Meaning of 'universal notoriety' and 'preconditioning'

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Please help on the meaning of universal notoriety and preconditioning in the below sentence. Many thanks in advance. :slight_smile:

Regards,
~maria

S1:

In it she pleads - in Spanish - for Charles to press the Pope to stand up to Henry saying that the

[quote]
" sufferings, surprises, and affronts which every day puts on us, are of universal notoriety"

S2:
We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual. After years of preconditioning, most of us have developed an ushakable faith in railway time-tables.[/b]

2

Notoriety is fame, but of a negative kind. For example, one might describe a politician as being a ‘notorious liar’ because he he is well known for being untruthful. Universal notoriety would be notoriety that is extremely wide-spread.

Preconditioning means, in the above context, becoming accustomed to something by long-term and repeated experience or exposure.