Haven't read it, nor War and Peace. Some of the smaller novels by Tolstoy are very good, though, namely the Kreutzer Sonata and (of course) the Death of Ivan Ilyich. I think those are the only stories by Tolstoy I even remember, apart from the Three Old Men and some other story about a monk who had to cut his own finger.
Yeah it's kinda hard to keep track of all the names. Although that's usually the case for me.
If the meanings of non-English/ invented/ Arab-ish words like "gom jabbar" or "sietch" really aren't clear from context, then yes, it might help to look them up at least once.
Duchess of Milan? Is this one of those by Jean Plaidy?
If memory serves, her niche is Plantagenet/Tudor novels. I have some but haven't read them yet.
That's bound up with the thesis, that the hostility of the Christian church to the figure of the bear lead to it being excluded from the emerging symbolism of statehood in Medieval Europe in favour of lions and eagles, which were understood as more appropriate symbols of Christian kingship than the wild, pagan bear which had been exalted by the tribal leaders of the pre-Christian North.Hm, I don't recall any state having a bear as its emblem - but it would make sense. Loads have/had lions and eagles - but only the best had bicephal eagles
The bear probably is more barbaric as a symbol - even the lion is supposed to be majestic, since it (the male) barely hunts and is just in the top of the food chain.
In Greek myth, I think significant bears only appear as Thracian-related beings, unlike (even) boars. Speaking of boars, one would expect that to be the emblem of Calydon, not "Ionians".
