent and wise although they crave a real body but cannot have one.

Ama
A young girl who lives in a Himalayan village, in Lyra's world. Her daemon is called Kulang.

Archbishop
A 'hateful old snob' - according to Mrs. Coulter. Invited to Mrs. Coulter's party

Armoured bears
Also known as Panserbørne (a northern word for them). A kind of polar bear. Solitary creatures for the most part, but they come together during times of war or emergency. As animals, they do not have daemons.

Lord Asriel
A dynamic and powerful adventurer, interested in the possibility of other universes and concerned with the investigation of Dust.
His daemon is a Stelmaria, a snow leopard.

Atal
A Mulefa, a particular friend of Dr. Mary Malone's.

Atomcraft-works
Some kind of industrial works in Lyra's world.

The Authority
The first angel, formed out of dust. He pretended to other angels that he was the creator. He has delegated much of his power to his regent, Metatron.

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B

Balthamos
An angel, amongst the lower ranks,who rebelled against The Authority. Companion to Baruch.

Barnard and Stokes
Two renegade theologians, who postulated the existence of other worlds, and were then silenced.

Baruch
An angel, amongst the lower ranks, who rebelled against The Authority. He was once a human, about four thousand years ago, living in Will's world. Companion of Balthamos

Teukros Basilides
The alethiometrist working for Lord Asriel. His daemon is a nightingale.

Bernie
The pastrycook at Jordan. He is one of the rare people whose daemon is the same sex as himself.

Bolvangar
The name given by people in the North to the Experimental Station set up by the Gobblers. The name means Fields of Evil.

Black Shuck
A great ghost-dog of Gyptian legend.

Bloodmoss
A herb or herbs used for healing wounds, and to stop bleeding.

Bodley's Library
A library in Lyra's Oxford

Otyets Semyon Borisovitch A vodka-swilling priest in the village of Kholodnoye, in Central Siberia, in Lyra's world. He tries to ply Will with drink.

Brantwijn
A beverage, in Lyra's world.

Breathless Ones
Half-killed warriors who inhabit the North, in Lyra's world. (They are described by Tony Costa)

Dr. Broken Arrow
The man who mapped the ocean currents in the Great Northern Ocean. (He is pointed out to Lyra by Mrs. Coulter at the Royal Arctic Institute).

Brytain
A country, in Lyra's world.

Byanplats
An area of the Fens, in Lyra's world.

Iorek Byrnison
A noble armoured bear who has been deposed and disgraced and stripped of his armour

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C

Cabinet Coucil
The Prime Minister's special advisory body, of which both Lord Asriel and the Master are members. Meetings are held in White Hall Palace, in Lyra's London.

Cahuchuc
A material, in Lyra's world, used to cover cables

Pope John Calvin
The last Pope in Lyra's world. He moved the seat of Papacy to Geneva. After he died, the Papacy was abolished.

Colonel Carborn
The man who made the first balloon flight over the North Pole. (He is pointed out to Lyra by Mrs. Coulter at the Royal Arctic Institute).

Cassington Scholar
A scholar at Jordan College. He is knowledgeable about Mathematics

The Cave
The name that Dr. Payne has given to the computer used by himself and Dr.Mary Malone in their research on dark matter.

Mr. Cawson
the steward of Jordan College. Has a long-standing rivalry with Wren, the butler. His daemon, is a red-setter.

Château-Vert
Green woods surrounding Lyra's Oxford

Chocolatl
Can be taken as a hot drink, or eaten as a bar, in Lyra's World.

Chthonic Railway
An underground railway system in Lyra's London.

Cittàgazze
The place where Will and Lyra first meet. The city is inhabited by Spectres that prey on adults, but cannot be seen by children. Cittàgazze itself means "City of Magpies".

Sister Clara
A nurse working at the Experimental Station in the North, in Lyra's world. Her daemon is a little white trotting dog.

Clarice Walk
The street in London, in Lyra's world, where Tony Makarios lives.

Claybeds
An area around Lyra's Oxford where the brick-burners children live

Cliff-ghasts
Stinking creatures that dwell on the cliffs, in Lyra's world, and attack humans

The Clouded Mountain
Also known as The Chariot. The citadel of the Authority, it moves from place to place, and is now surrounded by clouds.

Cloud-pine
Branches of cloud-pine are used by witches, for flying.

Coal-silk
A fabric, in Lyra's world.

Coal-spirit
A fuel, in Lyra's world. It is stored in barrels

Colby
A town on the German Ocean, in Lyra's world.

Colby Water
An estuary of the River Cole. The last stretch of inland water in the Fens, before reaching the coast, and the German Ocean.

College of Bishops
Once the most powerful Church bodies, before the Consistorial Court of Discipline took it's place.

Consistorial Court of Discipline
Set up by Pope John Calvin, after he had moved the seat of Papacy to Geneva, and before he died. The most feared of all the bodies of the Church, and part of The Magisterium.

Dr. Cooper
An experimental theologian working at Bolvangar. He has a rabbit-daemon.

Mrs. Cooper
An elderly lady - Will's former piano teacher. She agrees to look after Will's mother.

Farder Coram
A gyptian seer. His daemon is a beautiful, and massive, autumn-coloured cat, called Sophonax.

Ma Costa
A fearsome but kind Gyptian lady. Her daemon is a grey wolf-like dog. The Costas are part of the Stefanski family

Billy Costa
Younger brother of Tony. Son of Ma Costa. A gyptian boy.

Tony Costa
Older brother of Billy, son of Ma Costa. A gyptian boy. His daemon is a hawk

Mrs. Coulter (Marisa)
A beautiful scholar, arctic explorer, and socialite.
Her daemon is a monkey with long, silky, lustrous gold fur.

Cousins
A manservant of the Master of Jordan, and also an old enemy of Lyra's.

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D

Daemons
A part of peoples' personality in Lyra's world. They take the shape of an animal, usually of the opposite sex. Humans can never move more than a few yards away from their daemons, or vice versa. Witches can be geographically parted from their daemons for short periods of time. The daemons of children can constantly change their shape, but adults' daemons have settled into one shape, and cannot change. Armoured bears do not have daemons.

Dr. Dee
A magician who lives at Mortlake.

Dust
A mysterious force which seems to settle on people when they grow up. It terrifies the agents of the Church.
It is also known as Rusakov particles (after the Muscovite- Boris Mikhailovitch Rusakov- who discovered the particles)

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E

Einarsson's Bar
A watering hole in Trollesund - a crude concrete shed. Byrnison is given drink there after work, in the yard behind the bar.

Søren Eisarson
An elderly bear, a counsellor who suffered a great deal under the rule of Iofur Raknison.

Lake Enara
A region in the North - where Serafina Pekkala is Queen.

Experimental Station
The place set up by the General Oblation Board, in the North, in Lyra's world. They are conducting sinister experiments there.

Experimental Theology
A subject for serious study in Lyra's world. Includes the Four Fundamental forces, anbaromagnetic charges, and investigations into the nature of Dust.

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F

John Faa
The Lord of the Western gyptians. His daemon is a crow.

Falkeshall
The place in Lyra's London where the pleasure gardens are located, on the river.

Lena Feldt
A witch who goes to spy on Mrs. Coulter for Will and Lyra. Her daemon is a snow-bunting.

Fen-Dutch
A gyptian dialect or language

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G

Gabriel College
A college in Lyra's Oxford. It is next to Jordan College

Gallivespians
A diminutive and fiercely independent people, in Lyra's world. They are generally no larger than the span of the human hand. They usually live to the age of nine or ten.

General Oblation Board
One of the independent agencies of the Magisterium - a semi-private initiative, not entirely answerable to the Consistorial Court of Discipline.

German Ocean
An ocean in Lyra's World. The tide reaches up to Teddington

Gobblers
The slang name given by people in Lyra's world to those men or women who are stealing their children. When children mysteriously vanish, it is said that they have been taken by the 'Gobblers'.

Father Gomez (Luis)
One of the twelve members of the Consistorial Court. A zealot. His daemon is a large and iridescent green-backed beatle.

Grand Junction Canal
A canal in Lyra's London.

Ground-gas
a source of fuel that Lee Scoresby uses for his balloon. Found in the rocks, in Lyra's world.

Stanislaus Grumman
A former scholar of Jordan College. An explorer who has gone missing in the North, in Lyra's world.

Gyptians
A boat-dwelling people. They are first encountered in the canals around Oxford - living on canal-boats and coming and going with the Spring and Autumn fairs.

Gyropters
A kind of flying vehicle, used for human transportation, in Lyra's world. Their engines make a 'chop-chop-chop' noise as they fly.

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H

Hangman's Wharf
A wharf in Lyra's London. It is located at the end of Denmark Street - by King George's steps. (The wharehouse used by Mrs. Coulter and the General oblation Board is very near these steps)

Hazard
A card game, in Lyra's world.

High Brazil
A country or region in Lyra's world.

Hjalmur Hjalmurson
The bear whom Iorek Byrnison killed, and whose death brought about his exile.

Captain Hudson
An explorer who made a famous voyage to Van Tieren's Land.

Jacob Huismans
A gyptian man. His daemon is a ferret

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I

Imperial Muscovite Academy
The academy in Nova Zembla where Lee Scoresby goes tosearch for Stanislaus Grumman, in Lyra's world.

Intention Craft
A flying vehicle, on six legs, developed in Lord Asriel's fortress. It is piloted by human intentions.

Intercessor
A staff member at Jordan College. His name is Father Heyst. He leads all the college services and hears confessions.

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J

Dirk Jansen
The man whom Will and Lyra follow to the world of the dead. Jenniver-spirit
A beverage enjoyed by gyptians.

Jordan College
One of the oldest and wealthiest colleges in Lyra's Oxford. It has the Melrose Quadrangle, with the Chapel and Palmer's Tower, and Yaxley Quadrangle - where some of the colleges' oldest buildings stand. The Master's lodging opens into the Yaxley Quadrangle.

The college is surrounded by Gabriel College on one side, St. Michael's College on the other, and the University Library behind. Lyra's room is on Staircase Twelve. It also extends several levels underground, and owns a lot of the surrounding land.

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K

Juta Kamainen
A young witch (just over a hundred years old) whose daemon is a robin. A former lover of Stanislaus Grumman. Top

L

Lake Enara
A region in the North in Lyra's World - where Serafina Pekkala is Queen.

Landlopers
A gyptian term for people who live on land, rather than on the water. ('Landlubberly' is a slightly perjorative adjective)

Langlokur Street
A street in Trollesund, in Lyra's world. The location for the sledge depot where Iorek Byrnison is working while he is without his armour.

Martin Lanselius
The Witches' Consul at Trollesund. His daemon is a little serpent.

Lascar
A people, or race, in Lyra's world.

Sir Charles Latrom
The name that Lord Boreal (Carlo) uses when he is in Will's world.

Librarian
A scholar/staff member at Jordan College. His name is Charles

Lodestone resonator
A small square block of stone which is a device used by the Gallivespians to communicate with one another.

Mrs. Lonsdale
The housekeeper at Jordan College. Her daemon is a retriever.

Lyra
The heroine of Northern Lights. She is eleven years old.
Her daemon is called Pantalaimon, and because she is a child, he changes shape. She is a fabulist - a half-wild, half-civilized young girl. Her fate is intertwined with the theological mysteries of Dust and the possibility of other universes.

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M

Hugh MacPhail
President of the Consistorial Court of Discipline. A Scot. His daemon is a lizard.

Magisterium
A tangle of courts, colleges and councils that grew up in place of the papacy, when it was abolished after Pope John Calvin's death.

Tony Makarios
A young boy. His mother thinks he's nine years old, but she's not sure, because she has a bad drink-addled memory. His daemon is called Ratter. He lives in Clarice Walk, London.

Dr. Mary Malone
A scientist researching 'dark matter' in Oxford, in Will's world.

The Master
The master of Jordan College, Oxford.
His daemon is a raven.

Maystadt Process
The name for a sinister operation being executed by the General Oblation Board

Captain Magnusson
The captain who is taking the children on board his ship to the North, in Lyra's World.

Metatron
The Authority's regent. He was once a human, named Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalel.

Moxie
Will's cat, a tabby.

Mulefa
Cattle-like creatures who are sentient, and compassionate. They have one front leg, one back leg, and two side legs, in a diamond-shaped formation. They can cover great distances, at speed, by hooking claws on their front and back legs into wheels. They live in harmony and are very much in touch with nature. They have language, which includes the use of their trunks, and they have laughter. 'Mulefa' is their word for themselves, as a people.

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N

Nälkäinens
Headless ghosts that inhabit the forests of the North, in Lyra's world . They attack people in their sleep. The name is Northern. (They are described by Tony Costa)

Naphtha
A pre-anbaric source of energy. Naptha lamps are older, and have a softer glow, than anbaric lights.

New Denmark
A region or country in Lyra's World.

Night-ghasts
Ghosts that visit in the night, in Lyra's world.

No-Name
The harpy guarding the entrance to the world of the dead.

Northern Progress Exploration Company
The name given to a false company set up by the General Oblation Board, ostensibly for the purpose of searching for minerals.

Nova Zembla
A region or country in the North, in Lyra's world.

Norroway
A region or country in the North, in Lyra's World

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O

Office of Inquisition
A former office of the church - there is talk of reviving it.

King Ogunwe
An African king and commander/general working for Lord Asriel. His daemon is a cheetah.

Madame Oxentiel
A Gallivespian spy - second-in-command to Lord Asriel, Lord Roke is first-in-command.

Ozymandias
The name given to Mrs. Coulter's daemon, a golden monkey, in the Radio 4 dramatisation of 'His Dark Materials (not written by P.P.).

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P

Pagdzin tulku
A great healer, who lives in the Himalayan monastery Cho-Lung-Se, three hours walk from the village where Ama lives, in Lyra's world.

Palmerian Professor
A scholar/staff member at Jordan College. His name is Trelawney

Panserbørne
Armoured bears. A kind of polar bear. Solitary creatures for the most part, but armoured bears to come together during times of war or emergency.

Giacomo Paradisi
The bearer of the knife, before it is passed on to Will.

John Parry
A former officer in the Royal marines - he left to become an explorer. He then disappeared from Will's world. His daemon, in Lyra's world, is an osprey, called Sayan Kötör.

Will Parry
The son of John Pary, he is looking after his sick mother, before he is compelled to escape into another world.

Parslow family
The family employed by Jordan as masons and scaffolders for five generations. Simon Parslow is one of Lyra's companions. Mrs. Lonsdale, the housekeeper, is a Parslow, as is Roger's father.

Fra Pavel
The alethiometrist for the Consistorial Court of Discipline. His daemon is a frog. His full name is Fra Pavel Rasek.

Dr. Oliver Payne
The archaeologist working with Dr. Mary Malone, on her scientific research into dark matter.

Serafina Pekkala
The Queen of a witch clan that dwells at Lake Enara. Her daemon is a beautiful grey goose, named Kaisa.

Alan Perkins
The lawyer in Will's world who is responsible for transferring money from his father to his mother's bank account.

Pie Street, Limehouse
The place where Tony Makarios is first encountered, wandering about. There is a market there. It is in Limehouse, in the London of Lyra's world.

Pope John Calvin
The last Pope in Lyra's world. He moved the seat of Papacy to Geneva. After he died, the Papacy was abolished.

Pre-emptive Penance
A doctrine researched and developed by the Consistorial Court, but not known to the wider church.

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R

Iofur Raknison
The usurper king of the armoured bears of Svalbard.

Roger
Lyra's companion in Oxford. He is a kitchen-boy at Jordan, and a member of the Parslow family.

Lord Roke
A Gallivespian, and Lord Asriel's spy captain. He has a poisonous sting in the spurs on his heels.

Roping
A large meeting held by the Gyptians to decide on difficult and important concerns. All those attending are free to ask questions, but the matters are settled by a small committee.

Lord Rukh
An explorer who froze to death in his tent, holding in his hand an inscription carved in an unknown language. The stone with the inscription is exhibited at the Royal Arctic Institute, in Lyra's London.

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S

Lady Salmakia
A Gallivespian spy, working for Lord Asriel

Samirsky Hotel
A hotel in Nova Zembla, in Lyra's world. Full of Arctic drifters.

Samoyed peoples
Hunters in the North of Lyra's World.

St. Michael's College
A college in Lyra's Oxford. It is next to Jordan College

Jotham Santelia
The Regius Professor of Cosmology at the University of Gloucester. A prisoner of Svalbard.

Sant'Elia
A place in the Spectres' world.

Sattamax
A Mulefa elder.

Lee Scoresby
A New Dane, from the country of Texas. An aëronaut. His daemon is a shabby, tough-looking hare, named Hester.

Shadows
Dr. Mary Malone's term for Dust.

Shot Tower
A tower in Lyra's London, which drops its 'endless drizzle of molten lead into vats of murky water'

Shuter
The Porter of Jordan College, Oxford.

Ruta Skadi
The queen of the Latvian witches. Her daemon is a bluethroat called Sergi.

Skraelings
A northern people in Lyra's World

Sky-iron
The material from which Iorek Byrnison has fashioned his armour.

Smokemarket
A market in Colby, in Lyra's world. The market is named after the granite many-chimneyed building there, where kippers are smoked.

Sraf
The Mulefa word for Dust.

Society Of The Work Of The Holy Spirit
Another very active branch of the Magisterium, along with the Consistorial Court. There is a fierce rivalry between these two branches.

Spectres of Indifference
Invisible to children, they are inhabitants of the world of Cittagazze, and feed on the daemons of adults. They are afraid of the Subtle Knife which can destroy them.

Adèle Starminster
A journalist. Her daemon is a butterfly. She manages to gatecrash into Mrs. Coulter's party.

Stefanski Family
One of the large gyptian families. The Costas are part of this family.

Cardinal Sturrock
A cardinal appointed to the Consistorial Court. His daemon is a macaw.

Sub-rector
A scholar/staff member at Jordan College. He is nearly blind.

Svalbard
An area in the North of Lyra's World. The armoured bears have their palace here, and it is here that Lord Asriel is imprisoned.

Sysselman
A Northern word for the Governor, in Lyra's world.There is a Sysselman at Trollesund.

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T

Thorold
Lord Asriel's manservant. His daemon is a pinscher.

Chevalier Tialys
A Gallivespian spy, working for Lord Asriel.

Tokay
A rich, sweet wine from Hungary.

Top-hatted man
Lyra meets him on the street in London. He is also wearing a white silk muffler. His daemon is a lemur.

Torre degli Angeli
The tower of the angels, in Citta'gazze.

Trepanning
A hole made in the skull, as part of a scalping ritual, traditionally practised by the aboriginals of Siberia, the Tungusk and the Tartars. This practice is thought to have spread to the Skraelings but believed to be banned in New Denmark. It is feared by the Palmerian Professor to have been adopted by Iofur Raknison, the usurper King of Svalbard.

Trollesund
The main port of Lapland, in Lyra's world.

Tualapi
Enormous white birds who attack Mulefas and raid their villages.

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V

Van Tieren's Land
A region in the North, in Lyra's World. Top

W

White Ham
Green woods surrounding Lyra's Oxford

White Hall Palace
The Palace in Lyra's London where the King holds his weekly Council of State.

Windsuckers
A kind of ghost that inhabits the North, in Lyra's world, and preys on people. (They are described by Tony Costa).

Witch-oil
An oil which causes marsh fires to burn. Ma Costa tells Lyra she has 'witch-oil in her soul'.

Wren
The butler of Jordan College. He has a long-standing rivalry with Mr. Cawson, the steward. His daemon is a dog.

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X

Xaphania
An angel, and one of Lord Asriel's high commanders. She rebelled against The Authority a long time ago. Top

Y

Yambe-Akka
The witches' Goddess of the Dead.

Yenisei
A river in Nova Zembla.

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Z

Zaal
The great hall in the Fens where the gyptians' Roping is held.

Zalif
The Mulefas' term for themselves as individuals. Dr. Mary Malone, when learning the Mulefas' language, believes there may be two seperate words for she-zalif and he-zalif, but the difference between the sounds is too subtle for her to discern.