Annotations to James Joyce's Ulysses/Scylla and Charybdis/195

Annotations

Punkt     (German) Item. In Shakespeare's will, the various bequests (including that of his second-best bed to his wife) are each introduced by the word Item. But why does Stephen use German?

Separatio a mensa et a thalamo     (Latin) Separation from board [table] and from bedchamber. Mulligan has altered the legal expression divorce a mensa et thoro (divorce from board and bed), a legally binding form of separation granted by English courts in place of divorce, which was not legally available until the passing into law of the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act in 1857.