what does 'once' here mean ?

[crazYgeeK]

Hi, I don't understand what this "once" in the following sentence means:
"There were once two brothers, John and Robert Hessian. John was 52 years old, Robert 49. ".
Please explain it, is it necessary to use "once" here ?
Is the use of "Robert 49" correct ?
Thank you very much !

 

[Raymott]

Hi, I don't understand what this "once" in the following sentence means:
"There were once two brothers, John and Robert Hessian. John was 52 years old, Robert, 49. ".
Please explain it, is it necessary to use "once" here ?
Is the use of "Robert 49" correct ?
Thank you very much !

"Once" means "At a time in the past ...", "Once upon a time ...", "Some time ago ..."
It means that the time it happened in is not relevant, unless it's stated, as in "Once, when Henry VII was King, there lived two brothers ..."

You need to use a comma in 'Robert, 49'.