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Title: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 8 - "Kite-Flying" to "Kyshtym"
Author: Various
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 8 - "Kite-Flying" to "Kyshtym"" ***
Transcriber's notes:
(1) Numbers following letters (without space) like C2 were originally
printed in subscript. Letter subscripts are preceded by an
underscore, like C_n.
(2) Characters following a carat (^) were printed in superscript.
(3) Side-notes were relocated to function as titles of their respective
paragraphs.
(4) Macrons and breves above letters and dots below letters were not
inserted.
(5) [root] stands for the root symbol; [alpha], [beta], etc. for greek
letters.
(6) The following typographical errors have been corrected:
ARTICLE KIU-KIANG FU: "Unfortunately, however, it stands above
instead of below the outlet of the Po-yang lake, and this has
proved to be a decided drawback to its success as a commercial
port." ''commercial'' amended from ''commerical''.
ARTICLE KLONDIKE: "Gold is practically the only economic product of
the Klondike, though small amounts of tin ore occur, and lignite
coal has been mined lower down on the Yukon." ''practically''
amended from ''practially''.
ARTICLE KNARESBOROUGH: "In 1317 John de Lilleburn, who was holding
the castle of Knaresborough for Thomas duke of Lancaster against
the king, surrendered under conditions to William de Ros of Hamelak
..." ''Knaresborough'' amended from ''Knaresburgh''.
ARTICLE KNUTSFORD: "... on the Cheshire Lines and London &
North-Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901), 5172."
''Cheshire'' amended from ''Chesire''.
ARTICLE KOREA: "Buddhism, a forceful civilizing element, reached
Hiaksai in A.D. 384, and from it the sutras and images of northern
Buddhism were carried to Japan, as well as Chinese letters and
ethics." ''Buddhism'' amended from ''Buddism''.
ARTICLE KUEN-LUN: "... have the appearance of comparatively gentle
swellings of the earth's surface rather than of well-defined
mountain ranges." ''surface'' amended from ''service''.
ARTICLE KURDISTAN: "... like another Saladin, the bey ruled in
patriarchal state, surrounded by an hereditary nobility, regarded
by his clansmen with reverence and affection, and attended by a
bodyguard of young Kurdish warriors ..." ''patriarchal'' amended
from ''partriarchal''..
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE
AND GENERAL INFORMATION
ELEVENTH EDITION
VOLUME XV, SLICE VIII
Kite-Flying to Kyshtym
ARTICLES IN THIS SLICE:
KITE-FLYING KOSTER, LAURENS
KIT-FOX KOSTROMA (government of Russia)
KITTO, JOHN KOSTROMA (town of Russia)
KITTUR KÖSZEG
KITZINGEN KOTAH
KIU-KIANG FU KOTAS
KIUSTENDIL KOTKA
KIVU KOTRI
KIWI KOTZEBUE, AUGUST FRIEDRICH VON
KIZILBASHES KOTZEBUE, OTTO VON
KIZIL IRMAK KOUMISS
KIZLYAR KOUMOUNDOUROS, ALEXANDROS
KIZYL-KUM KOUSSO
KJERULF, HALFDAN KOVALEVSKY, SOPHIE
KJERULF, THEODOR KOVNO (government of Russia)
KLADNO KOVNO (town of Russia)
KLAFSKY, KATHARINA KOVROV
KLAGENFURT KOWTOW
KLAJ, JOHANN KOZLOV
KLAMATH KRAAL
KLAPKA, GEORG KRAFFT, ADAM
KLAPROTH, HEINRICH JULIUS KRAGUYEVATS
KLAPROTH, MARTIN HEINRICH KRAKATOA
KLÉBER, JEAN BAPTISTE KRAKEN
KLEIN, JULIUS LEOPOLD KRALYEVO
KLEIST, BERND HEINRICH VON KRANTZ, ALBERT
KLEIST, EWALD CHRISTIAN VON KRASNOVODSK
KLERKSDORP KRASNOYARSK
KLESL, MELCHIOR KRASZEWSKI, JOSEPH IGNATIUS
KLINGER, FRIEDRICH VON KRAUSE, KARL CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH
KLINGER, MAX KRAWANG
KLIPSPRINGER KRAY VON KRAJOVA, PAUL
KLONDIKE KREMENCHUG
KLOPP, ONNO KREMENETS
KLOPSTOCK, GOTTLIEB FRIEDRICH KREMS
KLOSTERNEUBURG KREMSIER
KLOTZ, REINHOLD KREUTZER, KONRADIN
KNARESBOROUGH KREUTZER, RUDOLPH
KNAVE KREUZBURG
KNEBEL, KARL LUDWIG VON KREUZNACH
KNEE KRIEGSPIEL
KNELLER, SIR GODFREY KRIEMHILD
KNICKERBOCKER, HARMEN JANSEN KRILOFF, IVAN ANDREEVICH
KNIFE KRISHNA
KNIGGE, ADOLF FRANZ FRIEDRICH KRISHNAGAR
KNIGHT, CHARLES KRISTIANSTAD
KNIGHT, DANIEL RIDGWAY KRIVOY ROG
KNIGHT, JOHN BUXTON KROCHMAL, NAHMAN
KNIGHTHOOD and CHIVALRY KRONENBERG
KNIGHT-SERVICE KRONSTADT
KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE KROONSTAD
KNIPPERDOLLINCK, BERNT KROPOTKIN, PETER ALEXEIVICH
KNITTING KROTOSCHIN
KNOBKERRIE KRÜDENER, BARBARA JULIANA
KNOLLES, RICHARD KRUG, WILHELM TRAUGOTT
KNOLLES, SIR ROBERT KRUGER, STEPHANUS JOHANNES PAULUS
KNOLLYS KRUGERSDORP
KNOT (bird) KRUMAU
KNOT (loop of rope) KRUMBACHER, CARL
KNOUT KRUMEN
KNOWLES, SIR JAMES KRUMMACHER, FRIEDRICH ADOLF
KNOWLES, JAMES SHERIDAN KRUPP, ALFRED
KNOW NOTHING PARTY KRUSENSTERN, ADAM IVAN
KNOX, HENRY KRUSHEVATS
KNOX, JOHN KSHATTRIYA
KNOX, PHILANDER CHASE KUBAN (river of Russia)
KNOXVILLE KUBAÑ (province of Russia)
KNUCKLE KUBELIK, JAN
KNUCKLEBONES KUBERA
KNUTSFORD KUBLAI KHAN
KOALA KUBUS
KOBDO KUCHAN
KOBELL, WOLFGANG XAVER FRANZ KUCH BEHAR
KOCH, ROBERT KUDU
KOCH (tribe) KUENEN, ABRAHAM
KOCK, CHARLES PAUL DE KUEN-LUN
KODAIKANAL KUFA
KODAMA, GENTARO KUHN, FRANZ FELIX ADALBERT
KODUNGALUR KÜHNE, WILLY
KOENIG, KARL DIETRICH EBERHARD KUKA
KOESFELD KU KLUX KLAN
KOHAT KUKU KHOTO
KOHAT PASS KULJA
KOHISTAN KULM
KOHL KULMBACH
KOHLHASE, HANS KULMSEE
KOKOMO KULP
KOKO-NOR KULU
KOKSHAROV, NIKOLAÍ VON KUM
KOKSTAD KUMAIT IBN ZAID
KOLA KUMAON
KOLABA KUMASI
KOLAR KUMISHAH
KOLBE, ADOLPHE WILHELM HERMANN KUMQUAT
KOLBERG KUMTA
KÖLCSEY, FERENCZ KUMYKS
KOLDING KUNAR
KOLGUEV KUNBIS
KOLHAPUR KUNDT, AUGUST ADOLPH EDUARD EBERHARD
KOLIN KUNDUZ
KOLIS KUNENE
KÖLLIKER, RUDOLPH ALBERT VON KUNERSDORF
KOLLONTAJ, HUGO KUNGRAD
KOLOMEA KUNGUR
KOLOMNA KUNKEL VON LOWENSTJERN, JOHANN
KOLOZSVÁR KUNLONG
KOLPINO KUNZITE
KOLS KUOPIO (province of Finland)
KOLYVAÑ KUOPIO (city of Finland)
KOMÁROM KUPRILI
KOMATI KURAKIN, BORIS IVANOVICH
KOMOTAU KURBASH
KOMURA, JUTARO KURDISTAN (country)
KONARAK KURDISTAN (province of Persia)
KONG KURGAN
KONGSBERG KURIA MURIA ISLANDS
KONIA KURILES
KONIECPOLSKI, STANISLAUS KURISCHES HAFF
KÖNIG, KARL RUDOLPH KURNOOL
KÖNIGGRÄTZ KUROKI, ITEI
KÖNIGINHOF KUROPATKIN, ALEXEI NIKOLAIEVICH
KÖNIGSBERG KURO SIWO
KÖNIGSBORN KURRAM
KÖNIGSHÜTTE KURSEONG
KÖNIGSLUTTER KURSK (government of Russia)
KÖNIGSMARK, MARIA AURORA KURSK (town of Russia)
KÖNIGSMARK, PHILIPP CHRISTOPH KURTZ, JOHANN HEINRICH
KÖNIGSSEE KURUMAN
KÖNIGSTEIN KURUMBAS and KURUBAS
KÖNIGSWINTER KURUNEGALA
KONINCK, LAURENT GUILLAUME DE KURUNTWAD
KONINCK, PHILIP DE KURZ, HERMANN
KONITZ KUSAN
KONKAN KUSHALGARH
KONTAGORA KUSHK
KOORINGA KUSTANAISK
KÖPENICK KÜSTENLAND
KOPISCH, AUGUST KUTAIAH
KOPP, HERMANN FRANZ MORITZ KUTAIS (government of Russia)
KOPRÜLÜ KUTAIS (town of Russia)
KORA KUT-EL-AMARA
KORAN KUTENAI
KORAT KUTTALAM
KORDOFAN KUTTENBERG
KOREA (country) KUTUSOV, MIKHAIL LARIONOVICH
KOREA (Indian tributary state) KUWET
KORESHAN ECCLESIA, THE KUZNETSK
KORIN, OGATA KVASS
KORKUS KWAKIUTL
KÖRMÖCZBÁNYA KWANGCHOW BAY
KÖRNER, KARL THEODOR KWANG-SI
KORNEUBURG KWANG-TUNG
KOROCHA KWANZA
KORSÖR KWEI-CHOW
KORTCHA KYAUKPYU
KORYAKS KYAUKSE
KOSCIUSCO KYD, THOMAS
KOSCIUSZKO, TADEUSZ BONAWENTURA KYFFHÄUSER
KÖSEN KYNASTON, EDWARD
KOSHER KYNETON
KÖSLIN KYOSAI, SHO-FU
KOSSOVO KYRIE
KOSSUTH, FERENCZ LAJOS AKOS KYRLE, JOHN
KOSSUTH, LAJOS KYSHTYM
KITE-FLYING, the art of sending up into the air, by means of the wind,
light frames of varying shapes covered with paper or cloth (called
kites, after the bird--in German _Drache_, dragon), which are attached
to long cords or wires held in the hand or wound on a drum. When made in
the common diamond form, or triangular with a semicircular head, kites
usually have a pendulous tail appended for balancing purposes. The
tradition is that kites were invented by Archytas of Tarentum four
centuries before the Christian era, but they have been in use among
Asiatic peoples and savage tribes like the Maoris of New Zealand from
time immemorial. Kite-flying has always been a national pastime of the
Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Tonkinese, Annamese, Malays and East
Indians. It is less popular among the peoples of Europe. The origin of
the sport, although obscure, is usually ascribed to religion. With the
Maoris it still retains a distinctly religious character, and the ascent
of the kite is accompanied by a chant called the kite-song. The Koreans
attribute its origin to a general, who, hundreds of years ago,
inspirited his troops by sending up a kite with a lantern attached,
which was mistaken by his army for a new star and a token of divine
succour. Another Korean general is said to have been the first to put
the kite to mechanical uses by employing one to span a stream with a
cord, which was then fastened to a cable and formed the nucleus of a
bridge. In Korea, Japan and China, and indeed throughout Eastern Asia,
even the tradespeople may be seen indulging in kite-flying while waiting
for customers. Chinese and Japanese kites are of many shapes, such as
birds, dragons, beasts and fishes. They vary in size, but are often as
much as 7 ft. in height or breadth, and are constructed of bamboo strips
covered with rice paper or very thin silk. In China the ninth day of the
ninth month is "Kites' Day," when men and boys of all classes betake
themselves to neighbouring eminences and fly their kites. Kite-fighting
is a feature of the pastime in Eastern Asia. The cord near the kite is
usually stiffened with a mixture of glue and crushed glass or porcelain.
The kite-flyer manoeuvres to get his kite to windward of that of his
adversary, then allows his cord to drift against his enemy's, and by a
sudden jerk to cut it through and bring its kite to grief. The Malays
possess a large variety of kites, mostly without tails. The Sultan of
Johor sent to the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893 a collection
of fifteen different kinds. Asiatic musical kites bear one or more
perforated reeds or bamboos which emit a plaintive sound that can be
heard for great distances. The ignorant, believing that these kites
frighten away evil spirits, often keep them flying all night over their
houses.
There are various metaphorical uses of the term "kite-flying," such as
in commercial slang, when "flying a kite" means raising money on credit
(cf. "raising the wind"), or in political slang for seeing "how the wind
blows." And "flying-kites," in nautical language, are the topmost sails.
Kite-flying for scientific purposes began in the middle of the 18th
century. In 1752 Benjamin Franklin made his memorable kite experiment,
by which he attracted electricity from the air and demonstrated the
electrical nature of lightning. A more systematic use of kites for
scientific purposes may, however, be said to date from the experiments
made in the last quarter of the 19th century. (E. B.)
_Meteorological Use._--Many European and American meteorological
services employ kites regularly, and obtain information not only of the
temperature, but also of the humidity and velocity of the air above. The
kites used are mostly modifications of the so-called box-kites, invented
by L. Hargrave. Roughly these kites may be said to resemble an ordinary
box with the two ends removed, and also the middle part of each of the
four sides. The original Hargrave kite, the form generally used, has a
rectangular section; in Russia a semicircular section with the curved
part facing the wind is most in favour; in England the diamond-shaped
section is preferred for meteorological purposes owing to its simplicity
of construction. Stability depends on a multitude of small details of
construction, and long practice and experience are required to make a
really good kite. The sizes most in use have from 30 to 80 sq. ft. of
sail area. There is no difficulty about raising a kite to a vertical
height of one or even two miles on suitable days, but heights exceeding
three miles are seldom reached. On the 29th of November 1905 at
Lindenberg, the Prussian Aeronautical Observatory, the upper one of a
train of six kites attained an altitude of just four miles. The total
lifting surface of these six kites was nearly 300 sq. ft., and the
length of wire a little over nine miles. The kites are invariably flown
on a steel wire line, for the hindrance to obtaining great heights is
not due so much to the weight of the line as to the wind pressure upon
it, and thus it becomes of great importance to use a material that
possesses the greatest possible strength, combined with the smallest
possible size. Steel piano wire meets this requirement, for a wire of
1/32 in. diameter will weigh about 16 lb. to the mile, and stand a
strain of some 250-280 lb. before it breaks. Some stations prefer to use
one long piece of wire of the same gauge throughout without a join,
others prefer to start with a thin wire and join on thicker and thicker
wire as more kites are added. The process of kite-flying is as follows.
The first kite is started either with the self-recording instruments
secured in it, or hanging from the wire a short distance below it. Wire
is then paid out, whether quickly or slowly depends on the strength of
the wind, but the usual rate is from two to three miles per hour. The
quantity that one kite will take depends on the kite and on the wind,
but roughly speaking it may be said that each 10 sq. ft. of lifting
surface on the kite should carry 1000 ft. of 1/32 in. wire without
difficulty. When as much wire as can be carried comfortably has run out
another kite is attached to the line, and the paying out is continued;
after a time a third is added, and so on. Each kite increases the strain
upon the wire, and moreover adds to the height and makes it more
uncertain what kind of wind the upper kites will encounter; it also adds
to the time that is necessary to haul in the kites. In each way the risk
of their breaking away is increased, for the wind is very uncertain and
is liable to alter in strength. Since to attain an exceptional height
the wire must be strained nearly to its breaking point, and under such
conditions a small increase in the strength of the wind will break the
wire, it follows that great heights can only be attained by those who
are willing to risk the trouble and expense of frequently having their
wire and train of kites break away. The weather is the essential factor
in kite-flying. In the S.E. of England in winter it is possible on about
two days out of three, and in summer on about one day out of three. The
usual cause of failure is want of wind, but there are a few days when
the wind is too strong. (For meteorological results, &c., see
METEOROLOGY.) (W. H. Di.)
_Military Use._--A kite forms so extremely simple a method of lifting
anything to a height in the air that it has naturally been suggested as
being suitable for various military purposes, such as signalling to a
long distance, carrying up flags, or lamps, or semaphores. Kites have
been used both in the army and in the navy for floating torpedoes on
hostile positions. As much as two miles of line have been paid out. For
purposes of photography a small kite carrying a camera to a considerable
height may be caused to float over a fort or other place of which a
bird's-eye view is required, the shutter being operated by electric
wire, or slow match, or clockwork. Many successful photographs have been
thus obtained in England and America.
The problem of lifting a man by means of kites instead of by a captive
balloon is a still more important one. The chief military advantages to
be gained are: (1) less transport is required; (2) they can be used in a
strong wind; (3) they are not so liable to damage, either from the
enemy's fire or from trees, &c., and are easier to mend; (4) they can be
brought into use more quickly; (5) they are very much cheaper, both in
construction and in maintenance, not requiring any costly gas.
Captain B. F. S. Baden-Powell, of the Scots Guards, in June 1894
constructed, at Pirbright Camp, a huge kite 36 ft. high, with which he
successfully lifted a man on different occasions. He afterwards improved
the contrivance, using five or six smaller kites attached together in
preference to one large one. With this arrangement he frequently
ascended as high as 100 ft. The kites were hexagonal, being 12 ft. high
and 12 ft. across. The apparatus, which could be packed in a few minutes
into a simple roll, weighed in all about 1 cwt. This appliance was
proved to be capable of raising a man even during a dead calm, the
retaining line being fixed to a wagon and towed along. Lieut. H. D. Wise
made some trials in America in 1897 with some large kites of the
Hargrave pattern (Hargrave having previously himself ascended in
Australia), and succeeded in lifting a man 40 ft. above the ground. In
the Russian army a military kite apparatus has also been tried, and was
in evidence at the manoeuvres in 1898. Experiments have also been
carried out by most of the European powers. (B. F. S. B.-P.)
KIT-FOX (_Canis [Vulpes] velox_), a small fox, from north-western
America, measuring less than a yard in length, with a tail of nearly a
third this length. There is a good deal of variation in the colour of
the fur, the prevailing tint being grey. A specimen in the Zoological
Gardens of London had the back and tail dark grey, the tail tipped with
black, and a rufous wash on the cheeks, shoulders, flanks and outer
surface of the limbs, with the under surface white. The specific name
was given on account of the extraordinary swiftness of the animal. (See
CARNIVORA.)
KITTO, JOHN (1804-1854), English biblical scholar, was the son of a
mason at Plymouth, where he was born on the 4th of December 1804. An
accident brought on deafness, and in November 1819 he was sent to the
workhouse, where he was employed in making list shoes. In 1823 a fund
was raised on his behalf, and he was sent to board with the clerk of the
guardians, having his time at his own disposal, and the privilege of
making use of a public library. After preparing a small volume of
miscellanies, which was published by subscription, he studied dentistry
with Anthony Norris Groves in Exeter. In 1825 he obtained congenial
employment in the printing office of the Church Missionary Society at
Islington, and in 1827 was transferred to the same society's
establishment at Malta. There he remained for eighteen months, but
shortly after his return to England he accompanied Groves and other
friends on a private missionary enterprise to Bagdad, where he obtained
personal knowledge of Oriental life and habits which he afterwards
applied with tact and skill in the illustration of biblical scenes and
incidents. Plague broke out, the missionary establishment was broken up,
and in 1832 Kitto returned to England. On arriving in London he was
engaged in the preparation of various serial publications of the Society
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, the most important of which were
the _Pictorial History of Palestine_ and the _Pictorial Bible_. The
_Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature_, edited under his superintendence,
appeared in two volumes in 1843-1845 and passed through three editions.
His _Daily Bible Illustrations_ (8 vols. 1849-1853) received an
appreciation which is not yet extinct. In 1850 he received an annuity of
£100 from the civil list. In August 1854 he went to Germany for the
waters of Cannstatt on the Neckar, where on the 25th of November he
died.
See Kitto's own work, _The Lost Senses_ (1845); J. E. Ryland's
_Memoirs of Kitto_ (1856); and John Eadie's _Life of Kitto_ (1857).
KITTUR, a village of British India, in the Belgaum district of Bombay;
pop. (1901), 4922. It contains a ruined fort, formerly the residence of
a Mahratta chief. In connexion with a disputed succession to this
chiefship in 1824, St John Thackeray, an uncle of the novelist, was
killed when approaching the fort under a flag of truce; and a nephew of
Sir Thomas Munro, governor of Madras, fell subsequently when the fort
was stormed.
KITZINGEN, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Bavaria on the Main, 95
m. S.E. of Frankfort-on-Main by rail, at the junction of the main-lines
to Passau, Würzburg and Schweinfurt. Pop. (1900), 8489. A bridge, 300
yards long, connects it with its suburb Etwashausen on the left bank of
the river. A railway bridge also spans the Main at this point. Kitzingen
is still surrounded by its old walls and towers, and has an Evangelical
and two Roman Catholic churches, two municipal museums, a town-hall, a
grammar school, a richly endowed hospital and two old convents. Its
chief industries are brewing, cask-making and the manufacture of cement
and colours. Considerable trade in wine, fruit, grain and timber is
carried on by boats on the Main. Kitzingen possessed a Benedictine abbey
in the 8th century, and later belonged to the bishopric of Würzburg.
See F. Bernbeck, _Kitzinger Chronik 745-1565_ (Kitzingen, 1899).
KIU-KIANG FU, a prefecture and prefectural city in the province of
Kiang-si, China. The city, which is situated on the south bank of the
Yangtsze-kiang, 15 m. above the point where the Kan Kiang flows into
that river from the Po-yang lake, stands in 29° 42´ N. and 116° 8´ E.
The north face of the city is separated from the river by only the width
of a roadway, and two large lakes lie on its west and south fronts. The
walls are from 5 to 6 m. in circumference, and are more than usually
strong and broad. As is generally the case with old cities in China,
Kiu-Kiang has repeatedly changed its name. Under the Tsin dynasty (A.D.
265-420), it was known as Sin-Yang, under the Liang dynasty (502-557) as
Kiang Chow, under the Suy dynasty (589-618) as Kiu-Kiang, under the Sung
dynasty (960-1127) as Ting-Kiang, and under the Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
it assumed the name it at present bears. Kiu-Kiang has played its part
in the history of the empire, and has been repeatedly besieged and
sometimes taken, the last time being in February 1853, when the
T'ai-p'ing rebels gained possession of the city. After their manner they
looted and utterly destroyed it, leaving only the remains of a single
street to represent the once flourishing town. The position of Kiu-Kiang
on the Yangtsze-kiang and its proximity to the channels of internal
communication through the Po-yang lake, more especially to those leading
to the green-tea-producing districts of the provinces of Kiang-si and
Ngan-hui, induced Lord Elgin to choose it as one of the treaty ports to
be opened under the terms of his treaty (1861). Unfortunately, however,
it stands above instead of below the outlet of the Po-yang lake, and
this has proved to be a decided drawback to its success as a commercial
port. The immediate effect of opening the town to foreign trade was to
raise the population in one year from 10,000 to 40,000. The population
in 1908, exclusive of foreigners, was officially estimated at 36,000.
The foreign settlement extends westward from the city, along the bank of
the Yangtsze-kiang, and is bounded on its extreme west by the P'un
river, which there runs into the Yangtsze. The bund, which is 500 yards
long, was erected by the foreign community. The climate is good, and
though hot in the summer months is invariably cold and bracing in the
winter. According to the customs returns the value of the trade of the
port amounted in 1902 to £2,854,704, and in 1904 to £3,489,816, of which
£1,726,506 were imports and £1,763,310 exports. In 1904 322,266 lb. of
opium were imported.
KIUSTENDIL, the chief town of a department in Bulgaria, situated in a
mountainous country, on a small affluent of the Struma, 43 m. S.W. of
Sofia by rail. Pop. (1906), 12,353. The streets are narrow and uneven,
and the majority of the houses are of clay or wood. The town is chiefly
notable for its hot mineral springs, in connexion with which there are
nine bathing establishments. Small quantities of gold and silver are
obtained from mines near Kiustendil, and vines, tobacco and fruit are
largely cultivated. Some remains survive of the Roman period, when the
town was known as Pautalia, Ulpia Pautalia, and Pautalia Aurelii. In the
10th century it became the seat of a bishopric, being then and during
the later middle ages known by the Slavonic name of Velbuzhd. After the
overthrow of the Servian kingdom it came into the possession of
Constantine, brother of the despot Yovan Dragash, who ruled over
northern Macedonia. Constantine was expelled and killed by the Turks in
1394. In the 15th century Kiustendil was known as Velbushka Banya, and
more commonly as Konstantinova Banya (Constantine's Bath), from which
has developed the Turkish name Kiustendil.
KIVU, a considerable lake lying in the Central African (or Albertine)
rift-valley, about 60 m. N. of Tanganyika, into which it discharges its
waters by the Rusizi River. On the north it is separated from the basin
of the Nile by a line of volcanic peaks. The length of the lake is about
55 m., and its greatest breadth over 30, giving an area, including
islands, of about 1100 sq. m. It is about 4830 ft. above sea-level and
is roughly triangular in outline, the longest side lying to the west.
The coast-line is much broken, especially on the south-east, where the
indentations present a fjord-like character. The lake is deep, and the
shores are everywhere high, rising in places in bold precipitous cliffs
of volcanic rock. A large island, Kwijwi or Kwichwi, oblong in shape and
traversed by a hilly ridge, runs in the direction of the major axis of
the lake, south-west of the centre, and there are many smaller islands.
The lake has many fish, but no crocodiles or hippopotami. South of Kivu
the rift-valley is blocked by huge ridges, through which the Rusizi now
breaks its way in a succession of steep gorges, emerging from the lake
in a foaming torrent, and descending 2000 ft. to the lacustrine plain at
the head of Tanganyika. The lake fauna is a typically fresh-water one,
presenting no affinities with the marine or "halolimnic" fauna of
Tanganyika and other Central African lakes, but is similar to that shown
by fossils to have once existed in the more northern parts of the
rift-valley. The former outlet or extension in this direction seems to
have been blocked in recent geological times by the elevation of the
volcanic peaks which dammed back the water, causing it finally to
overflow to the south. This volcanic region is of great interest and has
various names, that most used being Mfumbiro (q.v.), though this name is
sometimes restricted to a single peak. Kivu and Mfumbiro were first
heard of by J. H. Speke in 1861, but not visited by a European until
1894, when Count von Götzen passed through the country on his journey
across the continent. The lake and its vicinity were subsequently
explored by Dr R. Kandt, Captain Bethe, E. S. Grogan, J. E. S. Moore,
and Major St Hill Gibbons. The ownership of Kivu and its neighbourhood
was claimed by the Congo Free State and by Germany, the dispute being
settled in 1910, after Belgium had taken over the Congo State. The
frontier agreed upon was the west bank of the Rusizi, and the west shore
of the lake. The island of Kwijwi also fell to Belgium.
See R. Kandt, _Caput Nili_ (Berlin, 1904), and _Karte des Kivusees_,
1: 285,000, with text by A. v. Bockelmann (Berlin, 1902); E. S. Grogan
and A. H. Sharpe, _From the Cape to Cairo_ (London, 1900); J. E. S.
Moore, _To the Mountains of the Moon_ (London, 1901); A. St H.
Gibbons, _Africa from South to North_, ii. (London, 1904).
KIWI, or KIWI-KIWI, the Maori name--first apparently introduced to
zoological literature by Lesson in 1828 (_Man. d'Ornithologie_, ii.
210, or _Voy. de la "Coquille," zoologie_, p. 418), and now very
generally adopted in English--of one of the most characteristic forms of
New Zealand birds, the _Apteryx_ of scientific writers. This remarkable
bird was unknown till George Shaw described and figured it in 1813
(_Nat. Miscellany_, pls. 1057, 1058) from a specimen brought to him from
the southern coast of that country by Captain Barcley of the ship
"Providence." At Shaw's death, in the same year, it passed into the
possession of Lord Stanley, afterwards 13th earl of Derby, and president
of the Zoological Society, and it is now with the rest of his collection
in the Liverpool Museum. Considering the state of systematic ornithology
at the time, Shaw's assignment of a position to this new and strange
bird, of which he had but the skin, does him great credit, for he said
it seemed "to approach more nearly to the Struthious and Gallinaceous
tribes than to any other." And his credit is still greater when we find
the venerable John Latham, who is said to have examined the specimen
with Shaw, placing it some years later among the penguins (_Gen. Hist.
Birds_, x. 394), being apparently led to that conclusion through its
functionless wings and the backward situation of its legs. In this false
allocation, James Francis Stephens also in 1826 acquiesced (_Gen.
Zoology_, xiii. 70). Meanwhile in 1820 K. J. Temminck, who had never
seen a specimen, had assorted it with the dodo in an order to which he
applied the name of _Inertes_ (_Man. d'Ornithologie_, i. cxiv.). In 1831
R. P. Lesson, who had previously (_loc. cit._) made some blunders about
it, placed it (_Traité d'Ornithologie_, p. 12), though only, as he says,
"par analogie et _a priori_," in his first division of birds, "Oiseaux
Anomaux," which is equivalent to what we now call _Ratitae_, making of
it a separate family "Nullipennes." At that time no second example was
known, and some doubt was felt, especially on the Continent, as to the
very existence of such a bird [1]--though Lesson had himself when in the
Bay of Islands in April 1824 (_Voy. "Coquille," ut supra_) heard of it;
and a few years later J. S. C. Dumont d'Urville had seen its skin, which
the naturalists of his expedition procured, worn as a tippet by a Maori
chief at Tolaga Bay (Houa-houa),[2] and in 1830 gave what proves to be
on the whole very accurate information concerning it (_Voy.
"Astrolabe,"_ ii. 107). To put all suspicion at rest, Lord Derby sent
his unique specimen for exhibition at a meeting of the Zoological
Society, on the 12th of February 1833 (_Proc. Zool. Society_, 1833, p.
24), and a few months later (_tom. cit._, p. 80) William Yarrell
communicated to that body a complete description of it, which was
afterwards published in full with an excellent portrait (_Trans. Zool.
Society_, vol. i. p. 71, pl. 10). Herein the systematic place of the
species, as akin to the Struthious birds, was placed beyond cavil, and
the author called upon all interested in zoology to aid in further
research as to this singular form. In consequence of this appeal a
legless skin was within two years sent to the society (_Proceedings_,
1835, p. 61) obtained by W. Yate of Waimate, who said it was the second
he had seen, and that he had kept the bird alive for nearly a fortnight,
while in less than another couple of years additional information (_op.
cit._, 1837, p. 24) came from T. K. Short to the effect that he had seen
two living, and that all Yarrell had said was substantially correct,
except underrating its progressive powers. Not long afterwards Lord
Derby received and in March 1838 transmitted to the same society the
trunk and viscera of an _Apteryx_, which, being entrusted to Sir R.
Owen, furnished that eminent anatomist, in conjunction with other
specimens of the same kind received from Drs Lyon and George Bennett,
with the materials of the masterly monograph laid before the society in
instalments, and ultimately printed in its _Transactions_ (ii. 257; iii.
277). From this time the whole structure of the kiwi has certainly been
far better known than that of nearly any other bird, and by degrees
other examples found their way to England, some of which were
distributed to the various museums of the Continent and of America.[3]
[Illustration: Kiwi.]
In 1847 much interest was excited by the reported discovery of another
species of the genus (_Proceedings_, 1847, p. 51); and though the story
was not confirmed, a second species was really soon after made known by
John Gould (_tom. cit._, p. 93; _Transactions_, vol. iii, p. 379, pl.
57) under the name of _Apteryx oweni_--a just tribute to the great
master who had so minutely explained the anatomy of the group. Three
years later A. D. Bartlett drew attention to the manifest difference
existing among certain examples, all of which had hitherto been regarded
as specimens of _A. australis_, and the examination of a large series
led him to conclude that under that name two distinct species were
confounded. To the second of these, the third of the genus (according to
his views), he gave the name of _A. mantelli_ (_Proceedings_, 1850, p.
274), and it soon turned out that to this new form the majority of the
specimens already obtained belonged. In 1851 the first kiwi known to
have reached England alive was presented to the Zoological Society by
Eyre, then lieutenant-governor of New Zealand. This was found to belong
to the newly described _A. mantelli_, and some careful observations on
its habits in captivity were published by John Wolley and another
(_Zoologist_, pp. 3409, 3605).[4] Subsequently the society has received
several other live examples of this form, besides one of the real _A.
australis_ (_Proceedings_, 1872, p. 861), some of _A. oweni_, and one of
a supposed fourth species, _A. haasti_, characterized in 1871 by Potts
(_Ibis_, 1872, p. 35; _Trans. N. Zeal. Institute_, iv. 204; v. 195).[5]
The kiwis form a group of the subclass _Ratitae_ to which the rank of an
order may fitly be assigned, as they differ in many important
particulars from any of the other existing forms of Ratite birds. The
most obvious feature the _Apteryges_ afford is the presence of a back
toe, while the extremely aborted condition of the wings, the position of
the nostrils--almost at the tip of the maxilla--and the absence of an
after-shaft in the feathers, are characters nearly as manifest, and
others not less determinative, though more recondite, will be found on
examination. The kiwis are peculiar to New Zealand, and it is believed
that _A. mantelli_ is the representative in the North Island of the
southern _A. australis_, both being of a dark reddish-brown,
longitudinally striped with light yellowish-brown, while _A. oweni_, of
a light greyish-brown transversely barred with black, is said to occur
in both islands. About the size of a large domestic fowl, they are birds
of nocturnal habit, sleeping, or at least inactive, by day, feeding
mostly on earth-worms, but occasionally swallowing berries, though in
captivity they will eat flesh suitably minced. Sir Walter Buller writes
(_B. of New Zealand_, p. 362):--
"The kiwi is in some measure compensated for the absence of wings by
its swiftness of foot. When running it makes wide strides and carries
the body in an oblique position, with the neck stretched to its full
extent and inclined forwards. In the twilight it moves about
cautiously and as noiselessly as a rat, to which, indeed, at this time
it bears some outward resemblance. In a quiescent posture, the body
generally assumes a perfectly rotund appearance; and it sometimes, but
only rarely, supports itself by resting the point of its bill on the
ground. It often yawns when disturbed in the daytime, gaping its
mandibles in a very grotesque manner. When provoked it erects the
body, and, raising the foot to the breast, strikes downwards with
considerable force and rapidity, thus using its sharp and powerful
claws as weapons of defence.... While hunting for its food the bird
makes a continual sniffing sound through the nostrils, which are
placed at the extremity of the upper mandible. Whether it is guided as
much by touch as by smell I cannot safely say; but it appears to me
that both senses are used in the action. That the sense of touch is
highly developed seems quite certain, because the bird, although it
may not be audibly sniffing, will always first touch an object with
the point of its bill, whether in the act of feeding or of surveying
the ground; and when shut up in a cage or confined in a room it may be
heard, all through the night, tapping softly at the walls.... It is
interesting to watch the bird, in a state of freedom, foraging for
worms, which constitute its principal food: it moves about with a slow
action of the body; and the long, flexible bill is driven into the
soft ground, generally home to the very root, and is either
immediately withdrawn with a worm held at the extreme tip of the
mandibles, or it is gently moved to and fro, by an action of the head
and neck, the body of the bird being perfectly steady. It is amusing
to observe the extreme care and deliberation with which the bird draws
the worm from its hiding-place, coaxing it out as it were by degrees,
instead of pulling roughly or breaking it. On getting the worm fairly
out of the ground, it throws up its head with a jerk, and swallows it
whole."
The foregoing extract refers to _A. mantelli_, but there is little doubt
of the remarks being equally applicable to _A. australis_, and probably
also to _A. oweni_, though the different proportion of the bill in the
last points to some diversity in the mode of feeding. (A. N.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Cuvier in the second edition of his _Règne Animal_ only referred
to it in a footnote (i. 498).
[2] Cruise in 1822 (_Journ. Residence in New Zealand_, p. 313) had
spoken of an "emeu" found in that island, which must of course have
been an _Apteryx_.
[3] In 1842, according to Broderip (_Penny Cyclopaedia_, xxiii. 146),
two had been presented to the Zoological Society by the New Zealand
Company, and two more obtained by Lord Derby, one of which he had
given to Gould. In 1844 the British Museum possessed three, and the
sale catalogue of the Rivoli Collection, which passed in 1846 to the
Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, includes a single
specimen--probably the first taken to America.
[4] This bird in 1859 laid an egg, and afterwards continued to lay
one or two more every year. In 1865 a male of the same species was
introduced, but though a strong disposition to breed was shown on the
part of both, and the eggs, after the custom of the _Ratitae_, were
incubated by him, no progeny was hatched (_Proceedings_, 1868, p.
329).
[5] A fine series of figures of all these supposed species is given
by Rowley (_Orn. Miscellany_, vol. i. pls. 1-6). Some others, as _A.
maxima_, _A. mollis_, and _A. fusca_ have also been indicated, but
proof of their validity has yet to be adduced.
KIZILBASHES (Turkish, "Red-Heads"), the nickname given by the Orthodox
Turks to the Shiitic Turkish immigrants from Persia, who are found
chiefly in the plains from Kara-Hissar along Tokat and Amasia to Angora.
During the wars with Persia the Turkish sultans settled them in these
districts. They are strictly speaking persianized Turks, and speak pure
Persian. There are many Kizilbashes in Afghanistan. Their immigration
dates only from the time of Nadir Shah (1737). They are an industrious
honest folk, chiefly engaged in trade and as physicians, scribes, and so
on. They form the bulk of the amir's cavalry. Their name seems to have
been first used in Persia of the Shiites in allusion to their red caps.
See Ernest Chantre, _Recherches anthropologiques dans l'Asie
occidentale_ (Lyons, 1895).
KIZIL IRMAK, i.e. "Red River" (anc. _Halys_), the largest river in Asia
Minor, rising in the Kizil Dagh at an altitude of 6500 ft., and running
south-west past Zara to Sivas. Below Sivas it flows south to the
latitude of Kaisarieh, and then curves gradually round to the north.
Finally, after a course of about 600 m., it discharges its waters into
the Black Sea between Sinope and Samsun, where it forms a large delta.
The only important tributaries are the Delije Irmak on the right and the
Geuk Irmak on the left bank.
KIZLYAR (KIZLIAR, or KIZLAR), a town of Russia, in Caucasia, in the
province of Terek, 120 m. N.E. of Vladikavkaz, in the low-lying delta of
the river Terek, about 35 m. from the Caspian. The population decreased
from 8309 in 1861 to 7353 in 1897. The town lies to the left of the main
stream between two of the larger secondary branches, and is subject to
flooding. The town proper, which spreads out round the citadel, has
Tatar, Georgian and Armenian quarters. The public buildings include the
Greek cathedral, dating from 1786; a Greek nunnery, founded by the
Georgian chief Daniel in 1736; the Armenian church of SS Peter and Paul,
remarkable for its size and wealth. The population is mainly supported
by the gardens and vineyards irrigated by canals from the river. A
government vineyard and school of viticulture are situated 3½ m. from
the town. About 1,200,000 gallons of Kizlyar wine are sold annually at
the fair of Nizhniy-Novgorod. Silk and cotton are woven. Kizlyar is
mentioned as early as 1616, but the most notable accession of
inhabitants (Armenians, Georgians and Persians) took place in 1715. Its
importance as a fortress dates from 1736, but the fortress is no longer
kept in repair.
KIZYL-KUM, a desert of Western Asia, stretching S.E. of the Aral Lake
between the river Syr-darya on the N.E. and the river Amu-darya on the
S.W. It measures some 370 by 220 m., and is in part covered with
drift-sand or dunes, many of which are advancing slowly but steadily
towards the S.W. In character they resemble those of the neighbouring
Kara-kum desert (see KARA-KUM). On the whole the Kizyl-kum slopes S.W.
towards the Aral Lake, where its altitude is only about 160 ft. as
compared with 2000 in the S.E. In the vicinity of that lake the surface
is covered with Aralo-Caspian deposits; but in the S.E., as it ascends
towards the foothills of the Tian-shan system, it is braided with deep
accumulations of fertile loess.
KJERULF, HALFDAN (1815-1868), Norwegian musical composer, the son of a
high government official, was born at Christiania on the 15th of
September 1815. His early education was at Christiania University, for a
legal career, and not till he was nearly 26--on the death of his
father--was he able to devote himself entirely to music. As a fact, he
actually started on his career as a music teacher and composer of songs
before ever having seriously studied music at all, and not for ten years
did he attract any particular notice. Then, however, his Government paid
for a year's instruction for him at Leipzig. For many years after his
return to Norway Kjerulf tried in vain to establish serial classical
concerts, while he himself was working with Björnson and other writers
at the composition of lyrical songs. His fame rests almost entirely on
his beautiful and manly national part-songs and solos; but his
pianoforte music is equally charming and simple. Kjerulf died at
Grefsen, on the 11th of August 1868.
KJERULF, THEODOR (1825-1888), Norwegian geologist, was born at
Christiania on the 30th of March 1825. He was educated in the university
at Christiania, and subsequently studied at Heidelberg, working in
Bunsen's laboratory. In 1858 he became professor of geology in the
university of his native city, and he was afterwards placed in charge of
the geological survey of the country, then established mainly through
his influence. His contributions to the geology of Norway were numerous
and important, especially in reference to the southern portion of the
country, and to the structure and relations of the Archaean and
Palaeozoic rocks, and the glacial phenomena. His principal results were
embodied in his work _Udsigt over det sydlige Norges Geologi_ (1879). He
was author also of some poetical works. He died at Christiania on the
25th of October 1888.
KLADNO, a mining town of Bohemia, Austria, 18 m. W.N.W. of Prague by
rail. Pop. (1900), 18,600, mostly Czech. It is situated in a region very
rich in iron-mines and coal-fields and possesses some of the largest
iron and steel works in Bohemia. Near it is the mining town of
Buschtehrad (pop. 3510), situated in the centre of very extensive
coal-fields. Buschtehrad was originally the name of the castle only.
This was from the 15th century to 1630 the property of the lords of
Kolovrat, and came by devious inheritance through the grand-dukes of
Tuscany, to the emperor Francis Joseph. The name Buschtehrad was first
given to the railway, and then to the town, which had been called Buckow
since its foundation in 1700. There is another castle of Buschtehrad
near Horic. Kladno, which for centuries had been a village of no
importance, was sold in 1705 by the grand-duchess Anna Maria of Tuscany
to the cloister in Brewnow, to which it still belongs. The mining
industry began in 1842.
KLAFSKY, KATHARINA (1855-1896), Hungarian operatic singer, was born at
Szt János, Wieselburg, of humble parents. Being employed at Vienna as a
nurserymaid, her fine soprano voice led to her being engaged as a chorus
singer, and she was given good lessons in music. By 1882 she became
well-known in Wagnerian rôles at the Leipzig theatre, and she increased
her reputation at other German musical centres. In 1892 she appeared in
London, and had a great success in Wagner's operas, notably as
Brünnhilde and as Isolde, her dramatic as well as vocal gifts being of
an exceptional order. She sang in America in 1895, but died of brain
disease in 1896.
A _Life_, by L. Ordemann, was published in 1903 (Leipzig).
KLAGENFURT (Slovene, _Celovec_), the capital of the Austrian duchy of
Carinthia, 212 m. S.W. of Vienna by rail. Pop. (1900), 24,314. It is
picturesquely situated on the river Glan, which is in communication with
the Wörther-see by the 3 m. long Lend canal. Among the more noteworthy
buildings are the parish church of St Ægidius (1709), with a tower 298
ft. in height; the cathedral of SS Peter and Paul (1582-1593, burnt
1723, restored 1725); the churches of the Benedictines (1613), of the
Capuchins (1646), and of the order of St Elizabeth (1710). To these must
be added the palace of the prince-bishop of Gurk, the _burg_ or castle,
existing in its present form since 1777; and the _Landhaus_ or house of
assembly, dating from the end of the 14th century, and containing a
museum of natural history, and collection of minerals, antiquities,
seals, paintings and sculptures. The most interesting public monument is
the great _Lindwurm_ or Dragon, standing in the principal square (1590).
The industrial establishments comprise white lead factories, machine and
iron foundries, and commerce is active, especially in the mineral
products of the region.
Upon the Zollfeld to the north of the city once stood the ancient Roman
town of Virunum. During the Middle Ages Klagenfurt became the property
of the crown, but by a patent of Maximilian I. of the 24th of April
1518, it was conceded to the Carinthian estates, and has since then
taken the place of St Veit as capital of Carinthia. In 1535, 1636, 1723
and 1796 Klagenfurt suffered from destructive fires, and in 1690 from
the effects of an earthquake. On the 29th of March 1797 the French took
the city, and upon the following day it was occupied by Napoleon as his
headquarters.
KLAJ (latinized CLAJUS), JOHANN (1616-1656), German poet, was born at
Meissen in Saxony. After studying theology at Wittenberg he went to
Nuremberg as a "candidate for holy orders," and there, in conjunction
with Georg Philipp Harsdörffer, founded in 1644 the literary society
known as the Pegnitz order. In 1647 he received an appointment as master
in the Sebaldus school in Nuremberg, and in 1650 became preacher at
Kitzingen, where he died in 1656. Klaj's poems consist of dramas,
written in stilted language and redundant with adventures, among which
are _Höllen- und Himmelfahrt Christi_ (Nuremberg, 1644), and _Herodes,
der Kindermörder_ (Nuremberg, 1645), and a poem, written jointly with
Harsdörffer, _Pegnesische Schäfergedicht_ (1644), which gives in
allegorical form the story of his settlement in Nuremberg.
See Tittmann, _Die Nürnberger Dichterschule_ (Göttingen, 1847).
KLAMATH, a small tribe of North American Indians of Lutuamian stock.
They ranged around the Klamath river and lakes, and are now on the
Klamath reservation, southern Oregon.
See A. S. Gatschet, "Klamath Indians of Oregon," _Contributions to
North American Ethnology_, vol. ii. (Washington, 1890).
KLAPKA, GEORG (1820-1892), Hungarian soldier, was born at Temesvár on
the 7th of April 1820, and entered the Austrian army in 1838. He was
still a subaltern when the Hungarian revolution of 1848 broke out, and
he offered his services to the patriot party. He served in important
staff appointments during the earlier part of the war which followed;
then, early in 1849, he was ordered to replace General Mészáros, who had
been defeated at Kaschau, and as general commanding an army corps he
had a conspicuous share in the victories of Kapólna, Isaszeg, Waitzen,
Nagy Sarlo and Komárom. Then, as the fortune of war turned against the
Hungarians, Klapka, after serving for a short time as minister of war,
took command at Komárom, from which fortress he conducted a number of
successful expeditions until the capitulation of Világos in August put
an end to the war in the open field. He then brilliantly defended
Komárom for two months, and finally surrendered on honourable terms.
Klapka left the country at once, and lived thenceforward for many years
in exile, at first in England and afterwards chiefly in Switzerland. He
continued by every means in his power to work for the independence of
Hungary, especially at moments of European war, such as 1854, 1859 and
1866, at which an appeal to arms seemed to him to promise success. After
the war of 1866 (in which as a Prussian major-general he organized a
Hungarian corps in Silesia) Klapka was permitted by the Austrian
government to return to his native country, and in 1867 was elected a
member of the Hungarian Chamber of Deputies, in which he belonged to the
Deák party. In 1877 he made an attempt to reorganize the Turkish army in
view of the war with Russia. General Klapka died at Budapest on the 17th
of May 1892. A memorial was erected to his memory at Komárom in 1896.
He wrote _Memoiren_ (Leipzig, 1850); _Der Nationalkrieg in Ungarn_,
&c. (Leipzig, 1851); a history of the Crimean War, _Der Krieg im
Orient ... bis Ende Juli 1855_ (Geneva, 1855); and _Aus meinen
Erinnerungen_ (translated from the Hungarian, Zürich, 1887).
KLAPROTH, HEINRICH JULIUS (1783-1835), German Orientalist and traveller,
was born in Berlin on the 11th of October 1783, the son of the chemist
Martin Heinrich Klaproth (q.v.). He devoted his energies in quite early
life to the study of Asiatic languages, and published in 1802 his
_Asiatisches Magazin_ (Weimar, 1802-1803). He was in consequence called
to St Petersburg and given an appointment in the academy there. In 1805
he was a member of Count Golovkin's embassy to China. On his return he
was despatched by the academy to the Caucasus on an ethnographical and
linguistic exploration (1807-1808), and was afterwards employed for
several years in connexion with the academy's Oriental publications. In
1812 he moved to Berlin; but in 1815 he settled in Paris, and in 1816
Humboldt procured him from the king of Prussia the title and salary of
professor of Asiatic languages and literature, with permission to remain
in Paris as long as was requisite for the publication of his works. He
died in that city on the 28th of August 1835.
The principal feature of Klaproth's erudition was the vastness of the
field which it embraced. His great work _Asia polyglotta_ (Paris, 1823
and 1831, with _Sprachatlas_) not only served as a _résumé_ of all
that was known on the subject, but formed a new departure for the
classification of the Eastern languages, more especially those of the
Russian Empire. To a great extent, however, his work is now
superseded. The _Itinerary of a Chinese Traveller_ (1821), a series of
documents in the military archives of St Petersburg purporting to be
the travels of George Ludwig von ----, and a similar series obtained
from him in the London foreign office, are all regarded as spurious.
Klaproth's other works include: _Reise in den Kaukasus und Georgien in
den Jahren 1807 und 1808_ (Halle, 1812-1814; French translation,
Paris, 1823); _Geographisch-historische Beschreibung des östlichen
Kaukasus_ (Weimar, 1814); _Tableaux historiques de l'Asie_ (Paris,
1826); _Mémoires relatifs à l'Asie_ (Paris, 1824-1828); _Tableau
historique, geographique, ethnographique et politique de Caucase_
(Paris, 1827); and _Vocabulaire et grammaire de la langue géorgienne_
(Paris, 1827).
KLAPROTH, MARTIN HEINRICH (1743-1817), German chemist, was born at
Wernigerode on the 1st of December 1743. During a large portion of his
life he followed the profession of an apothecary. After acting as
assistant in pharmacies at Quedlinburg, Hanover, Berlin and Danzig
successively he came to Berlin on the death of Valentin Rose the elder
in 1771 as manager of his business, and in 1780 he started an
establishment on his own account in the same city, where from 1782 he
was pharmaceutical assessor of the Ober-Collegium Medicum. In 1787 he
was appointed lecturer in chemistry to the Royal Artillery, and when the
university was founded in 1810 he was selected to be the professor of
chemistry. He died in Berlin on the 1st of January 1817. Klaproth was
the leading chemist of his time in Germany. An exact and conscientious
worker, he did much to improve and systematize the processes of
analytical chemistry and mineralogy, and his appreciation of the value
of quantitative methods led him to become one of the earliest adherents
of the Lavoisierian doctrines outside France. He was the first to
discover uranium, zirconium and titanium, and to characterize them as
distinct elements, though he did not obtain any of them in the pure
metallic state; and he elucidated the composition of numerous substances
till then imperfectly known, including compounds of the then newly
recognized elements: tellurium, strontium, cerium and chromium.
His papers, over 200 in number, were collected by himself in _Beiträge
zur chemischen Kenntniss der Mineralkörper_ (5 vols., 1795-1810) and
_Chemische Abhandlungen gemischten Inhalts_ (1815). He also published
a _Chemisches Wörterbuch_ (1807-1810), and edited a revised edition of
F. A. C. Gren's _Handbuch der Chemie_ (1806).
KLÉBER, JEAN BAPTISTE (1753-1800), French general, was born on the 9th
of March 1753, at Strassburg, where his father was a builder. He was
trained, partly at Paris, for the profession of architect, but his
opportune assistance to two German nobles in a tavern brawl obtained for
him a nomination to the military school of Munich. Thence he obtained a
commission in the Austrian army, but resigned it in 1783 on finding his
humble birth in the way of his promotion. On returning to France he was
appointed inspector of public buildings at Belfort, where he studied
fortification and military science. In 1792 he enlisted in the Haut-Rhin
volunteers, and was from his military knowledge at once elected adjutant
and soon afterwards lieutenant-colonel. At the defence of Mainz he so
distinguished himself that though disgraced along with the rest of the
garrison and imprisoned, he was promptly reinstated, and in August 1793
promoted general of brigade. He won considerable distinction in the
Vendéan war, and two months later was made a general of division. In
these operations began his intimacy with Marceau, with whom he defeated
the Royalists at Le Mans and Savenay. For openly expressing his opinion
that lenient measures ought to be pursued towards the Vendéans he was
recalled; but in April 1794 he was once more reinstated and sent to the
Army of the Sambre-and-Meuse. He displayed his skill and bravery in the
numerous actions around Charleroi, and especially in the crowning
victory of Fleurus, after which in the winter of 1794-95 he besieged
Mainz. In 1795 and again in 1796 he held the chief command of an army
temporarily, but declined a permanent appointment as commander-in-chief.
On the 13th of October 1795 he fought a brilliant rearguard action at
the bridge of Neuwied, and in the offensive campaign of 1796 he was
Jourdan's most active and successful lieutenant. Having, after the
retreat to the Rhine (see FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WARS), declined the chief
command, he withdrew into private life early in 1798. He accepted a
division in the expedition to Egypt under Bonaparte, but was wounded in
the head at Alexandria in the first engagement, which prevented his
taking any further part in the campaign of the Pyramids, and caused him
to be appointed governor of Alexandria. In the Syrian campaign of 1799,
however, he commanded the vanguard, took El-Arish, Gaza and Jaffa, and
won the great victory of Mount Tabor on the 15th of April 1799. When
Napoleon returned to France towards the end of 1799 he left Kléber in
command of the French forces. In this capacity, seeing no hope of
bringing his army back to France or of consolidating his conquests, he
made the convention of El-Arish. But when Lord Keith, the British
admiral, refused to ratify the terms, he attacked the Turks at
Heliopolis, though with but 10,000 men against 60,000, and utterly
defeated them on the 20th of March 1800. He then retook Cairo, which had
revolted from the French. Shortly after these victories he was
assassinated at Cairo by a fanatic on the 14th of June 1800, the same
day on which his friend and comrade Desaix fell at Marengo. Kléber was
undoubtedly one of the greatest generals of the French revolutionary
epoch. Though he distrusted his powers and declined the responsibility
of supreme command, there is nothing in his career to show that he would
have been unequal to it. As a second in command he was not excelled by
any general of his time. His conduct of affairs in Egypt at a time when
the treasury was empty and the troops were discontented for want of pay,
shows that his powers as an administrator were little--if at
all--inferior to those he possessed as a general.
Ernouf, the grandson of Jourdan's chief of staff, published in 1867 a
valuable biography of Kléber. See also Reynaud, _Life of Merlin de
Thionville_; Ney, Memoirs; Dumas, _Souvenirs_; Las Casas, _Memorial de
Ste Hélène_; J. Charavaray, _Les Généraux morts pour la patrie_;
General Pajol, _Kléber_; lives of Marceau and Desaix; M. F. Rousseau,
_Kléber et Menou en Egypte_ (Paris, 1900).
KLEIN, JULIUS LEOPOLD (1810-1876), German writer of Jewish origin, was
born at Miskolcz, in Hungary. He was educated at the gymnasium in Pest,
and studied medicine in Vienna and Berlin. After travelling in Italy and
Greece, he settled as a man of letters in Berlin, where he remained
until his death on the 2nd of August 1876. He was the author of many
dramatic works, among others the historical tragedies _Maria von Medici_
(1841); _Luines_ (1842); _Zenobia_ (1847); _Moreto_ (1859); _Maria_
(1860); _Strafford_ (1862) and _Heliodora_ (1867); and the comedies _Die
Herzogin_ (1848); _Ein Schützling_ (1850); and _Voltaire_ (1862). The
tendency of Klein as a dramatist was to become bombastic and obscure,
but many of his characters are vigorously conceived, and in nearly all
his tragedies there are passages of brilliant rhetoric. He is chiefly
known as the author of the elaborate though uncompleted _Geschichte des
Dramas_ (1865-1876), in which he undertook to record the history of the
drama from the earliest times. He died when about to enter upon the
Elizabethan period, to the treatment of which he had looked forward as
the chief part of his task. The work, which is in thirteen bulky
volumes, gives proof of immense learning, but is marred by
eccentricities of style and judgment.
Klein's _Dramatische Werke_ were collected in 7 vols. (1871-1872).
KLEIST, BERND HEINRICH WILHELM VON (1777-1811), German poet, dramatist
and novelist, was born at Frankfort-on-Oder on the 18th of October 1777.
After a scanty education, he entered the Prussian army in 1792, served
in the Rhine campaign of 1796 and retired from the service in 1799 with
the rank of lieutenant. He next studied law and philosophy at the
university of Frankfort-on-Oder, and in 1800 received a subordinate post
in the ministry of finance at Berlin. In the following year his roving,
restless spirit got the better of him, and procuring a lengthened leave
of absence he visited Paris and then settled in Switzerland. Here he
found congenial friends in Heinrich Zschokke (q.v.) and Ludwig Friedrich
August Wieland (1777-1819), son of the poet; and to them he read his
first drama, a gloomy tragedy, _Die Familie Schroffenstein_ (1803),
originally entitled _Die Familie Ghonorez_. In the autumn of 1802 Kleist
returned to Germany; he visited Goethe, Schiller and Wieland in Weimar,
stayed for a while in Leipzig and Dresden, again proceeded to Paris, and
returning in 1804 to his post in Berlin was transferred to the
_Domänenkammer_ (department for the administration of crown lands) at
Königsberg. On a journey to Dresden in 1807 Kleist was arrested by the
French as a spy, and being sent to France was kept for six months a
close prisoner at Châlons-sur-Marne. On regaining his liberty he
proceeded to Dresden, where in conjunction with Adam Heinrich Müller
(1779-1829) he published in 1808 the journal _Phöbus_. In 1809 he went
to Prague, and ultimately settled in Berlin, where he edited (1810-1811)
the _Berliner Abendblätter_. Captivated by the intellectual and musical
accomplishments of a certain Frau Henriette Vogel, Kleist, who was
himself more disheartened and embittered than ever, agreed to do her
bidding and die with her, carrying out this resolution by first shooting
the lady and then himself on the shore of the Wannsee near Potsdam, on
the 21st of November 1811. Kleist's whole life was filled by a restless
striving after ideal and illusory happiness, and this is largely
reflected in his work. He was by far the most important North German
dramatist of the Romantic movement, and no other of the Romanticists
approaches him in the energy with which he expresses patriotic
indignation.
His first tragedy, _Die Familie Schroffenstein_, has been already
referred to; the material for the second, _Penthesilea_ (1808), queen
of the Amazons, is taken from a Greek source and presents a picture of
wild passion. More successful than either of these was his romantic
play, _Das Käthchen von Heilbronn, oder Die Feuerprobe_ (1808), a
poetic drama full of medieval bustle and mystery, which has retained
its popularity. In comedy, Kleist made a name with _Der zerbrochene
Krug_ (1811), while _Amphitryon_ (1808), an adaptation of Molière's
comedy, is of less importance. Of Kleist's other dramas, _Die
Hermannschlacht_ (1809) is a dramatic treatment of an historical
subject and is full of references to the political conditions of his
own times. In it he gives vent to his hatred of his country's
oppressors. This, together with the drama _Prinz Friedrich von
Homburg_, the latter accounted Kleist's best work, was first published
by Ludwig Tieck in _Kleists hinterlassene Schriften_ (1821). _Robert
Guiskard_, a drama conceived on a grand plan, was left a fragment.
Kleist was also a master in the art of narrative, and of his
_Gesammelte Erzählungen_ (1810-1811), _Michael Kohlhaas_, in which the
famous Brandenburg horse dealer in Luther's day (see KOHLHASE) is
immortalized, is one of the best German stories of its time. He also
wrote some patriotic lyrics. His _Gesammelte Schriften_ were published
by Ludwig Tieck (3 vols. 1826) and by Julian Schmidt (new ed. 1874);
also by F. Muncker (4 vols. 1882); by T. Zolling (4 vols. 1885); by K.
Siegen, (4 vols. 1895); and in a critical edition by E. Schmidt (5
vols. 1904-1905). His _Ausgewählte Dramen_ were published by K. Siegen
(Leipzig, 1877); and his letters were first published by E. von Bülow,
_Heinrich von Kleists Leben und Briefe_ (1848).
See further A. Wilbrandt, _Heinrich von Kleist_ (1863); O. Brahm,
_Heinrich von Kleist_ (1884); R. Bonafous, _Henri de Kleist, sa vie et
ses oeuvres_ (1894); H. Conrad, _Heinrich von Kleist als Mensch und
Dichter_ (1896); G. Minde-Pouet, _Heinrich von Kleist, seine Sprache
und sein Stil_ (1897); R. Steig, _Heinrich von Kleists Berliner
Kämpfe_ (1901); F. Servaes, _Heinrich von Kleist_ (1902); S.
Wukadinowic, _Kleist-Studien_ (1904); S. Rahmer, _H. von Kleist als
Mensch und Dichter_ (1909).
KLEIST, EWALD CHRISTIAN VON (1715-1759), German poet, was born at
Zeblin, near Köslin in Pomerania, on the 7th of March 1715. After
attending the Jesuit school in Deutschkrona and the gymnasium in Danzig,
he proceeded in 1731 to the university of Königsberg, where he studied
law and mathematics. On the completion of his studies, he entered the
Danish army, in which he became an officer in 1736. Recalled to Prussia
by Frederick II. in 1740, he was appointed lieutenant in a regiment
stationed at Potsdam, where he became acquainted with J. W. L. Gleim
(q.v.), who interested him in poetry. After distinguishing himself at
the battle of Mollwitz (April 10, 1741) and the siege of Neisse (1741),
he was promoted captain in 1749 and major in 1756. Quartered during the
winter of 1757-1758 in Leipzig, he found relief from his irksome
military duties in the society of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (q.v.).
Shortly afterwards in the battle of Kunersdorf, on the 12th of August
1759, he was mortally wounded while leading the attack, and died at
Frankfort-on-Oder on the 24th of August following.
Kleist's chief work is a poem in hexameters, _Der Frühling_ (1749), for
which Thomson's _Seasons_ largely supplied ideas. In his description of
the beauties of nature Kleist shows real poetical genius, an almost
modern sentiment and fine taste. He also wrote some charming odes,
idylls and elegies, and a small epic poem _Cissides und Paches_ (1759),
the subject being two Thessalian friends who die an heroic death for
their country in a battle against the Athenians.
Kleist published in 1756 the first collection of his _Gedichte_, which
was followed by a second in 1758. After his death his friend Karl
Wilhelm Ramler (q.v.) published an edition of _Kleists sämtliche
Werke_ in 2 vols. (1760). A critical edition was published by A.
Sauer, in 3 vols. (1880-1882). Cf. further, A. Chuquet, _De Ewaldi
Kleistii vita et scriptis_ (Paris, 1887), and H. Pröhle, _Friedrich
der Grosse und die deutsche Literatur_ (1872).
KLERKSDORP, a town of the Transvaal, 118 m. S.W. of Johannesburg and 192
m. N.E. of Kimberley by rail. Pop. (1904), 4276 of whom 2203 were
whites. The town, built on the banks of the Schoonspruit 10 m. above its
junction with the Vaal, possesses several fine public buildings. In the
neighbourhood are gold-mines, the reef appearing to form the western
boundary of the Witwatersrand basin. Diamonds (green in colour) and coal
are also found in the district. Klerksdorp was one of the villages
founded by the first Boers who crossed the Vaal, dating from 1838. The
modern town, which is on the side of the _spruit_ opposite the old
village, was founded in 1888.
KLESL (or KHLESL), MELCHIOR (1552-1630), Austrian statesman and
ecclesiastic, was the son of a Protestant baker, and was born in Vienna.
Under the influence of the Jesuits he was converted to Roman
Catholicism, and having finished his education at the universities of
Vienna and Ingolstadt, he was made chancellor of the university of
Vienna; and as official and vicar-general of the bishop of Passau he
exhibited the zeal of a convert in forwarding the progress of the
counter-reformation in Austria. He became bishop of Vienna in 1598; but
more important was his association with the archduke Matthias which
began about the same time. Both before and after 1612, when Matthias
succeeded his brother Rudolph II. as emperor, Klesl was the originator
and director of his policy, although he stoutly opposed the concessions
to the Hungarian Protestants in 1606. He assisted to secure the election
of Matthias to the imperial throne, and sought, but without success, to
strengthen the new emperor's position by making peace between the
Catholics and the Protestants. When during the short reign of Matthias
the question of the imperial succession demanded prompt attention, the
bishop, although quite as anxious as his opponents to retain the empire
in the house of Habsburg and to preserve the dominance of the Roman
Catholic Church, advised that this question should be shelved until some
arrangement with the Protestant princes had been reached. This counsel
was displeasing to the archduke Maximilian and to Ferdinand, afterwards
the emperor Ferdinand II. who believed that Klesl was hostile to the
candidature of the latter prince. It was, however, impossible to shake
his influence with the emperor; and in June 1618, a few months before
the death of Matthias, he was seized by order of the archdukes and
imprisoned at Ambras in Tirol. In 1622 Klesl, who had been a cardinal
since 1615, was transferred to Rome by order of Pope Gregory XV., and
was released from imprisonment. In 1627 Ferdinand II. allowed him to
return to his episcopal duties in Vienna, where he died on the 18th of
September 1630.
See J. Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall, _Khlesls Leben_ (Vienna,
1847-1851); A. Kerschbaumer, _Kardinal Klesl_ (Vienna, 1865); and
_Klesls Briefe an Rudolfs II. Obersthofmeister A. Freiherr von
Dietrichstein_, edited by V. Bibl. (Vienna, 1900).
KLINGER, FRIEDRICH MAXIMILIAN VON (1752-1831), German dramatist and
novelist, was born of humble parentage at Frankfort-on-Main, on the 17th
of February 1752. His father died when he was a child, and his early
years were a hard struggle. He was enabled, however, in 1774 to enter
the university of Giessen, where he studied law; and Goethe, with whom
he had been acquainted since childhood, helped him in many ways. In 1775
Klinger gained with his tragedy _Die Zwillinge_ a prize offered by the
Hamburg theatre, under the auspices of the actress Sophie Charlotte
Ackermann (1714-1792) and her son the famous actor and playwright,
Friedrich Ludwig Schröder (1744-1816). In 1776 Klinger was appointed
_Theaterdichter_ to the "Seylersche Schauspiel-Gesellschaft" and held
this post for two years. In 1778 he entered the Austrian military
service and took part in the Bavarian war of succession. In 1780 he went
to St Petersburg, became an officer in the Russian army, was ennobled
and attached to the Grand Duke Paul, whom he accompanied on a journey to
Italy and France. In 1785 he was appointed director of the corps of
cadets, and having married a natural daughter of the empress Catharine,
was made praeses of the Academy of Knights in 1799. In 1803 Klinger was
nominated by the emperor Alexander curator of the university of Dorpat,
an office he held until 1817; in 1811 he became lieutenant-general. He
then gradually gave up his official posts, and after living for many
years in honourable retirement, died at Dorpat on the 25th of February
1831.
Klinger was a man of vigorous moral character and full of fine feeling,
though the bitter experiences and deprivations of his youth are largely
reflected in his dramas. It was one of his earliest works, _Sturm und
Drang_ (1776), which gave its name to this literary epoch. In addition
to this tragedy and _Die Zwillinge_ (1776), the chief plays of his early
period of passionate fervour and restless "storm and stress" are _Die
neue Arria_ (1776), _Simsone Grisaldo_ (1776) and _Stilpo und seine
Kinder_ (1780). To a later period belongs the fine double tragedy of
_Medea in Korinth_ and _Medea auf dem Kaukasos_ (1791). In Russia he
devoted himself mainly to the writing of philosophical romances, of
which the best known are _Fausts Leben, Taten und Höllenfahrt_ (1791),
_Geschichte Giafars des Barmeciden_ (1792) and _Geschichte Raphaels de
Aquillas_ (1793). This series was closed in 1803 with _Betrachtungen und
Gedanken über verschiedene Gegenstände der Welt und der Literatur_. In
these works Klinger gives calm and dignified expression to the leading
ideas which the period of _Sturm und Drang_ had bequeathed to German
classical literature.
Klinger's works were published in twelve volumes (1809-1815), also
1832-1833 and 1842. The most recent edition is in eight volumes
(1878-1880); but none of these is complete. A selection will be found
in A. Sauer, _Stürmer und Dränger_, vol. i. (1883). See E. Schmidt,
_Lenz und Klinger_ (1878); M. Rieger, _Klinger in der Sturm- und
Drangperiode_ (1880); and _Klinger in seiner Reife_ (1896).
KLINGER, MAX (1857- ), German painter, etcher and sculptor, was born at
Plagwitz near Leipzig. He attended the classes at the Carlsruhe art
school in 1874, and went in the following year to Berlin, where in 1878
he created a sensation at the Academy exhibition with two series of
pen-and-ink drawings--the "Series upon the Theme of Christ" and
"Fantasies upon the Finding of a Glove." The daring originality of these
imaginative and eccentric works caused an outburst of indignation, and
the artist was voted insane; nevertheless the "Glove" series was bought
by the Berlin National Gallery. His painting of "The Judgment of Paris"
caused a similar storm of indignant protest in 1887, owing to its
rejection of all conventional attributes and the naïve directness of the
conception. His vivid and somewhat morbid imagination, with its leaning
towards the gruesome and disagreeable, and the Goyaesque turn of his
mind, found their best expression in his "cycles" of etchings:
"Deliverances of Sacrificial Victims told in Ovid," "A Brahms Phantasy,"
"Eve and the Future," "A Life," and "Of Death"; but in his use of the
needle he does not aim at the technical excellence of the great masters;
it supplies him merely with means of expressing his ideas. After 1886
Klinger devoted himself more exclusively to painting and sculpture. In
his painting he aims neither at classic beauty nor modern truth, but at
grim impressiveness not without a touch of mysticism. His "Pietà" at the
Dresden Gallery, the frescoes at the Leipzig University, and the "Christ
in Olympus," at the Modern Gallery in Vienna, are characteristic
examples of his art. The Leipzig Museum contains his sculptured "Salome"
and "Cassandra." In sculpture he favours the use of varicoloured
materials in the manner of the Greek chryselephantine sculpture. His
"Beethoven" is a notable instance of his work in this direction.
KLIPSPRINGER, the Boer name of a small African mountain-antelope
(_Oreotragus saltator_), ranging from the Cape through East Africa to
Somaliland and Abyssinia, and characterized by its blunt rounded hoofs,
thick pithy hair and gold-spangled colouring. The klipspringer
represents a genus by itself, the various local forms not being worthy
of more than racial distinction. The activity of these antelopes is
marvellous.
KLONDIKE, a district in Yukon Territory, north-western Canada,
approximately in 64° N. and 140° W. The limits are rather indefinite,
but the district includes the country to the south of the Klondike
River, which comes into the Yukon from the east and has several
tributaries, as well as Indian River, a second branch of the Yukon,
flowing into it some distance above the Klondike. The richer
gold-bearing gravels are found along the creeks tributary to these two
rivers within an area of about 800 sq. m. The Klondike district is a
dissected peneplain with low ridges of rounded forms rising to 4250 ft.
above the sea at the Dome which forms its centre. All of the
gold-bearing creeks rise not far from the Dome and radiate in various
directions toward the Klondike and Indian rivers, the most productive
being Bonanza with its tributary Eldorado, Hunker, Dominion and Gold
Run. Of these, Eldorado, for the two or three miles in which it was
gold-bearing, was much the richest, and for its length probably
surpassed any other known placer deposit. Rich gravel was discovered on
Bonanza Creek in 1896, and a wild rush to this almost inaccessible
region followed, a population of 30,000 coming in within the next three
or four years with a rapidly increasing output of gold, reaching in 1900
the climax of $22,000,000. Since then the production has steadily
declined, until in 1906 it fell to $5,600,000. The richest gravels were
worked out before 1910, and most of the population had left the Klondike
for Alaska and other regions; so that Dawson, which for a time was a
bustling city of more than 10,000, dwindled to about 3000 inhabitants.
As the ground was almost all frozen, the mines were worked by a thawing
process, first by setting fires, afterwards by using steam, new methods
being introduced to meet the unusual conditions. Later dredges and
hydraulic mining were resorted to with success.
The Klondike, in spite of its isolated position, brought together miners
and adventurers from all parts of the world, and it is greatly to the
credit of the Canadian government and of the mounted police, who were
entrusted with the keeping of order, that life and property were as safe
as elsewhere and that no lawless methods were adopted by the miners as
in placer mining camps in the western United States. The region was at
first difficult of access, but can now be reached with perfect comfort
in summer, travelling by well-appointed steamers on the Pacific and the
Yukon River. Owing to its perpetually frozen soil, summer roads were
excessively bad in earlier days, but good wagon roads have since been
constructed to all the important mining centres. Dawson itself has all
the resources of a civilized city in spite of being founded on a frozen
peat-bog; and is supplied with ordinary market vegetables from farms
just across the river. During the winter, when for some time the sun
does not appear above the hills, the cold is intense, though usually
without wind, but the well-chinked log houses can be kept comfortably
warm. When winter travel is necessary dog teams and sledges are
generally made use of, except on the stage route south to White Horse,
where horses are used. A telegraph line connects Dawson with British
Columbia, but the difficulties in keeping it in order are so great over
the long intervening wilderness that communication is often broken. Gold
is practically the only economic product of the Klondike, though small
amounts of tin ore occur, and lignite coal has been mined lower down on
the Yukon. The source of the gold seems to have been small stringers of
quartz in the siliceous and sericitic schists which form the bed rock of
much of the region, and no important quartz veins have been discovered;
so that unlike most other placer regions the Klondike has not developed
lode mines to continue the production of gold when the gravels are
exhausted.
KLOPP, ONNO (1822-1903), German historian, was born at Leer on the 9th
of October 1822, and was educated at the universities of Bonn, Berlin
and Göttingen. For a few years he was a teacher at Leer and at
Osnabrück; but in 1858 he settled at Hanover, where he became intimate
with King George V., who made him his _Archivrat_. Thoroughly disliking
Prussia, he was in hearty accord with George in resisting her aggressive
policy; and after the annexation of Hanover in 1866 he accompanied the
exiled king to Hietzing. He became a Roman Catholic in 1874. He died at
Penzing, near Vienna, on the 9th of August 1903. Klopp is best known as
the author of _Der Fall des Hauses Stuart_ (Vienna, 1875-1888), the
fullest existing account of the later Stuarts.
His _Der König Friedrich II. und seine Politik_ (Schaffhausen, 1867)
and _Geschichte Ostfrieslands_ (Hanover, 1854-1858) show his dislike
of Prussia. His other works include _Der dreissigjährige Krieg bis zum
Tode Gustav Adolfs_ (Paderborn, 1891-1896); a revised edition of his
_Tilly im dreissigjährigen Kriege_ (Stuttgart, 1861); a life of George
V., _König Georg V._ (Hanover, 1878); _Phillipp Melanchthon_ (Berlin,
1897). He edited _Corrispondenza epistolare tra Leopoldo I. imperatore
ed il P. Marco l'Aviano capuccino_ (Gratz, 1888). Klopp also wrote
much in defence of George V. and his claim to Hanover, including the
_Offizieller Bericht über die Kriegsereignisse zwischen Hannover und
Preussen im Juni 1866_ (Vienna, 1867), and he edited the works of
Leibnitz in eleven volumes (1861-1884).
See W. Klopp, _Onno Klopp: ein Lebenslauf_ (Wehberg, 1907).
KLOPSTOCK, GOTTLIEB FRIEDRICH (1724-1803), German poet, was born at
Quedlinburg, on the 2nd of July 1724, the eldest son of a lawyer, a man
of sterling character and of a deeply religious mind. Both in his
birthplace and on the estate of Friedeburg on the Saale, which his father
later rented, young Klopstock passed a happy childhood; and more
attention having been given to his physical than to his mental
development he grew up a strong healthy boy and was an excellent horseman
and skater. In his thirteenth year Klopstock returned to Quedlinburg
where he attended the gymnasium, and in 1739 proceeded to the famous
classical school of Schulpforta. Here he soon became an adept in Greek
and Latin versification, and wrote some meritorious idylls and odes in
German. His original intention of making the emperor Henry I. ("The
Fowler") the hero of an epic, was, under the influence of Milton's
_Paradise Lost_, with which he became acquainted through Bodmer's
translation, abandoned in favour of the religious epic. While yet at
school, he had already drafted the plan of _Der Messias_, upon which his
fame mainly rests. On the 21st of September 1745 he delivered on quitting
school a remarkable "leaving oration" on epic poetry--_Abschiedsrede über
die epische Poesie, kultur- und literargeschichtlich erläutert_--and next
proceeded to Jena as a student of theology, where he elaborated the first
three cantos of the _Messias_ in prose. The life at this university being
uncongenial to him, he removed in the spring of 1746 to Leipzig, and here
joined the circle of young men of letters who contributed to the _Bremer
Beiträge_. In this periodical the first three cantos of the _Messias_ in
hexameters were anonymously published in 1748. A new era in German
literature had commenced, and the name of the author soon became known.
In Leipzig he also wrote a number of odes, the best known of which is _An
meine Freunde_ (1747), afterwards recast as _Wingolf_ (1767). He left the
university in 1748 and became a private tutor in the family of a relative
at Langensalza. Here unrequited love for a cousin (the "Fanny" of his
odes) disturbed his peace of mind. Gladly therefore he accepted in 1750
an invitation from Jakob Bodmer (q.v.), the translator of _Paradise
Lost_, to visit him in Zürich. Here Klopstock was at first treated with
every kindness and respect and rapidly recovered his spirits. Bodmer,
however, was disappointed to find in the young poet of the _Messias_ a
man of strong worldly interests, and a coolness sprang up between the two
friends.
At this juncture Klopstock received from Frederick V. of Denmark, on the
recommendation of his minister Count von Bernstorff (1712-1772), an
invitation to settle at Copenhagen, with an annuity of 400 talers, with
a view to the completion of the _Messias_. The offer was accepted; on
his way to the Danish capital Klopstock met at Hamburg the lady who in
1754 became his wife, Margareta (Meta) Moller, (the "Cidli" of his
odes), an enthusiastic admirer of his poetry. His happiness was short;
she died in 1758, leaving him almost broken-hearted. His grief at her
loss finds pathetic expression in the 15th canto of the _Messias_. The
poet subsequently published his wife's writings, _Hinterlassene Werke
von Margareta Klopstock_ (1759), which give evidence of a tender,
sensitive and deeply religious spirit. Klopstock now relapsed into
melancholy; new ideas failed him, and his poetry became more and more
vague and unintelligible. He still continued to live and work at
Copenhagen, and next, following Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg (q.v.),
turned his attention to northern mythology, which he conceived should
replace classical subjects in a new school of German poetry. In 1770, on
the dismissal by King Christian VII. of Count Bernstorff from office, he
retired with the latter to Hamburg, but retained his pension together
with the rank of councillor of legation. Here, in 1773, he issued the
last five cantos of the _Messias_. In the following year he published
his strange scheme for the regeneration of German letters, _Die
Gelehrtenrepublik_ (1774). In 1775 he travelled south, and making the
acquaintance of Goethe on the way, spent a year at the court of the
margrave of Baden at Karlsruhe. Thence, in 1776, with the title of
_Hofrat_ and a pension from the margrave, which he retained together
with that from the king of Denmark, he returned to Hamburg where he
spent the remainder of his life. His latter years he passed, as had
always been his inclination, in retirement, only occasionally relieved
by association with his most intimate friends, busied with philological
studies, and hardly interesting himself in the new developments of
German literature. The American War of Independence and the Revolution
in France aroused him, however, to enthusiasm. The French Republic sent
him the diploma of honorary citizenship; but, horrified at the terrible
scenes the Revolution had enacted in the place of liberty, he returned
it. When 67 years of age he contracted a second marriage with Johanna
Elisabeth von Winthem, a widow and a niece of his late wife, who for
many years had been one of his most intimate friends. He died at Hamburg
on the 14th of March 1803, mourned by all Germany, and was buried with
great pomp and ceremony by the side of his first wife in the churchyard
of the village of Ottensen.
Klopstock's nature was best attuned to lyrical poetry, and in it his
deep, noble character found its truest expression. He was less suited
for epic and dramatic representation; for, wrapt up in himself, a
stranger to the outer world, without historical culture, and without
even any interest in the events of his time, he was lacking in the art
of plastic representation such as a great epic requires. Thus the
_Messias_, despite the magnificent passages which especially the
earlier cantos contain, cannot satisfy the demands such a theme must
necessarily make. The subject matter, the Redemption, presented
serious difficulties to adequate epic treatment. The Gospel story was
too scanty, and what might have been imported from without and
interwoven with it was rejected by the author as profane. He had
accordingly to resort to Christian mythology; and here again,
circumscribed by the dogmas of the Church, he was in danger of
trespassing on the fundamental truths of the Christian faith. The
personality of Christ could scarcely be treated in an individual form,
still less could angels and devils--and in the case of God Himself it
was impossible. The result was that, despite the groundwork--the
Gospels, the _Acts of the Apostles_, the _Revelation of St John_, and
the model ready to hand in Milton's _Paradise Lost_--material elements
are largely wanting and the actors in the poem, Divine and human, lack
plastic form. That the poem took twenty-five years to complete could
not but be detrimental to its unity of design; the original enthusiasm
was not sustained until the end, and the earlier cantos are far
superior to the later. Thus the intense public interest the work
aroused in its commencement had almost vanished before its completion.
It was translated into seventeen languages and led to numerous
imitations. In his odes Klopstock had more scope for his peculiar
talent. Among the best are _An Fanny_; _Der Zürchersee_; _Die tote
Klarissa_; _An Cidli_; _Die beiden Musen_; _Der Rheinwein_; _Die
frühen Gräber_; _Mein Vaterland_. His religious odes mostly take the
form of hymns, of which the most beautiful is _Die Frühlingsfeier_.
His dramas, in some of which, notably _Hermanns Schlacht_ (1769) and
_Hermann und die Fürsten_ (1784), he celebrated the deeds of the
ancient German hero Arminius, and in others, _Der Tod Adams_ (1757)
and _Salomo_ (1764), took his materials from the Old Testament, are
essentially lyrical in character and deficient in action. In addition
to _Die Gelehrtenrepublik_, he was also the author of _Fragmente über
Sprache und Dichtkunst_ (1779) and _Grammatische Gespräche_ (1794),
works in which he made important contributions to philology and to the
history of German poetry.
Klopstock's _Werke_ first appeared in seven quarto volumes
(1798-1809). At the same time a more complete edition in twelve octavo
volumes was published (1798-1817), to which six additional volumes
were added in 1830. More recent editions were published in 1844-1845,
1854-1855, 1879 (ed. by R. Boxberger), 1884 (ed. by R. Hamel) and 1893
(a selection edited by F. Muncker). A critical edition of the _Odes_
was published by F. Muncker and J. Pawel in 1889; a commentary on
these by H. Düntzer (1860; 2nd ed., 1878). For Klopstock's
correspondence see K. Schmidt, _Klopstock und seine Freunde_ (1810);
C. A. H. Clodius, _Klopstocks Nachlass_ (1821); J. M. Lappenberg,
_Briefe von und an Klopstock_ (1867). Cf. further K. F. Cramer,
_Klopstock, er und über ihn_ (1780-1792); J. G. Gruber, _Klopstocks
Leben_ (1832); R. Hamel, _Klopstock-Studien_ (1879-1880); F. Muncker,
_F. G. Klopstock_, the most authoritative biography, (1888); E.
Bailly, _Étude sur la vie et les oeuvres de Klopstock_ (Paris, 1888).
KLOSTERNEUBURG, a town of Austria, in Lower Austria, 5-½ m. N.W. of
Vienna by rail. Pop. (1900), 11,595. It is situated on the right bank of
the Danube, at the foot of the Kahlenberg, and is divided by a small
stream into an upper and a lower town. As an important pioneer station
Klosterneuburg has various military buildings and stores, and among the
schools it possesses an academy of wine and fruit cultivation.
On a hill rising directly from the banks of the Danube stand the
magnificent buildings (erected 1730-1834) of the Augustine canonry,
founded in 1106 by Margrave Leopold the Holy. This foundation is the
oldest and richest of the kind in Austria; it owns much of the land
upon which the north-western suburbs of Vienna stand. Among the points
of interest within it are the old chapel of 1318, with Leopold's tomb
and the altar of Verdun, dating from the 12th century, the treasury and
relic-chamber, the library with 30,000 volumes and many MSS., the
picture gallery, the collection of coins, the theological hall, and the
wine-cellar, containing an immense tun like that at Heidelberg. The
inhabitants of Klosterneuburg are mainly occupied in making wine, of
excellent quality. There is a large cement factory outside the town. In
Roman times the castle of Citium stood in the region of Klosterneuburg.
The town was founded by Charlemagne, and received its charter as a town
in 1298.
KLOTZ, REINHOLD (1807-1870), German classical scholar, was born near
Chemnitz in Saxony on the 13th of March 1807. In 1849 he was appointed
professor in the university of Leipzig in succession to Gottfried
Hermann, and held this post till his death on the 10th of August 1870.
Klotz was a man of unwearied industry, and devoted special attention to
Latin literature.
He was the author of editions of several classical authors, of which
the most important were: the complete works of Cicero (2nd ed.,
1869-1874); Clement of Alexandria (1831-1834); Euripides (1841-1867),
in continuation of Pflugk's edition, but unfinished; Terence
(1838-1840), with the commentaries of Donatus and Eugraphius. Mention
should also be made of: _Handwörterbuch der lateinischen Sprache_ (5th
ed., 1874); _Römische Litteraturgeschichte_ (1847), of which only the
introductory volume appeared; an edition of the treatise _De Graecae
linguae particulis_ (1835-1842) of Matthaeus Deverius (Devares), a
learned Corfiote (c. 1500-1570), and corrector of the Greek MSS. in
the Vatican; the posthumous _Index Ciceronianus_ (1872) and _Handbuch
der lateinischen Stilistik_ (1874). From 1831-1855 Klotz was editor of
the _Neue Jahrbücher für Philologie_ (Leipzig). During the troubled
times of 1848 and the following years he showed himself a strong
conservative.
A memoir by his son Richard will be found in the _Jahrbücher_ for
1871, pp. 154-163.
KNARESBOROUGH, a market town in the Ripon parliamentary division of the
West Riding of Yorkshire, England, 16½ m. W. by N. from York by a branch
of the North Eastern railway. Pop. of urban district (1901), 4979. Its
situation is most picturesque, on the steep left bank of the river Nidd,
which here follows a well-wooded valley, hemmed in by limestone cliffs.
The church of St John the Baptist is Early English, but has numerous
Decorated and Perpendicular additions; it is a cruciform building
containing several interesting monuments. Knaresborough Castle was
probably founded in 1070 by Serlo de Burgh. Its remains, however, are of
the 14th century, and include a massive keep rising finely from a cliff
above the Nidd. After the battle of Marston Moor it was taken by
Fairfax, and in 1648 it was ordered to be dismantled. To the south of
the castle is St Robert's chapel, an excavation in the rock constructed
into an ecclesiastical edifice in the reign of Richard I. Several of the
excavations in the limestone, which is extensively quarried, are
incorporated in dwelling-houses. A little farther down the river is St
Robert's cave, which is supposed to have been the residence of the
hermit, and in 1744 was the scene of the murder of Daniel Clarke by
Eugene Aram, whose story is told in Lytton's well-known novel. Opposite
the castle is the Dropping Well, the waters of which are impregnated
with lime and have petrifying power, this action causing the curious and
beautiful incrustations formed where the water falls over a slight
cliff. The Knaresborough free grammar school was founded in 1616. There
is a large agricultural trade, and linen and leather manufactures and
the quarries also employ a considerable number of persons.
Knaresborough (_Canardesburg_, _Cnarreburc_, _Cknareburg_), which
belonged to the Crown before the Conquest, formed part of William the
Conqueror's grant to his follower Serlo de Burgh. Being forfeited by his
grandson Eustace FitzJohn in the reign of Stephen, Knaresborough was
granted to Robert de Stuteville, from whose descendants it passed
through marriage to Hugh de Morville, one of the murderers of Thomas
Becket, who with his three accomplices remained in hiding in the castle
for a whole year. During the 13th and 14th centuries the castle and
lordship changed hands very frequently; they were granted successively
to Hubert de Burgh, whose son forfeited them after the battle of
Evesham, to Richard, earl of Cornwall, whose son Edmund died without
issue; to Piers Gaveston, and lastly to John of Gaunt, duke of
Lancaster, and so to the Crown as parcel of the duchy of Lancaster. In
1317 John de Lilleburn, who was holding the castle of Knaresborough for
Thomas duke of Lancaster against the king, surrendered under conditions
to William de Ros of Hamelak, but before leaving the castle managed to
destroy all the records of the liberties and privileges of the town
which were kept in the castle. In 1368 an inquisition was taken to
ascertain these privileges, and the jurors found that the burgesses held
"all the soil of their borough yielding 7s. 4d. yearly and doing suit at
the king's court." In the reign of Henry VIII. Knaresborough is said by
Leland to be "no great thing and meanely builded but the market there is
quik." During the civil wars Knaresborough was held for some time by the
Royalists, but they were obliged to surrender, and the castle was among
those ordered to be destroyed by parliament in 1646. A market on
Wednesday and a fortnightly fair on the same day from the Feast of St
Mark to that of St Andrew are claimed under a charter of Charles II.
confirming earlier charters. Lead ore was found and worked on
Knaresborough Common in the 16th century. From 1555 to 1867 the town
returned two members to parliament, but in the latter year the number
was reduced to one, and in 1885 the representation was merged in that of
the West Riding.
KNAVE (O.E. _cnafa_, cognate with Ger. _Knabe_, boy), originally a male
child, a boy (Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_: "Clerk's Tale," I. 388). Like
Lat. _puer_, the word was early used as a name for any boy or lad
employed as a servant, and so of male servants in general (Chaucer:
"Pardoner's Tale," 1. 204). The current use of the word for a man who is
dishonest and crafty, a rogue, was however an early usage, and is found
in Layamon (c. 1205). In playing-cards the lowest court card of each
suit, the "jack," representing a medieval servant, is called the
"knave." (See also VALET.)
KNEBEL, KARL LUDWIG VON (1744-1834), German poet and translator, was
born at the castle of Wallerstein in Franconia on the 30th of November
1744. After having studied law for a short while at Halle, he entered
the regiment of the crown prince of Prussia in Potsdam and was attached
to it as officer for ten years. Disappointed in his military career,
owing to the slowness of promotion, he retired in 1774, and accepting
the post of tutor to Prince Konstantin of Weimar, accompanied him and
his elder brother, the hereditary prince, on a tour to Paris. On this
journey he visited Goethe in Frankfort-on-Main, and introduced him to
the hereditary prince, Charles Augustus. This meeting is memorable as
being the immediate cause of Goethe's later intimate connexion with the
Weimar court. After Knebel's return and the premature death of his pupil
he was pensioned, receiving the rank of major. In 1798 he married the
singer Luise von Rudorf, and retired to Ilmenau; but in 1805 he removed
to Jena, where he lived until his death on the 23rd of February 1834.
Knebel's _Sammlung kleiner Gedichte_ (1815), issued anonymously, and
_Distichen_ (1827) contain many graceful sonnets, but it is as a
translator that he is best known. His translation of the elegies of
Propertius, _Elegien des Properz_ (1798), and that of Lucretius' _De
rerum natura_ (2 vols., 1831) are deservedly praised. Since their first
acquaintance Knebel and Goethe were intimate friends, and not the least
interesting of Knebel's writings is his correspondence with the eminent
poet, _Briefwechsel mit Goethe_ (ed. G. E. Guhrauer, 2 vols., 1851).
Knebel's _Literarischer Nachlass und Briefwechsel_ was edited by K. A.
Varnhagen von Ense and T. Mundt in 3 vols. (1835; 2nd ed., 1840). See
Hugo von Knebel-Döberitz, _Karl Ludwig von Knebel_ (1890).
KNEE (O.E. _cnéow_, a word common to Indo-European languages, cf. Ger.
_Knie_, Fr. _genou_, Span, _hinojo_, Lat. _genu_, Gr. [Greek: gonu],
Sansk. _janu_), in human anatomy, the articulation of the upper and
lower parts of the leg, the joint between the femur and the tibia (see
JOINTS). The word is also used of articulation resembling the knee-joint
in shape or position in other animals; it thus is applied to the carpal
articulation of the fore leg of a horse, answering to the ankle in man,
or to the tarsal articulation or heel of a bird's foot.
KNELLER, SIR GODFREY (1648-1723), a portrait painter whose celebrity
belongs chiefly to England, was born in Lübeck in the duchy of Holstein,
of an ancient family, on the 8th of August 1648. He was at first
intended for the army, and was sent to Leyden to learn mathematics and
fortification. Showing, however, a marked preference for the fine arts,
he studied in the school of Rembrandt, and under Ferdinand Bol in
Amsterdam. In 1672 he removed to Italy, directing his chief attention to
Titian and the Caracci; Carlo Maratta gave him some guidance and
encouragement. In Rome, and more especially in Venice, Kneller earned
considerable reputation by historical paintings as well as portraits. He
next went to Hamburg, painting with still increasing success. In 1674 he
came to England at the invitation of the duke of Monmouth, was
introduced to Charles II., and painted that sovereign, much to his
satisfaction, several times. Charles also sent him to Paris, to take the
portrait of Louis XIV. When Sir Peter Lely died in 1680, Kneller, who
produced in England little or nothing in the historical department,
remained without a rival in the ranks of portrait painting; there was no
native-born competition worth speaking of. Charles appointed him court
painter; and he continued to hold the same post into the days of George
I. Under William III. (1692) he was made a knight, under George I.
(1715) a baronet, and by order of the emperor Leopold I. a knight of the
Roman Empire. Not only his court favour but his general fame likewise
was large: he was lauded by Dryden, Addison, Steele, Prior, Tickell and
Pope. Kneller's gains also were very considerable; aided by habits of
frugality which approached stinginess, he left property yielding an
annual income of £2000. His industry was maintained till the last. His
studio had at first been in Covent Garden, but in his closing years he
lived in Kneller Hall, Twickenham. He died of fever, the date being
generally given as the 7th of November 1723, though some accounts say
1726. He was buried in Twickenham church, and has a monument in
Westminster Abbey. An elder brother, John Zachary Kneller, an ornamental
painter, had accompanied Godfrey to England, and had died in 1702. The
style of Sir Godfrey Kneller as a portrait painter represented the
decline of that art as practised by Vandyck; Lely marks the first grade
of descent, and Kneller the second. His works have much freedom, and are
well drawn and coloured; but they are mostly slight in manner, and to a
great extent monotonous, this arising partly from the habit which he had
of lengthening the oval of all his heads. The colouring may be called
brilliant rather than true. He indulged much in the common-places of
allegory; and, though he had a quality of dignified elegance not
unallied with simplicity, genuine simple nature is seldom to be traced
in his works. His fame has greatly declined, and could not but do so
after the advent of Reynolds. Among Kneller's principal paintings are
the "Forty-three Celebrities of the Kit-Cat Club," and the "Ten Beauties
of the Court of William III.," now at Hampton Court; these were painted
by order of the queen; they match, but match unequally, the "Beauties of
the Court of Charles II.," painted by Lely. He executed altogether the
likenesses of ten sovereigns, and fourteen of his works appear in the
National Portrait Gallery. It is said that Kneller's own favourite
performance was the portrait of the "Converted Chinese" in Windsor
Castle. His later works are confined almost entirely to England, not
more than two or three specimens having gone abroad after he had settled
here. (W. M. R.)
KNICKERBOCKER, HARMEN JANSEN (c. 1650-c. 1720), Dutch colonist of New
Netherland (New York), was a native of Wyhe (Wie), Overyssel, Holland.
Before 1683 he settled near what is now Albany, New York, and there in
1704 he bought through Harme Gansevoort one-fourth of the land in
Dutchess county near Red Hook, which had been patented in 1688 to Peter
Schuyler, who in 1722 deeded seven (of thirteen) lots in the upper
fourth of his patent to the seven children of Knickerbocker. The eldest
of these children, Johannes Harmensen, received from the common council
of the city of Albany a grant of 50 acres of meadow and 10 acres of
upland on the south side of Schaghticoke Creek. This Schaghticoke estate
was held by Johannes Harmensen's son Johannes (1723-1802), a colonel in
the Continental Army in the War of Independence, and by his son Harmen
(1779-1855), a lawyer, a federalist representative in Congress in
1809-1811, a member of the New York Assembly in 1816, and a famous
gentleman of the old school, who for his courtly hospitality in his
manor was called "the prince of Schaghticoke" and whose name was
borrowed by Washington Irving for use in his (Diedrich) _Knickerbocker's
History of New York_ (1809). Largely owing to this book, the name
"Knickerbockers" has passed into current use as a designation of the
early Dutch settlers in New York and their descendants. The son of
Johannes, David Buel Knickerbacker (1833-1894), who returned to the
earlier spelling of the family name, graduated at Trinity College in
1853 and at the General Theological Seminary in 1856, was a rector for
many years at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in 1883 was consecrated
Protestant Episcopal bishop of Indiana.
See the series of articles by W. B. Van Alstyne on "The Knickerbocker
Family," beginning in vol. xxix., No. 1 (Jan. 1908) of the _New York
Genealogical and Biographical Record_.
KNIFE (O.E. _cníf_, a word appearing in different forms in many Teutonic
languages, cf. Du. _knijf_, Ger. _Kneif_, a shoemaker's knife, Swed.
_knif_; the ultimate origin is unknown; Skeat finds the origin in the
root of "nip," formerly "knip"; Fr. _canif_ is also of Teutonic origin),
a small cutting instrument, with the blade either fixed to the handle or
fastened with a hinge so as to clasp into the handle (see CUTLERY). For
the knives chipped from flint by prehistoric man see ARCHAEOLOGY and
FLINT IMPLEMENTS.
KNIGGE, ADOLF FRANZ FRIEDRICH, FREIHERR VON (1752-1796), German author,
was born on the family estate of Bredenbeck near Hanover on the 16th of
October 1752. After studying law at Göttingen he was attached
successively to the courts of Hesse-Cassel and Weimar as
gentleman-in-waiting. Retiring from court service in 1777, he lived a
private life with his family in Frankfort-on-Main, Hanau, Heidelberg and
Hanover until 1791, when he was appointed _Oberhauptmann_ (civil
administrator) in Bremen, where he died on the 6th of May 1796. Knigge,
under the name "Philo," was one of the most active members of the
_Illuminati_, a mutual moral and intellectual improvement society
founded by Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830) at Ingolstadt, and which later
became affiliated to the Freemasons. Knigge is known as the author of
several novels, among which _Der Roman meines Lebens_ (1781-1787; new
ed., 1805) and _Die Reise nach Braunschweig_ (1792), the latter a rather
coarsely comic story, are best remembered. His chief literary
achievement was, however, _Über den Umgang mit Menschen_ (1788), in
which he lays down rules to be observed for a peaceful, happy and useful
life; it has been often reprinted.
Knigge's _Schriften_ were published in 12 volumes (1804-1806). See K.
Goedeke, _Adolf, Freiherr von Knigge_ (1844); and H. Klencke, _Aus
einer alten Kiste_ (_Briefe, Handschriften und Dokumente aus dem
Nachlasse Knigges_) (1853).
KNIGHT, CHARLES (1791-1873), English publisher and author, the son of a
bookseller and printer at Windsor, was born on the 15th of March 1791.
He was apprenticed to his father, but on the completion of his
indentures he took up journalism and interested himself in several
newspaper speculations. In 1823, in conjunction with friends he had made
as publisher (1820-1821) of _The Etonian_, he started _Knight's
Quarterly Magazine_, to which W. M. Praed, Derwent Coleridge and
Macaulay contributed. The venture was brought to a close with its sixth
number, but it initiated for Knight a career as publisher and author
which extended over forty years. In 1827 Knight was compelled to give up
his publishing business, and became the superintendent of the
publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, for
which he projected and edited _The British Almanack and Companion_,
begun in 1828. In 1829 he resumed business on his own account with the
publication of _The Library of Entertaining Knowledge_, writing several
volumes of the series himself. In 1832 and 1833 he started _The Penny
Magazine_ and _The Penny Cyclopaedia_, both of which had a large
circulation. _The Penny Cyclopaedia_, however, on account of the heavy
excise duty, was only completed in 1844 at a great pecuniary sacrifice.
Besides many illustrated editions of standard works, including in 1842
_The Pictorial Shakespeare_, which had appeared in parts (1838-1841),
Knight published a variety of illustrated works, such as _Old England_
and _The Land we Live in_. He also undertook the series known as _Weekly
Volumes_. He himself contributed the first volume, a biography of
William Caxton. Many famous books, Miss Martineau's _Tales_, Mrs
Jameson's _Early Italian Painters_ and G. H. Lewes's _Biographical
History of Philosophy_, appeared for the first time in this series. In
1853 he became editor of _The English Cyclopaedia_, which was
practically only a revision of _The Penny Cyclopaedia_, and at about the
same time he began his _Popular History of England_ (8 vols.,
1856-1862). In 1864 he withdrew from the business of publisher, but he
continued to write nearly to the close of his long life, publishing _The
Shadows of the Old Booksellers_ (1865), an autobiography under the title
_Passages of a Working Life during Half a Century_ (2 vols., 1864-1865),
and an historical novel, _Begg'd at Court_ (1867). He died at
Addlestone, Surrey, on the 9th of March 1873.
See A. A. Clowes, _Knight, a Sketch_ (1892); and F. Espinasse, in _The
Critic_ (May 1860).
KNIGHT, DANIEL RIDGWAY (1845- ), American artist, was born at
Philadelphia, Penn., in 1845. He was a pupil at the École des
Beaux-Arts, Paris, under Gleyre, and later worked in the private studio
of Meissonier. After 1872 he lived in France, having a house and studio
at Poissy on the Seine. He painted peasant women out of doors with great
popular success. He was awarded the silver medal and cross of the Legion
of Honour, Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1889, and was made a knight of
the Royal Order of St Michael of Bavaria, Munich, 1893, receiving the
gold medal of honour from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts,
Philadelphia, 1893. His son, Ashton Knight, is also known as a landscape
painter.
KNIGHT, JOHN BUXTON (1843-1908), English landscape painter, was born at
Sevenoaks, Kent; he started as a schoolmaster, but painting was his
hobby, and he subsequently devoted himself to it. In 1861 he had his
first picture hung at the Academy. He was essentially an open-air
painter, constantly going on sketching tours in the most picturesque
spots of England, and all his pictures were painted out of doors. He
died at Dover on the 2nd of January 1908. The Chantrey trustees bought
his "December's Bareness Everywhere" for the nation in the following
month. Most of his best pictures had passed into the collection of Mr
Iceton of Putney (including "White Walls of Old England" and "Hereford
Cathedral"), Mr Walter Briggs of Burley in Wharfedale (especially
"Pinner"), and Mr S. M. Phillips of Wrotham (especially two
water-colours of Richmond Bridge).
KNIGHTHOOD and CHIVALRY. These two words, which are nearly but not quite
synonymous, designate a single subject of inquiry, which presents itself
under three different although connected and in a measure intermingled
aspects. It may be regarded in the first place as a mode or variety of
feudal tenure, in the second place as a personal attribute or dignity,
and in the third place as a scheme of manners or social arrangements.
The first of these aspects is discussed under the headings FEUDALISM and
KNIGHT SERVICE: we are concerned here only with the second and third.
For the more important religious as distinguished from the military
orders of knighthood or chivalry the reader is referred to the headings
ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM, KNIGHTS OF; TEUTONIC KNIGHTS; and TEMPLARS.
"The growth of knighthood" (writes Stubbs) "is a subject on which the
greatest obscurity prevails": and, though J. H. Round has done much to
explain the introduction of the system into England,[1] its actual
origin on the continent of Europe is still obscure in many of its most
important details.
The words _knight_ and _knighthood_ are merely the modern forms of the
Anglo-Saxon or Old English _cniht_ and _cnihthád_. Of these the primary
signification of the first was a boy or youth, and of the second that
period of life which intervenes between childhood and manhood. But some
time before the middle of the 12th century they had acquired the meaning
they still retain of the French _chevalier_ and _chevalerie_. In a
secondary sense _cniht_ meant a servant or attendant answering to the
German _Knecht_, and in the Anglo-Saxon Gospels a disciple is described
as a _leorning cniht_. In a tertiary sense the word appears to have been
occasionally employed as equivalent to the Latin _miles_--usually
translated by _thegn_--which in the earlier middle ages was used as the
designation of the domestic as well as of the martial officers or
retainers of sovereigns and princes or great personages.[2] Sharon
Turner suggests that _cniht_ from meaning an attendant simply may have
come to mean more especially a military attendant, and that in this
sense it may have gradually superseded the word thegn.[3] But the word
thegn itself, that is, when it was used as the description of an
attendant of the king, appears to have meant more especially a military
attendant. As Stubbs says "the thegn seems to be primarily the warrior
gesith"--the gesithas forming the chosen band of companions (_comites_)
of the German chiefs (_principes_) noticed by Tacitus--"he is probably
the gesith who had a particular military duty in his master's service";
and he adds that from the reign of Athelstan "the gesith is lost sight
of except very occasionally, the more important class having become
thegns, and the lesser sort sinking into the rank of mere servants of
the king."[4] It is pretty clear, therefore, that the word cniht could
never have superseded the word thegn in the sense of a military
attendant, at all events of the king. But besides the king, the
ealdormen, bishops and king's thegns themselves had their thegns, and to
these it is more than probable that the name of _cniht_ was applied.
Around the Anglo-Saxon magnates were collected a crowd of retainers and
dependants of all ranks and conditions; and there is evidence enough to
show that among them were some called _cnihtas_ who were not always the
humblest or least considerable of their number.[5] The testimony of
Domesday also establishes the existence in the reign of Edward the
Confessor of what Stubbs describes as a "large class" of landholders who
had commended themselves to some lord, and he regards it as doubtful
whether their tenure had not already assumed a really feudal character.
But in any event it is manifest that their condition was in many
respects similar to that of a vast number of unquestionably feudal and
military tenants who made their appearance after the Norman Conquest. If
consequently the former were called _cnihtas_ under the Anglo-Saxon
régime, it seems sufficiently probable that the appellation should have
been continued to the latter--practically their successors--under the
Anglo-Norman régime. And if the designation of knights was first applied
to the military tenants of the earls, bishops and barons--who although
they held their lands of mesne lords owed their services to the
king--the extension of that designation to the whole body of military
tenants need not have been a very violent or prolonged process.
Assuming, however, that _knight_ was originally used to describe the
military tenant of a noble person, as _cniht_ had sometimes been used to
describe the thegn of a noble person, it would, to begin with, have
defined rather his social status than the nature of his services. But
those whom the English called _knights_ the Normans called _chevaliers_,
by which term the nature of their services was defined, while their
social status was left out of consideration. And at first _chevalier_ in
its general and honorary signification seems to have been rendered not
by _knight_ but by _rider_, as may be inferred from the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle, wherein it is recorded under the year 1085 that William the
Conqueror "dubbade his sunu Henric to ridere."[6] But, as E. A. Freeman
says, "no such title is heard of in the earlier days of England. The
thegn, the ealdorman, the king himself, fought on foot; the horse might
bear him to the field, but when the fighting itself came he stood on
his native earth to receive the onslaught of her enemies."[7] In this
perhaps we may behold one of the most ancient of British insular
prejudices, for on the Continent the importance of cavalry in warfare
was already abundantly understood. It was by means of their horsemen
that the Austrasian Franks established their superiority over their
neighbours, and in time created the Western Empire anew, while from the
word _caballarius_, which occurs in the _Capitularies_ in the reign of
Charlemagne, came the words for knight in all the Romance languages.[8]
In Germany the chevalier was called _Ritter_, but neither _rider_ nor
_chevalier_ prevailed against _knight_ in England. And it was long after
_knighthood_ had acquired its present meaning with us that _chivalry_
was incorporated into our language. It may be remarked too in passing
that in official Latin, not only in England but all over Europe, the
word _miles_ held its own against both _eques_ and _caballarius_.
Origin of Medieval Knighthood.
Concerning the origin of knighthood or chivalry as it existed in the
middle ages--implying as it did a formal assumption of and initiation
into the profession of arms--nothing beyond more or less probable
conjecture is possible. The medieval knights had nothing to do in the
way of derivation with the "equites" of Rome, the knights of King
Arthur's Round Table, or the Paladins of Charlemagne. But there are
grounds for believing that some of the rudiments of chivalry are to be
detected in early Teutonic customs, and that they may have made some
advance among the Franks of Gaul. We know from Tacitus that the German
tribes in his day were wont to celebrate the admission of their young
men into the ranks of their warriors with much circumstance and
ceremony. The people of the district to which the candidate belonged
were called together; his qualifications for the privileges about to be
conferred upon him were inquired into; and, if he were deemed fitted and
worthy to receive them, his chief, his father, or one of his near
kinsmen presented him with a shield and a lance. Again, among the Franks
we find Charlemagne girding his son Louis the Pious, and Louis the Pious
girding his son Charles the Bald with the sword, when they arrived at
manhood.[9] It seems certain here that some ceremony was observed which
was deemed worthy of record not for its novelty, but as a thing of
recognized importance. It does not follow that a similar ceremony
extended to personages less exalted than the sons of kings and emperors.
But if it did we must naturally suppose that it applied in the first
instance to the mounted warriors who formed the most formidable portion
of the warlike array of the Franks. It was among the Franks indeed, and
possibly through their experiences in war with the Saracens, that
cavalry first acquired the pre-eminent place which it long maintained in
every European country. In early society, where the army is not a paid
force but the armed nation, the cavalry must necessarily consist of the
noble and wealthy, and cavalry and chivalry, as Freeman observes,[10]
will be the same. Since then we discover in the _Capitularies_ of
Charlemagne actual mention of "caballarii" as a class of warriors, it
may reasonably be concluded that formal investiture with arms applied to
the "caballarii" if it was a usage extending beyond the sovereign and
his heir-apparent. "But," as Hallam says, "he who fought on horseback
and had been invested with peculiar arms in a solemn manner wanted
nothing more to render him a knight;" and so he concludes, in view of
the verbal identity of "chevalier" and "caballarius," that "we may refer
chivalry in a general sense to the age of Charlemagne."[11] Yet, if the
"caballarii" of the _Capitularies_ are really the precursors of the
later knights, it remains a difficulty that the Latin name for a knight
is "miles," although "caballarius" became in various forms the
vernacular designation.
Knighthood in England.
Before it was known that the chronicle ascribed to Ingulf of Croyland is
really a fiction of the 13th or 14th century, the knighting of Heward or
Hereward by Brand, abbot of Burgh (now Peterborough), was accepted from
Selden to Hallam as an historical fact, and knighthood was supposed, not
only to have been known among the Anglo-Saxons, but to have had a
distinctively religious character which was contemned by the Norman
invaders. The genuine evidence at our command altogether fails to
support this view. When William of Malmesbury describes the knighting of
Athelstan by his grandfather Alfred the Great, that is, his investiture
"with a purple garment set with gems and a Saxon sword with a golden
sheath," there is no hint of any religious observance. In spite of the
silence of our records, Dr Stubbs thinks that kings so well acquainted
with foreign usages as Ethelred, Canute and Edward the Confessor could
hardly have failed to introduce into England the institution of chivalry
then springing up in every country of Europe; and he is supported in
this opinion by the circumstance that it is nowhere mentioned as a
Norman innovation. Yet the fact that Harold received knighthood from
William of Normandy makes it clear either that Harold was not yet a
knight, which in the case of so tried a warrior would imply that
"dubbing to knighthood" was not yet known in England even under Edward
the Confessor, or, as Freeman thinks, that in the middle of the 11th
century the custom had grown in Normandy into "something of a more
special meaning" than it bore in England.
Regarded as a method of military organization, the feudal system of
tenures was always far better adapted to the purposes of defensive than
of offensive warfare. Against invasion it furnished a permanent
provision both in men-at-arms and strongholds; nor was it unsuited for
the campaigns of neighbouring counts and barons which lasted for only a
few weeks, and extended over only a few leagues. But when kings and
kingdoms were in conflict, and distant and prolonged expeditions became
necessary, it was speedily discovered that the unassisted resources of
feudalism were altogether inadequate. It became therefore the manifest
interest of both parties that personal services should be commuted into
pecuniary payments. Then there grew up all over Europe a system of
fining the knights who failed to respond to the sovereign's call or to
stay their full time in the field; and in England this fine developed,
from the reign of Henry II. to that of Edward II., into a regular
war-tax called _escuage_ or _scutage_ (q.v.). In this way funds for war
were placed at the free disposal of sovereigns, and, although the
feudatories and their retainers still formed the most considerable
portion of their armies, the conditions under which they served were
altogether changed. Their military service was now far more the result
of special agreement. In the reign of Edward I., whose warlike
enterprises after he was king were confined within the four seas, this
alteration does not seem to have proceeded very far, and Scotland and
Wales were subjugated by what was in the main, if not exclusively, a
feudal militia raised as of old by writ to the earls and barons and the
sheriffs.[12] But the armies of Edward III., Henry V. and Henry VI.
during the century of intermittent warfare between England and France
were recruited and sustained to a very great extent on the principle of
contract.[13] On the Continent the systematic employment of mercenaries
was both an early and a common practice.
The Crusades.
Besides consideration for the mutual convenience of sovereigns and their
feudatories, there were other causes which materially contributed
towards bringing about those changes in the military system of Europe
which were finally accomplished in the 13th and 14th centuries. During
the Crusades vast armies were set on foot in which feudal rights and
obligations had no place, and it was seen that the volunteers who
flocked to the standards of the various commanders were not less but
even more efficient in the field than the vassals they had hitherto been
accustomed to lead. It was thus established that pay, the love of
enterprise and the prospect of plunder--if we leave zeal for the sacred
cause which they had espoused for the moment out of sight--were quite as
useful for the purpose of enlisting troops and keeping them together as
the tenure of land and the solemnities of homage and fealty. Moreover,
the crusaders who survived the difficulties and dangers of an expedition
to Palestine were seasoned and experienced although frequently
impoverished and landless soldiers, ready to hire themselves to the
highest bidder, and well worth the wages they received. Again, it was
owing to the crusades that the church took the profession of arms under
her peculiar protection, and thenceforward the ceremonies of initiation
into it assumed a religious as well as a martial character.
Knighthood independent of Feudalism.
To distinguished soldiers of the cross the honours and benefits of
knighthood could hardly be refused on the ground that they did not
possess a sufficient property qualification--of which perhaps they had
denuded themselves in order to their equipment for the Holy War. And
thus the conception of knighthood as of something distinct from
feudalism both as a social condition and a personal dignity arose and
rapidly gained ground. It was then that the analogy was first detected
between the order of knighthood and the order of priesthood, and that an
actual union of monachism and chivalry was effected by the establishment
of the religious orders of which the Knights Templars and the Knights
Hospitallers were the most eminent examples. As comprehensive in their
polity as the Benedictines or Franciscans, they gathered their members
from, and soon scattered their possessions over, every country in
Europe. And in their indifference to the distinctions of race and
nationality they merely accommodated themselves to the spirit which had
become characteristic of chivalry itself, already recognized, like the
church, as a universal institution which knit together the whole warrior
caste of Christendom into one great fraternity irrespective alike of
feudal subordination and territorial boundaries. Somewhat later the
adoption of hereditary surnames and armorial bearings marked the
existence of a large and noble class who either from the subdivision of
fiefs or from the effects of the custom of primogeniture were very
insufficiently provided for. To them only two callings were generally
open, that of the churchman and that of the soldier, and the latter as a
rule offered greater attractions than the former in an era of much
licence and little learning. Hence the favourite expedient for men of
birth, although not of fortune, was to attach themselves to some prince
or magnate in whose military service they were sure of an adequate
maintenance and might hope for even a rich reward in the shape of booty
or of ransom.[14] It is probably to this period and these circumstances
that we must look for at all events the rudimentary beginnings of the
military as well as the religious orders of chivalry. Of the existence
of any regularly constituted companionships of the first kind there is
no trustworthy evidence until between two and three centuries after
fraternities of the second kind had been organized. Soon after the
greater crusading societies had been formed similar orders, such as
those of St James of Compostella, Calatrava and Alcantara, were
established to fight the Moors in Spain instead of the Saracens in the
Holy Land. But the members of these orders were not less monks than
knights, their statutes embodied the rules of the cloister, and they
were bound by the ecclesiastical vows of celibacy, poverty and
obedience. From a very early stage in the development of chivalry,
however, we meet with the singular institution of brotherhood in arms;
and from it the ultimate origin if not of the religious fraternities at
any rate of the military companionships is usually derived.[15] By this
institution a relation was created between two or more monks by
voluntary agreement, which was regarded as of far more intimacy and
stringency than any which the mere accident of consanguinity implied.
Brothers in arms were supposed to be partners in all things save the
affections of their "lady-loves." They shared in every danger and in
every success, and each was expected to vindicate the honour of another
as promptly and zealously as his own. The plot of the medieval romance
of _Amis and Amiles_ is built entirely on such a brotherhood. Their
engagements usually lasted through life, but sometimes only for a
specified period or during the continuance of specified circumstances,
and they were always ratified by oath, occasionally reduced to writing
in the shape of a solemn bond and often sanctified by their reception of
the Eucharist together. Romance and tradition speak of strange
rites--the mingling and even the drinking of blood--as having in remote
and rude ages marked the inception of these martial and fraternal
associations.[16] But in later and less barbarous times they were
generally evidenced and celebrated by a formal and reciprocal exchange
of weapons and armour. In warfare it was customary for knights who were
thus allied to appear similarly accoutred and bearing the same badges or
cognisances, to the end that their enemies might not know with which of
them they were in conflict, and that their friends might be unable to
accord more applause to one than to the other for his prowess in the
field. It seems likely enough therefore that there should grow up bodies
of knights banded together by engagements of fidelity, although free
from monastic obligations; wearing a uniform or livery, and naming
themselves after some special symbol or some patron saint of their
adoption. And such bodies placed under the command of a sovereign or
grand master, regulated by statutes, and enriched by ecclesiastical
endowments would have been precisely what in after times such orders as
the Garter in England, the Golden Fleece in Burgundy, the Annunziata in
Savoy and the St Michael and Holy Ghost in France actually were.[17]
Grades of Knighthood.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, as well as somewhat earlier and
later, the general arrangements of a European army were always and
everywhere pretty much the same.[18] Under the sovereign the constable
and the marshal or marshals held the chief commands, their authority
being partly joint and partly several. Attendant on them were the
heralds, who were the officers of their military court, wherein offences
committed in the camp and field were tried and adjudged, and among whose
duties it was to carry orders and messages, to deliver challenges and
call truces, and to identify and number the wounded and the slain. The
main divisions of the army were distributed under the royal and other
principal standards, smaller divisions under the banners of some of the
greater nobility or of knights banneret, and smaller divisions still
under the pennons of knights or, as in distinction from knights banneret
they came to be called, knights bachelors. All knights whether bachelors
or bannerets were escorted by their squires. But the banner of the
banneret always implied a more or less extensive command, while every
knight was entitled to bear a pennon and every squire a pencel. All
three flags were of such a size as to be conveniently attached to and
carried on a lance, and were emblazoned with the arms or some portion of
the bearings of their owners. But while the banner was square the
pennon, which resembled it in other respects, was either pointed or
forked at its extremity, and the pencel, which was considerably less
than the others, always terminated in a single tail or streamer.[19]
If indeed we look at the scale of chivalric subordination from another
point of view, it seems to be more properly divisible into four than
into three stages, of which two may be called provisional and two final.
The bachelor and the banneret were both equally knights, only the one
was of greater distinction and authority than the other. In like manner
the squire and the page were both in training for knighthood, but the
first had advanced further in the process than the second. It is true
that the squire was a combatant while the page was not, and that many
squires voluntarily served as squires all their lives owing to the
insufficiency of their fortunes to support the costs and charges of
knighthood. But in the ordinary course of a chivalrous education the
successive conditions of page and squire were passed through in boyhood
and youth, and the condition of knighthood was reached in early manhood.
Every feudal court and castle was in fact a school of chivalry, and
although princes and great personages were rarely actually pages or
squires, the moral and physical discipline through which they passed was
not in any important particular different from that to which less
exalted candidates for knighthood were subjected.[20] The page, or, as
he was more anciently and more correctly called, the "valet" or
"damoiseau," commenced his service and instruction when he was between
seven and eight years old, and the initial phase continued for seven or
eight years longer. He acted as the constant personal attendant of both
his master and mistress. He waited on them in their hall and accompanied
them in the chase, served the lady in her bower and followed the lord to
the camp.[21] From the chaplain and his mistress and her damsels he
learnt the rudiments of religion, of rectitude and of love,[22] from his
master and his squires the elements of military exercise, to cast a
spear or dart, to sustain a shield, and to march with the measured tread
of a soldier; and from his master and his huntsmen and falconers the
"mysteries of the woods and rivers," or in other words the rules and
practices of hunting and hawking. When he was between fifteen and
sixteen he became a squire. But no sudden or great alteration was made
in his mode of life. He continued to wait at dinner with the pages,
although in a manner more dignified according to the notions of the age.
He not only served but carved and helped the dishes, proffered the first
or principal cup of wine to his master and his guests, and carried to
them the basin, ewer or napkin when they washed their hands before and
after meat. He assisted in clearing the hall for dancing or minstrelsy,
and laid the tables for chess or draughts, and he also shared in the
pastimes for which he had made preparation. He brought his master the
"vin de coucher" at night, and made his early refection ready for him in
the morning. But his military exercises and athletic sports occupied an
always increasing portion of the day. He accustomed himself to ride the
"great horse," to tilt at the quintain, to wield the sword and
battle-axe, to swim and climb, to run and leap, and to bear the weight
and overcome the embarrassments of armour. He inured himself to the
vicissitudes of heat and cold, and voluntarily suffered the pains or
inconveniences of hunger and thirst, fatigue and sleeplessness. It was
then too that he chose his "lady-love," whom he was expected to regard
with an adoration at once earnest, respectful, and the more meritorious
if concealed. And when it was considered that he had made sufficient
advancement in his military accomplishments, he took his sword to the
priest, who laid it on the altar, blessed it, and returned it to
him.[23] Afterwards he either remained with his early master, relegating
most of his domestic duties to his younger companions, or he entered the
service of some valiant and adventurous lord or knight of his own
selection. He now became a "squire of the body," and truly an "armiger"
or "scutifer," for he bore the shield and armour of his leader to the
field, and, what was a task of no small difficulty and hazard, cased and
secured him in his panoply of war before assisting him to mount his
courser or charger. It was his function also to display and guard in
battle the banner of the baron or banneret or the pennon of the knight
he served, to raise him from the ground if he were unhorsed, to supply
him with another or his own horse if his was disabled or killed, to
receive and keep any prisoners he might take, to fight by his side if he
was unequally matched, to rescue him if captured, to bear him to a place
of safety if wounded, and to bury him honourably when dead. And after he
had worthily and bravely, borne himself for six or seven years as a
squire, the time came when it was fitting that he should be made a
knight. This, at least, was the current theory; but it is specially
dangerous in medieval history to assume too much correspondence between
theory and fact. In many castles, and perhaps in most, the discipline
followed simply a natural and unwritten code of "fagging" and seniority,
as in public schools or on board men-of-war some hundred years or so
ago.
Modes of conferring Knighthood.
Two modes of conferring knighthood appear to have prevailed from a very
early period in all countries where chivalry was known. In both of them
the essential portion seems to have been the accolade or stroke of the
sword. But while in the one the accolade constituted the whole or nearly
the whole of the ceremony, in the other it was surrounded with many
additional observances. The former and simpler of these modes was
naturally that used in war: the candidate knelt before "the chief of the
army or some valiant knight," who struck him thrice with the flat of a
sword, pronouncing a brief formula of creation and of exhortation which
varied at the creator's will.[24]
In this form a number of knights were made before and after almost every
battle between the 11th and the 16th centuries, and its advantages on
the score of both convenience and economy gradually led to its general
adoption both in time of peace and time of war. On extraordinary
occasions indeed the more elaborate ritual continued to be observed. But
recourse was had to it so rarely that in England about the beginning of
the 15th century it came to be exclusively appropriated to a special
king of knighthood. When Segar, garter king of arms, wrote in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, this had been accomplished with such completeness
that he does not even mention that there were two ways of creating
knights bachelors. "He that is to be made a knight," he says, "is
striken by the prince with a sword drawn upon his back or shoulder, the
prince saying, 'Soys Chevalier,' and in times past was added 'Saint
George.' And when the knight rises the prince sayeth 'Avencez.' This is
the manner of dubbing knights at this present, and that term 'dubbing'
was the old term in this point, not 'creating.' This sort of knights are
by the heralds called knights bachelors." In our days when a knight is
personally made he kneels before the sovereign, who lays a sword drawn,
ordinarily the sword of state, on either of his shoulders and says,
"Rise," calling him by his Christian name with the addition of "Sir"
before it.
Very different were the solemnities which attended the creation of a
knight when the complete procedure was observed. "The ceremonies and
circumstances at the giving this dignity," says Selden, "in the elder
time were of two kinds especially, which we may call courtly and sacred.
The courtly were the feasts held at the creation, giving of robes, arms,
spurs and the like. The sacred were the holy devotions and what else was
used in the church at or before the receiving of the dignity."[25] But
the leading authority on the subject is an ancient tract written in
French, which will be found at length either in the original or
translated by Segar, Dugdale, Byshe and Nicolas, among other English
writers.[26] Daniel explains his reasons for transcribing it, "tant à
cause du detail que de la naïveté du stile et encore plus de la
bisarrerie des ceremonies que se faisoient pourtant alors fort
sérieusement," while he adds that these ceremonies were essentially
identical in England, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The process of inauguration was commenced in the evening by the
placing of the candidate under the care of two "esquires of honour
grave and well seen in courtship and nurture and also in the feats of
chivalry," who were to be "governors in all things relating to him."
Under their direction, to begin with, a barber shaved him and cut his
hair. He was then conducted by them to his appointed chamber, where a
bath was prepared hung within and without with linen and covered with
rich cloths, into which after they had undressed him he entered. While
he was in the bath two "ancient and grave knights" attended him "to
inform, instruct and counsel him touching the order and feats of
chivalry," and when they had fulfilled their mission they poured some
of the water of the bath over his shoulders, signing the left shoulder
with the cross, and retired. He was then taken from the bath and put
into a plain bed without hangings, in which he remained until his body
was dry, when the two esquires put on him a white shirt and over that
"a robe of russet with long sleeves having a hood thereto like unto
that of an hermit." Then the "two ancient and grave knights" returned
and led him to the chapel, the esquires going before them "sporting
and dancing" with "the minstrels making melody." And when they had
been served with wines and spices they went away leaving only the
candidate, the esquires, "the priest, the chandler and the watch," who
kept the vigil of arms until sunrise, the candidate passing the night
"bestowing himself in orisons and prayers." At daybreak he confessed
to the priest, heard matins, and communicated in the mass, offering a
taper and a piece of money stuck in it as near the lighted end as
possible, the first "to the honour of God" and the second "to the
honour of the person that makes him a knight." Afterwards he was taken
back to his chamber, and remained in bed until the knights, esquires
and minstrels went to him and aroused him. The knights then dressed
him in distinctive garments, and they then mounted their horses and
rode to the hall where the candidate was to receive knighthood; his
future squire was to ride before him bareheaded bearing his sword by
the point in its scabbard with his spurs hanging from its hilt. And
when everything was prepared the prince or subject who was to knight
him came into the hall, and, the candidate's sword and spurs having
been presented to him, he delivered the right spur to the "most noble
and gentle" knight present, and directed him to fasten it on the
candidate's right heel, which he kneeling on one knee and putting the
candidate's right foot on his knee accordingly did, signing the
candidate's knee with the cross, and in like manner by another "noble
and gentle" knight the left spur was fastened to his left heel. And
then he who was to create the knight took the sword and girded him
with it, and then embracing him he lifted his right hand and smote him
on the neck or shoulder, saying, "Be thou a good knight," and kissed
him. When this was done they all went to the chapel with much music,
and the new knight laying his right hand on the altar promised to
support and defend the church, and ungirding his sword offered it on
the altar. And as he came out from the chapel the master cook awaited
him at the door and claimed his spurs as his fee, and said, "If you
do anything contrary to the order of chivalry (which God forbid), I
shall hack the spurs from your heels."[27]
The full solemnities for conferring knighthood seem to have been so
largely and so early superseded by the practice of dubbing or giving the
accolade alone that in England it became at last restricted to such
knights as were made at coronations and some other occasions of state.
And to them the particular name of Knights of the Bath was assigned,
while knights made in the ordinary way were called in distinction from
them knights of the sword, as they were also called knights bachelors in
distinction from knights banneret.[28] It is usually supposed that the
first creation of knights of the Bath under that designation was at the
coronation of Henry IV.; and before the order of the Bath as a
companionship or capitular body was instituted the last creation of them
was at the coronation of Charles II. But all knights were also knights
of the spur or "equites aurati," because their spurs were golden or
gilt,--the spurs of squires being of silver or white metal,--and these
became their peculiar badge in popular estimation and proverbial speech.
In the form of their solemn inauguration too, as we have noticed, the
spurs together with the sword were always employed as the leading and
most characteristic ensigns of knighthood.[29]
With regard to knights banneret, various opinions have been entertained
as to both the nature of their dignity and the qualifications they were
required to possess for receiving it at different periods and in
different countries. On the Continent the distinction which is commonly
but incorrectly made between the nobility and the gentry has never
arisen, and it was unknown here while chivalry existed and heraldry was
understood. Here, as elsewhere in the old time, a nobleman and a
gentleman meant the same thing, namely, a man who under certain
conditions of descent was entitled to armorial bearings. Hence Du Cange
divides the medieval nobility of France and Spain into three classes:
first, barons or ricos hombres; secondly, chevaliers or caballeros; and
thirdly, écuyers or infanzons; and to the first, who with their several
special titles constituted the greater nobility of either country, he
limits the designation of banneret and the right of leading their
followers to war under a banner, otherwise a "drapeau quarré" or square
flag.[30] Selden shows especially from the parliament rolls that the
term banneret has been occasionally employed in England as equivalent to
baron.[31] In Scotland, even as late as the reign of James VI., lords of
parliament were always created bannerets as well as barons at their
investiture, "part of the ceremony consisting in the display of a
banner, and such 'barones majores' were thereby entitled to the
privilege of having one borne by a retainer before them to the field of
a quadrilateral form."[32] In Scotland, too, lords of parliament and
bannerets were also called bannerents, banrents or baronets, and in
England banneret was often corrupted to baronet. "Even in a patent
passed to Sir Ralph Fane, knight under Edward VI., he is called
'baronettus' for 'bannerettus.'"[33] In this manner it is not improbable
that the title of baronet may have been suggested to the advisers of
James I. when the order of Baronets was originally created by him, for
it was a question whether the recipients of the new dignity should be
designated by that or some other name.[34] But there is no doubt that as
previously used it was merely a corrupt synonym for banneret, and not
the name of any separate dignity. On the Continent, however, there are
several recorded examples of bannerets who had an hereditary claim to
that honour and its attendant privileges on the ground of the nature of
their feudal tenure.[35] And generally, at any rate to commence with, it
seems probable that bannerets were in every country merely the more
important class of feudatories, the "ricos hombres" in contrast to the
knights bachelors, who in France in the time of St Louis were known as
"pauvres hommes." In England all the barons or greater nobility were
entitled to bear banners, and therefore Du Cange's observations would
apply to them as well as to the barons or greater nobility of France and
Spain. But it is clear that from a comparatively early period bannerets
whose claims were founded on personal distinction rather than on feudal
tenure gradually came to the front, and much the same process of
substitution appears to have gone on in their case as that which we have
marked in the case of simple knights. According to the _Sallade_ and the
_Division du Monde_, as cited by Selden, bannerets were clearly in the
beginning feudal tenants of a certain magnitude and importance and
nothing more, and different forms for their creation are given in time
of peace and in time of war.[36] But in the French _Gesta Romanorum_ the
warlike form alone is given, and it is quoted by both Selden and Du
Cange. From the latter a more modern version of it is given by Daniel as
the only one generally in force.
[Illustration: PLATE I.
INSIGNIA OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD, DRAWN BY
GRACIOUS PERMISSION FROM THOSE IN THE POSSESSION OF HIS LATE MAJESTY
KING EDWARD VII AND ARRANGED IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS MAJESTY'S WISHES AND
COMMAND.
THE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
(i.) THE GARTER; (ii) THE COLLAR AND GEORGE; (iii.) THE LESSER GEORGE
AND RIBBON; (iv.) STAR.
_Drawn by William Gibb._
_Niagara Litho. Co., Buffalo, N. Y._]
The knight bachelor whose services and landed possessions entitled him
to promotion would apply formally to the commander in the field for the
title of banneret. If this were granted, the heralds were called to cut
publicly the tails from his pennon: or the commander, as a special
honour, might cut them off with his own hands.[37] The earliest
contemporary mention of knights banneret is in France, Daniel says, in
the reign of Philip Augustus, and in England, Selden says in the reign
of Edward I. But in neither case is reference made to them in such a
manner as to suggest that the dignity was then regarded as new or even
uncommon, and it seems pretty certain that its existence on one side
could not have long preceded its existence on the other side of the
Channel. Sir Alan Plokenet, Sir Ralph Daubeney and Sir Philip Daubeney
are entered as bannerets on the roll of the garrison of Caermarthen
Castle in 1282, and the roll of Carlaverock records the names and arms
of eighty-five bannerets who accompanied Edward I. in his expedition
into Scotland in 1300.
What the exact contingent was which bannerets were expected to supply to
the royal host is doubtful.[38] But, however this may be, in the reign
of Edward III. and afterwards bannerets appear as the commanders of a
military force raised by themselves and marshalled under their banners:
their status and their relations both to the crown and to their
followers were mainly the consequences of voluntary contract not of
feudal tenure. It is from the reigns of Edward III. and Richard II. also
that the two best descriptions we possess of the actual creation of a
banneret have been transmitted to us.[39] Sir Thomas Smith, writing
towards the end of the 16th century, says, after noticing the conditions
to be observed in the creation of bannerets, "but this order is almost
grown out of use in England";[40] and, during the controversy which
arose between the new order of baronets and the crown early in the 17th
century respecting their precedence, it was alleged without
contradiction in an argument on behalf of the baronets before the privy
council that "there are not bannerets now in being, peradventure never
shall be."[41] Sir Ralph Fane, Sir Francis Bryan and Sir Ralph Sadler
were created bannerets by the Lord Protector Somerset after the battle
of Pinkie in 1547, and the better opinion is that this was the last
occasion on which the dignity was conferred. It has been stated indeed
that Charles I. created Sir John Smith a banneret after the battle of
Edgehill in 1642 for having rescued the royal standard from the enemy.
But of this there is no sufficient proof. It was also supposed that
George III. had created several naval officers bannerets towards the end
of the last century, because he knighted them on board ship under the
royal standard displayed. This, however, is unquestionably an error.[42]
Existing Orders of Knighthood.
On the continent of Europe the degree of knight bachelor disappeared
with the military system which had given rise to it. It is now therefore
peculiar to the British Empire, where, although very frequently
conferred by letters patent, it is yet the only dignity which is still
even occasionally created--as every dignity was formerly created--by
means of a ceremony in which the sovereign and the subject personally
take part. Everywhere else dubbing or the accolade seems to have become
obsolete, and no other species of knighthood, if knighthood it can be
called, is known except that which is dependent on admission to some
particular order. It is a common error to suppose that baronets are
hereditary knights. Baronets are not knights unless they are knighted
like anybody else; and, so far from being knights because they are
baronets, one of the privileges granted to them shortly after the
institution of their dignity was that they, not being knights, and their
successors and their eldest sons and heirs-apparent should, when they
attained their majority, be entitled if they desired to receive
knighthood.[43] It is a maxim of the law indeed that, as Coke says, "the
knight is by creation and not by descent," and, although we hear of such
designations as the "knight of Kerry" or the "knight of Glin," they are
no more than traditional nicknames, and do not by any means imply that
the persons to whom they are applied are knights in a legitimate sense.
Notwithstanding, however, that simple knighthood has gone out of use
abroad, there are innumerable grand crosses, commanders and companions
of a formidable assortment of orders in almost every part of the
world.[44] (See the section on "Orders of Knighthood" below.)
The United Kingdom has eight orders of knighthood--the Garter, the
Thistle, St Patrick, the Bath, the Star of India, St Michael and St
George, the Indian Empire and the Royal Victorian Order; and, while the
first is undoubtedly the oldest as well as the most illustrious anywhere
existing, a fictitious antiquity has been claimed and is even still
frequently conceded to the second and fourth, although the third,
fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth appear to be as contentedly as they
are unquestionably recent.
Order of the Garter.
It is, however, certain that the "most noble" Order of the Garter at
least was instituted in the middle of the 14th century, when English
chivalry was outwardly brightest and the court most magnificent. But in
what particular year this event occurred is and has been the subject of
much difference of opinion. All the original records of the order until
after 1416 have perished, and consequently the question depends for its
settlement not on direct testimony but on inference from circumstances.
The dates which have been selected vary from 1344 (given by Froissart,
but almost certainly mistaken) to 1351. The evidence may be examined at
length in Nicolas and Beltz; it is indisputable that in the wardrobe
account from September 1347 to January 1349, the 21st and 23rd Edward
III., the issue of certain habits with garters and the motto embroidered
on them is marked for St George's Day; that the letters patent relating
to the preparation of the royal chapel of Windsor are dated in August
1348; and that in the treasury accounts of the prince of Wales there is
an entry in November 1348 of the gift by him of "twenty-four garters to
the knights of the Society of the Garter."[45] But that the order,
although from this manifestly already fully constituted in the autumn of
1348, was not in existence before the summer of 1346 Sir Harris Nicolas
proves pretty conclusively by pointing out that nobody who was not a
knight could under its statutes have been admitted to it, and that
neither the prince of Wales nor several others of the original
companions were knighted until the middle of that year.
Regarding the occasion there has been almost as much controversy as
regarding the date of its foundation. The "vulgar and more general
story," as Ashmole calls it, is that of the countess of Salisbury's
garter. But commentators are not at one as to which countess of
Salisbury was the heroine of the adventure, whether she was Katherine
Montacute or Joan the Fair Maid of Kent, while Heylyn rejects the legend
as "a vain and idle romance derogatory both to the founder and the
order, first published by Polydor Vergil, a stranger to the affairs of
England, and by him taken upon no better ground than fama vulgi, the
tradition of the common people, too trifling a foundation for so great a
building."[46]
Another legend is that contained in the preface to the Register or Black
Book of the order, compiled in the reign of Henry VIII., by what
authority supported is unknown, that Richard I., while his forces were
employed against Cyprus and Acre, had been inspired through the
instrumentality of St George with renewed courage and the means of
animating his fatigued soldiers by the device of tying about the legs of
a chosen number of knights a leathern thong or garter, to the end that
being thereby reminded of the honour of their enterprise they might be
encouraged to redoubled efforts for victory. This was supposed to have
been in the mind of Edward III. when he fixed on the garter as the
emblem of the order, and it was stated so to have been by Taylor, master
of the rolls, in his address to Francis I. of France on his investiture
in 1527.[47] According to Ashmole the true account of the matter is that
"King Edward having given forth his own garter as the signal for a
battle which sped fortunately (which with Du Chesne we conceive to be
that of Crécy), the victory, we say, being happily gained, he thence
took occasion to institute this order, and gave the garter (assumed by
him for the symbol of unity and society) preeminence among the ensigns
of it." But, as Sir Harris Nicolas points out--although Ashmole is not
open to the correction--this hypothesis rests for its plausibility on
the assumption that the order was established before the invasion of
France in 1346. And he further observes that "a great variety of
devices and mottoes were used by Edward III.; they were chosen from the
most trivial causes and were of an amorous rather than of a military
character. Nothing," he adds, "is more likely than that in a crowded
assembly a lady should accidentally have dropped her garter; that the
circumstance should have caused a smile in the bystanders; and that on
its being taken up by Edward he should have reproved the levity of his
courtiers by so happy and chivalrous an exclamation, placing the garter
at the same time on his own knee, as 'Dishonoured be he who thinks ill
of it.' Such a circumstance occurring at a time of general festivity,
when devices, mottoes and conceits of all kinds were adopted as
ornaments or badges of the habits worn at jousts and tournaments, would
naturally have been commemorated as other royal expressions seem to have
been by its conversion into a device and motto for the dresses at an
approaching hastilude."[48] Moreover, Sir Harris Nicolas contends that
the order had no loftier immediate origin than a joust or tournament. It
consisted of the king and the Black Prince, and 24 knights divided into
two bands of 12 like the tilters in a hastilude----at the head of the
one being the first, and of the other the second; and to the companions
belonging to each, when the order had superseded the Round Table and had
become a permanent institution, were assigned stalls either on the
sovereign's or the prince's side of St George's Chapel. That Sir Harris
Nicolas is accurate in this conjecture seems probable from the selection
which was made of the "founder knights." As Beltz observes, the fame of
Sir Reginald Cobham, Sir Walter Manny and the earls of Northampton,
Hereford and Suffolk was already established by their warlike exploits,
and they would certainly have been among the original companions had the
order been then regarded as the reward of military merit only. But,
although these eminent warriors were subsequently elected as vacancies
occurred, their admission was postponed to that of several very young
and in actual warfare comparatively unknown knights, whose claims to the
honour may be most rationally explained on the assumption that they had
excelled in the particular feats of arms which preceded the institution
of the order. The original companionship had consisted of the sovereign
and 25 knights, and no change was made in this respect until 1786, when
the sons of George III. and his successors were made eligible
notwithstanding that the chapter might be complete. In 1805 another
alteration was effected by the provision that the lineal descendants of
George II. should be eligible in the same manner, except the Prince of
Wales for the time being, who was declared to be "a constituent part of
the original institution"; and again in 1831 it was further ordained
that the privilege accorded to the lineal descendants of George II.
should extend to the lineal descendants of George I. Although, as Sir
Harris Nicolas observes, nothing is now known of the form of admitting
ladies into the order, the description applied to them in the records
during the 14th and 15th centuries leaves no doubt that they were
regularly received into it. The queen consort, the wives and daughters
of knights, and some other women of exalted position, were designated
"Dames de la Fraternité de St George," and entries of the delivery of
robes and garters to them are found at intervals in the Wardrobe
Accounts from the 50th Edward III. (1376) to the 10th of Henry VII.
(1495), the first being Isabel, countess of Bedford, the daughter of the
one king, and the last being Margaret and Elizabeth, the daughters of
the other king. The effigies of Margaret Byron, wife of Sir Robert
Harcourt, K.G., at Stanton Harcourt, and of Alice Chaucer, wife of
William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, K.G., at Ewelme, which date from
the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV., have garters on their left arms.
(See further under "Orders of Knighthood" below.)
Persons empowered to confer Knighthood.
It has been the general opinion, as expressed by Sainte Palaye and
Mills, that formerly all knights were qualified to confer
knighthood.[49] But it may be questioned whether the privilege was thus
indiscriminately enjoyed even in the earlier days of chivalry. It is
true that as much might be inferred from the testimony of the romance
writers; historical evidence, however, tends to limit the proposition,
and the sounder conclusion appears to be, as Sir Harris Nicolas says,
that the right was always restricted in operation to sovereign princes,
to those acting under their authority or sanction, and to a few other
personages of exalted rank and station.[50] In several of the writs for
distraint of knighthood from Henry III. to Edward III. a distinction is
drawn between those who are to be knighted by the king himself or by the
sheriffs of counties respectively, and bishops and abbots could make
knights in the 11th and 12th centuries.[51] At all periods the
commanders of the royal armies had the power of conferring knighthood;
as late as the reign of Elizabeth it was exercised among others by Sir
Henry Sidney in 1583, and Robert, earl of Essex, in 1595, while under
James I. an ordinance of 1622, confirmed by a proclamation of 1623, for
the registration of knights in the college of arms, is rendered
applicable to all who should receive knighthood from either the king or
any of his lieutenants.[52] Many sovereigns, too, both of England and of
France, have been knighted after their accession to the throne by their
own subjects, as, for instance, Edward III. by Henry, earl of Lancaster,
Edward VI. by the lord protector Somerset, Louis XI. by Philip, duke of
Burgundy, and Francis I. by the Chevalier Bayard. But when in 1543 Henry
VIII. appointed Sir John Wallop to be captain of Guisnes, it was
considered necessary that he should be authorized in express terms to
confer knighthood, which was also done by Edward VI. in his own case
when he received knighthood from the duke of Somerset.[53] But at
present the only subject to whom the right of conferring knighthood
belongs is the lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and to him it belongs merely
by long usage and established custom. But, by whomsoever conferred,
knighthood at one time endowed the recipient with the same status and
attributes in every country wherein chivalry was recognized. In the
middle ages it was a common practice for sovereigns and princes to dub
each other knights much as they were afterwards, and are now, in the
habit of exchanging the stars and ribbons of their orders. Henry II. was
knighted by his great-uncle David I. of Scotland, Alexander III. of
Scotland by Henry III., Edward I. when he was prince by Alphonso X. of
Castile, and Ferdinand of Portugal by Edmund of Langley, earl of
Cambridge.[54] And, long after the military importance of knighthood had
practically disappeared, what may be called its cosmopolitan character
was maintained: a knight's title was recognized in all European
countries, and not only in that country in which he had received it. In
modern times, however, by certain regulations, made in 1823, and
repeated and enlarged in 1855, not only is it provided that the
sovereign's permission by royal warrant shall be necessary for the
reception by a British subject of any foreign order of knighthood, but
further that such permission shall not authorize "the assumption of any
style, appellation, rank, precedence, or privilege appertaining to a
knight bachelor of the United Kingdom."[55]
Degradation.
Since knighthood was accorded either by actual investiture or its
equivalent, a counter process of degradation was regarded as necessary
for the purpose of depriving anybody who had once received it of the
rank and condition it implied.[56] The cases in which a knight has been
formally degraded in England are exceedingly few, so few indeed that two
only are mentioned by Segar, writing in 1602, and Dallaway says that
only three were on record in the College of Arms when he wrote in 1793.
The last case was that of Sir Francis Michell in 1621, whose spurs were
hacked from his heels, his sword-belt cut, and his sword broken over his
head by the heralds in Westminster Hall.[57]
Roughly speaking, the age of chivalry properly so called may be said to
have extended from the beginning of the crusades to the end of the Wars
of the Roses. Even in the way of pageantry and martial exercise it did
not long survive the middle ages. In England tilts and tourneys, in
which her father had so much excelled, were patronized to the last by
Queen Elizabeth, and were even occasionally held until after the death
of Henry, prince of Wales. But on the Continent they were discredited by
the fatal accident which befell Henry II. of France in 1559. The golden
age of chivalry has been variously located. Most writers would place it
in the early 13th century, but Gautier would remove it two or three
generations further back. It may be true that, in the comparative
scarcity of historical evidence, 12th-century romances present a more
favourable picture of chivalry at that earlier time; but even such
historical evidence as we possess, when carefully scrutinized, is enough
to dispel the illusion that there was any period of the middle ages in
which the unselfish championship of "God and the ladies" was anything
but a rare exception.
It is difficult to describe the true spirit and moral influence of
knighthood, if only because the ages in which it flourished differed so
widely from our own. At its very best, it was always hampered by the
limitations of medieval society. Moreover, many of the noblest precepts
of the knightly code were a legacy from earlier ages, and have survived
the decay of knighthood just as they will survive all transitory human
institutions, forming part of the eternal heritage of the race. Indeed,
the most important of these precepts did not even attain to their
highest development in the middle ages. As a conscious effort to bring
religion into daily life, chivalry was less successful than later
puritanism; while the educated classes of our own day far surpass the
average medieval knight in discipline, self-control and outward or
inward refinement. Freeman's estimate comes far nearer to the historical
facts than Burke's: "The chivalrous spirit is above all things a class
spirit. The good knight is bound to endless fantastic courtesies towards
men and still more towards women of a certain rank; he may treat all
below that rank with any decree of scorn and cruelty. The spirit of
chivalry implies the arbitrary choice of one or two virtues to be
practised in such an exaggerated degree as to become vices, while the
ordinary laws of right and wrong are forgotten. The false code of honour
supplants the laws of the commonwealth, the law of God and the eternal
principles of right. Chivalry again in its military aspect not only
encourages the love of war for its own sake without regard to the cause
for which war is waged, it encourages also an extravagant regard for a
fantastic show of personal daring which cannot in any way advance the
objects of the siege or campaign which is going on. Chivalry in short is
in morals very much what feudalism is in law: each substitutes purely
personal obligations devised in the interests of an exclusive class, for
the more homely duties of an honest man and a good citizen" (_Norman
Conquest_, v. 482). The chivalry from which Burke drew his ideas was, so
far as it existed at all, the product of a far later age. In its own
age, chivalry rested practically, like the highest civilization of
ancient Greece and Rome, on slave labour;[58] and if many of its most
brilliant outward attractions have now faded for ever, this is only
because modern civilization tends so strongly to remove social barriers.
The knightly ages will always enjoy the glory of having formulated a
code of honour which aimed at rendering the upper classes worthy of
their exceptional privileges; yet we must judge chivalry not only by its
formal code but also by its practical fruits. The ideal is well summed
up by F. W. Cornish: "Chivalry taught the world the duty of noble
service willingly rendered. It upheld courage and enterprise in
obedience to rule, it consecrated military prowess to the service of the
Church, glorified the virtues of liberality, good faith, unselfishness
and courtesy, and above all, courtesy to women. Against these may be set
the vices of pride, ostentation, love of bloodshed, contempt of
inferiors, and loose manners. Chivalry was an imperfect discipline, but
it was a discipline, and one fit for the times. It may have existed in
the world too long: it did not come into existence too early; and with
all its shortcomings it exercised a great and wholesome influence in
raising the medieval world from barbarism to civilization" (p. 27). This
was the ideal, but to give the reader a clear view of the actual
features of knightly society in their contrast with that of our own day,
it is necessary to bring out one or two very significant shadows.
Far too much has been made of the extent to which the knightly code, and
the reverence paid to the Virgin Mary, raised the position of women
(e.g. Gautier, p. 360). As Gautier himself admits, the feudal system
made it difficult to separate the woman's person from her fief: instead
of the freedom of Christian marriage on which the Church in theory
insisted, lands and women were handed over together, as a business
bargain, by parents or guardians. In theory, the knight was the defender
of widows and orphans; but in practice wardships and marriages were
bought and sold as a matter of everyday routine like stocks and shares
in the modern market. Lord Thomas de Berkeley (1245-1321) counted on
this as a regular and considerable source of income (Smyth, _Lives_, i.
157). Late in the 15th century, in spite of the somewhat greater liberty
of that age, we find Stephen Scrope writing nakedly to a familiar
correspondent "for very need [of poverty], I was fain to sell a little
daughter I have for much less than I should have done by possibility,"
i.e. than the fair market price (Gairdner, _Paston Letters_,
Introduction, p. clxxvi; cf. ccclxxi). Startling as such words are, it
is perhaps still more startling to find how frequently and naturally, in
the highest society, ladies were degraded by personal violence. The
proofs of this which Schultz and Gautier adduce from the _Chansons de
Geste_ might be multiplied indefinitely. The Knight of La Tour-Landry
(1372) relates, by way of warning to his daughters, a tale of a lady who
so irritated her husband by scolding him in company, that he struck her
to the earth with his fist and kicked her in the face, breaking her
nose. Upon this the good knight moralizes: "And this she had for her
euelle and gret langage, that she was wont to saie to her husbonde. And
therfor the wiff aught to suffre and lete her husbonde haue the wordes,
and to be maister, for that is her worshippe; for it is shame to here
striff betwene hem, and in especial before folke. But y saie not but
whanne thei be allone, but she may tolle hym with goodly wordes, and
counsaile hym to amende yef he do amys" (La Tour, chap. xviii.; cf.
xvii. and xix.). The right of wife-beating was formally recognized by
more than one code of laws, and it was already a forward step when, in
the 13th century, the _Coutumes du Beauvoisis_ provided "que le mari ne
doit battre sa femme que _raisonnablement_" (Gautier, p. 349). This was
a natural consequence not only of the want of self-control which we see
everywhere in the middle ages, but also of the custom of contracting
child-marriages for unsentimental considerations. Between 1288 and 1500
five marriages are recorded in the direct line of the Berkeley family in
which the ten contracting parties averaged less than eleven years of
age: the marriage contract of another Lord Berkeley was drawn up before
he was six years old. Moreover, the same business considerations which
dictated those early marriages clashed equally with the strict theory of
knighthood. In the same Berkeley family, the lord Maurice IV. was
knighted in 1338 at the age of seven to avoid the possible evils of
wardship, and Thomas V. for the same reason in 1476 at the age of five.
Smyth's record of this great family shows that, from the middle of the
13th century onwards, the lords were not only statesmen and warriors,
but still more distinguished as gentlemen-farmers on a great scale, even
selling fruit from the castle gardens, while their ladies would go round
on tours of inspection from dairy to dairy. The lord Thomas III.
(1326-1361), who was noted as a special lover of tournaments, spent in
two years only £90, or an average of about £15 per tournament; yet he
was then laying money by at the rate of £450 a year, and, a few years
later, at the rate of £1150, or nearly half his income! Indeed, economic
causes contributed much to the decay of romantic chivalry. The old
families had lost heavily from generation to generation, partly by
personal extravagances, but also by gradual alienations of land to the
Church and by the enormous expenses of the crusades. Already, in the
13th century, they were hard pressed by the growing wealth of the
burghers, and even the greatest nobles could scarcely keep up their
state without careful business management. It is not surprising
therefore, to find that at least as early as the middle of the 13th
century the commercial side of knighthood became very prominent.
Although by the code of chivalry no candidate could be knighted before
the age of twenty-one, we have seen how great nobles like the Berkeleys
obtained that honour for their infant heirs in order to avoid possible
pecuniary loss; and French writers of the 14th century complained of
this knighting of infants as a common and serious abuse.[59] Moreover,
after the knight's liability to personal service in war had been
modified in the 12th century by the scutage system, it became necessary
in the first quarter of the 13th to compel landowners to take up the
knighthood which in theory they should have coveted as an honour--a
compulsion which was soon systematically enforced (_Distraint of
Knighthood_, 1278), and became a recognized source of royal income. An
indirect effect of this system[60] was to break down another rule of the
chivalrous code--that none could be dubbed who was not of gentle
birth.[61] This rule, however, had often been broken before; even the
romances of chivalry speak not infrequently of the knighting of serfs or
_jongleurs_;[62] and other causes besides distraint of knighthood tended
to level the old distinctions. While knighthood was avoided by poor
nobles, it was coveted by rich citizens. It is recorded in 1298 as "an
immemorial custom" in Provence that rich burghers enjoyed the honour of
knighthood; and less than a century later we find Sacchetti complaining
that the dignity is open to any rich upstart, however disreputable his
antecedents.[63] Similar causes contributed to the decay of knightly
ideas in warfare. Even in the 12th century, when war was still rather
the pastime of kings and knights than a national effort, the strict
code of chivalry was more honoured in the breach than in the
observance.[64] But when the Hundred Years' War brought a real national
conflict between England and France, when archery became of supreme
importance, and a large proportion even of the cavalry were mercenary
soldiers, then the exigencies of serious warfare swept away much of that
outward display and those class-conventions on which chivalry had always
rested. Siméon Luce (chap. vi.) has shown how much the English successes
in this war were due to strict business methods. Several of the best
commanders (e.g. Sir Robert Knolles and Sir Thomas Dagworth) were of
obscure birth, while on the French side even Du Guesclin had to wait
long for his knighthood because he belonged only to the lesser nobility.
The tournament again, which for two centuries had been under the ban of
the Church, was often almost as definitely discouraged by Edward III. as
it was encouraged by John of France; and while John's father opened the
Crécy campaign by sending Edward a challenge in due form of chivalry,
Edward took advantage of this formal delay to amuse the French king with
negotiations while he withdrew his army by a rapid march from an almost
hopeless position. A couple of quotations from Froissart will illustrate
the extent to which war had now become a mere business. Much as he
admired the French chivalry, he recognized their impotence at Crécy.
"The sharp arrows ran into the men of arms and into their horses, and
many fell, horse and men.... And also among the Englishmen there were
certain rascals that went afoot with great knives, and they went in
among the men of arms, and slew and murdered many as they lay on the
ground, both earls, barons, knights and squires, whereof the king of
England was after displeased, for he had rather they had been taken
prisoners." How far Edward's solicitude was disinterested may be gauged
from Froissart's parallel remark about the battle of Aljubarrota, where,
as at Agincourt, the handful of victors were obliged by a sudden panic
to slay their prisoners. "Lo, behold the great evil adventure that fell
that Saturday. For they slew as many good prisoners as would well have
been worth, one with another, four hundred thousand franks." In 1402
Lord Thomas de Berkeley bought, as a speculation, 24 Scottish prisoners.
Similar practical considerations forced the nobles of other European
countries either to conform to less sentimental methods of warfare and
to growing conceptions of nationality, or to become mere Ishmaels of the
type which outlived the middle ages in Götz von Berlichingen and his
compeers.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Froissart is perhaps the source from which we may
gather most of chivalry in its double aspect, good and bad. The
brilliant side comes out most clearly in Joinville, the _Chronique de
Du Guesclin_, and the _Histoire de Bayart_; the darker side appears in
the earlier chronicles of the crusades, and is especially emphasized
by preachers and moralists like Jacques de Vitry, Étienne de Bourbon,
Nicole Bozon and John Gower. John Smyth's _Lives of the Berkeleys_
(Bristol and Gloucs. Archaeol. Soc, 2 vols.) and the _Book of the
Knight of La Tour-Landry_ (ed. A. de Montaiglon, or in the old English
trans. published by the Early English Text Soc.) throw a very vivid
light on the inner life of noble families. Of modern books, besides
those quoted by their full titles in the notes, the best are A.
Schultz, _Höfisches Leben z. Zeit der Minnesänger_ (Leipzig, 1879); S.
Luce, _Hist. de Du Guesclin et de son Époque_ (2nd ed., Paris, 1882),
masterly but unfortunately unfinished at the author's death; Léon
Gautier, _La Chevalerie_ (Paris, 1883), written with a strong
apologetic bias, but full and correct in its references; and F. W.
Cornish, _Chivalry_ (London, 1901), too little reference to the more
prosaic historical documents, but candid and without intentional
partiality. (G. G. Co.)
ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD
When orders ceased to be fraternities and became more and more marks of
favour and a means of recognizing meritorious services to the Crown and
country, the term "orders" became loosely applied to the insignia and
decorations themselves. Thus "orders," irrespective of the title or
other specific designation they confer, fall in Great Britain generally
into three main categories, according as the recipients are made
"knights grand cross," "knights commander," or "companions." In some
orders the classes are more numerous, as in the Royal Victorian, for
instance, which has five, numerous foreign orders a like number, some
six, while the Chinese "Dragon" boasts no less than eleven degrees.
Generally speaking, the insignia of the "knights grand cross" consist of
a star worn on the left breast and a badge, usually some form either of
the cross _patée_ or of the Maltese cross, worn suspended from a ribbon
over the shoulder or, in certain cases, on days of high ceremonial from
a collar. The "commanders" wear the badge from a ribbon round the neck,
and the star on the breast; the "companions" have no star and wear the
badge from a narrow ribbon at the button-hole.
Orders may, again, be grouped according as they are (1) PRIME ORDERS OF
CHRISTENDOM, conferred upon an exclusive class only. Here belong, _inter
alia_, the well-known orders of the _Garter_ (England), _Golden Fleece_
(Austria and Spain), _Annunziata_ (Italy), _Black Eagle_ (Prussia), _St
Andrew_ (Russia), _Elephant_ (Denmark) and _Seraphim_ (Sweden). Of these
the first three only, which are usually held to rank _inter se_ in the
order given, are historically identified with chivalry. (2) FAMILY
ORDERS, bestowed upon members of the royal or princely class, or upon
humbler individuals according to classes, in respect of "personal"
services rendered to the family. To this category belong such orders as
the Royal Victorian and the Hohenzollern (Prussia). (3) ORDERS OF MERIT,
whether military, civil or joint orders. Such have, as a rule, at least
three, oftener five classes, and here belong such as the _Order of the
Bath_ (British), _Red Eagle_ (Prussia), _Legion of Honour_ (France).
There are also certain orders, such as the recently instituted _Order of
Merit_ (British), and the _Pour le Mérite_ (Prussia), which have but one
class, all members being on an equality of rank within the order.
Of the three great military and religious orders, branches survive of
two, the Teutonic Order (_Der hohe deutsche Ritter Orden_ or _Marianen
Orden_) and the Knights of St John of Jerusalem (_Johanniter Orden_,
_Malteser Orden_), for the history of which and the present state see
TEUTONIC ORDER and ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM, KNIGHTS OF THE ORDER OF.
_Great Britain._--The history and constitution of the "most noble"
_Order of the Garter_ has been treated above. The officers of the order
are five--the prelate, chancellor, registrar, king of arms and
usher--the first, third and fifth having been attached to it from the
commencement, while the fourth was added by Henry V. and the second by
Edward IV. The prelate has always been the bishop of Winchester; the
chancellor was formerly the bishop of Salisbury, but is now the bishop
of Oxford; the registrarship and the deanery of Windsor have been united
since the reign of Charles I.; the king of arms, whose duties were in
the beginning discharged by Windsor herald, is Garter Principal King of
Arms; and the usher is the gentleman usher of the Black Rod. The chapel
of the order is St George's Chapel, Windsor. The insignia of the order
are illustrated on Plate I.
The "most ancient" _Order of the Thistle_, was founded by James II. in
1687, and dedicated to St Andrew. It consisted of the sovereign and
eight knights companions, and fell into abeyance at the Revolution of
1688. In 1703 it was revived by Queen Anne, when it was ordained to
consist of the sovereign and 12 knights companions, the number being
increased to 16 by statute in 1827. The officers of the order are the
dean, the secretary, Lyon King of Arms and the gentleman usher of the
Green Rod. The chapel, in St Giles's, Edinburgh, was begun in 1909. The
star, badge and ribbon of the order are illustrated on Plate II., figs.
5 and 6. The collar is formed of thistles, alternating with sprigs of
rue, and the motto is _Nemo me impune lacessit_.
[Illustration: PLATE II.
THE BATH. (i) STAR; (ii.) GRAND CROSS (Mil.); (iii) STAR; (iv.) GRAND
CROSS (Civ.); THE THISTLE. (v.) STAR; (vi.) BADGE. THE ST. PATRICK.
(vii.) BADGE; (viii.) STAR. THE ST. MICHAEL AND ST. GEORGE. (ix.) STAR;
(x.) GRAND CROSS.
_Drawn by William Gibb._
_Niagara Litho. Co., Buffalo, N. Y._]
The "most illustrious" _Order of St Patrick_ was instituted by George
III. in 1788, to consist of the sovereign, the lord lieutenant of
Ireland as grand master and 15 knights companions, enlarged to 22 in
1833. The chancellor of the order is the chief secretary to the lord
lieutenant of Ireland, and the king of arms is Ulster King of Arms;
Black Rod is the usher. The chapel is in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
The star, badge and ribbon are illustrated on Plate II., figs. 7 and 8.
The collar is formed of alternate roses with red and white leaves, and
gold harps linked by gold knots; the badge is suspended from a harp
surmounted by an imperial jewelled crown. The motto is _Quis separabit_?
The "most honourable" _Order of the Bath_ was established by George I.
in 1725, to consist of the sovereign, a grand master and 36 knights
companions. This was a pretended revival of an order supposed to have
been created by Henry IV. at his coronation in 1399. But, as has been
shown in the preceding section, no such order existed. Knights of the
Bath, although they were allowed precedence before knights bachelors,
were merely knights bachelors who were knighted with more elaborate
ceremonies than others and on certain great occasions. In 1815 the order
was instituted, in three classes, "to commemorate the auspicious
termination of the long and arduous contest in which the Empire has been
engaged"; and in 1847 the civil knights commanders and companions were
added. Exclusive of the sovereign, royal princes and distinguished
foreigners, the order is limited to 55 military and 27 civil knights
grand cross, 145 military and 108 civil knights commanders, and 705
military and 298 civil companions. The officers of the order are the
dean (the dean of Westminster), Bath King of Arms, the registrar, and
the usher of the Scarlet Rod. The ribbon and badges of the knights grand
cross (civil and military) and the stars are illustrated on Plate II.,
figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The "most distinguished" _Order of St Michael and St George_ was founded
by the prince regent, afterwards George IV., in 1818, in commemoration
of the British protectorate of the Ionian Islands, "for natives of the
Ionian Islands and of the island of Malta and its dependencies, and for
such other subjects of his majesty as may hold high and confidential
situations in the Mediterranean." By statute of 1832 the lord high
commissioner of the Ionian Islands was to be the grand master, and the
order was directed to consist of 15 knights grand crosses, 20 knights
commanders and 25 cavaliers or companions. After the repudiation of the
British protectorate of the Ionian Islands, the order was placed on a
new basis, and by letters patent of 1868 and 1877 it was extended and
provided for such of "the natural born subjects of the Crown of the
United Kingdom as may have held or shall hold high and confidential
offices within her majesty's colonial possessions, and in reward for
services rendered to the crown in relation to the foreign affairs of the
Empire." It is now (by the enlargement of 1902) limited to 100 knights
grand cross, of whom the first or principal is grand master, exclusive
of extra and honorary members, of 300 knights commanders and 600
companions. The officers are the prelate, chancellor, registrar,
secretary and officer of arms. The chapel of the order, in St Paul's
Cathedral, was dedicated in 1906. The badge of the knights grand cross
and the ribbon are illustrated on Plate II., figs. 9 and 10. The star of
the knights grand cross is a seven-rayed star of silver with a small ray
of gold between each, in the centre is a red St George's cross bearing a
medallion of St Michael encountering Satan, surrounded by a blue fillet
with the motto _Auspicium melioris aevi_.
The _Order of St Michael and St George_ ranks between the "most exalted"
_Order of the Star of India_ and the "most eminent" _Order of the Indian
Empire_, of both of which the viceroy of India for the time being is _ex
officio_ grand master. Of these the first was instituted in 1861 and
enlarged in 1876, 1897 and 1903, in three classes, knights grand
commanders, knights commanders and companions, and the second was
established (for "companions" only) in 1878 and enlarged in 1887, 1892,
1897 and 1903, also in the same three classes, in commemoration of
Queen Victoria's assumption of the imperial style and title of the
Empress of India. The badges, stars and ribbons of the knights grand
commanders of the two orders are illustrated on Plate III., figs. 3, 4,
5 and 6. The collar of the _Star of India_ is composed of alternate
links of the lotus flower, red and white roses and palm branches
enamelled on gold, with an imperial crown in the centre; that of the
_Indian Empire_ is composed of elephants, peacocks and Indian roses.
The _Royal Victorian Order_ was instituted by Queen Victoria on the 25th
of April 1896, and conferred for personal services rendered to her
majesty and her successors on the throne. It consists of the sovereign,
chancellor, secretary and five classes--knights grand commanders,
knights commanders, commanders and members of the fourth and fifth
classes, the distinction between these last divisions lying in the badge
and in the precedence enjoyed by the members. The knights of this order
rank in their respective classes immediately after those of the _Indian
Empire_, and its numbers are unlimited. The badge, star and ribbon of
the knights grand cross are illustrated on Plate III., figs. 1 and 2.
To the class of orders without the titular appellation "knight" belongs
the _Order of Merit_, founded by King Edward VII. on the occasion of his
coronation. The order is founded on the lines of the Prussian _Ordre
pour le mérite_ (see below), yet more comprehensive, including those who
have gained distinction in the military and naval services of the
Empire, and such as have made themselves a great name in the fields of
science, art and literature. The number of British members has been
fixed at twenty-four, with the addition of such foreign persons as the
sovereign shall appoint. The names of the first recipients were: Earl
Roberts, Viscount Wolseley, Viscount Kitchener, Sir Henry Keppel, Sir
Edward Seymour, Lord Lister, Lord Rayleigh, Lord Kelvin, John Morley, W.
E. H. Lecky, G. F. Watts and Sir William Huggins. The only foreign
recipients up to 1910 were Field Marshals Yamagata and Oyama and Admiral
Togo. A lady, Miss Florence Nightingale, received the order in 1907. The
badge is a cross of red and blue enamel surmounted by an imperial crown;
the central blue medallion bears the inscription "For Merit" in gold,
and is surrounded by a wreath of laurel. The badge of the military and
naval members bears two crossed swords in the angles of the cross. The
ribbon is garter blue and crimson and is worn round the neck.
The _Distinguished Service Order_, an order of military merit, was
founded on the 6th of September 1886 by Queen Victoria, its object
being to recognize the special services of officers in the army and
navy. Its numbers are unlimited, and its designation the letters
D.S.O. It consists of one class only, who take precedence immediately
after the 4th class of the Royal Victorian Order. The badge is a white
and gold cross with a red centre bearing the imperial crown surrounded
by a laurel wreath. The ribbon is red edged with blue. The _Imperial
Service Order_ was likewise instituted on the 26th of June 1902, and
finally revised in 1908, to commemorate King Edward's coronation, and
is specially designed as a recognition of faithful and meritorious
services rendered to the British Crown by the administrative members
of the civil service in various parts of the Empire, and is to consist
of companions only. The numbers are limited to 475, of whom 250 belong
to the home and 225 to the civil services of the colonies and
protectorates (Royal Warrant, June 1909). Women as well as men are
eligible. The members of the order have the distinction of adding the
letters I.S.O. after their names. In precedence the order ranks after
the _Distinguished Service Order_. The badge is a gold medallion
bearing the royal cipher and the words "For Faithful Service" in blue;
for men it rests on a silver star, for women it is surrounded by a
silver wreath. The ribbon is one blue between two crimson stripes.
In addition to the above, there are two British orders confined to
ladies. The _Royal Order of Victoria and Albert_, which was instituted
in 1862, is a purely court distinction. It consists of four classes,
and it has as designation the letters V.A. The _Imperial Order of the
Crown of India_ is conferred for like purposes as the Order of the
Indian Empire. Its primary object is to recognize the services of
ladies connected with the court of India. The letters C.I. are its
designation.
The sovereign's permission by royal warrant is necessary before a
British subject can receive a foreign order of knighthood. For other
decorations, see under MEDALS.
_The Golden Fleece_ (_La Toison d'Or_) ranks historically and in
distinction as one of the great knightly orders of Europe. It is now
divided into two branches, of Austria and Spain. It was founded on the
10th of January, 1429/30 by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, on the
day of his marriage with Isabella of Portugal at Bruges, in her honour
and dedicated to the Virgin and St Andrew. No certain origin can be
given for the name. It seems to have been in dispute even in the early
history of the order. Four different sources have been suggested; the
classical myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts for the golden
fleece, the scriptural story of Gideon, the staple trade of Flanders in
wool, and the fleece of golden hair of Marie de Rambrugge, the duke's
mistress. Motley (_Rise of Dutch Rep._, i. 48) says: "What could be more
practical and more devout than the conception? Did not the Lamb of God,
suspended at each knight's heart, symbolize at once the woollen fabrics
to which so much of Flemish wealth and Burgundian power was owing, and
the gentle humility of Christ which was ever to characterize the order?"
At its constitution the number of the knights was limited to 24,
exclusive of the grand master, the sovereign. The members were to be
_gentilshommes de nom et d'armes et sans reproche_, not knights of any
other order, and vowed to join their sovereign in the defence of the
Catholic faith, the protection of Holy Church, and the upholding of
virtue and good morals. The sovereign undertook to consult the knights
before embarking on a war, all disputes between the knights were to be
settled by the order, at each chapter the deeds of each knight were held
in review, and punishments and admonitions were dealt out to offenders;
to this the sovereign was expressly subject. Thus we find that the
emperor Charles V. accepted humbly the criticism of the knights of the
Fleece on his over-centralization of the government and the wasteful
personal attention to details (E. A. Armstrong, _Charles V._, 1902, ii.
373). The knights could claim as of right to be tried by their fellows
on charges of rebellion, heresy and treason, and Charles V. conferred on
the order exclusive jurisdiction over all crimes committed by the
knights. The arrest of the offender had to be by warrant signed by at
least six knights, and during the process of charge and trial he
remained not in prison but _dans l'aimable compagnie du dit ordre_. It
was in defiance of this right that Alva refused the claim of Counts
Egmont and Horn to be tried by the knights of the Fleece in 1568. During
the 16th century the order frequently acted as a consultative body in
the state; thus in 1539 and 1540 Charles summons the knights with the
council of state and the privy council to decide what steps should be
taken in face of the revolt of Ghent (Armstrong, _op. cit._, i. 302), in
1562 Margaret of Parma, the regent, summons them to Brussels to debate
the dangerous condition of the provinces (Motley, i. 48), and they were
present at the abdication of Charles in the great hall at Brussels in
1555. The history of the order and its subsequent division into the two
branches of Austria and Spain may be briefly summarized. By the marriage
of Mary, only daughter of Charles the Bold of Burgundy to Maximilian,
archduke of Austria, 1477, the grand mastership of the order came to the
house of Habsburg and, with the Netherlands provinces, to Spain in 1504
on the accession of Philip, Maximilian's son, to Castile. On the
extinction of the Habsburg dynasty in Spain by the death of Charles II.
in 1700 the grand-mastership, which had been filled by the kings of
Spain after the loss of the Netherlands, was claimed by the emperor
Charles VI., and he instituted the order in Vienna in 1713. Protests
were made at various times by Philip V., but the question has never been
finally decided by treaty, and the Austrian and Spanish branches have
continued as independent orders ever since as the principal order of
knighthood in the respective states. It may be noticed that while the
Austrian branch excludes any other than Roman Catholics from the order,
the Spanish Fleece may be granted to Protestants. The badges of the two
branches vary slightly in detail, more particularly in the attachment of
fire-stones (_fusils_ or _furisons_) and steels by which the fleece is
attached to the ribbon of the collar. The Spanish form is given on Plate
IV., fig. 2. The collar is composed of alternate links of furisons and
double steels interlaced to form the letter B for Burgundy. A
magnificent exhibition of relics, portraits of knights and other
objects connected with the order of the Golden Fleece was held at Bruges
in 1907.
The chief history of the order is Baron de Reiffenberg's _Histoire de
l'Ordre de la Toison d'Or_ (1830); see also an article by Sir J.
Balfour Paul, Lyon King of Arms, in the _Scottish Historical Review_
(July 1908).
_Austria-Hungary._--The following are the principal orders other than
that of the Golden Fleece (_supra_). _The Order of St Stephen of
Hungary_, the royal Hungarian order, founded in 1764 by the empress
Maria Theresa, consists of the grand master (the sovereign), 20
knights grand cross, 30 knights commanders and 50 knights. The badge
is a green enamelled cross with gold borders, suspended from the
Hungarian crown; the red enamelled medallion in the centre of the
cross bears a white patriarchal cross issuing from a coroneted green
mound; on either side of the cross are the letters M.T. in gold, and
the whole is surrounded by a white fillet with the legend _Publicum
Meritorum Praemium_. The ribbon is green with a crimson central
stripe. The collar, only worn by the knights grand cross, is of gold,
and consists of Hungarian crowns linked together alternately by the
monograms of St Stephen, S.S., and the foundress, M.T.; the centre of
the collar is formed by a flying lark encircled by the motto _Stringit
amore_. An illustration of the star of the grand cross is given on
Plate V. fig. 4. _The Order of Leopold_, for civil and military
service, was founded in 1808 by the emperor Francis I. in memory of
his father Leopold II. The three classes take precedence next after
the corresponding classes of the order of St Stephen. The badge is a
red enamelled cross bordered with white and gold and surmounted by the
imperial crown; the red medallion in the centre bears the letters
F.I.A., and on the encircling white fillet is the inscription
_Integritati et Merito_. When conferred for service in war the cross
rests on a green laurel wreath. The ribbon is scarlet with two white
stripes. The collar consists of imperial crowns, the initials F. and
L. and oak wreaths. _The Order of the Iron Crown_, i.e. of Lombardy,
was founded by Napoleon as king of Italy in 1809, and refounded as an
Austrian order of civil and military merit in 1816 by the emperor
Francis I.; the number of knights is limited to 100--20 grand cross,
30 commanders, 50 knights. The badge consists of the double-headed
imperial eagle with sword and orb; below it is the jewelled iron crown
of Lombardy, and above the imperial crown; on the breast of the eagle
is a gold-bordered blue shield with the letter F. in gold. The
military decoration for war service also bears two green laurel
branches. The ribbon is yellow edged with narrow blue stripes. The
collar is formed of Lombard crowns, oak wreaths and the monogram F. P.
(_Franciscus Primus_). _The Order of Francis Joseph_, for personal
merit of every kind, was founded in 1849 by the emperor Francis Joseph
I. It is of the three usual classes and is unlimited in numbers. The
badge is a black and gold imperial eagle surmounted by the imperial
crown. The eagle bears a red cross with a white medallion, containing
the letters F. J., and to the beaks of the two heads of the eagle is
attached a chain on which is the legend _Viribus Unitis_. The ribbon
is deep red. The _Order of Maria Theresa_ was founded by the empress
Maria Theresa in 1757. It is a purely military order and is given to
officers for personal distinguished conduct in the field. There are
three classes. There were originally only two, grand cross and
knights. The emperor Joseph II. added a commanders' class in 1765. The
badge is a white cross with gold edge, in the centre a red medallion
with a white gold-edged _fesse_, surrounded by a fillet with the
inscription _Fortitudini_. The ribbon is red with a white central
stripe. The _Order of Elizabeth Theresa_, also a military order for
officers, was founded in 1750 by the will of Elizabeth Christina,
widow of the emperor Charles VI. It was renovated in 1771 by her
daughter, the empress Maria Theresa. The order is limited to 21
knights in three divisions. The badge is an oval star with eight
points, enamelled half red and white, dependent from a gold imperial
crown. The central medallion bears the initials of the founders, with
the encircling inscription _M. Theresa parentis gratiam perennem
voluit_. The ribbon is black. The _Order of the Starry Cross_, for
high-born ladies of the Roman Catholic faith who devote themselves to
good works, spiritual and temporal, was founded in 1668 by the empress
Eleanor, widow of the emperor Ferdinand III. and mother of Leopold I.,
to commemorate the recovery of a relic of the true cross from a
dangerous fire in the imperial palace at Vienna. The relic was
supposed to have been peculiarly treasured by the emperor Maximilian
I. and the emperor Frederick III. The patroness of the order must be a
princess of the imperial Austrian house. The badge is the black
double-headed eagle surrounded by a blue-enamelled ornamented border,
with the inscription _Salus et Gloria_ on a white fillet; the eagle
bears a red Greek cross with gold and blue borders. The _Order of
Elizabeth_, also for ladies, was founded in 1898.
[Illustration: PLATE III.
ROYAL VICTORIAN ORDER. (i.) GRAND CROSS; (ii.) STAR. ORDER OF THE
INDIAN EMPIRE. (iii.) BADGE OF KNIGHT GRAND COMMANDER; (iv.) STAR. THE
STAR OF INDIA. (v.) STAR; (vi.) BADGE OF KNIGHT GRAND COMMANDER.
_Drawn by William Gibb._
_Niagara Litho. Co., Buffalo, N. Y._]
_Belgium._--The _Order of Leopold_, for civil and military merit, was
founded in 1832 by Leopold I., with four classes, a fifth being added
in 1838. The badge is a white enamelled cross, with gold borders and
balls, suspended from a royal crown and resting on a green laurel and
oak wreath. In the centre a medallion, surrounded by a red fillet with
the motto of the order, _L'union fait la force_, bears a golden
Belgian lion on a black field. The ribbon is watered red. The _Order
of the Iron Cross_, the badge of which is a black cross with gold
borders, with a gold centre bearing a lion, was instituted by Leopold
II. in 1867 as an order of civil merit. The military cross was
instituted in 1885. There are also the following orders instituted by
Leopold II. for service in the Congo State: the _Order of the African
Star_ (1888), the _Royal Order of the Lion_ (1891) and the _Congo
Star_ (1889).
_Bulgaria._--The _Order of SS Cyril and Methodius_ was instituted in
1909 by King Ferdinand to commemorate the elevation of the
principality to the position of an independent kingdom. It now takes
precedence of the _Order of St Alexander_, which was founded by Prince
Alexander in 1881, and reconstituted by Prince Ferdinand in 1888.
There are six classes. The plain white cross, suspended from the
Bulgarian crown, bears the name of the patron saint in old Cyrillic
letters in the centre.
_Denmark._--The _Order of the Elephant_, one of the chief European
orders of knighthood, was, it is said, founded by Christian I. in
1462; a still earlier origin has been assigned to it, but its regular
institution was that of Christian V. in 1693. The order, exclusive of
the sovereign and his sons, is limited to 30 knights, who must be of
the Protestant religion. The badge of the order is illustrated on
Plate IV. fig. 5. The ribbon is light watered blue, the collar of
alternate gold elephants with blue housings and towers, the star of
silver with a purple medallion bearing a silver or brilliant cross
surrounded by a silver laurel wreath. The motto is _Magnanime
pretium_. The _Order of the Dannebrog_ is, according to Danish
tradition, of miraculous origin, and was founded by Valdemar II. in
1219 as a memorial of a victory over the Esthonians, won by the
appearance in the sky of a red banner bearing a white cross.
Historically the order dates from the foundation in 1671 by Christian
V. at the birth of his son Frederick, the statutes being published in
1693. Originally restricted to 50 knights and granted as a family or
court decoration, it was reconstituted as an unlimited order of merit
in 1808 by Frederick VI.; alterations have been made in 1811 and 1864.
It now consists of three classes--grand cross, commander (two grades),
knight, and of one rank of ordinary members (_Dannebrogs maender_).
The badge of the order is, with variations for the different classes,
a white enamelled Danish cross with red and gold borders, bearing in
the centre the letter W (V) and on the four arms the inscription _Gud
og Kongen_ (For God and King). The ribbon is white with red edging.
_France._--_The Legion of Honour_, the only order of France, and one
which in its higher grades ranks in estimation with the highest European
orders, was instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte on the 19th of May 1802 (29
Floreal of the year X.) as a general military and civil order of merit.
All soldiers on whom "swords of honour" had been already conferred were
declared _legionaries ipso facto_, and all citizens after 25 years'
service were declared eligible, whatever their birth, rank or religion.
On admission all were to swear to co-operate so far as in them lay for
the assertion of the principles of liberty and equality. The
organization as laid down by Napoleon in 1804 was as follows: Napoleon
was grand master; a grand council of 7 grand officers administered the
order; the order was divided into 15 "cohorts" of 7 grand officers, 20
commanders, 30 officers and 350 legionaries, and at the headquarters of
the cohorts, for which the territory of France was separated into 15
divisions, were maintained hospitals for the support of the sick and
infirm legionaries. Salaries (_traitements_) varying in each rank were
attached to the order. In 1805 the rank of "Grand Eagle" (now Grand
Cross, or _Grand Cordon_) was instituted, taking precedence of the grand
officers. At the Restoration many changes were made, the old military
and religious orders were restored, and the _Legion of Honour_, now
_Ordre Royale de la Légion d'Honneur_, took the lowest rank. The
revolution of July 1830 restored the order to its unique place. The
constitution of the order now rests on the decrees of the 16th of March
and 24th of November 1852, the law of the 25th of July 1873, the decree
of the 29th of December 1892, and the laws of the 16th of April 1895 and
the 28th of January 1897, and a decree of the 26th of June 1900. The
president of the republic is the grand master of the order; the
administration is in the hands of a grand chancellor, who has a council
of the order nominated by the grand master. The chancellery is housed in
the _Palais de la Légion de l'Honneur_, which, burnt during the Commune,
was rebuilt in 1878. The order consists of the five classes of grand
cross (limited to 80), grand officer (200), commander (1000), officers
(4000), and chevalier or knight, in which the number is unlimited. These
limitations in number do not affect the foreign recipients of the order.
Salaries (_traitements_) are attached to the military and naval
recipients of the order when on the active list, viz. 3000 francs for
grand cross, 2000 francs for grand officers, 1000 francs for commanders,
250 francs for chevaliers. The numbers of the recipients of the order
_sans traitement_ are limited through all classes. In ordinary
circumstances twenty years of military, naval or civil service must have
been performed before a candidate can be eligible for the rank of
chevalier, and promotions can only be made after definite service in the
lower rank. Extraordinary service in time of war and extraordinary
services in civil life admit to any rank. Women have been decorated,
notably Rosa Bonheur, Madame Curie and Madame Bartet. The Napoleonic
form of the grand cross and ribbon is illustrated on Plate IV, fig. 6;
the cross from which the drawing was made was given to King Edward VII.
when prince of Wales in 1863. In the present order of the French
Republic the symbolical head of the Republic appears in the centre, and
a laurel wreath replaces the imperial crown; the inscription round the
medallion is _République française_. Since 1805 there has existed an
institution, _Maison d'éducation de la Legion d'Honneur_, for the
education of the daughters, granddaughters, sisters and nieces of
members of the Legion of Honour. There are three houses, at Saint Denis,
at Écouen and Les Loges (see _Dictionnaire de l'administration
française_, by M. Block and E. Magnéro, 1905, _s.v._ "Decorations").
Among the orders swept away at the French Revolution, restored in part
at the Restoration, and finally abolished at the revolution of July
1830 were the following: The _Order of St Michael_ was founded by
Louis XI. in 1469 for a limited number of knights of noble birth.
Later the numbers were so much increased under Charles IX. that it
became known as _Le Collier à toutes bêtes_. In 1816 the order was
granted for services in art and science. In view of the low esteem
into which the _Order of St Michael_ had fallen, Henry III. founded in
1578 the _Order of the Holy Ghost_ (_St Esprit_). The badge of the
order was a white Maltese cross decorated in gold, with the gold
lilies of France at the angles, in the centre a white dove with wings
outstretched, the ribbon was sky blue (_cordon bleu_). The motto of
the order was _Duce et auspice_. The _Order of St Louis_ was founded
by Louis XIV. in 1693 for military merit, and the _Order of Military
Merit_ by Louis XV. in 1759, originally for Protestant officers.
_Germany._--i. _Anhalt._ The _Order of Albert the Bear_, a family
order or _Hausorden_, was founded in 1836 by the dukes Henry of
Anhalt-Köthen, Leopold Frederick of Anhalt-Dessau and Alexander
Charles of Anhalt-Bernburg. Changes in the constitution have been made
at various dates. It now consists of five classes, grand cross,
commander (2 classes) and knights (2 classes). The badge is a gold
oval bearing in gold a crowned and collared bear on a crenellated
wall; below the ring by which the badge is attached to the ribbon is a
shield with the arms of the house of Anhalt, on the reverse those of
the house of Ascania. Round the oval is the motto _Fürchte Gott und
folge seine Befehle_. The ribbon is green with two red stripes. The
grand master alone wears a collar.
ii. _Baden._ The _Order of Fidelity or Loyalty_ (_Hausorden der
Treue_) was instituted by William, margrave of Baden-Durlach in 1715,
and reconstituted in 1803 by the elector Charles Frederick. There is
now only one class, for princes of the reigning house, foreign
sovereigns and eminent men of the state. The badge is a red enamelled
cross with gold borders and double C's interlaced in the angles; in
the centre a white medallion with red monogram over a green mound
surmounted by the word _Fidelitas_ in black; the cross is suspended
from a ducal crown. The ribbon is orange with silver edging. The
military _Order of Charles Frederick_ was founded in 1807. There are
three classes. The badge is a white cross resting on a green laurel
wreath, the ribbon is red with a yellow stripe bordered with white.
The order is conferred for long and meritorious military service. The
_Order of the Zähringen Lion_ was founded in 1812 in commemoration of
the descent of the reigning house of Baden from the dukes of
Zähringen. It has been reconstituted in 1840 and 1877. It now consists
of five classes. The badge is a green enamel cross with gold clasps in
the angles; in the central medallion an enamelled representation of
the ruined castle of Zähringen. The ribbon is green with two orange
stripes. Since 1896 the _Order of Berthold I._ has been a distinct
order; it was founded in 1877 as a higher class of the _Zähringen
Lion_.
iii. _Bavaria._ The _Order of St Hubert_, one of the oldest and most
distinguished knightly orders, was founded in 1444 by duke Gerhard V.
of Jülich-Berg in honour of a victory over Count Arnold of Egmont at
Ravensberg on the 3rd of November, St Hubert's day. The knights wore a
collar of golden hunting horns, whence the order was also known as the
_Order of the Horn_. Statutes were granted in 1476, but the order fell
into abeyance at the extinction of the dynasty in 1609. It was revived
in 1708 by the elector palatine, John William of Neuberg, and its
constitution was altered at various times, its final form being given
by the elector Maximilian Joseph, first king of Bavaria, in 1808.
Exclusive of the sovereign and princes of the blood, and foreign
sovereigns and princes, it consists of twelve capitular knights of the
rank of count or _Freiherr_. The badge of the order and the ribbon are
illustrated in Plate V. fig. 3. The central medallion represents the
conversion of St Hubert. The collar is composed of gold and blue
enamel figures of the conversion linked by the Gothic monogram I.T.V.,
_In Trau Vast_, the motto of the order, alternately red and green. The
_Order of St George_, said to have been founded in the 12th century as
a crusading order and revived by the emperor Maximilian I. in 1494,
dates historically from its institution in 1729 by the elector Charles
Albert, afterwards the emperor Charles VII. It was confirmed by the
elector Charles Theodore in 1778 and by the elector Maximilian Joseph
IV. as the second Bavarian order. Various new statutes have been
granted from 1827 to 1875. The order is divided into two branches, "of
German and foreign languages," and it also has a "spiritual class."
The members of the order must be Roman Catholics. The badge is a blue
enamelled cross with white and gold edging suspended from the mouth of
a gold lion's head; in the angles of the cross are blue lozenges
containing the letters V.I.B.I., _Virgini Immaculatae Bavaria
Immaculata_. The central medallion contains a figure of the Immaculate
Conception. The medallion on the reverse contains a figure of St
George and the Dragon and the corresponding initials J.U.P.F., _Justus
ut Palma Florebit_, the motto of the order. Besides the above Bavaria
possesses the _Military Order of Maximilian Joseph_, 1806, and the
_Civil Orders of Merit of St Michael_, 1693, and of the _Bavarian
Crown_, 1808, and other minor orders and decorations, civil and
military. There are also the two illustrious orders for ladies, the
_Order of Elizabeth_, founded in 1766, and the _Order of Theresa_, in
1827. The foundations of _St Anne of Munich_ and of _St Anne of
Würzburg_ for ladies are not properly orders.
iv. _Brunswick._ The _Order of Henry the Lion_, for military and civil
merit, was founded by Duke William in 1834. There are five classes,
and a cross of merit of two classes. The badge is a blue enamelled
cross dependent from a lion surmounted by the ducal crown; the angles
of the cross are filled by crowned W's and the centre bears the arms
of Brunswick, a crowned pillar and a white horse, between two sickles.
The ribbon is deep red bordered with yellow.
v. _Hanover._ The _Order of St George_ (one class only) was instituted
by King Ernest Augustus I. in 1839 as the family order of the house of
Hanover; the _Royal Guelphic Order_ (three classes) by George, prince
regent, afterwards George IV. of Great Britain, in 1815; and the
_Order of Ernest Augustus_ by George V. of Hanover in 1865. These
orders have not been conferred since 1866, when Hanover ceased to be a
kingdom, and the _Royal Guelphic Order_, which from its institution
was more British than Hanoverian, not since the death of William IV.
in 1837. The last British grand cross was the late duke of Cambridge.
vi. _Hesse._ Of the various orders founded by the houses of
Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Darmstadt the following are still bestowed in
the grand duchy of Hesse. The _Order of Louis_, founded by the grand
duke Louis I. of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1807; there are five classes; the
black, red and gold bordered cross bears the initial L. in the centre,
the ribbon is black with red borders; the _Order of Philip the
Magnanimous_, founded by the grand duke Louis II. in 1840 has five
classes; the white cross of the badge bears the effigy of Philip
surrounded by the motto _Si Deus vobiscum quis contra nos_. The _Order
of the Golden Lion_ was founded in 1770 by the landgrave Frederick II.
of Hesse-Cassel, the knights are 41 in number and take precedence of
the members of the two former orders. The badge is an open oval of
gold with the Hessian lion in the centre. The ribbon is crimson.
vii. _Mecklenburg._ The grand duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and
Mecklenburg-Strelitz possess jointly the _Order of the Wendish Crown_,
founded in 1864 by the grand dukes Frederick Francis II. of Schwerin
and Frederick William of Strelitz; there are four classes, with two
divisions of the grand cross, and also an affiliated cross of merit;
the grand cross can be granted to ladies. The badge is a white cross
bearing on a blue centre the Wendish crown, surrounded by the motto,
for the Schwerin knights, _Per aspera ad astra_, for the Strelitz
knights, _Avito viret honore_. The _Order of the Griffin_, founded in
1884 by Frederick Francis III. of Schwerin, was made common to the
duchies in 1904.
viii. _Oldenberg._ The _Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis_, a family
order and order of merit, was founded by the grand duke Paul Frederick
Augustus in memory of his father in 1838. It has two divisions, each
of five classes, of capitular knights and honorary members. The badge
is a white gold bordered cross suspended from a crown, in the centre
the crowned monogram P.F.L. surrounded by the motto _Ein Gott, Ein
Recht, Eine Wahrheit_; the ribbon is dark blue bordered with red.
ix. _Prussia._ The _Order of the Black Eagle_, one of the most
distinguished of European orders, was founded in 1701 by the elector
of Brandenburg, Frederick I., in memory of his coronation as king of
Prussia. The order consists of one class only and the original
statutes limited the number, exclusive of the princes of the royal
house and foreign members, to 30. But the number has been exceeded. It
is only conferred on those of royal lineage and upon high officers of
state. It confers the nobiliary particle _von_. Only those who have
received the _Order of the Red Eagle_ are eligible. An illustration of
the badge of the order with ribbon is given on Plate IV. fig. 3. The
star of silver bears the black eagle on an orange ground surrounded by
a silver fillet on which is the motto of the order _Suum Cuique_. The
collar is formed of alternate black eagles and a circular medallion
with the motto on a white centre surrounded by the initials F.R.
repeated in green, the whole in a circle of blue with four gold crowns
on the exterior rim. The _Order of the Red Eagle_, the second of the
Prussian orders, was founded originally as the _Order of Sincerity_
(_L'Ordre de la Sincerité_) in 1705 by George William, hereditary
prince of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. The original constitution and insignia
are now entirely changed, with the exception of the red eagle which
formed the centre of the cross of the badge. The order had almost
fallen into oblivion when it was revived in 1734 by the margrave
George Frederick Charles as the _Order of the Brandenburg Red Eagle_.
It consisted of 30 nobly born knights. The numbers were increased and
a grand cross class added in 1759. On the cession of the principality
to Prussia in 1791 the order was transferred and King Frederick
William raised it to that place in Prussian orders which it has since
maintained. The order was divided into four classes in 1810 and there
are now five classes with numerous subdivisions. It is an order of
civil and military merit. The grand cross resembles the badge of the
Black Eagle, but is white and the eagles in the corners red, the
central medallion bearing the initials W.R. (those of William I.)
surrounded by a blue fillet with the motto _Sincere et Constanter_.
The numerous classes and subdivisions have exceedingly complicated
distinguishing marks, some bearing crossed swords, a crown, or an
oak-leaf surmounting the cross. The ribbon is white with two orange
stripes.
The _Order for Merit_ (_Ordre pour le Mérite_), one of the most highly
prized of European orders of merit, has now two divisions, military
and for science and art. It was originally founded by the electoral
prince Frederick, afterwards Frederick I. of Prussia, in 1667 as the
_Order of Generosity_; it was given its present name and granted for
civil and military distinction by Frederick the Great, 1740. In 1810
the order was made one for military merit against the enemy in the
field exclusively. In 1840 the class for distinction for science and
art, or peace class (_Friedensklasse_) was founded by Frederick
William IV., for those "who have gained an illustrious name by wide
recognition in the spheres of science and art." The number is limited
to 30 German and 30 foreign members. The _Academy of Sciences and
Arts_ on a vacancy nominates three candidates, from which one is
selected by the king. It is interesting to note that this was the only
distinction which Thomas Carlyle would accept. The badge of the
military order is a blue cross with gold uncrowned eagles in the
angles; on the topmost arm is the initial F., with a crown; on the
other arms the inscription _Pour le Mérite_. The ribbon is black with
a silver stripe at the edges. In 1866 a special grand cross was
instituted for the crown prince (afterwards Frederick III.) and Prince
Frederick Charles. It was in 1879 granted to Count von Moltke as a
special distinction. The badge of the class for science or art is a
circular medallion of white, with a gold eagle in the centre
surrounded by a blue border with the inscription _Pour le Mérite_; on
the white field the letters [reverse F]F. II. four times repeated, and
four crowns in gold projecting from the rim. The ribbon is the same as
for the military class. The _Order of the Crown_, founded by William
I. in 1861, ranks with the Red Eagle. There are four classes, with
many subdivisions. Other Prussian orders are the _Order of William_,
instituted by William II. in 1896; a Prussian branch of the knights of
St John of Jerusalem, _Johanniter Orden_, in its present form dating
from 1893; and the family _Order of the House of Hohenzollern_,
founded in 1851 by Frederick William IV. There are two divisions,
military and civil, divided into four classes. The military badge is a
white cross with black and gold edging, resting on a green oak and
laurel wreath; the central medallion bears the Prussian Eagle with the
arms of Hohenzollern, and is surrounded by a blue fillet with the
motto _Vom Fels zum Meer_; the civil badge is a black eagle, with the
head encircled with a blue fillet with the motto. There are also for
ladies the _Order of Service_, founded in 1814 by Frederick William
III., in one class, but enlarged in 1850 and in 1865. The decoration
of merit for ladies (_Verdienst-kreuz_), founded in 1870, was raised
to an order in 1907. For the famous military decoration, the _Iron
Cross_, see MEDALS.
x. _Saxony._--The _Order of the Crown of Rue_ (_Rauten Krone_) was
founded as a family order by Frederick Augustus I. in 1807. It is of
one class only, and the sons and nephews of the sovereign are born
knights of the order. It is granted to foreign ruling princes and
subjects of high rank. The badge is a pale green enamelled cross
resting on a gold crown with eight rue leaves, the centre is white
with the crowned monogram of the founder surrounded by a green circlet
of rue; the star bears in its centre the motto _Providentiae Memor_.
The ribbon is green. Other Saxon orders are the military _Order of St
Henry_, for distinguished service in the field, founded in 1736 in one
class; since 1829 it has had four classes; the ribbon is sky blue with
two yellow stripes, the gold cross bears in the centre the effigy of
the emperor Henry II.; the _Order of Albert_, for civil and military
merit, founded in 1850 by Frederick Augustus II. in memory of Duke
Albert the Bold, the founder of the Albertine line of Saxony, has six
classes; the _Order of Civil Merit_, was founded in 1815. For ladies
there are the _Order of Sidonia_, 1870, in memory of the wife of
Albert the Bold, the mother (_Stamm-Mutter_) of the Albertine line;
and the _Maria Anna Order_, 1906.
[Illustration: PLATE IV.
(i.) THE ST. ANDREW (Russia). (ii.) THE GOLDEN FLEECE (Spain). (iii.)
THE BLACK EAGLE (Prussia). (iv.) THE TOWER AND SWORD (Portugal). (v.)
THE ELEPHANT (Denmark). (vi.) THE LEGION OF HONOUR
(France-Napoleonic). (vii.) THE ANNUNZIATA (Italy).
_Drawn by William Gibb._
_Niagara Litho. Co., Buffalo, N. Y._]
xi. The duchies of _Saxe Altenburg_, _Saxe Coburg Gotha_ and _Saxe
Meiningen_ have in common the family _Order of Ernest_, founded in
1833 in memory of Duke Ernest the Pious of Saxe Gotha and as a revival
of the _Order of German Integrity_ (_Orden der deutschen Redlichkeit_)
founded in 1690. Saxe Coburg Gotha and Saxe Meiningen have also
separate crosses of merit in science and art.
xii. _Saxe Weimar._--The _Order of the White Falcon_ or _of Vigilance_
was founded in 1732 and renewed in 1815.
xiii. _Württemberg._--The _Order of the Crown of Württemberg_ was
founded in 1818, uniting the former _Order of the Golden Eagle_ and an
order of civil merit. It has five classes. The badge is a white cross
surmounted by the royal crown, in the centre the initial F surrounded
by a crimson fillet on which is the motto _Furchtlos und Treu_; in the
angles of the cross are four golden leopards; the ribbon is crimson
with two black stripes. Besides the military _Order of Merit_ founded
in 1759, and the silver cross of merit, 1900, Württemberg has also the
_Order of Frederick_, 1830, and the _Order of Olga_, 1871, which is
granted to ladies as well as men.
_Greece._--The _Order of the Redeemer_ was founded as such in 1833 by
King Otto, being a conversion of a decoration of honour instituted in
1829 by the National Assembly at Argos. There are five classes, the
numbers being regulated for each. An illustration of the badge and
ribbon of the grand cross is given on Plate V. fig. 1.
_Holland._--The _Order of William_, for military merit, was founded in
1815 by William I.; there are four classes; the badge is a white cross
resting on a green laurel Burgundian cross, in the centre the
Burgundian flint-steel, as in the order of the Golden Fleece. The
motto _Voer Moed, Belied, Trouw_ (For Valour, Devotion, Loyalty),
appears on the arms of the cross. The cross is surmounted by a
jewelled crown; the ribbon is orange with dark blue edging. The _Order
of the Netherlands Lion_, for civil merit, was founded in 1818; there
are four classes. The family _Order of the Golden Lion of Nassau_
passed in 1890 to the grand duchy of Luxembourg (see under LUXEMBURG).
In 1892 Queen Wilhelmina instituted the _Order of Orange-Nassau_ with
five classes. The _Teutonic Order_ (q.v.), surviving in the Ballarde
(Bailiwick) of Utrecht, was officially established in the Netherlands
by the States General in 1580. It was abolished by Napoleon in 1811
and was restored in 1815.
_Italy._--The _Order of the Annunziata_, the highest order of
knighthood of the Italian kingdom, was instituted in 1362 by Amadeus
VI., count of Savoy, as the Order of the Collare or Collar, from the
silver collar made up of love-knots and roses, which was its badge, in
honour of the fifteen joys of the Virgin; hence the number of the
knights was restricted to fifteen, the fifteen chaplains recited
fifteen masses each day, and the clauses of the original statute of
the order were fifteen (Amadeus VIII. added five others in 1434).
Charles III. decreed that the order should be called the Annunziata,
and made some other alterations in 1518. His son and successor,
Emmanuel Philibert, made further modifications in the statute and the
costume. The church of the order was originally the Carthusian
monastery of Pierre-châtel in the district of Bugey, but after Charles
Emmanuel I. had given Bugey and Bresse to France in 1601 the church of
the order was transferred to the Camaldolese monastery near Turin.
That religious order having been suppressed at the time of the French
Revolution, King Charles Albert decreed in 1840 that the Carthusian
church of Collegno should be the chapel of the order. The knights of
the Annunziata have the title of "cousins of the king," and enjoy
precedence over all the other officials of the state. The costume of
the order is of white satin embroidered in silk, with a purple velvet
cloak adorned with roses and gold embroidery, but it is now never
worn; in the collar the motto _Fert_ is inserted, on the meaning of
which there is great uncertainty,[65] and from it hangs a pendant
enclosing a medallion representing the Annunciation (see Plate IV.
fig. 7). An account of the order is given in Count Luigi Cibrario's
_Ordini Cavallereschi_ (Turin, 1846) with coloured plates of the
costume and badges.
The _Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus_ (SS Maurizio e Lazzaro), is a
combination of two ancient orders. The Order of St Maurice was
originally founded by Amadeus VIII., duke of Savoy, in 1434, when he
retired to the hermitage of Ripaille, and consisted of a group of
half-a-dozen councillors who were to advise him on such affairs of
state as he continued to control. When he became pope as Felix V. the
order practically ceased to exist. It was re-established at the
instance of Emmanuel Philibert by Pope Pius V. in 1572 as a military
and religious order, and the following year it was united to that of
St Lazarus by Gregory XIII. The latter order had been founded as a
military and religious community at the time of the Latin kingdom of
Jerusalem with the object of assisting lepers, many of whom were among
its members. Popes, princes and nobles endowed it with estates and
privileges, including that of administering and succeeding to the
property of lepers, which eventually led to grave abuses. With the
advance of the Saracens the knights of St Lazarus, when driven from
the Holy Land and Egypt, migrated to France (1291) and Naples (1311),
where they founded leper hospitals. The order in Naples, which alone
was afterwards recognized as the legitimate descendant of the
Jerusalem community, was empowered to seize and confine anyone
suspected of leprosy, a permission which led to the establishment of a
regular inquisitorial system of blackmail. In the 15th and 16th
centuries dissensions broke out among the knights, and the order
declined in credit and wealth, until finally the grand master,
Giannotto Castiglioni, resigned his position in favour of Emmanuel
Philibert, duke of Savoy, in 1571. Two years later the orders of St
Lazarus and St Maurice were incorporated into one community, the
members of which were to devote themselves to the defence of the Holy
See and to fight its enemies as well as to continue assisting lepers.
The galleys of the order subsequently took part in various expeditions
against the Turks and the Barbary pirates. Leprosy, which had almost
disappeared in the 17th century, broke out once more in the 18th, and
in 1773 a hospital was established by the order at Aosta, made famous
by Xavier de Maistre's tale, _Le Lépreux de la cité d'Aoste_. The
statutes were published in 1816, by which date the order had lost its
military character; it was reformed first by Charles Albert (1831),
and later by Victor Emmanuel II., king of Italy (1868). The knighthood
of St Maurice and St Lazarus is now a dignity conferred by the king of
Italy (the grand master) on persons distinguished in the public
service, science, art and letters, trade, and above all in charitable
works, to which its income is devoted. There are five classes. The
badge of the combined order is composed of the white cross with
trefoil termination of St Lazarus resting on the green cross of St
Maurice; both crosses are bordered gold. The first four classes wear
the badge suspended from a royal crown. The ribbon is dark green.
See L. Cibrario, _Descrizione storica degli Ordini Cavallereschi_,
vol. i. (Turin, 1846); _Calendario Reale_, an annual publication
issued in Rome.
The military _Order of Savoy_ was founded in 1815 by Victor Emmanuel
of Sardinia; badge modified 1855 and 1857. It has now five classes.
The badge is a white cross, the arms of which expand and terminate in
an obtuse angle; round the cross is a green laurel and oak wreath; the
central medallion is red, bearing in gold two crossed swords, the
initials of the founder and the date 1855. The ribbon is red with a
central stripe of blue. The _Civil Order of Savoy_, founded in 1831 by
Charles Albert of Sardinia, is of one class, and in statutes of 1868
is limited to 60 members. The badge is the plain Savoy cross in blue,
with silver medallion, the ribbon is blue with white borders. The
_Order of the Crown of Italy_ was founded in 1868 by Victor Emmanuel
II. in commemoration of the union of Italy into a kingdom. There are
five classes.
_Luxemburg._--The _Order of the Golden Lion_ was founded as a family
order of the house of Nassau by William III. of the Netherlands and
Adolphus of Nassau jointly. On the death of William in 1890 it passed
to the grand duke of Luxemburg; it has only one class. The _Order of
Adolphus of Nassau_, for civil and military merit, in four classes,
was founded in 1858, and the _Order of the Oak Crown_ as a general
order of merit, in five classes, in 1841, modified 1858.
_Monaco._--The _Order of St Charles_, five classes, was founded in
1858 by Prince Charles III. and remodelled in 1863. It is a general
order of merit.
_Montenegro._--The _Order of St Peter_, founded in 1852, is a family
order, in one class, and only given to members of the princely family;
the _Order of Danilo_, or of the _Independence of Montenegro_, is a
general order of merit, in four classes, with subdivisions, also
founded in 1852.
_Norway._--The _Order of St Olaf_ was founded in 1847 by Oscar I. in
honour of St Olaf, the founder of Christianity in Norway, as a general
order of merit, military and civil. There are three classes, the last
two being, in 1873 and 1890, subdivided into two grades each. The
badge and ribbon is illustrated on Plate V, fig. 5. The reverse bears
the motto _Ret og Sandhed_ (Right and Truth). The _Order of the
Norwegian Lion_, founded in 1904 by Oscar II., has only one class;
foreigners on whom the order is conferred must be sovereigns or heads
of states or members of reigning houses.
_Papal._--The arrangement and constitution of the papal orders was
remodelled by a brief of Pius X. in 1905. The _Order of Christ_, the
supreme pontifical order, is of one class only; for the history of
this ancient order see _Portugal_ (_infra_). The badge and ribbon is
the same as the older Portuguese form. The _Order of Pius_ was founded
in 1847 by Pius IX.; there are now three classes; the badge is an
eight-pointed blue star with golden flames between the rays, a white
centre bears the founder's name; the ribbon is blue with two red
stripes at each border. The _Order of St Gregory the Great_, founded
in 1831, is in two divisions, civil and military, each having three
classes. The _Order of St Sylvester_ was originally founded as the
_Order of the Golden Spur_ by Paul IV. in 1559 as a military body,
though tradition assigns it to Constantine the Great and Pope
Sylvester. It was reorganized as an order of merit by Gregory XVI. in
1841. In 1905 the order was divided into three classes, and a separate
order, that of the _Golden Spur_ or _Golden Legion_ (_Militia Aurata_)
was established, in one class, with the numbers limited to a hundred.
The cross _Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice_, instituted by Leo XIII. in
1888 is a decoration, not an order. There remains the venerable _Order
of the Holy Sepulchre_, of which tradition assigns the foundation to
Godfrey de Bouillon. It was, however, probably founded as a military
order for the protection of the Holy Sepulchre by Alexander VI. in
1496. The right to nominate to the order was shared with the pope as
grand master by the guardian of the _Patres Minores_ in Jerusalem,
later by the Franciscans, and then by the Latin patriarch in
Jerusalem. In 1905 the latter was nominated grand master, but the pope
reserves the joint right of nomination. The badge of the order is a
red Jerusalem cross with red Latin crosses in the angles.
_Portugal._--The _Order of Christ_ was founded on the abolition of the
Templars by Dionysius or Diniz of Portugal and in 1318 in conjunction
with Pope John XXII., both having the right to nominate to the order.
The papal branch survives as a distinct order. In 1522 it was formed
as a distinct Portuguese order and the grand mastership vested in the
crown of Portugal. In 1789 its original religious aspect was
abandoned, and with the exception that its members must be of the
Roman Catholic faith, it is entirely secularized. There are three
classes. The original badge of the order was a long red cross with
expanded flat ends bearing a small cross in white; the ribbon is red.
The modern badge is a blue enamelled cross resting on a green laurel
wreath; the central medallion, in white, contains the old red and
white cross. The older form is worn with the collar by the
grand-crosses. The _Order of the Tower and Sword_ was founded in 1808
in Brazil by the regent, afterwards king John VI. of Portugal, as a
revival of the old _Order of the Sword_, said to have been founded by
Alfonso V. in 1459. It was remodelled in 1832 under its present name
and constitution as a general order of military and civil merit. There
are five classes. The badge of the order and ribbon is illustrated on
Plate IV. fig 4. The _Order of St Benedict of Aviz_ (earlier of
_Evora_), founded in 1162 as a religious military order, was
secularized in 1789 as an order of military merit, in four classes.
The badge is a green cross _fleury_; the ribbon is green. The _Order
of St James of the Sword_, or James of Compostella, is a branch of the
Spanish order of that name (see under SPAIN). It also was secularized
in 1789, and in 1862 was constituted an order of merit for science,
literature and art, in five classes. The badge is the lily-hilted
sword of St James, enamelled red with gold borders; the ribbon is
violet. In 1789 these three orders were granted a common badge uniting
the three separate crosses in a gold medallion; the joint ribbon is
red, green and violet, and to the separate crosses was added a red
sacred heart and small white cross. There are also the _Order of Our
Lady of Villa Viçosa_ (1819), for both sexes, and the _Order of St
Isabella_, 1801, for ladies.
_Rumania._--The _Order of the Star of Rumania_ was founded in 1877,
and the _Order of the Crown of Rumania_ in 1881, both in five classes,
for civil and military merit; the ribbon of the first is red with blue
borders, of the second light blue with two silver stripes.
_Russia._--The _Order of St Andrew_ was founded in 1698 by Peter the
Great. It is the chief order of the empire, and admission carries with
it according to the statutes of 1720 the orders of _St Anne_,
_Alexander Nevsky_, and the _White Eagle_; there is only one class.
The badge and ribbon is illustrated in Plate IV. fig 5. The collar is
composed of three members alternately, the imperial eagle bearing on a
red medallion a figure of St George slaying the Dragon, the badge of
the grand duchy of Moskow, the cipher of the emperor Paul I. in gold
on a blue ground, surmounted by the imperial crown, and surrounded by
a trophy of weapons and green and white flags, and a circular red and
gold star with a blue St Andrew's cross. The _Order of St Catherine_,
for ladies, ranks next to the St Andrew. It was founded under the name
of the _Order of Rescue_ by Peter the Great in 1714 in honour of the
empress Catherine and the part she had taken in rescuing him at the
battle of the Pruth in 1711. There are two classes. The grand cross is
only for members of the imperial house and ladies of the highest
nobility. The second class was added in 1797. The badge of the order
is a cross of diamonds bearing in a medallion the effigy of St
Catherine. The ribbon is red with the motto _For Love and Fatherland_
in silver letters. The _Order of St Alexander Nevsky_ was founded in
1725 by the empress Catherine I. There is only one class. The badge is
a red enamelled cross with gold eagles in the angles, bearing in a
medallion the mounted effigy of St Alexander Nevsky. The ribbon is
red. The _Order of the White Eagle_ was founded in 1713 by Augustus
II. of Poland and was adopted as a Russian order in 1831; there is one
class. The _Order of St Anne_ was founded by Charles Frederick, duke
of Holstein-Gottorp in 1735 in honour of his wife, Anna Petrovna,
daughter of Peter the Great. It was adopted as a Russian order in 1797
by their grandson, the emperor Paul. There are four classes. Other
orders are those of _St Vladimir_, founded by Catherine II., 1782,
four classes, and of _St Stanislaus_, founded originally as a Polish
order by Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski in 1765, and adopted as a
Russian order in 1831.
The military _Order of St George_ was founded by the empress Catherine
II. in 1769 for military service on land and sea, with four classes; a
fifth class for non-commissioned officers and men, the _St George's
Cross_, was added in 1807. The badge is a white cross with gold
borders, with a red central medallion on which is the figure of St
George slaying the dragon. The ribbon is orange with three black
stripes.
_Servia._--The _Order of the White Eagle_, the principal order, was
founded by Milan I. in 1882, statutes 1883, in five classes; the
ribbon is blue and red; the _Order of St Sava_, founded 1883, also in
five classes, is an order of merit for science and art; the _Order of
the Star of Karageorgevitch_, four classes, was founded by Peter I. in
1904. The orders of _Milosch the Great_, founded by Alexander I. in
1898 and of _Takovo_, founded originally by Michael Obrenovitch in
1863, reconstituted in 1883, are since the dynastic revolution of 1903
no longer bestowed. The _Order of St Lazarus_ is not a general order,
the cross and collar being only worn by the king.
_Spain._--The Spanish branch of the _Order of the Golden Fleece_ has
been treated above. The three most ancient orders of Spain--of _St
James of Compostella_, or _St James of the Sword_, of _Alcantara_ and
of _Calatrava_--still exist as orders of merit, the first in three
classes, the last two as orders of military merit in one class. They
were all originally founded as military religious orders, like the
crusading Templars and the Hospitallers, but to fight for the true
faith against the Moors in Spain. The present badges of the orders
represent the crosses that the knights wore on their mantles. That of
St James of Compostella is the red lily-hilted sword of St James; the
ribbon is also red. The other two orders wear the cross
_fleury_--_Alcantara_ red, _Calatrava_ green, with corresponding
ribbons. A short history of these orders may be here given. Tradition
gives the foundation of the _Order of Knights of St James of
Compostella_ to Ramiro II., king of Leon, in the 10th century, to
commemorate a victory over the Moors, but, historically the order
dates from the confirmation in 1175 by Pope Alexander III. It gained
great reputation in the wars against the Moors and became very
wealthy. In 1493 the grand-mastership was annexed by Ferdinand the
Catholic, and was vested permanently in the crown of Spain by Pope
Adrian VI. in 1522.
The _Order of Knights of Alcantara_, instituted about 1156 by the
brothers Don Suarez and Don Gomez de Barrientos for protection against
the Moors. In 1177 they were confirmed as a religious order of
knighthood under Benedictine rule by Pope Alexander III. Until about
1213 they were known as the Knights of San Julian del Pereyro; but
when the defence of Alcantara, newly wrested from the Moors by
Alphonso IX. of Castile, was entrusted to them they took their name
from that city. For a considerable time they were in some degree
subject to the grand master of the kindred order of Calatrava.
Ultimately, however, they asserted their independence by electing a
grand master of their own, the first holder of the office being Don
Diego Sanche. During the rule of thirty-seven successive grand
masters, similarly chosen, the influence and wealth of the order
gradually increased until the Knights of Alcantara were almost as
powerful as the sovereign. In 1494-1495 Juan de Zuñiga was prevailed
upon to resign the grand-mastership to Ferdinand, who thereupon vested
it in his own person as king; and this arrangement was ratified by a
bull of Pope Alexander VI., and was declared permanent by Pope Adrian
VI. in 1523. The yearly income of Zuñiga at the time of his
resignation amounted to 150,000 ducats. In 1540 Pope Paul III.
released the knights from the strictness of Benedictine rule by giving
them permission to marry, though second marriage was forbidden. The
three vows were henceforth _obedientia_, _castitas conjugalis_ and
_conversio morum_. In modern times the history of the order has been
somewhat chequered. When Joseph Bonaparte became king of Spain in
1808, he deprived the knights of their revenues, which were only
partially recovered on the restoration of Ferdinand VII. in 1814. The
order ceased to exist as a spiritual body in 1835.
The _Order of Knights of Calatrava_ was founded in 1158 by Don Sancho
III. of Castile, who presented the town of Calatrava, newly wrested
from the Moors, to them to guard. In 1164 Pope Alexander III. granted
confirmation as a religious military order under Cistercian rule. In
1197 Calatrava fell into the hands of the Moors and the order removed
to the castle of Salvatierra, but recovered their town in 1212. In
1489 Ferdinand seized the grand-mastership, and it was finally vested
in the crown of Spain in 1523. The order became a military order of
merit in 1808 and was reorganized in 1874. The _Royal and Illustrious
Order of Charles III._ was founded in 1771 by Charles III., in two
classes; altered in 1804, it was abolished by Joseph Bonaparte in
1809, together with all the Spanish orders except the Golden Fleece,
and the _Royal Order of the Knights of Spain_ was established. In 1814
Ferdinand VII. revived the order, and in 1847 it received its present
constitution, viz. of three classes (the commanders in two divisions).
The badge of the order is a blue and white cross suspended from a
green laurel wreath, in the angles are golden lilies, and the oval
centre bears a figure of the Virgin in a golden glory. The ribbon is
blue and white. The _Order of Isabella the Catholic_ was founded in
1815 under the patronage of St Isabella, wife of Diniz of Portugal;
originally instituted to reward loyalty in defence of the Spanish
possessions in America, it is now a general order of merit, in three
classes. The badge is a red rayed cross with gold rays in the angles,
in the centre a representation of the pillars of Hercules; the cross
is attached to the yellow and white ribbon by a green laurel wreath.
Other Spanish orders are the _Maria Louisa_, 1792, for noble ladies;
the military and naval orders of merit of _St Ferdinand_, founded by
the Cortes in 1811, five classes; of _St Ermenegild_ (_Hermenegildo_),
1814, three classes, of _Military Merit_ and _Naval Merit_, 1866, and
of _Maria Christina_, 1890; the _Order of Beneficencia_ for civil
merit, 1856; that of _Alfonso XII._ for merit in science, literature
and art, 1902, and the _Civil Order of Alfonso XII._, 1902.
[Illustration: PLATE V.
(i) THE REDEEMER (Greece). (ii) THE ORDER OF THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN
OF JERUSALEM (English Branch, Badge of the Sovereign and Patron).
(iii) THE ST. HUBERT (Bavaria). (iv) THE ST. STEPHEN (Hungary). (v).
THE ST. OLAF (Norway). (vi). THE SERAPHIM (Sweden).
_Drawn by William Gibb._
_Niagara Litho. Co., Buffalo, N. Y._]
_Sweden._--The _Order of the Seraphim_ (the "Blue Ribbon"). Tradition
attributes the foundation of this most illustrious order of knighthood
to Magnus I. in 1280, more certainty attaches to the fact that the
order was in existence in 1336. In its modern form the order dates
from its reconstitution in 1748 by Frederick I., modified by statutes
of 1798 and 1814. Exclusive of the sovereign and the princes of the
blood, the order is limited to 23 Swedish and 8 foreign members. The
native members must be already members of the _Order of the Sword_ or
the _Pole Star_. There is a prelate of the order which is administered
by a chapter; the chapel of the knights is in the Riddar Holmskyrka at
Stockholm. The badge and ribbon of the grand cross is illustrated on
Plate V. fig. 6. The collar is formed of alternate gold seraphim and
blue enamelled patriarchal crosses. The motto is _Iesus Hominum
Salvator_. The _Order of the Sword_ (the "Yellow Ribbon"), the
principal Swedish military order, was founded, it is said, by Gustavus
I. Vasa in 1522, and was re-established by Frederick I., with the
_Seraphim_ and the _Pole Star_ in 1748; modifications have been made
in 1798, 1814 and 1889. There are five classes, with subdivisions. The
badge is a white cross, in the angles gold crowns, the points of the
cross joined by gold swords entwined with gold and blue belts, in the
blue centre an upright sword with the three crowns in gold, the whole
surmounted by the royal crown. The ribbon is yellow with blue edging.
The _Order of the Pole Star_ (_Polar Star_, _North Star_, the "Black
Ribbon"), founded in 1748 for civil merit, has since 1844 three
classes. The white cross bears a five-pointed silver star on a blue
medallion. The ribbon is black. The _Order of Vasa_ (the "Green
Ribbon"), founded by Gustavus III. in 1772 as an order of merit for
services rendered to the national industries and manufactures, has
three classes, with subdivisions. The white cross badge bears on a
blue centre the charge of the house of Vasa, a gold sheaf shaped like
a vase with two handles. The ribbon is green. The _Order of Charles
XIII._, founded in 1811, is granted to Freemasons of high degree. It
is thus quite unique.
_Turkey._--The _Nischan-i-Imtiaz_, or _Order of Privilege_, was
founded by Abdul Hamid II. in 1879 as a general order of merit in one
class; the _Nischan-el-Iftikhar_, or _Order of Glory_, also one class,
founded 1831 by Mahmoud II.; the _Nischan-i-Mejidi_, the _Mejidieh_,
was founded as a civil and military order of merit in 1851 by Abdul
Medjid. There are five classes; the badge is a silver sun of seven
clustered rays, with crescent and star between each cluster; on a gold
centre is the sultan's name in black Turkish lettering, surrounded by
a red fillet inscribed with the words _Zeal_, _Devotion_, _Loyalty_;
it is suspended from a red crescent and star; the ribbon is red with
green borders. The khedive of Egypt has authority, delegated by the
sultan, to grant this order. The _Nischan-i-Osmanie_, the _Osmanieh_,
for civil and military merit, was founded by Abdul Aziz in 1862; it
has four classes. The badge is a gold sun with seven gold-bordered
green rays; the red centre bears the crescent, and it is also
suspended from a gold crescent and star; the ribbon is green bordered
with red. The _Nischan-i-Schefakat of Compassion or Benevolence_, was
instituted for ladies, in three classes, in 1878 by the sultan in
honour of the work done for the non-combatant victims of the
Russo-Turkish war of 1877 in connexion with the Turkish Compassionate
Fund started by the late Baroness Burdett-Coutts. She was one of the
first to receive the order. There are also the family order, for
Turkish princes, the _Hanédani-Ali-Osman_, founded in 1893, and the
_Ertogroul_, in 1903.
_Non-European Orders._--Of the various states of Central and South
America, Nicaragua has the _American Order of San Juan_ or _Grey
Town_, founded in 1857, in three classes; and Venezuela that of the
_Bust of Bolivar_, 1854, five classes; the ribbon is yellow, blue and
red. Mexico has abolished its former orders, the _Mexican Eagle_,
1865, and _Our Lady of Guadalupe_, 1853; as has Brazil those of the
_Southern Cross_, 1822, _Dom Pedro I._, 1826, _the Rose_, 1829, and
the Brazilian branches of the Portuguese orders of _Christ_, _St
Benedict of Aviz_ and _St James_. The republican _Order of Columbus_,
founded in 1890, was abolished in 1891.
_China._--There are no orders for natives, and such distinctions as
are conferred by the different coloured buttons of the mandarins, the
grades indicated by the number of peacocks' feathers, the gift of the
yellow jacket and the like, are rather insignia of rank or personal
marks of honour than orders, whether of knighthood or merit, in the
European sense. For foreigners, however, the emperor in 1882
established the sole order, that of the _Imperial Double Dragon_, in
five classes, the first three of which are further divided into three
grades each, making eleven grades in all. The recipients eligible for
the various classes are graded, from the first grade of the first
class for reigning sovereigns down to the fifth class for merchants
and manufacturers. The insignia of the order are unique in shape and
decoration. Of the three grades of the first class the badge is a
rectangular gold and yellow enamel plaque, decorated with two upright
blue dragons, with details in green and white, between the heads for
the first grade a pearl, for the second a ruby, for the third a coral,
set in green, white and gold circles. The size of the plaque varies
for the different classes. The badges of the other four classes are
round plaques, the first three with indented edges, the last plain; in
the second class the dragons are in silver on a yellow and gold
ground, the jewel is a cut coral; the grades differ in the colour,
shape, &c., of the borders and indentations; in the third class the
dragons are gold, the ground green, the jewel a sapphire; in the
fourth the silver dragons are on a blue ground, the jewel a lapis
lazuli; in the fifth green dragons on a silver ground, the jewel a
pearl. The ribbons, decorated with embroidered dragons, differ for the
various grades and classes.
_Japan._--The Japanese orders have all been instituted by the emperor
Mutsu Hito. In design and workmanship the insignia of the orders are
beautiful examples of the art of the native enamellers. The _Order of
the Chrysanthemum_ (_Kikkwa Daijasho_), founded in 1877, has only one
class. It is but rarely conferred on others than members of the royal
house or foreign rulers or princes. The badge of the order may be
described as follows: From a centre of red enamel representing the sun
issue 32 white gold-bordered rays in four sharply projecting groups,
between the angles of which are four yellow conventional chrysanthemum
flowers with green leaves forming a circle on which the rays rest; the
whole is suspended from a larger yellow chrysanthemum. The ribbon is
deep red bordered with purple. The collar, which may be granted with
the order or later, is composed of four members repeated, two gold
chrysanthemums, one with green leaves, the other surrounded by a
wreath of palm, and two elaborate arabesque designs. The _Order of the
Paulownia Sun_ (_Tokwa Daijasho_), founded in 1888, in one class, may
be in a sense regarded as the highest class of the _Rising Sun_
(_Kiokujitsasho_) founded in eight classes, in 1875. The badge of both
orders is essentially the same, viz. the red sun with white and gold
rays; in the former the lilac flowers of the Paulownia tree, the
flower of the Tycoon's arms, take a prominent part. The ribbon of the
first order is deep red with white edging, of the second scarlet with
white central stripe. The last two classes of the _Rising Sun_ wear a
decoration formed of the Paulownia flower and leaves. The _Order of
the Mirror_ or _Happy Sacred Treasure_ (_Zaihosho_) was founded in
1888, with eight classes. The cross of white and gold clustered rays
bears in a blue centre a silver star-shaped mirror. The ribbon is pale
blue with orange stripes. There is also an order for ladies, that of
the _Crown_, founded in five classes in 1888. The military order of
Japan is the _Order of the Golden Kite_, founded in 1890, in seven
classes. The badge has an elaborate design; it consists of a star of
purple, red, yellow, gold and silver rays, on which are displayed old
Japanese weapons, banners and shields in various coloured enamels, the
whole surmounted by a golden kite with outstretched wings. The ribbon
is green with white stripes.
_Persia._--The _Order of the Sun and Lion_, founded by Fath 'Ali Shah
in 1808, has five classes. There is also the _Nischan-i-Aftab_, for
ladies, founded in 1873.
_Siam._--The _Sacred Order_, or the _Nine Precious Stones_, was
founded in 1869, in one class only, for the Buddhist princes of the
royal house. The _Order of the White Elephant_, founded in 1861, is in
five classes. This is the principal general order. The badge is a
striking example of Oriental design adapted to a European conventional
form. The circular plaque is formed of a triple circle of lotus leaves
in gold, red and green, within a blue circlet with pearls a richly
caparisoned white elephant on a gold ground, the whole surmounted by
the jewelled gold pagoda crown of Siam; the collar is formed of
alternate white elephants, red, blue and white royal monograms and
gold pagoda crowns. The ribbon is red with green borders and small
blue and white stripes. Other orders are the _Siamese Crown_ (_Mongkut
Siam_), five classes, founded 1869; the family _Order of
Chulah-Chon-Clao_, three classes, 1873; and the _Maha Charkrkri_,
1884, only for princes and princesses of the reigning family.
(C. We.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Feudal England_, pp. 225 sqq.
[2] Du Cange, _Gloss._, _s.v._ "Miles."
[3] _History of England_, iii. 12.
[4] Stubbs, _Constitutional History_, i. 156.
[5] _Ibid._ i. 156, 366; Turner, iii. 125-129.
[6] Ingram's edition, p. 290.
[7] _Comparative Politics_, p. 74.
[8] Baluze, _Capitularia Regum Francorum_, ii. 794, 1069.
[9] Du Cange, _Gloss._, _s.v._ "Arma."
[10] Freeman, _Comparative Politics_, p. 73.
[11] Hallam, _Middle Ages_, iii. 392.
[12] Stubbs, _Const. Hist._ ii. 278; also compare Grosse, _Military
Antiquities_, i. 65 seq.
[13] There has been a general tendency to ignore the extent to which
the armies of Edward III. were raised by compulsory levies even after
the system of raising troops by free contract had begun. Luce (ch.
vi.) points out how much England relied at this time on what would
now be called conscription: and his remarks are entirely borne out by
the Norwich documents published by Mr W. Hudson (Norf, and Norwich
Archaeological Soc. xiv. 263 sqq.), by a Lynn corporation document of
18th Edw. III. (Hist. MSS. Commission Report XI. Appendix pt. iii. p.
189), and by Smyth's _Lives of the Berkeleys_, i. 312, 319, 320.
[14] J. B. de Lacurne de Sainte Palaye, _Mémoires sur l'Ancienne
Chevalerie_, i. 363, 364 (ed. 1781).
[15] Du Cange, _Dissertation sur Joinville_, xxi.; Sainte Palaye,
_Mémoires_, i. 272; G. F. Beltz, _Memorials of the Order of the
Garter_ (1841,) p. xxvii.
[16] Du Cange, _Dissertation_, xxi., and _Lancelot du Lac_, among
other romances.
[17] Anstis, _Register of the Order of the Garter_, i. 63.
[18] Grose, _Military Antiq._ i. 207 seq.; Stubbs, _Const. Hist._ ii.
276 seq., and iii. 278 seq.
[19] Grose's _Military Antiquities_, ii. 256.
[20] Sainte Palaye, _Mémoires_, i. 36; Froissart, bk. iii. ch. 9.
[21] Sainte Palaye, _Mémoires_, pt. i. and Mills, _History of
Chivalry_, vol. i. ch. 2.
[22] See the long sermon in the romance of _Petit Jehan de Saintré_,
pt. i. ch. v., and compare the theory there set forth with the actual
behaviour of the chief personages. Even Gautier, while he contends
that chivalry did much to refine morality, is compelled to admit the
prevailing immorality to which medieval romances testify, and the
extraordinary free behaviour of the unmarried ladies. No doubt these
romances, taken alone, might give as unfair an idea as modern French
novels give of Parisian morals, but we have abundant other evidence
for placing the moral standard of the age of chivalry definitely
below that of educated society in the present day.
[23] Sainte Palaye, _Mémoires_, i. 11 seq.: "C'est peut-être à cette
cérémonie et non à celles de la chevalerie qu'on doit rapporter ce
qui se lit dans nos historiens de la première et de la seconde race
au sujet des premières armes que les Rois et les Princes remettoient
avec solemnité au ieunes Princes leurs enfans."
[24] There are several obscure points as to the relation of the
longer and shorter ceremonies, as well as the origin and original
relation of their several parts. There is nothing to show whence came
"dubbing" or the "accolade." It seems certain that the word "dub"
means to strike, and the usage is as old as the knighting of Henry by
William the Conqueror (_supra_, pp. 851, 852). So, too, in the Empire
a dubbed knight is "ritter geschlagen." The "accolade" may
etymologically refer to the embrace, accompanied by a blow with the
hand, characteristic of the longer form of knighting. The derivation
of "adouber," corresponding to "dub," from "adoptare," which is given
by Du Cange, and would connect the ceremony with "adoptio per arma,"
is certainly inaccurate. The investiture with arms, which formed a
part of the longer form of knighting, and which we have seen to rest
on very ancient usage, may originally have had a distinct meaning. We
have observed that Lanfranc invested Henry I. with arms, while
William "dubbed him to rider." If there was a difference in the
meaning of the two ceremonies, the difficulty as to the knighting of
Earl Harold (_supra_, p. 852) is at least partly removed.
[25] Selden, _Titles of Honor_, 639.
[26] Daniel, _Histoire de la Milice Françoise_, i. 99-104; Byshe's
Upton, _De Studio Militari_, pp. 21-24; Dugdale, _Warwickshire_, ii.
708-710; Segar, Honor _Civil and Military_, pp. 69 seq. and Nicolas,
_Orders of Knighthood_, vol. ii. (_Order of the Bath_) pp. 19 seq....
It is given as "the order and manner of creating Knights of the Bath
in time of peace according to the custom of England," and
consequently dates from a period when the full ceremony of creating
knights bachelors generally had gone out of fashion. But as Ashmole,
speaking of Knights of the Bath, says, "if the ceremonies and
circumstances of their creation be well considered, it will appear
that this king [Henry IV.] did not institute but rather restore the
ancient manner of making knights, and consequently that the Knights
of the Bath are in truth no other than knights bachelors, that is to
say, such as are created with those ceremonies wherewith knights
bachelors were formerly created." (Ashmole, _Order of the Garter_, p.
15). See also Selden, _Titles of Honor_, p. 678, and the
_Archæological Journal_, v. 258 seq.
[27] As may be gathered from Selden, Favyn, La Colombiers, Menestrier
and Sainte Palaye, there were several differences of detail in the
ceremony at different times and in different places. But in the main
it was everywhere the same both in its military and its
ecclesiastical elements. In the _Pontificale Romanum_, the old _Ordo
Romanus_ and the manual or Common Prayer Book in use in England
before the Reformation forms for the blessing or consecration of new
knights are included, and of these the first and the last are quoted
by Selden.
[28] Selden, _Titles of Honor_, p. 678; Ashmole, _Order of the
Garter_, p. 15; Favyn, _Théâtre d'Honneur_, ii. 1035.
[29] "If we sum up the principal ensigns of knighthood, ancient and
modern, we shall find they have been or are a horse, gold ring,
shield and lance, a belt and sword, gilt spurs and a gold chain or
collar."--Ashmole, _Order of the Garter_, pp. 12, 13.
[30] On the banner see Grose, _Military Antiquities_, ii. 257; and
Nicolas, _British Orders of Knighthood_, vol. i. p. xxxvii.
[31] _Titles of Honor_, pp. 356 and 608. See also Hallam, _Middle
Ages_, iii. 126 seq. and Stubbs, _Const. Hist._ iii. 440 seq.
[32] Riddell's _Law and Practice in Scottish Peerages_, p. 578; also
Nisbet's _System of Heraldry_, ii. 49 and Selden's _Titles of Honor_,
p. 702.
[33] Selden, _Titles of Honor_, pp. 608 and 657.
[34] See "Project concerninge the conferinge of the title of vidom,"
wherein it is said that "the title of vidom (vicedominus) was an
ancient title used in this kingdom of England both before and since
the Norman Conquest" (_State Papers_, James I. Domestic Series,
lxiii. 150 B, probable date April 1611).
[35] Selden, _Titles of Honor_, pp. 452 seq.
[36] _Ibid._ pp. 449 seq.
[37] Du Cange, _Dissertation_, ix.; Selden, _Titles of Honor_, p.
452; Daniel, _Milice Françoise_, i. 86 (Paris, 1721).
[38] Selden, _Titles of Honor_, p. 656; Grose, _Military
Antiquities_, ii. 206.
[39] Froissart, Bk. I. ch. 241 and Bk. II. ch. 53. The recipients
were Sir John Chandos and Sir Thos. Trivet.
[40] _Commonwealth of England_ (ed. 1640), p. 48.
[41] _State Papers_, Domestic Series, James the First, lxvii. 119.
[42] "Thursday, June 24th: His Majesty was pleased to confer the
honour of knights banneret on the following flag officers and
commanders under the royal standard, who kneeling kissed hands on the
occasion: Admirals Pye and Sprye; Captains Knight, Bickerton and
Vernon," _Gentleman's Magazine_ (1773) xliii. 299. Sir Harris Nicolas
remarks on these and the other cases (_British Orders of Knighthood_,
vol. xliii.) and Sir William Fitzherbert published anonymously a
pamphlet on the subject, _A Short Inquiry into the Nature of the
Titles conferred at Portsmouth_, &c., which is very scarce, but is to
be found under the name of "Fitzherbert" in the catalogue of the
British Museum Library.
[43] "Sir Henry Ferrers, Baronet, was indicted by the name of Sir
Henry Ferrers, Knight, for the murther of one Stone whom one
Nightingale feloniously murthered, and that the said Sir Henry was
present aiding and abetting, &c. Upon this indictment Sir Henry
Ferrers being arraigned said he never was knighted, which being
confessed, the indictment was held not to be sufficient, wherefore he
was indicted de novo by the name of Sir Henry Ferrers, Baronet."
Brydall, _Jus Imaginis apud Anglos, or the Law of England relating to
the Nobility and Gentry_ (London, 1675), p. 20. Cf. _Patent Rolls_,
10 Jac. I., pt. x. No. 18; Selden, _Titles of Honor_, p. 687.
[44] Louis XIV. introduced the practice of dividing the members of
military orders into several degrees when he established the order of
St Louis in 1693.
[45] G. F. Beltz, _Memorials of the Most Noble Order of the Garter_
(1841), p. 385.
[46] Heylyn, _Cosmographie and History of the Whole World_, bk. i. p.
286.
[47] Beltz, _Memorials_, p. xlvi.
[48] _Orders of Knighthood_, vol. i. p. lxxxiii.
[49] Mémoires, i. 67, i. 22; _History of Chivalry_; Gibbon, _Decline
and Fall_, vii. 200.
[50] _Orders of Knighthood_, vol. i. p. xi.
[51] Selden, _Titles of Honor_, p. 638.
[52] Harleian MS. 6063; Hargrave MS. 325.
[53] _Patent Rolls_, 35th Hen. VIII., pt. xvi., No. 24; Burnet,
_Hist. of Reformation_, i. 15.
[54] Spelman, "De milite dissertatio," _Posthumous Works_, p. 181.
[55] _London Gazette_, December 6, 1823, and May 15, 1855.
[56] On the Continent very elaborate ceremonies, partly heraldic and
partly religious, were observed in the degradation of a knight, which
are described by Sainte Palaye, _Mémoires_, i. 316 seq., and after
him by Mills, _History of Chivalry_, i. 60 seq. Cf. _Titles of
Honor_, p. 653.
[57] Dallaway's _Heraldry_, p. 303.
[58] Even in 13th century England more than half the population were
serfs, and as such had no claim to the privileges of Magna Carta;
disputes between a serf and his lord were decided in the latter's
court, although the king's courts attempted to protect the serf's
life and limb and necessary implements of work. By French feudal law,
the villein had no appeal from his lord save to God (Pierre de
Fontaines, _Conseil_, ch. xxi. art. 8); and, though common sense and
natural good feeling set bounds in most cases to the tyranny of the
nobles, yet there was scarcely any injustice too gross to be
possible. "How mad are they who exult when sons are born to their
lords!" wrote Cardinal Jacques de Vitry early in the 13th century
(_Exempla_, p. 64, Folk Lore Soc. 1890).
[59] Sainte Palaye, ii. 90.
[60] Medley, _English Constitutional History_ (2nd ed., pp. 291,
466), suggests that Edward might have deliberately calculated this
degradation of the older feudal ideal.
[61] Being made to "ride the barriers" was the penalty for anybody
who attempted to take part in a tournament without the qualification
of name and arms. Guillim (_Display of Heraldry_, p. 66) and Nisbet
(_System of Heraldry_, ii. 147) speak of this subject as concerning
England and Scotland. See also Ashmole's _Order of the Garter_, p.
284. But in England knighthood has always been conferred to a great
extent independently of these considerations. At almost every period
there have been men of obscure and illegitimate birth who have been
knighted. Ashmole cites authorities for the contention that
knighthood ennobles, insomuch that whosoever is a knight it
necessarily follows that he is also a gentleman; "for, when a king
gives the dignity to an ignoble person whose merit he would thereby
recompense, he is understood to have conferred whatsoever is
requisite for the completing of that which he bestows." By the common
law, if a villein were made a knight he was thereby enfranchised and
accounted a gentleman, and if a person under age and in wardship were
knighted both his minority and wardship terminated. (_Order of the
Garter_, p. 43; Nicolas, _British Orders of Knighthood_, i. 5.)
[62] Gautier, pp. 21, 249.
[63] Du Cange, _s.v. miles_ (ed. Didot, t. iv. p. 402); Sacchetti,
_Novella_, cliii. All the medieval _orders_ of knighthood, however,
insisted in their statutes on the noble birth of the candidate.
[64] Lecoy de la Marche (_Chaire française au moyen âge_, 2nd ed., p.
387) gives many instances to prove that "al chevalerie, au xiii^e
siècle, est déjà sur son déclin." But already about 1160 Peter of
Blois had written, "The so-called order of knighthood is nowadays
mere disorder" (_ordo militum nunc est, ordinem non tenere_. Ep.
xciv.: the whole letter should be read); and, half a century earlier
still, Guibert of Nogent gives an equally unflattering picture of
contemporary chivalry in his _De vita sua_ (Migne, _Pat. Lat._, tom.
clvi.).
[65] It has been taken as the Latin word meaning "he bears" or as
representing the initials of the legend _Fortitudo Ejus Rhodum
Tenuit_, with an allusion to a defence of the island of Rhodes by an
ancient count of Savoy.
KNIGHT-SERVICE, the dominant and distinctive tenure of land under the
feudal system. It is associated in its origin with that development in
warfare which made the mailed horseman, armed with lance and sword, the
most important factor in battle. Till within recent years it was
believed that knight-service was developed out of the liability, under
the English system, of every five hides to provide one soldier in war.
It is now held that, on the contrary, it was a novel system which was
introduced after the Conquest by the Normans, who relied essentially on
their mounted knights, while the English fought on foot. They were
already familiar with the principle of knight-service, the knight's fee,
as it came to be termed in England, being represented in Normandy by the
_fief du haubert_, so termed from the hauberk or coat of mail (_lorica_)
which was worn by the knight. Allusion is made to this in the coronation
charter of Henry I. (1100), which speaks of those holding by
knight-service as _milites qui per loricam terras suas deserviunt_.
The Conqueror, it is now held, divided the lay lands of England among
his followers, to be held by the service of a fixed number of knights in
his host, and imposed the same service on most of the great
ecclesiastical bodies which retained their landed endowments. No record
evidence exists of this action on his part, and the quota of
knight-service exacted was not determined by the area or value of the
lands granted (or retained), but was based upon the _unit_ of the feudal
host, the _constabularia_ of ten knights. Of the tenants-in-chief or
barons (i.e. those who held directly of the crown), the principal were
called on to find one or more of these units, while of the lesser ones
some were called on for five knights, that is, half a _constabularia_.
The same system was adopted in Ireland when that country was conquered
under Henry II. The baron who had been enfeoffed by his sovereign on
these terms could provide the knights required either by hiring them for
pay or, more conveniently when wealth was mainly represented by land, by
a process of subenfeoffment, analogous to that by which he himself had
been enfeoffed. That is to say, he could assign to an under-tenant a
certain portion of his fief to be held by the service of finding one or
more knights. The land so held would then be described as consisting of
one or more knights' fees, but the knight's fee had not, as was formerly
supposed, any fixed area. This process could be carried farther till
there was a chain of mesne lords between the tenant-in-chief and the
actual holder of the land; but the liability for performance of the
knight-service was always carefully defined.
The primary obligation incumbent on every knight was service in the
field, when called upon, for forty days a year, with specified armour
and arms. There was, however, a standing dispute as to whether he could
be called upon to perform this service outside the realm, nor was the
question of his expenses free from difficulty. In addition to this
primary duty he had, in numerous cases at least, to perform that of
"castle ward" at his lord's chief castle for a fixed number of days in
the year. On certain baronies also was incumbent the duty of providing
knights for the guard of royal castles, such as Windsor, Rockingham and
Dover. Under the feudal system the tenant by knight-service had also the
same pecuniary obligations to his lord as had his lord to the king.
These consisted of (1) "relief," which he paid on succeeding to his
lands; (2) "wardship," that is, the profits from his lands during a
minority; (3) "marriage," that is, the right of giving in marriage,
unless bought off, his heiress, his heir (if a minor) and his widow; and
also of the three "aids" (see Aids).
The chief sources of information for the extent and development of
knight-service are the returns (_cartae_) of the barons (i.e. the
tenants-in-chief) in 1166, informing the king, at his request, of the
names of their tenants by knight-service with the number of fees they
held, supplemented by the payments for "scutage" (see SCUTAGE) recorded
on the pipe rolls, by the later returns printed in the _Testa de
Nevill_, and by the still later ones collected in _Feudal Aids_. In the
returns made in 1166 some of the barons appear as having enfeoffed more
and some less than the number of knights they had to find. In the latter
case they described the balance as being chargeable on their "demesne,"
that is, on the portion of their fief which remained in their own hands.
These returns further prove that lands had already been granted for the
service of a fraction of a knight, such service being in practice
already commuted for a proportionate money payment; and they show that
the total number of knights with which land held by military service was
charged was not, as was formerly supposed, sixty thousand, but,
probably, somewhere between five and six thousand. Similar returns were
made for Normandy, and are valuable for the light they throw on its
system of knight-service.
The principle of commuting for money the obligation of military service
struck at the root of the whole system, and so complete was the change
of conception that "tenure by knight-service of a mesne lord becomes,
first in fact and then in law, tenure by escuage (i.e. scutage)." By the
time of Henry III., as Bracton states, the test of tenure was scutage;
liability, however small, to scutage payment made the tenure military.
The disintegration of the system was carried farther in the latter half
of the 13th century as a consequence of changes in warfare, which were
increasing the importance of foot soldiers and making the service of a
knight for forty days of less value to the king. The barons, instead of
paying scutage, compounded for their service by the payment of lump
sums, and, by a process which is still obscure, the nominal quotas of
knight-service due from each had, by the time of Edward I., been largely
reduced. The knight's fee, however, remained a knight's fee, and the
pecuniary incidents of military tenure, especially wardship, marriage,
and fines on alienation, long continued to be a source of revenue to the
crown. But at the Restoration (1660) tenure by knight-service was
abolished by law (12 Car. II. c. 24), and with it these vexatious
exactions were abolished.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The returns of 1166 are preserved in the _Liber Niger_
(13th cent.), edited by Hearne, and the _Liber Rubeus_ or _Red Book of
the Exchequer_ (13 cent.), edited by H. Hall for the Rolls Series in
1896. The later returns are in _Testa de Nevill_ (Record Commission,
1807) and in the Record Office volumes of _Feudal Aids_, arranged
under counties. For the financial side of knight-service the early
pipe rolls have been printed by the Record Commission and the Pipe
Roll Society, and abstracts of later ones will be found in _The Red
Book of the Exchequer_, which may be studied on the whole question;
but the editor's view must be received with caution and checked by J.
H. Round's _Studies on the Red Book of the Exchequer_ (for private
circulation). The _Baronia Anglica_ of Madox may also be consulted.
The existing theory on knight-service was enunciated by Mr Round in
_English Historical Review_, vi., vii., and reissued by him in his
_Feudal England_ (1895). It is accepted by Pollock and Maitland
(_History of English Law_), who discuss the question at length; by Mr
J. F. Baldwin in his _Scutage and Knight-service in England_
(University of Chicago Press, 1897), a valuable monograph with
bibliography; and by Petit-Dutaillis, in his _Studies supplementary to
Stubbs' Constitutional History_ (Manchester University Series, 1908).
(J. H. R.)
KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, a semi-military secret society in the
United States in the Middle West, 1861-1864, the purpose of which was to
bring the Civil War to a close and restore the "Union as it was." There
is some evidence that before the Civil War there was a Democratic secret
organization of the same name, with its principal membership in the
Southern States. After the outbreak of the Civil War many of the
Democrats of the Middle West, who were opposed to the war policy of the
Republicans, organized the Knights of the Golden Circle, pledging
themselves to exert their influence to bring about peace. In 1863, owing
to the disclosure of some of its secrets, the organization took the name
of Order of American Knights, and in 1864 this became the Sons of
Liberty. The total membership of this order probably reached 250,000 to
300,000, principally in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin,
Kentucky and south-western Pennsylvania. Fernando Wood of New York seems
to have been the chief officer and in 1864 Clement L. Vallandigham
became the second in command. The great importance of the Knights of the
Golden Circle and its successors was due to its opposition to the war
policy of the Republican administration. The plan was to overthrow the
Lincoln government in the elections and give to the Democrats the
control of the state and Federal governments, which would then make
peace and invite the Southern States to come back into the Union on the
old footing. In order to obstruct and embarrass the Republican
administration the members of the order held peace meetings to influence
public opinion against the continuance of the war; purchased arms to be
used in uprisings, which were to place the peace party in control of the
Federal government, or failing in that to establish a north-western
confederacy; and took measures to set free the Confederate prisoners in
the north and bring the war to a forced close. All these plans failed at
the critical moment, and the most effective work done by the order was
in encouraging desertion from the Federal armies, preventing
enlistments, and resisting the draft. Wholesale arrests of leaders and
numerous seizures of arms by the United States authorities resulted in a
general collapse of the order late in 1864. Three of the leaders were
sentenced to death by military commissions, but sentence was suspended
until 1866, when they were released under the decision of the United
States Supreme Court in the famous case _Ex parte Milligan_.
AUTHORITIES.--_An Authentic Exposition of the Knights of the Golden
Circle_ (Indianapolis, 1863); J. F. Rhodes, _History of the United
States from the Compromise of 1850_ (New York, 1905) vol. v.; E.
McPherson, _Political History of the Rebellion_ (Washington, 1876);
and W. D. Foulke, _Life of O. P. Morton_ (2 vols., New York, 1899).
(W. L. F.)
KNIPPERDOLLINCK (or KNIPPERDOLLING), BERNT (BEREND or BERNHARDT) (c.
1490-1536), German divine, was a prosperous cloth-merchant at Münster
when in 1524 he joined Melchior Rinck and Melchior Hofman in a business
journey to Stockholm, which developed into an abortive religious errand.
Knipperdollinck, a man of fine presence and glib tongue, noted from his
youth for eccentricity, had the ear of the Münster populace when in 1527
he helped to break the prison of Tonies Kruse, in the teeth of the
bishop and the civic authorities. For this he made his peace with the
latter; but, venturing on another business journey, he was arrested,
imprisoned for a year, and released on payment of a high fine--in regard
of which treatment he began an action before the Imperial Chamber.
Though his aims were political rather than religious, he attached
himself to the reforming movement of Bernhardt Rothmann, once (1529)
chaplain of St Mauritz, outside Münster, now (1532) pastor of the city
church of St Lamberti. A new bishop directed a mandate (April 17, 1532)
against Rothmann, which had the effect of alienating the moderates in
Münster from the democrats. Knipperdollinck was a leader of the latter
in the surprise (December 26, 1532) which made prisoners of the
negotiating nobles at Telgte, in the territory of Münster. In the end,
Münster was by charter from Philip of Hesse (February 14, 1533)
constituted an evangelical city. Knipperdollinck was made a burgomaster
in February 1534. Anabaptism had already (September 8, 1533) been
proclaimed at Münster by a journeyman smith; and, before this, Heinrich
Roll, a refugee, had brought Rothmann (May 1533) to a rejection of
infant baptism. From the 1st of January 1534 Roll preached Anabaptist
doctrines in a city pulpit; a few days later, two Dutch emissaries of
Jan Matthysz, or Matthyssen, the master-baker and Anabaptist prophet of
Haarlem, came on a mission to Münster. They were followed (January 13)
by Jan Beukelsz (or Bockelszoon, or Buchholdt), better known as John of
Leiden. It was his second visit to Münster; he came now as an apostle of
Matthysz. He was twenty-five, with a winning personality, great gifts as
an organizer, and plenty of ambition. Knipperdollinck, whose daughter
Clara was ultimately enrolled among the wives of John of Leiden, came
under his influence. Matthysz himself came to Münster (1534) and lived
in Knipperdollinck's house, which became the centre of the new movement
to substitute Münster for Strassburg (Melchior Hofmann's choice) as the
New Jerusalem. On the death of Matthysz, in a foolish raid (April 5,
1534), John became supreme. Knipperdollinck, with one attempt at revolt,
when he claimed the kingship for himself, was his subservient henchman,
wheedling the Münster democracy into subjection to the fantastic rule of
the "king of the earth." He was made second in command, and executioner
of the refractory. He fell in with the polygamy innovation, the protest
of his wife being visited with a penance. In the military measures for
resisting the siege of Münster he took no leading part. On the fall of
the city (June 25, 1535) he hid in a dwelling in the city wall, but was
betrayed by his landlady. After six months' incarceration, his trial,
along with his comrades, took place on the 19th of January, and his
execution, with fearful tortures, on the 22nd of January 1536.
Knipperdollinck attempted to strangle himself, but was forced to endure
the worst. His body, like those of the others, was hung in a cage on the
tower of St Lamberti, where the cages are still to be seen. An alleged
portrait, from an engraving of 1607, is reproduced in the appendix to A.
Ross's Pansebeia, 1655.
See L. Keller, _Geschichte der Wiedertäufer und ihres Reichs zu
Münster_ (1880); C. A. Cornelius, _Historische Arbeiten_ (1899); E.
Belfort Bax, _Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists_ (1903). (A. Go.*)
KNITTING (from O.E. _cnyttan_, to knit; cf. Ger. _Knütten_; the root is
seen in "knot"), the art of forming a single thread or strand of yarn
into a texture or fabric of a loop structure, by employing needles or
wires. "Crochet" work is an analogous art in its simplest form. It
consists of forming a single thread into a single chain of loops. All
warp knit fabrics are built on this structure. Knitting may be said to
be divided into two principles, viz. (1) hand knitting and (2)
frame-work knitting (see HOSIERY). In hand knitting, the wires, pins or
needles used are of different lengths or gauges, according to the class
of work wanted to be produced. They are made of steel, bone, wood or
ivory. Some are headed to prevent the loops from slipping over the ends.
Flat or selvedged work can only be produced on them. Others are pointed
at both ends, and by employing three or more a circular or
circular-shaped fabric can be made. In hand knitting each loop is formed
and thrown off individually and in rotation and is left hanging on the
new loop formed. The cotton, wool and silk fibres are the principal
materials from which knitting yarns are manufactured, wool being the
most important and most largely used. "Lamb's-wool," "wheeling,"
"fingering" and worsted yarns are all produced from the wool fibre, but
may differ in size or fineness and quality. Those yarns are largely used
in the production of knitted underwear. Hand knitting is to-day
principally practised as a domestic art, but in some of the remote parts
of Scotland and Ireland it is prosecuted as an industry to some extent.
In the Shetland Islands the wool of the native sheep is spun, and used
in its natural colour, being manufactured into shawls, scarfs, ladies'
jackets, &c. The principal trade of other districts is hose and
half-hose, made from the wool of the sheep native to the district. The
formation of the stitches in knitting may be varied in a great many
ways, by "purling" (knitting or throwing loops to back and front in rib
form), "slipping" loops, taking up and casting off and working in
various coloured yarns to form stripes, patterns, &c. The articles may
be shaped according to the manner in which the wires and yarns are
manipulated.
KNOBKERRIE (from the Taal or South African Dutch, _knopkirie_, derived
from Du. _knop_, a knob or button, and _kerrie_, a Bushman or Hottentot
word for stick), a strong, short stick with a rounded knob or head used
by the natives of South Africa in warfare and the chase. It is employed
at close quarters, or as a missile, and in time of peace serves as a
walking-stick. The name has been extended to similar weapons used by the
natives of Australia, the Pacific islands, and other places.
KNOLLES, RICHARD (c. 1545-1610), English historian, was a native of
Northamptonshire, and was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford. He became
a fellow of his college, and at some date subsequent to 1571 left Oxford
to become master of a school at Sandwich, Kent, where he died in 1610.
In 1603 Knolles published his _Generall Historie of the Turkes_, of
which several editions subsequently appeared, among them a good one
edited by Sir Paul Rycaut (1700), who brought the history down to 1699.
It was dedicated to King James I., and Knolles availed himself largely
of Jean Jacques Boissard's _Vitae et Icones Sultanorum Turcicorum_
(Frankfort, 1596). Although now entirely superseded, it has considerable
merits as regards style and arrangement. Knolles published a translation
of J. Bodin's _De Republica_ in 1606, but the _Grammatica Latina, Graeca
et Hebraica_, attributed to him by Anthony Wood and others, is the work
of the Rev. Hanserd Knollys (c. 1599-1691), a Baptist minister.
See the _Athenaeum_, August 6, 1881.
KNOLLES (or KNOLLYS), SIR ROBERT (c. 1325-1407), English soldier,
belonged to a Cheshire family. In early life he served in Brittany, and
he was one of the English survivors who were taken prisoners by the
French after the famous "combat of the thirty" in March 1351. He was,
however, quickly released and was among the soldiers of fortune who took
advantage of the distracted state of Brittany, at this time the scene of
a savage civil war, to win fame and wealth at the expense of the
wretched inhabitants. After a time he transferred his operations to
Normandy, when he served under the allied standards of England and of
Charles II. of Navarre. He led the "great company" in their work of
devastation along the valley of the Loire, fighting at this time for his
own hand and for booty, and winning a terrible reputation by his
ravages. After the conclusion of the treaty of Brétigny in 1360 Knolles
returned to Brittany and took part in the struggle for the possession of
the duchy between John of Montfort (Duke John IV.) and Charles of Blois,
gaining great fame by his conduct in the fight at Auray (September
1364), where Du Guesclin was captured and Charles of Blois was slain.
In 1367 he marched with the Black Prince into Spain and fought at the
battle of Nájera; in 1369 he was with the prince in Aquitaine. In 1370
he was placed by Edward III. at the head of an expedition which invaded
France and marched on Paris, but after exacting large sums of money as
ransom a mutiny broke up the army, and its leader was forced to take
refuge in his Breton castle of Derval and to appease the disappointed
English king with a large monetary gift. Emerging from his retreat
Knolles again assisted John of Montfort in Brittany, where he acted as
John's representative; later he led a force into Aquitaine, and he was
one of the leaders of the fleet sent against the Spaniards in 1377. In
1380 he served in France under Thomas of Woodstock, afterwards duke of
Gloucester, distinguishing himself by his valour at the siege of Nantes;
and in 1381 he went with Richard II. to meet Wat Tyler at Smithfield. He
died at Sculthorpe in Norfolk on the 15th of August 1407. Sir Robert
devoted much of his great wealth to charitable objects. He built a
college and an almshouse at Pontefract, his wife's birthplace, where the
almshouse still exists; he restored the churches of Sculthorpe and
Harpley; and he helped to found an English hospital in Rome. Knolles won
an immense reputation by his skill and valour in the field, and ranks as
one of the foremost captains of his age. French writers call him
Canolles, or Canole.
KNOLLYS, the name of an English family descended from Sir Thomas Knollys
(d. 1435), lord mayor of London. The first distinguished member of the
family was Sir Francis Knollys (c. 1514-1596), English statesman, son of
Robert Knollys, or Knolles (d. 1521), a courtier in the service and
favour of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. Robert had also a younger son,
Henry, who took part in public life during the reign of Elizabeth and
who died in 1583.
Francis Knollys, who entered the service of Henry VIII. before 1540,
became a member of parliament in 1542 and was knighted in 1547 while
serving with the English army in Scotland. A strong and somewhat
aggressive supporter of the reformed doctrines, he retired to Germany
soon after Mary became queen, returning to England to become a privy
councillor, vice-chamberlain of the royal household and a member of
parliament under Queen Elizabeth, whose cousin Catherine (d. 1569),
daughter of William Carey and niece of Anne Boleyn, was his wife. After
serving as governor of Plymouth, Knollys was sent in 1566 to Ireland,
his mission being to obtain for the queen confidential reports about the
conduct of the lord-deputy Sir Henry Sidney. Approving of Sidney's
actions he came back to England, and in 1568 was sent to Carlisle to
take charge of Mary Queen of Scots, who had just fled from Scotland;
afterwards he was in charge of the queen at Bolton Castle and then at
Tutbury Castle. He discussed religious questions with his prisoner,
although the extreme Protestant views which he put before her did not
meet with Elizabeth's approval, and he gave up the position of guardian
just after his wife's death in January 1569. In 1584 he introduced into
the House of Commons, where since 1572 he had represented Oxfordshire,
the bill legalizing the national association for Elizabeth's defence,
and he was treasurer of the royal household from 1572 until his death on
the 19th of July 1596. His monument may still be seen in the church of
Rotherfield Grays, Oxfordshire. Knollys was repeatedly free and frank in
his objections to Elizabeth's tortuous foreign policy; but, possibly
owing to his relationship to the queen, he did not lose her favour, and
he was one of her commissioners on such important occasions as the
trials of Mary Queen of Scots, of Philip Howard earl of Arundel, and of
Anthony Babington. An active and lifelong Puritan, his attacks on the
bishops were not lacking in vigour, and he was also very hostile to
heretics. He received many grants of land from the queen, and was chief
steward of the city of Oxford and a knight of the garter.
Sir Francis's eldest son Henry (d. 1583), and his sons Edward (d. c.
1580), Robert (d. 1625), Richard (d. 1596), Francis (d. c. 1648), and
Thomas, were all courtiers and served the queen in parliament or in the
field. His daughter Lettice (1540-1634) married Walter Devereux, earl of
Essex, and then Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester; she was the mother of
Elizabeth's favourite, the 2nd earl of Essex.
Some of Knollys's letters are in T. Wright's _Queen Elizabeth and her
Times_ (1838) and the _Burghley Papers_, edited by S. Haynes (1740);
and a few of his manuscripts are still in existence. A speech which
Knollys delivered in parliament against some claims made by the
bishops was printed in 1608 and again in W. Stoughton's _Assertion for
True and Christian Church Policie_ (London, 1642).
Sir Francis Knollys's second son William (c. 1547-1632) served as a
member of parliament and a soldier during the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
being knighted in 1586. His eldest brother Henry, having died without
sons in 1583, William inherited his father's estates in Oxfordshire,
becoming in 1596 a privy councillor and comptroller of the royal
household; in 1602 he was made treasurer of the household. Sir William
enjoyed the favour of the new king James I., whom he had visited in
Scotland in 1585, and was made Baron Knollys in 1603 and Viscount
Wallingford in 1616. But in this latter year his fortunes suffered a
temporary reverse. Through his second wife Elizabeth (1586-1658),
daughter of Thomas Howard, earl of Suffolk, Knollys was related to
Frances, countess of Somerset, and when this lady was tried for the
murder of Sir Thomas Overbury her relatives were regarded with
suspicion; consequently Lord Wallingford resigned the treasurership of
the household and two years later the mastership of the court of wards,
an office which he had held since 1614. However, he regained the royal
favour, and was created earl of Banbury in 1626. He died in London on
the 25th of May 1632.
His wife, who was nearly forty years her husband's junior, was the
mother of two sons, Edward (1627-1645) and Nicholas (1631-1674), whose
paternity has given rise to much dispute. Neither is mentioned in the
earl's will, but in 1641 the law courts decided that Edward was earl of
Banbury, and when he was killed in June 1645 his brother Nicholas took
the title. In the Convention Parliament of 1660 some objection was taken
to the earl sitting in the House of Lords, and in 1661 he was not
summoned to parliament; he had not succeeded in obtaining his writ of
summons when he died on the 14th of March 1674.
Nicholas's son Charles (1662-1740), the 4th earl, had not been summoned
to parliament when in 1692 he killed Captain Philip Lawson in a duel.
This raised the question of his rank in a new form. Was he, or was he
not, entitled to trial by the peers? The House of Lords declared that he
was not a peer and therefore not so entitled, but the court of king's
bench released him from his imprisonment on the ground that he was the
earl of Banbury and not Charles Knollys a commoner. Nevertheless the
House of Lords refused to move from its position, and Knollys had not
received a writ of summons when he died in April 1740. His son Charles
(1703-1771), vicar of Burford, Oxfordshire, and his grandsons, William
(1726-1776) and Thomas Woods (1727-1793), were successively titular
earls of Banbury, but they took no steps to prove their title. However,
in 1806 Thomas Woods's son William (1763-1824), who attained the rank of
general in the British army, asked for a writ of summons as earl of
Banbury, but in 1813 the House of Lords decided against the claim.
Several peers, including the great Lord Erskine, protested against this
decision, but General Knollys himself accepted it and ceased to call
himself earl of Banbury. He died in Paris on the 20th of March 1834. His
eldest son, Sir William Thomas Knollys (1797-1883), entered the army and
served with the Guards during the Peninsular War. Remaining in the army
after the conclusion of the peace of 1815 he won a good reputation and
rose high in his profession. From 1855 to 1860 he was in charge of the
military camp at Aldershot, then in its infancy, and in 1861 he was made
president of the council of military education. From 1862 to 1877 he was
comptroller of the household of the prince of Wales, afterwards King
Edward VII. From 1877 until his death on the 23rd of June 1883 he was
gentleman usher of the black rod; he was also a privy councillor and
colonel of the Scots Guards. His son Francis (b. 1837), private
secretary to Edward VII. and George V., was created Baron Knollys in
1902; another son, Sir Henry Knollys (b. 1840), became private secretary
to King Edward's daughter Maud, queen of Norway.
See Sir N. H. Nicolas, _Treatise on the Law of Adulterine Bastardy_
1833); and G. E. C(okayne), _Complete Peerage_ (1887), vol. i.
KNOT, a Limicoline bird very abundant at certain seasons on the shores
of Britain and many countries of the northern hemisphere. Camden in the
edition of his _Britannia_ published in 1607 (p. 408) inserted a passage
not found in the earlier issues of that work, connecting the name with
that of King Canute, and this account of its origin has been usually
received. But no other evidence in its favour is forthcoming, and
Camden's statement is merely the expression of an opinion,[1] so that
there is perhaps ground for believing him to have been mistaken, and
that the clue afforded by Sir Thomas Browne, who (c. 1672) wrote the
name "Gnatts or Knots," may be the true one.[2] Still the statement was
so determinedly repeated by successive authors that Linnaeus followed
them in calling the species _Tringa canutus_, and so it remains with
nearly all modern ornithologists.[3] Rather larger than a snipe, but
with a shorter bill and legs, the knot visits the coasts of some parts
of Europe, Asia and North America at times in vast flocks; and, though
in temperate climates a good many remain throughout the winter, these
are nothing in proportion to those that arrive towards the end of
spring, in England generally about the 15th of May, and after staying a
few days pass northward to their summer quarters, while early in autumn
the young of the year throng to the same places in still greater
numbers, being followed a little later by their parents. In winter the
plumage is ashy-grey above (save the rump, which is white) and white
beneath. In summer the feathers of the back are black, broadly margined
with light orange-red, mixed with white, those of the rump white, more
or less tinged with red, and the lower parts are of a nearly uniform
deep bay or chestnut. The birds which winter in temperate climates
seldom attain the brilliancy of colour exhibited by those which arrive
from the south; the luxuriance generated by the heat of a tropical sun
seems needed to develop the full richness of hue. The young when they
come from their birthplace are clothed in ashy-grey above, each feather
banded with dull black and ochreous, while the breast is more or less
deeply tinged with warm buff. Much curiosity has long existed among
zoologists as to the egg of the knot, of which not a single identified
or authenticated specimen is known to exist in collections. The species
was found breeding abundantly on the North Georgian (now commonly called
the Parry) Islands by Parry's Arctic expedition, as well as soon after
on Melville Peninsula by Captain Lyons, and again during the voyage of
Sir George Nares on the northern coast of Grinnell Land and the shores
of Smith Sound, where Major Feilden obtained examples of the newly
hatched young (_Ibis_, 1877, p. 407), and observed that the parents fed
largely on the buds of _Saxifraga oppositifolia_. These are the only
localities in which this species is known to breed, for on none of the
arctic lands lying to the north of Europe or Asia has it been
unquestionably observed.[4] In winter its wanderings are very extensive,
as it is recorded from Surinam, Brazil, Walfisch Bay in South Africa,
China, Queensland and New Zealand. Formerly this species was extensively
netted in England, and the birds fattened for the table, where they were
esteemed a great delicacy, as witness the entries in the Northumberland
and Le Strange Household Books; and the British Museum contains an old
treatise on the subject: "The maner of kepyng of knotts, after Sir
William Askew and my Lady, given to my Lord Darcy, 25 Hen. VIII." (_MSS.
Sloane_, 1592, 8 _cat._ 663). (A. N.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] His words are simply "_Knotts_, i. _Canuti aues_, vt opinor e
Dania enim aduolare creduntur." In the margin the name is spelt
"Cnotts," and he possibly thought it had to do with a well-known
story of that king. Knots undoubtedly frequent the sea-shore, where
Canute is said on one occasion to have taken up his station, but they
generally retreat, and that nimbly, before the advancing surf, which
he is said in the story not to have done.
[2] In this connexion we may compare the French _maringouin_,
ordinarily a gnat or mosquito, but also, among the French Creoles of
America, a small shore-bird, either a _Tringa_ or an _Aegialitis_,
according to Descourtilz (_Voyage_, ii. 249). See also Littré's
_Dictionnaire_, _s.v._
[3] There are few of the _Limicolae_, to which group the knot
belongs, that present greater changes of plumage according to age or
season, and hence before these phases were understood the species
became encumbered with many synonyms, as _Tringa cinerea_,
_ferruginea_, _grisea_, _islandica_, _naevia_ and so forth. The
confusion thus caused was mainly cleared away by Montagu and
Temminck.
[4] The _Tringa canutus_ of Payer's expedition seems more likely to
have been _T. maritima_, which species is not named among the birds
of Franz Josef Land, though it can hardly fail to occur there.
KNOT (O.E. _cnotta_, from a Teutonic stem _knutt_; cf. "knit," and Ger.
_knoten_), an intertwined loop of rope, cord, string or other flexible
material, used to fasten two such ropes, &c., to one another, or to
another object. (For the various forms which such "knots" may take see
below.) The word is also used for the distance-marks on a log-line, and
hence as the equivalent of a nautical mile (see LOG), and for any hard
mass, resembling a knot drawn tight, especially one formed in the trunk
of a tree at the place of insertion of a branch. Knots in wood are the
remains of dead branches which have become buried in the wood of the
trunk or branch on which they were borne. When a branch dies down or is
broken off, the dead stump becomes grown over by a healing tissue, and,
as the stem which bears it increases in thickness, gradually buried in
the newer wood. When a section is made of the stem the dead stump
appears in the section as a knot; thus in a board it forms a circular
piece of wood, liable to fall out and leave a "knot-hole." "Knot" or
"knob" is an architectural term for a bunch of flowers, leaves or other
ornamentation carved on a corbel or on a boss. The word is also applied
figuratively to any intricate problem, hard to disentangle, a use
stereotyped in the proverbial "Gordian knot," which, according to the
tradition, was cut by Alexander the Great (see GORDIUM).
[Illustration: FIG 1.]
[Illustration: FIG 2.]
Knots, Bends, Hitches, Splices and Seizings are all ways of fastening
cords or ropes, either to some other object such as a spar, or a ring,
or to one another. The "knot" is formed to make a knob on a rope,
generally at the extremity, and by untwisting the strands at the end and
weaving them together. But it may be made by turning the rope on itself
through a loop, as for instance, the "overhand knot" (fig. 1). A "bend"
(from the same root as "bind"), and a "hitch" (an O.E. word), are ways
of fastening or tying ropes together, as in the "Carrick bend" (fig.
21), or round spars as the Studding Sail Halyard Bend (fig. 19), and the
Timber Hitch (fig. 20). A "splice" (from the same root as "split") is
made by untwisting two rope ends and weaving them together. A "seizing"
(Fr. _saisir_) is made by fastening two spars to one another by a rope,
or two ropes by a third, or by using one rope to make a loop on
another--as for example the Racking Seizing (fig. 41), the Round Seizing
(fig. 40), and the Midshipman's Hitch (fig. 29). The use of the words is
often arbitrary. There is, for instance, no difference in principle
between the Fisherman's Bend (fig. 18) and the Timber Hitch (fig. 20).
Speaking generally, the Knot and the Seizing are meant to be permanent,
and must be unwoven in order to be unfastened, while the Bend and Hitch
can be undone at once by pulling the ropes in the reverse direction from
that in which they are meant to hold. Yet the Reef Knot (figs. 3 and 4)
can be cast loose with ease, and is wholly different in principle, for
instance, from the Diamond Knot (figs. 42 and 43). These various forms
of fastening are employed in many kinds of industry, as for example in
scaffolding, as well as in seamanship. The governing principle is that
the strain which pulls against them shall draw them tighter. The
ordinary "knots and splices" are described in every book on seamanship.
_Overhand Knot_ (fig. 1).--Used at the end of ropes to prevent their
unreeving and as the commencement of other knots. Take the end _a_
round the end _b_.
_Figure-of-Eight Knot_ (fig. 2).--Used only to prevent ropes from
unreeving; it forms a large knob.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
_Reef Knot_ (figs. 3, 4).--Form an overhand knot as above. Then take
the end _a_ over the end _b_ and through the bight. If the end _a_
were taken under the end _b_, a _granny_ would be formed. This knot is
so named from being used in tying the reef-points of a sail.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.]
[Illustration: FIG. 7.]
_Bowline_ (figs. 5-7).--Lay the end _a_ of a rope over the standing
part _b_. Form with _b_ a bight _c_ over _a_. Take _a_ round behind
_b_ and down through the bight _c_. This is a most useful knot
employed to form a loop which will not slip. _Running bowlines_ are
formed by making a bowline round its own standing part above _b_. It
is the most common and convenient temporary running noose.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.]
[Illustration: FIG. 9.]
[Illustration: FIG. 10.]
_Bowline on a Bight_ (figs. 8, 9).--The first part is made similar to
the above with the double part of the rope; then the bight _a_ is
pulled through sufficiently to allow it to be bent over past _d_ and
come up in the position shown in fig. 9. It makes a more comfortable
sling for a man than a single bight.
_Half-Hitch_ (fig. 10).--Pass the end _a_ of the rope round the
standing part _b_ and through the bight.
_Two Half-Hitches_ (fig. 11).--The half-hitch repeated; this is
commonly used, and is capable of resisting to the full strength of the
rope. A stop from _a_ to the standing part will prevent it jamming.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.]
[Illustration: FIG. 12.]
[Illustration: FIG. 13.]
_Clove Hitch_ (figs. 12, 13).--Pass the end _a_ round a spar and cross
it over _b_. Pass it round the spar again and put the end _a_ through
the second bight.
_Blackwall Hitch_ (fig. 14).--Form a bight at the end of a rope, and
put the hook of a tackle through the bight so that the end of the rope
may be jammed between the standing part and the back of the hook.
_Double Blackwall Hitch_ (fig. 15).--Pass the end _a_ twice round the
hook and under the standing part _b_ at the last cross.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.]
[Illustration: FIG. 15.]
[Illustration: FIG. 16.]
[Illustration: FIG. 17.]
_Cat's-paw_ (fig. 16).--Twist up two parts of a lanyard in opposite
directions and hook the tackle in the eyes _i_, _i_. A piece of wood
should be placed between the parts at _g_. A large lanyard should be
clove-hitched round a large toggle and a strap passed round it below
the toggle.
_Marling-spike Hitch_ (fig. 17).--Lay the end _a_ over _c_; fold the
loop over on the standing part _b_; then pass the marline-spike
through, over both parts of the bight and under the part _b_. Used for
tightening each turn of a seizing.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.]
[Illustration: FIG. 19.]
[Illustration: FIG. 20.]
_Fisherman's Bend_ (fig. 18).--Take two turns round a spar, then a
half-hitch round the standing part and between the spar and the turns,
lastly a half-hitch round the standing part.
_Studding-sail Halyard Bend_ (fig. 19).--Similar to the above, except
that the end is tucked under the first round turn; this is more snug.
A _magnus hitch_ has two round turns and one on the other side of the
standing part with the end through the bight.
_Timber Hitch_ (fig. 20).--Take the end _a_ of a rope round a spar,
then round the standing part _b_, then several times round its own
part _c_, against the lay of the rope.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.]
_Carrick Bend_ (fig. 21).--Lay the end of one hawser over its own part
to form a bight as _e_´, _b_; pass the end of another hawser up
through that bight near _b_, going out over the first end at _c_,
crossing under the first long part and over its end at _d_, then under
both long parts, forming the loops, and above the first short part at
_b_, terminating at the end _e_´´, in the opposite direction
vertically and horizontally to the other end. The ends should be
securely stopped to their respective standing parts, and also a stop
put on the becket or extreme end to prevent it catching a pipe or
chock; in that form this is the best quick means of uniting two large
hawsers, since they cannot jam. When large hawsers have to work
through small pipes, good security may be obtained either by passing
ten or twelve taut racking turns with a suitable strand and securing
each end to a standing part of the hawser, or by taking half as many
round turns taut, crossing the ends between the hawsers over the
seizing and reef-knotting the ends. This should be repeated in three
places and the extreme ends well stopped. Connecting hawsers by
bowline knots is very objectionable, as the bend is large and the
knots jam.
_Sheet Bend_ (fig. 22).--Pass the end of one rope through the bight of
another, round both parts of the other, and under its own standing
part. Used for bending small sheets to the clews of sails, which
present bights ready for the hitch. An ordinary net is composed of a
series of sheet bends. A _weaver's knot_ is made like a sheet bend.
_Single Wall Knot_ (fig. 23).--Unlay the end of a rope, and with the
strand a form a bight. Take the next strand _b_ round the end of _a_.
Take the last strand _c_ round the end of _b_ and through the bight
made by _a_. Haul the ends taut.
_Single Wall Crowned_ (fig. 24).--Form a single wall, and lay one of
the ends, _a_, over the knot. Lay _b_ over _a_, and _c_ over _b_ and
through the bight of _a_. Haul the ends taut.
[Illustration: FIG. 22.]
[Illustration: FIG. 23.]
[Illustration: FIG. 24.]
_Double Wall and Double Crown_ (fig. 25).--Form a single wall crowned;
then let the ends follow their own parts round until all the parts
appear double. Put the ends down through the knot.
_Matthew Walker_ (figs. 26, 27).--Unlay the end of a rope. Take the
first strand round the rope and through its own bight; the second
strand round the rope, through the bight of the first, and through its
own bight; the third through all three bights. Haul the ends taut.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.]
[Illustration: FIG. 26.]
[Illustration: FIG. 27.]
[Illustration: FIG. 28.]
_Inside Clinch_ (fig. 28).--The end is bent close round the standing
part till it forms a circle and a half, when it is securely seized at
_a_, _b_ and _c_, thus making a running eye; when taut round anything
it jams the end. It is used for securing hemp cables to anchors, the
standing parts of topsail sheets, and for many other purposes. If the
eye were formed outside the bight an _outside clinch_ would be made,
depending entirely on the seizings, but more ready for slipping.
_Midshipman's Hitch_ (fig. 29).--Take two round turns inside the
bight, the same as a half-hitch repeated; stop up the end or let
another half-hitch be taken or held by hand. Used for hooking a tackle
for a temporary purpose.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.]
[Illustration: FIG. 30.]
[Illustration: FIG. 31.]
[Illustration: FIG. 32.]
_Turk's Head_ (fig. 30).--With fine line (very dry) make a clove hitch
round the rope; cross the bights twice, passing an end the reverse way
(up or down) each time; then keeping the whole spread flat, let each
end follow its own part round and round till it is too tight to
receive any more. Used as an ornament variously on side-ropes and
foot-ropes of jibbooms. It may also be made with three ends, two
formed by the same piece of line secured through the rope and one
single piece. Form with them a diamond knot; then each end crossed
over its neighbour follows its own part as above.
_Spanish Windlass_ (fig. 31).--An iron bar and two marling-spikes are
taken; two parts of a seizing are twisted like a cat's-paw (fig. 16),
passed round the bar, and hove round till sufficiently taut. In
heaving shrouds together to form an eye two round turns are taken with
a strand and the two ends hove upon. When a lever is placed between
the parts of a long lashing or frapping and hove round, we have what
is also called a Spanish windlass.
_Slings_ (fig. 32).--This is simply the bight of a rope turned up over
its own part; it is frequently made of chain, when a shackle (bow up)
takes the place of the bight at _s_ and another at _y_, connecting the
two ends with the part which goes round the mast-head. Used to sling
lower yards. For boat's yards it should be a grummet with a thimble
seized in at _y_. As the tendency of all yards is to cant forward with
the weight of the sail, the part marked by an arrow should be the
fore-side--easily illustrated by a round ruler and a piece of twine.
_Sprit-Sail Sheet Knot_ (fig. 33).--This knot consists of a double
wall and double crown made by the two ends, consequently with six
strands, with the ends turned down. Used formerly in the clews of
sails, now as an excellent stopper, a lashing or shackle being placed
at _s_ and a lanyard round the head at _l_.
[Illustration: FIG. 33.]
[Illustration: FIG. 34.]
[Illustration: FIG. 35.]
_Turning in a Dead-Eye Cutter-Stay fashion_ (fig. 34).--A bend is made
in the stay or shroud round its own part and hove together with a bar
and strand; two or three seizings diminishing in size (one round and
one or two either round or flat) are hove on taut and snug, the end
being at the side of the fellow part. The dead-eye is put in and the
eye driven down with a commander.
_Turning in a Dead-Eye end up_ (fig. 35).--The shroud is measured
round the dead-eye and marked where a throat-seizing is hove on; the
dead-eye is then forced into its place, or it may be put in first. The
end beyond _a_ is taken up taut and secured with a round seizing;
higher still the end is secured by another seizing. As it is important
that the lay should always be kept in the rope as much as possible,
these eyes should be formed conformably, either right-handed or
left-handed. It is easily seen which way a rope would naturally kink
by putting a little extra twist into it. A shroud whose dead-eye is
turned in end up will bear a fairer strain, but is more dependent on
the seizings; the under turns of the throat are the first to break and
the others the first to slip. With the cutter-stay fashion the
standing part of the shroud gives way under the nip of the eye. A rope
will afford the greatest resistance to strain when secured round large
thimbles with a straight end and a sufficient number of flat or
racking seizings. To splice shrouds round dead-eyes is objectionable
on account of opening the strands and admitting water, thus hastening
decay. In small vessels, especially yachts, it is admissible on the
score of neatness; in that case a round seizing is placed between the
dead-eye and the splice. The dead-eyes should be in diameter 1½ times
the circumference of a hemp shroud and thrice that of wire; the
lanyard should be half the nominal size of hemp and the same size as
wire: thus, hemp-shroud 12 in., wire 6 in., dead-eye 18 in., lanyard 6
in.
[Illustration: FIG. 36.]
_Short Splice_ (fig. 36).--The most common description of splice is
when a rope is lengthened by another of the same size, or nearly so.
Fig. 36 represents a splice of this kind: the strands have been
unlaid, married and passed through with the assistance of a
marling-spike, over one strand and under the next, twice each way. The
ends are then cut off close. To render the splice neater the strands
should have been halved before turning them in a second time, the
upper half of each strand only being turned in; then all are cut off
smooth. _Eye Splice._--Unlay the strands and place them upon the same
rope spread at such a distance as to give the size of the eye; enter
the centre strand (unlaid) under a strand of the rope (as above), and
the other two in a similar manner on their respective sides of the
first; taper each end and pass them through again. If neatness is
desired, reduce the ends and pass them through once more; cut off
smooth and serve the part disturbed tightly with suitable hard line.
Uses too numerous to mention. _Cut Splice._--Made in a similar manner
to an eye splice, but of two pieces of rope, therefore with two
splices. Used for mast-head pendants, jib-guys, breast backstays, and
even odd shrouds, to keep the eyes of the rigging lower by one part.
It is not so strong as two separate eyes. _Horseshoe Splice._--Made
similar to the above, but one part much shorter than the other, or
another piece of rope is spliced across an eye, forming a horseshoe
with two long legs. Used for back-ropes on dolphin striker, back stays
(one on each side) and cutter's runner pendants. _Long Splice._--The
strands must be unlaid about three times as much as for a short splice
and married--care being taken to preserve the lay or shape of each.
Unlay one of the strands still further and follow up the vacant space
with the corresponding strand of the other part, fitting it firmly
into the rope till only a few inches remain. Treat the other side in a
similar manner. There will then appear two long strands in the centre
and a long and a short one on each side. The splice is practically
divided into three distinct parts; at each the strands are divided and
the corresponding halves knotted (as shown on the top of fig. 38) and
turned in twice. The half strand may, if desired, be still further
reduced before the halves are turned in for the second time. This and
all other splices should be well stretched and hammered into shape
before the ends are cut off. The long splice alone is adapted to
running ropes.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.]
_Shroud Knot_ (fig. 37).--Pass a stop at such distance from each end
of the broken shroud as to afford sufficient length of strands, when
it is unlaid, to form a single wall knot on each side after the parts
have been married; it will then appear as represented in the figure,
the strands having been well tarred and hove taut separately. The part
_a_ provides the knot on the opposite side and the ends _b_, _b_; the
part _c_ provides the knot and the ends _d_, _d_. After the knot has
been well stretched the ends are tapered, laid smoothly between the
strands of the shroud, and firmly served over. This knot is used when
shrouds or stays are broken. _French Shroud Knot._--Marry the parts
with a similar amount of and as before; stop one set of strands taut
up on the shroud (to keep the parts together), and turn the ends back
on their own part, forming bights. Make a single wall knot with the
other three strands round the said bights and shroud; haul the knot
taut first and stretch the whole; then heave down the bights close: it
will look like the ordinary shroud knot. It is very liable to slip. If
the ends by which the wall knot is made after being hove were passed
through the bights, it would make the knot stronger. The ends would be
tapered and served.
[Illustration: FIG. 38.]
_Flemish Eye_ (fig. 38).--Secure a spar or toggle twice the
circumference of the rope intended to be rove through the eye; unlay
the rope which is to form the eye about three times its circumference,
at which part place a strong whipping. Point the rope vertically under
the eye, and bind it taut up by the core if it is four-stranded rope,
otherwise by a few yarns. While doing so arrange six or twelve pieces
of spun-yarn at equal distances on the wood and exactly halve the
number of yarns that have been unlaid. If it is a small rope, select
two or three yarns from each side near the centre; cross them over the
top at _a_, and half-knot them tightly. So continue till all are
expended and drawn down tightly on the opposite side to that from
which they came, being thoroughly intermixed. Tie the pieces of
spun-yarn which were placed under the eye tightly round various parts,
to keep the eye in shape when taken off the spar, till they are
replaced by turns of marline hove on as taut as possible, the hitches
forming a central line outside the eye. Heave on a good seizing of
spun-yarn close below the spar, and another between six and twelve
inches below the first; it may then be parcelled and served; the eye
is served over twice, and well tarred each time. As large ropes are
composed of so many yarns, a greater number must be knotted over the
toggle each time; a 4-in. rope has 132 yarns, which would require 22
knottings of six each time; a 10-in. rope has 834 yarns, therefore, if
ten are taken from each side every time, about twice that number of
hitches will be required; sometimes only half the yarns are hitched,
the others being merely passed over. The chief use of these eyes has
been to form the collars of stays, the whole stay in each case having
to be rove through it--a very inconvenient device. It is almost
superseded for that purpose by a leg spliced in the stay and lashing
eyes abaft the mast, for which it is commonly used at present. This
eye is not always called by the same name, but the weight of evidence
is in favour of calling it a Flemish eye. _Ropemaker's Eye_, which
also has alternative names, is formed by taking out of a rope one
strand longer by 6 in. or a foot than the required eye, then placing
the ends of the two strands a similar distance below the disturbance
of the one strand, that is, at the size of the eye; the single strand
is led back through the vacant space it left till it arrives at the
neck of the eye, with a similar length of spare end to the other two
strands. They are all seized together, scraped, tapered, marled and
served. The principal merit is neatness. _Mouse on a Stay._--Formed by
turns of coarse spun-yarn hove taut round the stay, over parcelling at
the requisite distance from the eye to form the collar; assistance is
given by a padding of short yarns distributed equally round the rope,
which, after being firmly secured, especially at what is to be the
under part, are turned back over the first layer and seized down
again, thus making a shoulder; sometimes it is formed with parcelling
only. In either case it is finished by marling, followed by serving or
grafting. The use is to prevent the Flemish eye in the end of the stay
from slipping up any farther.
_Rolling Hitch_ (fig. 39).--Two round turns are taken round a spar or
large rope in the direction in which it is to be hauled and one
half-hitch on the other side of the hauling part. This is very
useful, as it can be put on and off quickly.
[Illustration: FIG. 39.]
[Illustration: FIG. 40.]
_Round Seizing_ (fig. 40).--So named when the rope it secures does not
cross another and there are three sets of turns. The size of the
seizing line is about one-sixth (nominal) that of the ropes to be
secured, but varies according to the number of turns to be taken. An
eye is spliced in the line and the end rove through it, embracing both
parts. If either part is to be spread open, commence farthest from
that part; place tarred canvas under the seizing; pass the line round
as many times (with much slack) as it is intended to have under-turns;
and pass the end back through them all and through the eye. Secure the
eye from rendering round by the ends of its splice; heave the turns on
with a marling-spike (see fig. 17), perhaps seven or nine; haul the
end through taut, and commence again the riding turns in the hollows
of the first. If the end is not taken back through the eye, but pushed
up between the last two turns (as is sometimes recommended), the
riders must be passed the opposite way in order to follow the
direction of the under-turns, which are always one more in number than
the riders. When the riders are complete, the end is forced between
the last lower turns and two cross turns are taken, the end coming up
where it went down, when a wall knot is made with the strands and the
ends cut close; or the end may be taken once round the shroud. _Throat
Seizing._--Two ropes or parts of ropes are laid on each other parallel
and receive a seizing similar to that shown in figure 35--that is with
upper and riding but no cross turns. As the two parts of rope are
intended to turn up at right angles to the direction in which they
were secured, the seizing should be of stouter line and short, not
exceeding seven lower and six riding turns. The end is better secured
with a turn round the standing part. Used for turning in dead-eyes and
variously. _Flat Seizing._--Commenced similarly to the above, but it
has neither riding nor cross turns.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.]
[Illustration: FIG. 42.]
[Illustration: FIG. 43.]
_Racking Seizing_ (fig. 41).--A running eye having been spliced round
one part of the rope, the line is passed entirely round the other
part, crossed back round the first part, and so on for ten to twenty
turns, according to the expected strain, every turn being hove as
tight as possible; after which round turns are passed to fill the
spaces at the back of each rope, by taking the end _a_ over both parts
into the hollow at _b_, returning at _c_, and going over to _d_. When
it reaches e a turn may be taken round that rope only, the end rove
under it, and a half-hitch taken, which will form a clove-hitch; knot
the end and cut it close. When the shrouds are wire (which is half the
size of hemp) and the end turned up round a dead-eye of any kind, wire
seizings are preferable. It appears very undesirable to have wire
rigging combined with plates or screws for setting it up, as in case
of accident--such as that of the mast going over the side, a shot or
collision breaking the ironwork--the seamen are powerless.
_Diamond Knot_ (figs. 42, 43).--The rope must be unlaid as far as the
centre if the knot is required there, and the strands handled with
great care to keep the lay in them. Three bights are turned up as in
fig. 42, and the end of _a_ is taken over _b_ and up the bight _c_.
The end of _b_ is taken over _c_ and up through _a_. The end _c_ is
taken over a and through _b_. When hauled taut and the strands are
laid up again it will appear as in fig. 43. Any number of knots may be
made on the same rope. They were used on man-ropes, the foot-ropes on
the jibboom, and similar places, where it was necessary to give a good
hold for the hands or feet. Turk's heads are now generally used.
_Double Diamond._--Made by the ends of a single diamond following
their own part till the knot is repeated. Used at the upper end of a
side rope as an ornamental stopper-knot.
_Stropping-Blocks._--There are various modes of securing blocks to
ropes; the most simple is to splice an eye at the end of the rope a
little longer than the block and pass a round seizing to keep it in
place; such is the case with jib-pendants. As a general rule, the
parts of a strop combined should possess greater strength than the
parts of the fall which act against it. The shell of an ordinary block
should be about three times the circumference of the rope which is to
reeve through it, as a 9-in. block for a 3-in. rope; but small ropes
require larger blocks in proportion, as a 4-in. block for a 1-in.
rope. When the work to be done is very important the blocks are much
larger: brace-blocks are more than five times the nominal size of the
brace. Leading-blocks and sheaves in racks are generally smaller than
the blocks through which the ropes pass farther away, which appears to
be a mistake, as more power is lost by friction. A clump-block should
be double the nominal size of the rope. A single strop may be made by
joining the ends of a rope of sufficient length to go round the block
and thimble by a common short splice, which rests on the crown of the
block (the opposite end to the thimble) and is stretched into place by
a jigger; a strand is then passed twice round the space between the
block and the thimble and hove taut by a Spanish windlass to cramp the
parts together ready for the reception of a small round seizing. The
cramping or pinching into shape is sometimes done by machinery
invented by a rigger in Portsmouth dockyard. The strop may be made the
required length by a long splice, but it would not possess any
advantage.
[Illustration: FIG. 44.]
[Illustration: FIG. 45.]
_Grummet-Strop_ (fig. 44).--Made by unlaying a piece of rope of the
desired size about a foot more than three times the length required
for the strop. Place the centre of the rope round the block and
thimble; mark with chalk where the parts cross; take one strand out of
the rope; bring the two chalk marks together; and cross the strand in
the lay on both sides, continuing round and round till the two ends
meet the third time; they are then halved, and the upper halves
half-knotted and passed over and under the next strands, exactly as
one part of a long splice. A piece of worn or well-stretched rope will
better retain its shape, upon which success entirely depends. The
object is neatness, and if three or multiples of three strops are to
be made it is economical.
_Double Strop_ (fig. 45).--Made with one piece of rope, the splice
being brought as usual to the crown of the block _t_, the bights
fitting into scores some inches apart, converging to the upper part,
above which the thimble receives the bights _a_, _a_; and the four
parts of the strop are secured at _s_, _s_ by a round seizing doubly
crossed. If the block be not then on the right slew (the shell
horizontal or vertical) a union thimble is used with another strop,
which produces the desired effect; thus the fore and main
brace-blocks, being very large and thin, are required (for appearance)
to lie horizontally; a single strop round the yard vertically has a
union thimble between it and the double strop round the block. The
double strop is used for large blocks; it gives more support to the
shell than the single strop and admits of smaller rope being used.
Wire rope is much used for block-strops; the fitting is similar. Metal
blocks are also used in fixed positions; durability is their chief
recommendation. Great care should be taken that they do not chafe the
ropes which pass by them as well as those which reeve through.
_Selvagee Strop._--Twine, rope-yarn or rope is warped round two or
more pegs placed at the desired distance apart, till it assumes the
requisite size and strength; the two ends are then knotted or spliced.
Temporary firm seizings are applied in several places to bind the
parts together before the rope or twine is removed from the pegs,
after which it is marled with suitable material. A large strop should
be warped round four or six pegs in order to give it the shape in
which it is to be used. This description of strop is much stronger and
more supple than rope of similar size. Twine strops (covered with
duck) are used for boats' blocks and in similar places requiring
neatness. Rope-yarn and spun-yarn strops are used for attaching
luff-tackles to shrouds and for many similar purposes. To bring to a
shroud or hawser, the centre of the strop is passed round the rope and
each part crossed three or four times before hooking the "luff"; a
spun-yarn stop above the centre will prevent slipping and is very
necessary with wire rope. As an instance of a large selvagee
block-strop being used--when the "Melville" was hove down at Chusan
(China), the main-purchase-block was double stropped with a selvagee
containing 28 parts of 3-in. rope; that would produce 112 parts in
the neck, equal to a breaking strain of 280 tons, which is more than
four parts of a 19-in cable. The estimated strain it bore was 80 tons.
_Stoppers_ for ordinary running ropes are made by splicing a piece of
rope to a bolt or to a hook and thimble, unlaying 3 or 4 ft., tapering
it by cutting away some of the yarns, and marling it down securely,
with a good whipping also on the end. It is used by taking a
half-hitch round the rope which is to be hauled upon, dogging the end
up in the lay and holding it by hand. The rope can come through it
when hauled, but cannot go back.
[Illustration: FIG. 46.]
_Whipping and Pointing._--The end of every working rope should at
least be whipped to prevent it fagging out; in ships of war and yachts
they are invariably pointed. Whipping is done by placing the end of a
piece of twine or knittle-stuff on a rope about an inch from the end,
taking three or four turns taut over it (working towards the end); the
twine is then laid on the rope again lengthways contrary to the first,
leaving a slack bight of twine; and taut turns are repeatedly passed
round the rope, over the first end and over the bight, till there are
in all six to ten turns; then haul the bight taut through between the
turns and cut it close. To point a rope, place a good whipping a few
inches from the end, according to size; open out the end entirely;
select all the outer yarns and twist them into knittles either singly
or two or three together; scrape down and taper the central part,
marling it firmly. Turn every alternate knittle and secure the
remainder down by a turn of twine or a smooth yarn hitched close up,
which acts as the weft in weaving. The knittles are then reversed and
another turn of the weft taken, and this is continued till far enough
to look well. At the last turn the ends of the knittles which are laid
back are led forward over and under the weft and hauled through
tightly, making it present a circle of small bights, level with which
the core is cut off smoothly. Hawsers and large ropes have a becket
formed in their ends during the process of pointing. A piece of 1 to
1½ in. rope about 1½ to 2 ft. long is spliced into the core by each
end while it is open: from four to seven yarns (equal to a strand) are
taken at a time and twisted up; open the ends of the becket only
sufficient to marry them close in; turn in the twisted yarns between
the strands (as splicing) three times, and stop it above and below.
Both ends are treated alike; when the pointing is completed a loop a
few inches in length will protrude from the end of the rope, which is
very useful for reeving it. A hauling line or reeving line should only
be rove through the becket as a fair lead. _Grafting_ is very similar
to pointing, and frequently done the whole length of a rope, as a
side-rope. Pieces of white line more than double the length of the
rope, sufficient in number to encircle it, are made up in hanks called
foxes; the centre of each is made fast by twine and the weaving
process continued as in pointing. Block-strops are sometimes so
covered; but, as it causes decay, a small wove mat which can be taken
off occasionally is preferable.
_Sheep-Shank_ (fig. 46).--Formed by making a long bight in a
topgallant back-stay, or any rope which it is desirable to shorten,
and taking a half-hitch near each bend, as at _a_, _a_. Rope-yarn
stops at _b_, _b_ are desirable to keep it in place till the strain is
brought on it. Wire rope cannot be so treated, and it is injurious to
hemp rope that is large and stiff.
_Knotting Yarns_ (fig. 47).--This operation becomes necessary when, a
comparatively short piece of junk is to be made into spun-yarn, or
large rope into small, which is called twice laid. The end of each
yarn is divided, rubbed smooth and married (as for splicing). Two of
the divided parts, as _c_, _c_ and _d_, _d_, are passed in opposite
directions round all the other parts and knotted. The ends e and f
remain passive. The figure is drawn open, but the forks of A and B
should be pressed close together, the knot hauled taut and the ends
cut off.
[Illustration: FIG. 47.]
[Illustration: FIG. 48.]
_Butt Slings_ (fig. 48).--Made of 4-in. rope, each pair being 26 ft.
in length, with an eye spliced in one end, through which the other is
rove before being placed over one end of the cask; the rope is then
passed round the opposite side of the cask and two half-hitches made
with the end, forming another running eye, both of which are beaten
down taut as the tackle receives the weight. Slings for smaller casks
requiring care should be of this description, though of smaller rope,
as the cask cannot possibly slip out. _Bale Slings_ are made by
splicing the ends of about 3 fathoms of 3-in. rope together, which
then looks like a long strop, similar to the double strop represented
in fig. 45--the bights _t_ being placed under the cask or bale and one
of the bights _a_, _a_ rove through the other and attached to the
whip or tackle.
For a complete treatise on the subject the reader may be referred to
_The Book of Knots, being a Complete Treatise on the Art of Cordage,
illustrated by 172 Diagrams, showing the Manner of making every Knot,
Tie and Splice_, by Tom Bowling (London, 1890).
_Mathematical Theory of Knots._
In the scientific sense a knot is an endless physical line which cannot
be deformed into a circle. A physical line is flexible and inextensible,
and cannot be cut--so that no lap of it can be drawn through another.
The founder of the theory of knots is undoubtedly Johann Benedict
Listing (1808-1882). In his "Vorstudien zur Topologie" (_Göttinger
Studien_, 1847), a work in many respects of startling originality, a few
pages only are devoted to the subject.[1] He treats knots from the
elementary notion of twisting one physical line (or thread) round
another, and shows that from the projection of a knot on a surface we
can thus obtain a notion of the relative situation of its coils. He
distinguishes "reduced" from "reducible" forms, the number of crossings
in the reduced knot being the smallest possible. The simplest form of
reduced knot is of two species, as in figs. 49 and 50. Listing points
out that these are formed, the first by right-handed the second by
left-handed twisting. In fact, if three half-twists be given to a long
strip of paper, and the ends be then pasted together, the two edges
become one line, which is the knot in question. We may free it by
slitting the paper along its middle line; and then we have the juggler's
trick of putting a knot on an endless unknotted band. One of the above
forms cannot be deformed into the other. The one is, in Listing's
language, the "perversion" of the other, i.e. its image in a plane
mirror. He gives a method of symbolizing reduced knots, but shows that
in this method the same knot may, in certain cases, be represented by
different symbols. It is clear that the brief notice he published
contains a mere sketch of his investigations.
The most extensive dissertation on the properties of knots is that of
Peter Guthrie Tait (_Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin._, xxviii. 145, where the
substance of a number of papers in the _Proceedings_ of the same society
is reproduced). It was for the most part written in ignorance of the
work of Listing, and was suggested by an inquiry concerning vortex
atoms.
[Illustration: FIG. 49.]
[Illustration: FIG. 50.]
[Illustration: FIG. 51.]
[Illustration: FIG. 52.]
Tait starts with the almost self-evident proposition that, if any
plane closed curve have double points only, in passing continuously
along the curve from one of these to the same again an even number of
double points has been passed through. Hence the crossings may be
taken alternately over and under. On this he bases a scheme for the
representation of knots of every kind, and employs it to find all the
distinct forms of knots which have, in their simplest projections, 3,
4, 5, 6 and 7 crossings only. Their numbers are shown to be 1, 1, 2, 4
and 8. The unique knot of three crossings has been already given as
drawn by Listing. The unique knot of four crossings merits a few
words, because its properties lead to a very singular conclusion. It
can be deformed into any of the four forms--figs. 51 and 52 and their
perversions. Knots which can be deformed into their own perversion
Tait calls "amphicheiral" (from the Greek [Greek: amphi], on both
sides, around, [Greek: cheir], hand), and he has shown that there is
at least one knot of this kind for every even number of crossings. He
shows also that "links" (in which two endless physical lines are
linked together) possess a similar property; and he then points out
that there is a third mode of making a complex figure of endless
physical lines, without either knotting or linking. This may be called
"lacing" or "locking." Its nature is obvious from fig. 53, in which it
will be seen that no one of the three lines is knotted, no two are
linked, and yet the three are inseparably fastened together.
The rest of Tait's paper deals chiefly with numerical characteristics
of knots, such as their "knottiness," "beknottedness" and
"knotfulness." He also shows that any knot, however complex, can be
fully represented by three closed plane curves, none of which has
double points and no two of which intersect. It may be stated here
that the notion of beknottedness is founded on a remark of Gauss, who
in 1833 considered the problem of the number of inter-linkings of two
closed circuits, and expressed it by the electro-dynamic measure of
the work required to carry a unit magnetic pole round one of the
interlinked curves, while a unit electric current is kept circulating
in the other. This original suggestion has been developed at
considerable length by Otto Boeddicker (_Erweiterung der Gauss'schen
Theorie der Verschlingungen_ (Stuttgart, 1876). This author treats
also of the connexion of knots with Riemann's surfaces.
[Illustration: FIG. 53.]
[Illustration: FIG. 54.]
It is to be noticed that, although every knot in which the crossings
are alternately over and under is irreducible, the converse is not
generally true. This is obvious at once from fig. 54, which is merely
the three-crossing knot with a doubled string--what Listing calls
"paradromic."
Christian Felix Klein, in the _Mathematische Annalen_, ix. 478, has
proved the remarkable proposition that knots cannot exist in space of
four dimensions. (P. G. T.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] See P. G. Tait "On Listing's _Topologie_," _Phil. Mag._, xvii.
30.
KNOUT (from the French transliteration of a Russian word of Scandinavian
origin; cf. A.-S. _cnotta_, Eng. knot), the whip used in Russia for
flogging criminals and political offenders. It is said to have been
introduced under Ivan III. (1462-1505). The knout had different forms.
One was a lash of raw hide, 16 in. long, attached to a wooden handle, 9
in. long. The lash ended in a metal ring, to which was attached a second
lash as long, ending also in a ring, to which in turn was attached a few
inches of hard leather ending in a beak-like hook. Another kind
consisted of many thongs of skin plaited and interwoven with wire,
ending in loose wired ends, like the cat-o'-nine tails. The victim was
tied to a post or on a triangle of wood and stripped, receiving the
specified number of strokes on the back. A sentence of 100 or 120 lashes
was equivalent to a death sentence; but few lived to receive so many.
The executioner was usually a criminal who had to pass through a
probation and regular training; being let off his own penalties in
return for his services. Peter the Great is traditionally accused of
knouting his son Alexis to death, and there is little doubt that the boy
was actually beaten till he died, whoever was the executioner. The
emperor Nicholas I. abolished the earlier forms of knout and substituted
the pleti, a three-thonged lash. Ostensibly the knout has been abolished
throughout Russia and reserved for the penal settlements.
KNOWLES, SIR JAMES (1831-1908), English architect and editor, was born
in London in 1831, and was educated, with a view to following his
father's profession, as an architect at University College and in Italy.
His literary tastes also brought him at an early age into the field of
authorship. In 1860 he published _The Story of King Arthur_. In 1867 he
was introduced to Tennyson, whose house, Aldworth, on Blackdown, he
designed; this led to a close friendship, Knowles assisting Tennyson in
business matters, and among other things helping to design scenery for
_The Cup_, when Irving produced that play in 1880. Knowles became
intimate with a number of the most interesting men of the day, and in
1869, with Tennyson's co-operation, he started the Metaphysical Society,
the object of which was to attempt some intellectual _rapprochement_
between religion and science by getting the leading representatives of
faith and unfaith to meet and exchange views.
The members from first to last were as follows: Dean Stanley, Seeley,
Roden Noel, Martineau, W. B. Carpenter, Hinton, Huxley, Pritchard,
Hutton, Ward, Bagehot, Froude, Tennyson, Tyndall, Alfred Barry, Lord
Arthur Russell, Gladstone, Manning, Knowles, Lord Avebury, Dean
Alford, Alex. Grant, Bishop Thirlwall, F. Harrison, Father Dalgairns,
Sir G. Grove, Shadworth Hodgson, H. Sidgwick, E. Lushington, Bishop
Ellicott, Mark Pattison, duke of Argyll, Ruskin, Robert Lowe, Grant
Duff, Greg, A. C. Fraser, Henry Acland, Maurice, Archbishop Thomson,
Mozley, Dean Church, Bishop Magee, Croom Robertson, FitzJames Stephen,
Sylvester, J. C. Bucknill, Andrew Clark, W. K. Clifford, St George
Mivart, M. Boulton, Lord Selborne, John Morley, Leslie Stephen, F.
Pollock, Gasquet, C. B. Upton, William Gull, Robert Clarke, A. J.
Balfour, James Sully and A. Barratt.
Papers were read and discussed at the various meetings on such subjects
as the ultimate grounds of belief in the objective and moral sciences,
the immortality of the soul, &c. An interesting description of one of
the meetings was given by Magee (then bishop of Peterborough) in a
letter of 13th of February 1873:--
"Archbishop Manning in the chair was flanked by two Protestant bishops
right and left; on my right was Hutton, editor of the _Spectator_, an
Arian; then came Father Dalgairns, a very able Roman Catholic priest;
opposite him Lord A. Russell, a Deist; then two Scotch metaphysical
writers, Freethinkers; then Knowles, the very broad editor of the
_Contemporary_; then, dressed as a layman and looking like a country
squire, was Ward, formerly Rev. Ward, and earliest of the perverts to
Rome; then Greg, author of _The Creed of Christendom_, a Deist; then
Froude, the historian, once a deacon in our Church, now a Deist; then
Roden Noel, an actual Atheist and red republican, and looking very
like one! Lastly Ruskin, who read a paper on miracles, which we
discussed for an hour and a half! Nothing could be calmer, fairer, or
even, on the whole, more reverent then the discussion. In my opinion,
we, the Christians, had much the best of it. Dalgairns, the priest,
was very masterly; Manning, clever and precise and weighty; Froude,
very acute, and so was Greg. We only wanted a Jew and a Mahommedan to
make our Religious Museum complete" (_Life_, i. 284).
The last meeting of the society was held on 16th May 1880. Huxley said
that it died "of too much love"; Tennyson, "because after ten years of
strenuous effort no one had succeeded in even defining metaphysics."
According to Dean Stanley, "We all meant the same thing if we only knew
it." The society formed the nucleus of the distinguished list of
contributors who supported Knowles in his capacity as an editor. In 1870
he became editor of the _Contemporary Review_, but left it in 1877 and
founded the _Nineteenth Century_ (to the title of which, in 1901, were
added the words _And After_). Both periodicals became very influential
under him, and formed the type of the new sort of monthly review which
came to occupy the place formerly held by the quarterlies. In 1904 he
received the honour of knighthood. He died at Brighton on the 13th of
February 1908.
KNOWLES, JAMES SHERIDAN (1784-1862), Irish dramatist and actor, was born
in Cork, on the 12th of May 1784. His father was the lexicographer,
James Knowles (1759-1840), cousin-german of Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
The family removed to London in 1793, and at the age of fourteen Knowles
published a ballad entitled _The Welsh Harper_, which, set to music, was
very popular. The boy's talents secured him the friendship of Hazlitt,
who introduced him to Lamb and Coleridge. He served for some time in the
Wiltshire and afterwards in the Tower Hamlets militia, leaving the
service to become pupil of Dr Robert Willan (1757-1812). He obtained the
degree of M.D., and was appointed vaccinator to the Jennerian Society.
Although, however, Dr Willan generously offered him a share in his
practice, he resolved to forsake medicine for the stage, making his
first appearance probably at Bath, and playing Hamlet at the Crow
Theatre, Dublin. At Wexford he married, in October 1809, Maria
Charteris, an actress from the Edinburgh Theatre. In 1810 he wrote
_Leo_, in which Edmund Kean acted with great success; another play,
_Brian Boroihme_, written for the Belfast Theatre in the next year, also
drew crowded houses, but his earnings were so small that he was obliged
to become assistant to his father at the Belfast Academical Institution.
In 1817 he removed from Belfast to Glasgow, where, besides conducting a
flourishing school, he continued to write for the stage. His first
important success was _Caius Gracchus_, produced at Belfast in 1815; and
his _Virginius_, written for Edmund Kean, was first performed in 1820 at
Covent Garden. In _William Tell_ (1825) Macready found one of his
favourite parts. His best-known play, _The Hunchback_, was produced at
Covent Garden in 1832; _The Wife_ was brought out at the same theatre in
1833; and _The Love Chase_ in 1837. In his later years he forsook the
stage for the pulpit, and as a Baptist preacher attracted large
audiences at Exeter Hall and elsewhere. He published two polemical
works--the _Rock of Rome_ and the _Idol Demolished by its own
Priests_--in both of which he combated the special doctrines of the
Roman Catholic Church. Knowles was for some years in the receipt of an
annual pension of £200, bestowed by Sir Robert Peel. He died at Torquay
on the 30th of November 1862.
A full list of the works of Knowles and of the various notices of him
will be found in the _Life_ (1872), privately printed by his son,
Richard Brinsley Knowles (1820-1882), who was well known as a
journalist.
KNOW NOTHING (or AMERICAN) PARTY, in United States history, a political
party of great importance in the decade before 1860. Its principle was
political proscription of naturalized citizens and of Roman Catholics.
Distrust of alien immigrants, because of presumptive attachment to
European institutions, has always been more or less widely diffused, and
race antagonisms have been recurrently of political moment; while
anti-Catholic sentiment went back to colonial sectarianism. These were
the elements of the political "nativism"--i.e. hostility to foreign
influence in politics--of 1830-1860. In these years Irish immigration
became increasingly preponderant; and that of Catholics was even more
so. The geographical segregation and the clannishness of foreign voters
in the cities gave them a power that Whigs and Democrats alike (the
latter more successfully) strove to control, to the great aggravation of
naturalization and election frauds. "No one can deny that ignorant
foreign suffrage had grown to be an evil of immense proportions" (J. F.
Rhodes). In labour disputes, political feuds and social clannishness,
the alien elements--especially the Irish and German--displayed their
power, and at times gave offence by their hostile criticism of American
institutions.[1] In immigration centres like Boston, Philadelphia and
New York, the Catholic Church, very largely foreign in membership and
proclaiming a foreign allegiance of disputed extent, was really "the
symbol and strength of foreign influence" (Scisco); many regarded it as
a transplanted foreign institution, un-American in organization and
ideas.[2] Thus it became involved in politics. The decade 1830-1840 was
marked by anti-Catholic (anti-Irish) riots in various cities and by
party organization of nativists in many places in local elections. Thus
arose the American-Republican (later the Native-American) Party, whose
national career begun practically in 1845, and which in Louisiana in
1841 first received a state organization. New York City in 1844 and
Boston in 1845 were carried by the nativists, but their success was due
to Whig support, which was not continued,[3] and the national
organization was by 1847--in which year it endorsed the Whig nominee for
the presidency--practically dead. Though some Whig leaders had strong
nativist leanings, and though the party secured a few representatives in
Congress, it accomplished little at this time in national politics. In
the early 'fifties nativism was revivified by an unparalleled inflow of
aliens. Catholics, moreover, had combated the Native-Americans
defiantly. In 1852 both Whigs and Democrats were forced to defend their
presidential nominees against charges of anti-Catholic sentiment. In
1853-1854 there was a wide-spread "anti-popery" propaganda and riots
against Catholics in various cities. Meanwhile the Know Nothing Party
had sprung from nativist secret societies, whose relations remain
obscure.[4] Its organization was secret; and hence its name--for a
member, when interrogated, always answered that he knew nothing about
it. Selecting candidates secretly from among those nominated by the
other parties, and giving them no public endorsement, the Know Nothings,
as soon as they gained the balance of power, could shatter at will Whig
and Democratic calculations. Their power was evident by 1852--from which
time, accordingly, "Know Nothingism" is most properly dated. The charges
they brought against naturalization abuses were only too well founded;
and those against election frauds not less so--though, unfortunately,
the Know Nothings themselves followed scandalous election methods in
some cities. The proposed proscription of the foreign-born knew no
exceptions: many wished never to concede to them all the rights of
natives, nor to their children unless educated in the public schools. As
for Catholics, the real animus of Know Nothingism was against
_political_ Romanism; therefore, secondarily, against papal allegiance
and episcopal church administration (in place of administration by lay
trustees, as was earlier common practice in the United States); and,
primarily, against public aid to Catholic schools, and the alleged greed
(i.e. the power and success) of the Irish in politics. The times were
propitious for the success of an aggressive third party; for the Whigs
were broken by the death of Clay and Webster and the crushing defeat of
1852, and both the Whig and Democratic parties were disintegrating on
the slavery issue. But the Know Nothings lacked aggression. In entering
national politics the party abandoned its mysteries, without making
compensatory gains; when it was compelled to publish a platform of
principles, factions arose in its ranks; moreover, to draw recruits the
faster from Whigs and Democrats, it "straddled" the slavery question,
and this, although a temporary success, ultimately meant ruin. In 1854,
however, Know Nothing gains were remarkable.[5] Thereafter the
organization spread like wildfire in the South, in which section there
were almost no aliens, and the Whig dissolution was far advanced. The
Virginia election of May 1855 proved conclusively, however, that Know
Nothingism was no stronger against the Democrats than was the Whig party
it had absorbed; it was the same organization under a new name. In the
North it was even clearer that slavery must be faced. Know Nothing
evasion probably helped the South,[6] but neither Republicans nor
Democrats would endure the evasion; Douglas and Seward, and later
(1855-1856) their parties, denounced it. In the North-West the Know
Nothings were swept into the anti-slavery movement in 1854 without
retaining their organization. In the state campaigns of 1855 professions
were measured to the latitude. The national platform of 1856 (adopted by
a secret grand council), besides including anti-alien and anti-Catholic
planks, offered sops to the North, the South and the "doughfaces" on the
slavery issue. Millard Fillmore was nominated for the presidency. The
anti-slavery delegates of eight Northern states bolted the convention,
and eight months later the Republican wave swept the Know Nothings out
of the North.[7] The national field being thus lost, the state councils
became supreme, and local opportunism fostered variation and weakness.
By 1859 the party was confined almost entirely to the border states. The
Constitutional Union--the "Do Nothing"--Party of 1860 was mainly
composed of Know Nothing remnants.[8] The year 1860 practically marked,
also, the disappearance of the party as a local power.[9]
Except in city politics nativism had no vitality; in state and national
politics it really had no excuse. Race antipathies gave it local
cohesive power in the North; various causes, already mentioned, advanced
it in the South; and as a device to win offices it was of wide-spread
attraction. Its only real contribution to government was the proof that
nativism is not Americanism. Public opinion has never accepted its
estimate of the alien nor of Catholic citizens. Some of its anti-Church
principles, however--as the non-support of denominational schools--have
been generally accepted; others--as the refusal to exclude the
(Protestant) Bible from public schools--have been generally rejected;
others--as the taxation of all Church property--remain disputed.
See L. D. Scisco, _Political Nativism in New York State_ (doctoral
thesis, Columbia University, New York, 1901); L. F. Schmeckebier,
_Know Nothing Party in Maryland_ (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
1899); G. H. Haynes, "A Know Nothing Legislature" (Mass., 1855), in
_American Historical Assoc. Report_, pt. 1 (1896); J. B. McMaster,
_With the Fathers_, including "The Riotous Career of the Know
Nothings" (New York, 1896); H. F. Desmond, _The Know Nothing Party_
(Washington, 1905).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] E.g. for some extraordinary "reform" programmes among German
immigrants see Schmeckebier (as below), pp. 48-50.
[2] "The actual offence of the Catholic Church was its non-conformity
to American methods of church administration and popular education"
(Scisco).
[3] The Whigs bargained aid in New York city for "American" support
in the state, and charged that the latter was not given. Millard
Fillmore attributed the Whig loss of the state (see LIBERTY PARTY) to
the disaffection of Catholic Whigs angered by the alliance with the
nativists.
[4] The Order of United Americans and the Order of the Star Spangled
Banner, established in New York respectively in 1845 and 1850, were
the most important sources of its membership.
[5] This year "American Party" became the official name. Its strength
in Congress was almost thirty-fold that of 1852. It elected
governors, legislatures, or both, in four New England states, and in
Maryland, Kentucky and California; minor officers elsewhere; and
almost won six Southern states.
[6] For it delayed anti-slavery organization in the North, and
presumably discouraged immigration, which was a source of strength to
the North rather than to the South.
[7] They carried only Maryland. The popular vote in the North was
under one-seventh, in the South above three-sevenths, of the total
vote cast.
[8] Note the presidential vote. Seward's loss of the Republican
nomination was partly due to Know Nothing hostility.
[9] Its firmest hold was in Maryland. Its rule in Baltimore
(1854-1860) was marked by disgraceful riots and abuses.
KNOX, HENRY (1750-1806), American general, was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, of Scottish-Irish parentage, on the 25th of July 1750. He
was prominent in the colonial militia and tried to keep the Boston crowd
and the British soldiers from the clash known as the Boston massacre
(1770). In 1771 he opened the "London Book-Store" in Boston. He had read
much of tactics and strategy, joined the American army at the outbreak
of the War of Independence, and fought at Bunker Hill, planned the
defences of the camps of the army before Boston, and brought from Lake
George and border forts much-needed artillery. At Trenton he crossed the
river before the main body, and in the attack rendered such good service
that he was made brigadier-general and chief of artillery in the
Continental army on the following day. He was present at Princeton; was
chiefly responsible for the mistake in attacking the "Chew House" at
Germantown; urged New York as the objective of the campaign of 1778;
served with efficiency at Monmouth and at Yorktown; and after the
surrender of Cornwallis was promoted major-general, and served as a
commissioner on the exchange of prisoners. His services throughout the
war were of great value to the American cause; he was one of General
Washington's most trusted advisers, and he brought the artillery to a
high degree of efficiency. From December 1783 until June 1784 he was the
senior officer of the United States army. In April 1783 he had drafted a
scheme of a society to be formed by the American officers and the French
officers who had served in America during the war, and to be called the
"Cincinnati"; of this society he was the first secretary-general
(1783-1799) and in 1805 became vice-president-general. In 1785-1794 Knox
was secretary of war, being the first man to hold this position after
the organization of the Federal government in 1789. He urged
ineffectually a national militia system, to enroll all citizens over 18
and under 60 in the "advanced corps," the "main corps" or the "reserve,"
and for this and his close friendship with Washington was bitterly
assailed by the Republicans. In 1793 he had begun to build his house,
Montpelier, at Thomaston, Maine, where he speculated unsuccessfully in
the holdings of the Eastern Land Association; and he lived there until
his death on the 25th of October 1806.
See F. S. Drake, _Memoir of General Henry Knox_ (Boston, 1873); and
Noah Brooks, _Henry Knox_ (New York, 1900) in the "American Men of
Energy" series.
KNOX, JOHN (c. 1505-1572), Scottish reformer and historian. Of his early
life very little is certainly known, in spite of the fact that his
_History of the Reformation_ and his private letters, especially the
latter, are often vividly autobiographical. Even the year of his birth,
usually given as 1505, is matter of dispute. Beza, in his _Icones_,
published in 1580, makes it 1515; Sir Peter Young (tutor to James VI. of
Scotland), writing to Beza from Edinburgh in 1579, says 1513; and a
strong case has been made out for holding that the generally accepted
date is due to an error in transcription (see Dr Hay Fleming in the
_Bookman_, Sept. 1905). But Knox seems to have been reticent about his
early life, even to his contemporaries. What is known is that he was a
son of William Knox, who lived in or near the town of Haddington, that
his mother's name was Sinclair, and that his forefathers on both sides
had fought under the banner of the Bothwells. William Knox was "simple,"
not "gentle"--perhaps a prosperous East Lothian peasant. But he sent his
son John to school (no doubt the well-known grammar school of
Haddington), and thereafter to the university, where, like his
contemporary George Buchanan, he sat "at the feet" of John Major. Major
was a native of Haddington, who had recently returned to Scotland from
Paris with a great academical reputation. He retained to the last, as
his _History of Greater Britain_ shows, the repugnance characteristic of
the university of Paris to the tyranny of kings and nobles; but like it,
he was now alarmed by the revolt of Luther, and ceased to urge its
ancient protest against the supremacy of the pope. He exchanged his
"regency" or professorship in Glasgow University for one in that of St
Andrews in 1523. If Knox's college time was later than that date (as it
must have been, if he was born near 1515), it was no doubt spent, as
Beza narrates, at St Andrews, and probably exclusively there. But in
Major's last Glasgow session a "Joannes Knox" (not an uncommon name,
however, at that time in the west of Scotland) matriculated there; and
if this were the future reformer, he may thereafter either have followed
his master to St Andrews or returned from Glasgow straight to
Haddington. But till twenty years after that date his career has not
been again traced. Then he reappears in his native district as a priest
without a university degree (Sir John Knox) and a notary of the diocese
of St Andrews. In 1543 he certainly signed himself "minister of the
sacred altar" under the archbishop of St Andrews. But in 1546 he was
carrying a two-handed sword in defence of the reformer George Wishart,
on the day when the latter was arrested by the archbishop's order. Knox
would have resisted, though the arrest was by his feudal superior, Lord
Bothwell; but Wishart himself commanded his submission, with the words
"One is sufficient for a sacrifice," and was handed over for trial at St
Andrews. And next year the archbishop himself had been murdered, and
Knox was preaching in St Andrews a fully developed Protestantism.
Knox gives us no information as to how this startling change in himself
was brought about. During those twenty years Scotland had been slowly
tending to freedom in religious profession, and to friendship with
England rather than with France. The Scottish hierarchy, by this time
corrupt and even profligate, saw the twofold danger and met it firmly.
James V., the "Commons' King" had put himself into the hands of the
Beatons, who in 1528 burned Patrick Hamilton. On James's death there was
a slight reaction, but the cardinal-archbishop took possession of the
weak regent Arran, and in 1546 burned George Wishart. England had by
this time rejected the pope's supremacy. In Scotland by a recent statute
it was death even to argue against it; and Knox after Wishart's
execution was fleeing from place to place, when, hearing that certain
gentlemen of Fife had slain the cardinal and were in possession of his
castle of St Andrews, he gladly joined himself to them. In St Andrews he
taught "John's Gospel" and a certain catechism--probably that which
Wishart had got from "Helvetia" and translated; but his teaching was
supposed to be private and tutorial and for the benefit of his friends'
"bairns." The men about him however--among them Sir David Lindsay of the
Mount, "Lyon King" and poet--saw his capacity for greater things, and,
on his at first refusing "to run where God had not called him," planned
a solemn appeal to Knox from the pulpit to accept "the public office and
charge of preaching." At the close of it the speaker (in Knox's own
narrative) "said to those that were present, 'Was not this your charge
to me? And do ye not approve this vocation?' They answered, 'It was, and
we approve it.' Whereat the said Johnne, abashed, burst forth in most
abundant tears and withdrew himself to his chamber," remaining there in
"heaviness" for days, until he came forth resolved and prepared. Knox is
probably not wrong in regarding this strange incident as the spring of
his own public life. The St Andrews invitation was really one to danger
and death; John Rough, who spoke it, died a few years after in the
flames at Smithfield. But it was a call which many in that ardent dawn
were ready to accept, and it had now at length found, or made, a
statesman and leader of men. For what to the others was chiefly a
promise of personal salvation became for the indomitable will of Knox an
assurance also of victory, even in this world, over embattled forces of
ancient wrong. It is certain at least that from this date he never
changed and scarcely even varied his public course. And looking back
upon that course afterwards, he records with much complacency how his
earliest St Andrews sermon built up a whole fabric of aggressive
Protestantism upon Puritan theory, so that his startled hearers
muttered, "Others sned (snipped) the branches; this man strikes at the
root."
Meantime the system attacked was safe for other thirteen years. In June
1547 St Andrews yielded to the French fleet, and the prisoners,
including Knox, were thrown into the galleys on the Loire, to remain in
irons and under the lash for at least nineteen months. Released at last
(apparently through the influence of the young English king, Edward
VI.), Knox was appointed one of the licensed preachers of the new faith
for England, and stationed in the great garrison of Berwick, and
afterwards at Newcastle. In 1551 he seems to have been made a royal
chaplain; in 1552 he was certainly offered an English bishopric, which
he declined; and during most of this year he used his influence, as
preacher at court and in London, to make the new English settlement more
Protestant. To him at least is due the Prayer-book rubric which explains
that, when kneeling at the sacrament is ordered, "no adoration is
intended or ought to be done." While in Northumberland Knox had been
betrothed to Margaret Bowes, one of the fifteen children of Richard
Bowes, the captain of Norham Castle. Her mother, Elizabeth, co-heiress
of Aske in Yorkshire, was the earliest of that little band of
women-friends whose correspondence with Knox on religious matters throws
an unexpected light on his discriminating tenderness of heart. But now
Mary Tudor succeeded her brother, and Knox in March 1554 escaped into
five years' exile abroad, leaving Mrs. Bowes a fine treatise on
"Affliction," and sending back to England two editions of a more acrid
"Faithful Admonition" on the crisis there. He first drifted to
Frankfort, where the English congregation divided as English Protestants
have always done, and the party opposed to Knox got rid of him at last
by a complaint to the authorities of treason against the emperor Charles
V. as well as Philip and Mary. At Geneva he found a more congenial
pastorate. Christopher Goodman (c. 1520-1603) and he, with other exiles,
began there the Puritan tradition, and prepared the earlier English
version of the Bible, "the household book of the English-speaking
nations" during the great age of Elizabeth. Here, and afterwards at
Dieppe (where he preached in French), Knox kept in communication with
the other Reformers, studied Greek and Hebrew in the interest of
theology, and having brought his wife and her mother from England in
1555 lived for years a peaceful life.
But even here Knox was preparing for Scotland, and facing the
difficulties of the future, theoretical as well as practical. In his
first year abroad he consulted Calvin and Bullinger as to the right of
the civil "authority" to prescribe religion to his subjects--in
particular, whether the godly should obey "a magistrate who enforces
idolatry and condemns true religion," and whom should they join "in the
case of a religious nobility resisting an idolatrous sovereign." In
August 1555 be visited his native country and found the queen-mother,
Mary of Lorraine, acting as regent in place of the real "sovereign," the
youthful and better-known Mary, now being brought up at the court of
France. Scripture-reading and the new views had spread widely, and the
regent was disposed to wink at this in the case of the "religious
nobility." Knox was accordingly allowed to preach privately for six
months throughout the south of Scotland, and was listened to with an
enthusiasm which made him break out, "O sweet were the death which
should follow such forty days in Edinburgh as here I have had three!"
Before leaving he even addressed a letter to the regent, urging her to
favour the Evangel. She accepted it jocularly as a "pasquil," and Knox
on his departure was condemned and burned in effigy. But he left behind
him a "Wholesome Counsel" to Scottish heads of families, reminding them
that within their own houses they were "bishop and kings," and
recommending the institution of something like the early apostolic
worship in private congregations. Of the Protestant barons Knox, though
in exile, seems to have been henceforward the chief adviser; and before
the end of 1557 they, under the name of the "Lords of the Congregation,"
had entered into the first of the religious "bands" or "covenants"
afterwards famous in Scotland. In 1558 he published his "Appellation" to
the nobles, estates and commonalty against the sentence of death
recently pronounced upon him, and along with it a stirring appeal "To
his beloved brethren, the Commonalty of Scotland," urging that the care
of religion fell to them also as being "God's creatures, created and
formed in His own image," and having a right to defend their conscience
against persecution. About this time, indeed, there was in Scotland a
remarkable approximation to that solution of the toleration difficulty
which later ages have approved; for the regent was understood to favour
the demand of the "congregation" that at least the penal statutes
against heretics "be suspended and abrogated," and "that it be lawful to
us to use ourselves in matters of religion and conscience as we must
answer to God." It was a consummation too ideal for that early date; and
next year the regent, whose daughter was now queen of France and there
mixed up with the persecuting policy of the Guises, forbade the reformed
preaching in Scotland. A rupture ensued at once, and Knox appeared in
Edinburgh on the 2nd of May 1559 "even in the brunt of the battle." He
was promptly "blown to the horn" at the Cross there as an outlaw, but
escaped to Dundee, and commenced public preaching in the chief towns of
central Scotland. At Perth and at St Andrews his sermons were followed
by the destruction of the monasteries, institutions disliked in that age
in Scotland alike by the devout and the profane. But while he notes that
in Perth the act was that of "the rascal multitude," he was glad to
claim in St Andrews the support of the civic "authority"; and indeed the
burghs, which were throughout Europe generally in favour of freedom,
soon became in Scotland a main support of the Reformation. Edinburgh was
still doubtful, and the queen regent held the castle; but a truce
between her and the lords for six months to the 1st of January 1560 was
arranged on the footing that every man there "may have freedom to use
his own conscience to the day foresaid"--a freedom interpreted to let
Knox and his brethren preach publicly and incessantly.
Scotland, like its capital, was divided. Both parties lapsed from the
freedom-of-conscience solution to which each when unsuccessful appealed;
both betook themselves to arms; and the immediate future of the little
kingdom was to be decided by its external alliances. Knox now took a
leading part in the great transaction by which the friendship of France
was exchanged for that of England. He had one serious difficulty. Before
Elizabeth's accession to the English crown, and after the queen mother
in Scotland had disappointed his hopes, he had published a treatise
against what he called "The Monstrous Regiment (regimen or government)
of Women"; though the despotism of that despotic age was scarcely
appreciably worse when it happened to be in female hands. Elizabeth
never forgave him; but Cecil corresponded with the Scottish lords, and
their answer in July 1559, in Knox's handwriting, assures England not
only of their own constancy, but of "a charge and commandment to our
posterity, that the amity and league between you and us, contracted and
begun in Christ Jesus, may by them be kept inviolated for ever." The
league was promised by England; but the army of France was first in the
field, and towards the end of the year drove the forces of the
"congregation" from Leith into Edinburgh, and then out of it in a
midnight rout to Stirling--"that dark and dolorous night," as Knox long
afterwards said, "wherein all ye, my lords, with shame and fear left
this town," and from which only a memorable sermon by their great
preacher roused the despairing multitude into new hope. Their leaders
renounced allegiance to the regent; she ended her not unkindly, but as
Knox calls it "unhappy," life in the castle of Edinburgh; the English
troops, after the usual Elizabethan delays and evasions, joined their
Scots allies; and the French embarked from Leith. On the 6th of July
1560 a treaty was at last made, nominally between Elizabeth and the
queen of France and Scotland; while Cecil instructed his mistress's
plenipotentiaries to agree "that the government of Scotland be granted
to the nation of the land." The revolution was in the meantime complete;
and Knox, who takes credit for having done much to end the enmity with
England which was so long thought necessary for Scotland's independence,
was strangely enough destined, beyond all other men, to leave the stamp
of a more inward independence upon his country and its history.
At the first meeting of the Estates, in August 1560, the Protestants
were invited to present a confession of their faith. Knox and three
others drafted it, and were present when it was offered and read to the
parliament. The statute-book says it was "by the estates of Scotland
ratified and approved, as wholesome and sound doctrine grounded upon the
infallible truth of God's word." The Scots confession, though of course
drawn up independently, is in substantial accord with the others then
springing up in the countries of the Reformation, but is Calvinist
rather than Lutheran. It remained for two centuries the authorized
Scottish creed, though in the first instance the faith of only a
fragment of the people. Yet its approval became the basis for three acts
passed a week later; the first of which, abolishing the pope's authority
and jurisdiction in Scotland, may perhaps have been consistent with
toleration, as the second, rescinding old statutes which had established
and enforced that and other catholic tenets, undoubtedly was. But the
third, inflicting heavy penalties, with death on a third conviction, on
those who should celebrate mass or even be present at it, showed that
the reformer and his friends had crossed the line, and that their
position could no longer be described as, in Knox's words, "requiring
nothing but the liberty of conscience, and our religion and fact to be
tried by the word of God." He was prepared indeed to fall back upon
that, in the event of the Estates at any time refusing sanction to
either church or creed, as their sovereign in Paris promptly refused it.
But the parliament of 1560 gave no express sanction to the Reformed
Church, and Knox did not wait until it should do so. Already "in our
towns and places reformed," as the Confession puts it, there were local
or "particular kirks," and these grew and spread and were provincially
united, till, in the last month of this memorable year, the first
General Assembly of their representatives met, and became the "universal
kirk," or "the whole church convened." It had before it the plan for
church government and maintenance, drafted in August at the same time
with the Confession, under the name of _The Book of Discipline_, and by
the same framers. Knox was even more clearly in this case the chief
author, and he had by this time come to desire a much more rigid
Presbyterianism than he had sketched in his "Wholesome Counsel" of 1555.
In planning it he seems to have used his acquaintance with the
"Ordonnances" of the Genevan Church under Calvin, and with the "Forma"
of the German Church in London under John Laski (or A. Lasco). Starting
with "truth" contained in Scripture as the church's foundation, and the
Word and Sacraments as means of building it up, it provides ministers
and elders to be elected by the congregations, with a subordinate class
of "readers," and by their means sermons and prayers each "Sunday" in
every parish. In large towns these were to be also on other days, with a
weekly meeting for conference or "prophesying." The "plantation" of new
churches is to go on everywhere under the guidance of higher church
officers called superintendents. All are to help their brethren, "for no
man may be permitted to live as best pleaseth him within the Church of
God." And above all things the young and the ignorant are to be
instructed, the former by a regular gradation or ladder of parish or
elementary schools, secondary schools and universities. Even the poor
were to be fed by the Church's hands; and behind its moral influence,
and a discipline over both poor and rich, was to be not only the
coercive authority of the civil power but its money. Knox had from the
first proclaimed that "the teinds (tithes of yearly fruits) by God's law
do not appertain of necessity to the kirkmen." And this book now demands
that out of them "must not only the ministers be sustained, but also the
poor and schools." But Knox broadens his plan so as to claim also the
property which had been really gifted to the Church by princes and
nobles--given by them indeed, as he held, without any moral right and to
the injury of the people, yet so as to be Church patrimony. From all
such property, whether land or the sheaves and fruits of land, and also
from the personal property of burghers in the towns, Knox now held that
the state should authorize the kirk to claim the salaries of the
ministers, and the salaries of teachers in the schools and universities,
but above all, the relief of the poor--not only of the absolutely
"indigent" but of "your poor brethren, the labourers and handworkers of
the ground." For the danger now was that some gentlemen were already
cruel in exactions of their tenants, "requiring of them whatever before
they paid to the Church, so that the papistical tyranny shall only be
changed into the tyranny of the lords or of the laird." The danger
foreseen alike to the new Church, and to the commonalty and poor, began
to be fulfilled a month later, when the lords, some of whom had already
acquired, as others were about to acquire, much of the Church property,
declined to make any of it over for Knox's magnificent scheme. It was,
they said, "a devout imagination." Seven years afterwards, however, when
the contest with the Crown was ended, the kirk was expressly
acknowledged as the only Church in Scotland, and jurisdiction given it
over all who should attempt to be outsiders; while the preaching of the
Evangel and the planting of congregations went on in all the accessible
parts of Scotland. Gradually too stipends for most Scottish parishes
were assigned to the ministers out of the yearly _teinds_; and the
Church received--what it retained even down to recent times--the
administration both of the public schools and of the Poor Law of
Scotland. But the victorious rush of 1560 was already somewhat stayed,
and the very next year raised the question whether the transfer of
intolerance to the side of the new faith was as wise as it had at first
seemed to be successful.
Mary Queen of Scots had been for a short time also queen of France, and
in 1561 returned to her native land, a young widow on whom the eyes of
Europe were fixed. Knox's objections to the "regiment of women" were
theoretical, and in the present case he hoped at first for the best,
favouring rather his queen's marriage with the heir of the house of
Hamilton. Mary had put herself into the hands of her half-brother, Lord
James Stuart afterwards earl of Moray, the only man who could perhaps
have pulled her through. A proclamation now continued the "state of
religion" begun the previous year; but mass was celebrated in the
queen's household, and Lord James himself defended it with his sword
against Protestant intrusion. Knox publicly protested; and Moray, who
probably understood and liked both parties, brought the preacher to the
presence of his queen. There is nothing revealed to us by "the broad
clear light of that wonderful book,"[1] _The History of the Reformation
in Scotland_, more remarkable than the four Dialogues or interviews,
which, though recorded only by Knox, bear the strongest stamp of truth,
and do almost more justice to his opponent than to himself. Mary took
the aggressive and very soon raised the real question. "Ye have taught
the people to receive another religion than their princes can allow; and
how can that doctrine be of God, seeing that God commands subjects to
obey their princes?" The point was made keener by the fact that Knox's
own Confession of Faith (like all those of that age, in which an
unbalanced monarchical power culminated) had held kings to be appointed
"for maintenance of the true religion," and suppression of the false;
and the reformer now fell back on his more fundamental principle, that
"right religion took neither original nor authority from worldly
princes, but from the Eternal God alone." All through this dialogue too,
as in another at Lochleven two years afterwards, Knox was driven to
axioms, not of religion but of constitutionalism, which Buchanan and he
may have learned from their teacher Major, but which were not to be
accepted till a later age. "'Think ye,' quoth she, 'that subjects,
having power, may resist their princes?' 'If their princes exceed their
bounds, Madam, they may be resisted and even deposed,'" Knox replied.
But these dialectics, creditable to both parties, had little effect upon
the general situation. Knox had gone too far in intolerance, and Moray
and Maitland of Lethington gradually withdrew their support. The court
and parliament, guided by them, declined to press the queen or to pass
the Book of Discipline; and meantime the negotiations as to the queen's
marriage with a Spanish, a French or an Austrian prince revealed the
real difficulty and peril of the situation. Her marriage to a great
Catholic prince would be ruinous to Scotland, probably also to England,
and perhaps to all Protestantism. Knox had already by letter formally
broken with the earl of Moray, "committing you to your own wit, and to
the conducting of those who better please you"; and now, in one of his
greatest sermons before the assembled lords, he drove at the heart of
the situation--the risk of a Catholic marriage. The queen sent for him
for the last time and burst into passionate tears as she asked, "What
have you to do with my marriage? Or what are you within this
commonwealth?" "A subject born within the same," was the answer of the
son of the East Lothian peasant; and the Scottish nobility, while
thinking him overbold, refused to find him guilty of any crime, even
when, later on, he had "convocated the lieges" to Edinburgh to meet a
crown prosecution. In 1564 a change came. Mary had wearied of her
guiding statesmen, Moray and the more pliant Maitland; the Italian
secretary David Rizzio, through whom she had corresponded with the pope,
now more and more usurped their place; and a weak fancy for her handsome
cousin, Henry Darnley, brought about a sudden marriage in 1565 and swept
the opposing Protestant lords into exile. Darnley, though a Catholic,
thought it well to go to Knox's preaching; but was so unfortunate as to
hear a very long sermon, with allusions not only to "babes and women" as
rulers, but to Ahab who did not control his strong-minded wife. Mary and
the lords still in her council ordered Knox not to preach while she was
in Edinburgh, and he was absent or silent during the weeks in which the
queen's growing distaste for her husband, and advancement of Rizzio over
the nobility remaining in Edinburgh, brought about the conspiracy by
Darnley, Morton and Ruthven. Knox does not seem to have known beforehand
of Rizzio's "slaughter," which had been intended to be a semi-judicial
act; but soon after it he records that "that vile knave Davie was justly
punished, for abusing of the commonwealth, and for other villainy which
we list not to express." The immediate effect however of what Knox thus
approved was to bring his cause to its lowest ebb, and on the very day
when Mary rode from Holyrood to her army, he sat down and penned the
prayer, "Lord Jesus, put an end to this my miserable life, for justice
and truth are not to be found among the sons of men!" He added a short
autobiographic fragment, whose mingled self-abasement and exultation are
not unworthy of its striking title--"John Knox, with deliberate mind, to
his God." During the rest of the year he was hidden in Ayrshire or
elsewhere, and throughout 1566 he was forbidden to preach when the court
was in Edinburgh. But he was influential at the December Assembly in the
capital where a greater tragedy was now preparing, for Mary's
infatuation for Bothwell was visible to all. At the Assembly's request,
however, Knox undertook a long visit to England, where his two sons by
his first wife were being educated, and were afterwards to be Fellows of
St John's, Cambridge, the younger becoming a parish clergyman. It was
thus during the reformer's absence that the murder of Darnley, the
abduction and subsequent marriage of Mary, the flight of Bothwell, and
the imprisonment in Lochleven of the queen, unrolled themselves before
the eyes of Scotland. Knox returned in time to guide the Assembly which
sat on the 25th of June 1567 in dealing with this unparalleled crisis,
and to wind up the revolution by preaching at Stirling on the 9th of
July 1567, after Mary's abdication, at the coronation of the infant
king.
His main work was now really done; for the parliament of 1567 made Moray
regent, and Knox was only too glad to have his old friend back in power,
though they seem to have differed on the question whether the queen
should be allowed to pass into retirement without trial for her
husband's death, as they had differed all along on the question of
tolerating her private religion. Knox's victory had not come too early,
for his physical strength soon began to fail. But Mary's escape in 1568
resulted only in her defeat at Langside, and in a long imprisonment and
death in England. In Scotland the regent's assassination in 1570 opened
a miserable civil war, but it made no permanent change. The massacre of
St Bartholomew rather united English and Scottish Protestantism; and
Knox in St Giles' pulpit, challenging the French ambassador to report
his words, denounced God's vengeance on the crowned murderer and his
posterity. When open war broke out between Edinburgh Castle, held by
Mary's friends, and the town, held for her son, both parties agreed that
the reformer, who had already had a stroke of paralysis, should remove
to St Andrews. While there he wrote his will, and published his last
book, in the preface to which he says, "I heartily take my good-night of
the faithful of both realms ... for as the world is weary of me, so am I
of it." And when he now merely signs his name, it is "John Knox, with my
dead hand and glad heart." In the autumn of 1572 he returned to
Edinburgh to die, probably in the picturesque house in the "throat of
the Bow," which for generations has been called by his name. With him
were his wife and three young daughters; for though he had lost Margaret
Bowes at the close of his year of triumph 1560, he had four years after
married Margaret Stewart, a daughter of his friend Lord Ochiltree. She
was a bride of only seventeen and was related to the royal house; yet,
as his Catholic biographer put it, "by sorcery and witchcraft he did so
allure that poor gentlewoman that she could not live without him." But
lords, ladies and burghers also crowded around his bed, and his
colleague and his servant have severally transmitted to us the words in
which his weakness daily strove with pain, rising on the day before his
death into a solemn exultation--yet characteristically, not so much on
his own account as for "the troubled Church of God." He died on the 24th
of November 1572, and at his funeral in St Giles' Churchyard the new
Regent Morton, speaking under the hostile guns of the castle, expressed
the first surprise of those around as they looked back on that stormy
life, that one who had "neither flattered nor feared any flesh" had now
"ended his days in peace and honour." Knox himself had a short time
before put in writing a larger claim for the historic future, "What I
have been to my country, though this unthankful age will not know, yet
the ages to come will be compelled to bear witness to the truth."
Knox was a rather small man, with a well-knit body; he had a powerful
face, with dark blue eyes under a ridge of eyebrow, high cheek-bones,
and a long black beard which latterly turned grey. This description,
taken from a letter in 1579 by his junior contemporary Sir Peter Young,
is very like Beza's fine engraving of him in the _Icones_--an engraving
probably founded on a portrait which was to be sent by Young to Beza
along with the letter. The portrait, which was unfortunately adopted by
Carlyle, has neither pedigree nor probability. After his two years in
the French galleys, if not before, Knox suffered permanently from gravel
and dyspepsia, and he confesses that his nature "was for the most part
oppressed with melancholy." Yet he was always a hard worker; as sole
minister of Edinburgh studying for two sermons on Sunday and three
during the week, besides having innumerable cares of churches at home
and abroad. He was undoubtedly sincere in his religious faith, and most
disinterested in his devotion to it and to the good of his countrymen.
But like too many of them, he was self-conscious, self-willed and
dogmatic; and his transformation in middle life, while it immensely
enriched his sympathies as well as his energies, left him unable to put
himself in the place of those who retained the views which he had
himself held. All his training too, university, priestly and in foreign
parts, tended to make him logical overmuch. But this was mitigated by a
strong sense of humour (not always sarcastic, though sometimes savagely
so), and by tenderness, best seen in his epistolary friendships with
women; and it was quite overborne by an instinct and passion for great
practical affairs. Hence it was that Knox as a statesman so often struck
successfully at the centre of the complex motives of his time, leaving
it to later critics to reconcile his theories of action. But hence too
he more than once took doubtful shortcuts to some of his most important
ends; giving the ministry within the new Church more power over laymen
than Protestant principles would suggest, and binding the masses outside
who were not members of it, equally with their countrymen who were, to
join in its worship, submit to its jurisdiction, and contribute to its
support. And hence also his style (which contemporaries called
anglicized and modern), though it occasionally rises into liturgical
beauty, and often flashes into vivid historical portraiture, is
generally kept close to the harsh necessities of the few years in which
he had to work for the future. That work was indeed chiefly done by the
living voice; and in speaking, this "one man," as Elizabeth's very
critical ambassador wrote from Edinburgh, was "able in one hour to put
more life in us than five hundred trumpets continually blustering in our
ears." But even his eloquence was constraining and constructive--a
personal call for immediate and universal co-operation; and that
personal influence survives to this day in the institutions of his
people, and perhaps still more in their character. His countrymen indeed
have always believed that to Knox more than to any other man Scotland
owes her political and religious individuality. And since his 19th
century biography by Dr Thomas McCrie, or at least since his recognition
in the following generation by Thomas Carlyle, the same view has taken
its place in literature.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Knox's books, pamphlets, public documents and letters
are collected into the great edition in six volumes of _Knox's Works_,
by David Laing (Edinburgh, 1846-1864), with introductions, appendices
and notes. Of his books the chief are the following: 1.--_The History
of the Reformation in Scotland_, incorporating the Confession and the
Book of Discipline. Begun by Knox as a party manifesto in 1560, it was
continued and revised by himself in 1566 as so to form four books,
with a fifth book apparently written after his death from materials
left by him. It was partly printed in London in 1586 by Vautrollier,
but was suppressed by authority and published by David Buchanan, with
a _Life_, in 1664. 2.--_On Predestination: an Answer to an Anabaptist_
(London, 1591). 3.--_On Prayer_ (1554). 4.--_On Affliction_ (1556).
5.--_Epistles_, and _Admonition_, both to English Brethren in 1554.
6.--_The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of
Women_ (1558). 7.--_An Answer to a Scottish Jesuit_ (1572).
Knox's life is more or less touched upon by all the Scottish histories
and Church histories which include his period, as well as in the mass
of literature as to Queen Mary. Dr Laing's edition of the _Works_
contains important biographical material. But among the many express
biographies two especially should be consulted--those by Thomas McCrie
(Edinburgh, 1811; revised and enlarged in 1813, the later editions
containing valuable notes by the author); and by P. Hume Brown
(Edinburgh, 1895). _John Knox and the Reformation_, by Andrew Lang
(London, 1905), is not so much a biography as a collection of
materials, bearing upon many parts of the life, but nearly all on the
unfavourable side. (A. T. I.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] John Hill Burton (_Hist. of Scotland_, iii. 339). Mr Burton's
view (differing from that of Professor Hume Brown) was that the
dialogues--the earlier of them at least--must have been spoken in the
French tongue, in which Knox had recently preached for a year.
KNOX, PHILANDER CHASE (1853- ), American lawyer and political leader,
was born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of May 1853. He
graduated from Mount Union College (Ohio) in 1872, and was admitted to
the Pennsylvania bar in 1875. He settled in Pittsburg, where he
continued in private practice, with the exception of two years' service
(1876-1877) as assistant United States district attorney, acquiring a
large practice as a corporation lawyer. In April 1901 he became
attorney-general of the United States in the cabinet of President
McKinley, and retained this position after the accession of President
Roosevelt until June 1904, when he was appointed by Governor Pennypacker
of Pennsylvania to fill the unexpired term of Matthew S. Quay in the
United States Senate; in 1905 he was re-elected to the Senate for the
full term. In March 1909 he became secretary of state in the cabinet of
President Taft.
KNOXVILLE, a city and the county-seat of Knox county, Tennessee, U.S.A.,
in the E. part of the state, 160 m. E. of Nashville, and about 190 m.
S.E. of Louisville, Kentucky, on the right bank of the Tennessee river,
4 m. below the point where it is formed by the junction of the French
Broad and Holston Rivers. Pop. (1880), 9693; (1890), 22,535; (1900),
32,637, of whom 7359 were negroes and 895 were foreign-born; (1910
census), 36,346. It is served by the main line and by branches of the
Louisville & Nashville and the Southern railways, by the Knoxville &
Bristol railway (Morristown to Knoxville, 58 m.), by the short Knoxville
& Augusta railroad (Knoxville to Walland, 26 m.), and by passenger and
freight steamboat lines on the Tennessee river, which is here navigable
for the greater part of the year. A steel and concrete street-car bridge
crosses the Tennessee at Knoxville. Knoxville is picturesquely situated
at an elevation of from 850 to 1000 ft. in the valley between the Smoky
Mountains and the Cumberland Mountains, and is one of the healthiest
cities in the United States. There are several beautiful parks, of which
Chilhowie and Fountain City are the largest, and among the public
buildings are a city-hall, Federal building, court-house, the Knoxville
general hospital, the Lincoln memorial hospital, the Margaret McClung
industrial home, a Young Men's Christian Association building and the
Lawson-McGhee public library. A monument to John Sevier stands on the
site of the blockhouse first built there. Knoxville is the seat of
Knoxville College (United Presbyterian, 1875) for negroes, East
Tennessee institute, a secondary school for girls, the Baker-Himel
school for boys, Tennessee Medical College (1889), two commercial
schools and the university of Tennessee. The last, a state
co-educational institution, was chartered as Blount College in 1794 and
as East Tennessee College in 1807, but not opened until 1820--the
present name was adopted in 1879. It had in 1907-1908 106 instructors,
755 students (536 in academic departments), and a library of 25,000
volumes. With the university is combined the state college of
agriculture and engineering; and a large summer school for teachers is
maintained. At Knoxville are the Eastern State insane asylum, state
asylums for the deaf and dumb (for both white and negro), and a national
cemetery in which more than 3200 soldiers are buried. Knoxville is an
important commercial and industrial centre and does a large jobbing
business. It is near hardwood forests and is an important market for
hardwood mantels. Coal-mines in the vicinity produce more than 2,000,000
tons annually, and neighbouring quarries furnish the famous Tennessee
marble, which is largely exported. Excellent building and pottery clays
are found near Knoxville. Among the city's industrial establishments are
flour and grist mills, cotton and woollen mills, furniture, desk, office
supplies and sash, door, and blind factories, meat-packing
establishments, clothing factories, iron, steel and boiler works,
foundries and machine shops, stove works and brick and cement works. The
value of the factory product increased from $6,201,840 in 1900 to
$12,432,880 in 1905, or 100.5%, in 1905 the value of the flour and grist
mill products alone being $2,048,509. Just outside the city the Southern
railway maintains large car and repair shops. Knoxville was settled in
1786 by James White (1737-1815), a North Carolina pioneer, and was first
known as "White's Fort"; it was laid out as a town in 1791, and named in
honour of General Henry Knox, then secretary of war in Washington's
cabinet. In 1791 the _Knoxville Gazette_, the first newspaper in
Tennessee (the early issue, printed at Rogersville) began publication.
From 1792 to 1796 Knoxville was the capital of the "Territory South of
the Ohio," and until 1811 and again in 1817 it was the capital of the
state. In 1796 the convention which framed the constitution of the new
state of Tennessee met here, and here later in the same year the first
state legislature was convened. Knoxville was chartered as a city in
1815. In its early years it was several times attacked by the Indians,
but was never captured. During the Civil War there was considerable
Union sentiment in East Tennessee, and in the summer of 1863 the Federal
authorities determined to take possession of Knoxville as well as
Chattanooga and to interrupt railway communications between the
Confederates of the East and West through this region. As the
Confederates had erected only slight defences for the protection of the
city, Burnside, with about 12,000 men, easily gained possession on the
2nd of September 1863. Fortifications were immediately begun for its
defence, and on the 4th of November, Bragg, thinking his position at
Chattanooga impregnable against Grant, Sherman, Thomas and Hooker,
despatched a force of 20,000 men under Longstreet to engage Burnside.
Longstreet arrived in the vicinity on the 16th of November, and on the
following day began a siege, which was continued with numerous assaults
until the 28th, when a desperate but unsuccessful attack was made on
Fort Sanders, and upon the approach of a relief force under Sherman,
Longstreet withdrew on the night of the 4th of December. The Confederate
losses during the siege were 182 killed, 768 wounded and 192 captured or
missing; the Union losses were 92 killed, 394 wounded and 207 captured
or missing. West Knoxville (incorporated in 1888) and North Knoxville
(incorporated in 1889) were annexed to Knoxville in 1898.
See the sketch by Joshua W. Caldwell in _Historic Towns of the
Southern States_, edited by L. P. Powell (New York, 1900); and W.
Rule, G. F. Mellen and J. Wooldridge, _Standard History of Knoxville_
(Chicago, 1900).
KNUCKLE (apparently the diminutive of a word for "bone," found in Ger.
_Knochen_), the joint of a finger, which, when the hand is shut, is
brought into prominence. In mechanical use the word is applied to the
round projecting part of a hinge through which the pin is run, and in
ship-building to an acute angle on some of the timbers. A
"knuckle-duster," said to have originally come from the criminal slang
of the United States, is a brass or metal instrument fitting on to the
hand across the knuckles, with projecting studs and used for inflicting
a brutal blow.
KNUCKLEBONES (HUCKLEBONES, DIBS, JACKSTONES, CHUCK-STONES, FIVE-STONES),
a game of very ancient origin, played with five small objects,
originally the knucklebones of a sheep, which are thrown up and caught
in various ways. Modern "knucklebones" consist of six points, or knobs,
proceeding from a common base, and are usually of metal. The winner is
he who first completes successfully a prescribed series of throws,
which, while of the same general character, differ widely in detail. The
simplest consists in tossing up one stone, the _jack_, and picking up
one or more from the table while it is in the air; and so on until all
five stones have been picked up. Another consists in tossing up first
one stone, then two, then three and so on, and catching them on the back
of the hand. Different throws have received distinctive names, such as
"riding the elephant," "peas in the pod," and "horses in the stable."
The origin of knucklebones is closely connected with that of dice, of
which it is probably a primitive form, and is doubtless Asiatic.
Sophocles, in a fragment, ascribed the invention of draughts and
knucklebones (_astragaloi_) to Palamedes, who taught them to his Greek
countrymen during the Trojan War. Both the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_
contain allusions to games similar in character to knucklebones, and the
Palamedes tradition, as flattering to the national pride, was generally
accepted throughout Greece, as is indicated by numerous literary and
plastic evidences. Thus Pausanias (_Corinth_ xx.) mentions a temple of
Fortune in which Palamedes made an offering of his newly invented game.
According to a still more ancient tradition, Zeus, perceiving that
Ganymede longed for his playmates upon Mount Ida, gave him Eros for a
companion and golden dibs with which to play, and even condescended
sometimes to join in the game (Apollonius). It is significant, however,
that both Herodotus and Plato ascribe to the game a foreign origin.
Plato (_Phaedrus_) names the Egyptian god Theuth as its inventor, while
Herodotus relates that the Lydians, during a period of famine in the
days of King Atys, originated this game and indeed almost all other
games except chess. There were two methods of playing in ancient times.
The first, and probably the primitive method, consisted in tossing up
and catching the bones on the back of the hand, very much as the game
is played to-day. In the Museum of Naples may be seen a painting
excavated at Pompeii, which represents the goddesses Latona, Niobe,
Phoebe, Aglaia and Hileaera, the last two being engaged in playing at
Knucklebones (see GREEK ART, fig. 42). According to an epigram of
Asclepiodotus, astragals were given as prizes to school-children, and we
are reminded of Plutarch's anecdote of the youthful Alcibiades, who,
when a teamster threatened to drive over some of his knucklebones that
had fallen into the wagon-ruts, boldly threw himself in front of the
advancing team. This simple form of the game was generally played only
by women and children, and was called _pentalitha_ or five-stones. There
were several varieties of it besides the usual toss and catch, one being
called _tropa_, or hole-game, the object having been to toss the bones
into a hole in the earth. Another was the simple and primitive game of
"odd or even."
The second, probably derivative, form of the game was one of pure
chance, the stones being thrown upon a table, either with the hand or
from a cup, and the values of the sides upon which they fell counted. In
this game the shape of the pastern-bones used for astralagoi, as well as
for the _tali_ of the Romans, with whom knucklebones was also popular,
determined the manner of counting. The pastern-bone of a sheep, goat or
calf has, besides two rounded ends upon which it cannot stand, two broad
and two narrow sides, one of each pair being concave and one convex. The
convex narrow side, called _chios_ or "the dog" counted 1; the convex
broad side 3; the concave broad side 4; and the concave narrow side 6.
Four astragals were used and 35 different scores were possible at a
single throw, many receiving distinctive names such as Aphrodite, Midas,
Solon, Alexander, and, among the Romans, Venus, King, Vulture, &c. The
highest throw in Greece, counting 40, was the Euripides, and was
probably a combination throw, since more than four sixes could not be
thrown at one time. The lowest throw, both in Greece and Rome, was the
Dog.
See _Cassell's Book of Sports and Pastimes_ (London, 1896); _Games and
Songs of American Children_, by W. W. Newell (1893); and _The Young
Folks' Cyclopaedia of Games and Sports_ (New York, 1899), for the
modern children's game. For the history see _Les Jeux des Anciens_, by
L. Becq de Fouquières (Paris, 1869); _Das Knochelspiel der Alten_, by
Bolle (Wismar, 1886); _Die Spiele der Griechen und Römer_, by W.
Richter (Leipzig, 1887).
KNUTSFORD, a market town in the Knutsford parliamentary division of
Cheshire, England; on the London & North-Western and Great Central
railways, 24 m. E.N.E. of Chester, on the Cheshire Lines and London &
North-Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901), 5172. It is
pleasantly situated on an elevated ridge, with the fine domains of
Tatton Park and Tabley respectively north and west of it. The meres in
these domains are especially picturesque. Knutsford is noted in modern
times as the scene of Mrs Gaskell's novel _Cranford_. Among several
ancient houses the most interesting are a cottage with the date 1411
carved on its woodwork, and the Rose and Crown tavern, dated 1641. A
number of curious old customs linger in the town, such as the practice
of working designs in coloured sand, when a wedding takes place, before
the bride's house. In what is probably the oldest Unitarian graveyard in
the kingdom Mrs Gaskell lies buried; and in a churchyard a mile from the
town stood the ancient church, which, though partially rebuilt in the
time of Henry VIII., fell into ruin in 1741. The church of St John,
built in 1744, and enlarged in 1879, was supplemented, in 1880, by St
Cross Church, in Perpendicular style. The town has a grammar school,
founded before the reign of Henry VIII., but reorganized in 1885. Lord
Egerton built the Egerton schools in 1893. The industries comprise
cotton, worsted and leather manufactures; but Knutsford is mainly a
residential town, as many Manchester merchants have settled here,
attracted by the fine climate and surroundings. Knutsford was the
birthplace of Sir Henry Holland, Physician Extraordinary to Queen
Victoria (1788-1873); and his son, the second Sir Henry, who was
secretary of state for the colonies (1887-1892), was raised to the
peerage in 1888 with the title of Baron Knutsford.
The name Knutsford (_Cunetesford_, _Knotesford_) is said to signify
Cnut's ford, but there is no evidence of a settlement here previous to
Domesday. In 1086 Erthebrand held Knutsford immediately of William
FitzNigel, baron of Halton, who was himself a mesne lord of Hugh Lupus
earl of Chester. In 1292 William de Tabley, lord of both Over and Nether
Knutsford, granted free burgage to his burgesses in both Knutsfords.
This charter is the only one which gives Knutsford a claim to the title
of borough. It provided that the burgesses might elect a bailiff from
amongst themselves every year. The office however carried little real
power with it, and soon lapsed. In the same year as the charter to
Knutsford the king granted to William de Tabley a market every Saturday
at Nether Knutsford, and a three days' fair at the Feast of St Peter and
St Paul. When this charter was confirmed by Edward III. another market
(Friday) and another three days' fair (Feast of St Simon and St Jude)
were added. The Friday market was certainly dropped by 1592, if it was
ever held. May-day revels are still kept up here and attract large
crowds from the neighbourhood. A silk mill was erected here in 1770, and
there was also an attempt to foster the cotton trade, but the lack of
means of communication made the undertaking impossible.
See Henry Green, _History of Knutsford_ (1859).
KOALA (_Phascolarctus cinereus_), a stoutly built marsupial, of the
family _Phascolmyidae_, which also contains the wombats. This animal,
which inhabits the south-eastern parts of the Australian continent, is
about 2 ft. in length, and of an ash-grey colour, an excellent climber,
residing generally in lofty eucalyptus trees, the buds and tender shoots
of which form its principal food, though occasionally it descends to the
ground in the night in search of roots. From its shape the koala is
called by the colonists the "native bear"; the term "native sloth" being
also applied to it, from its arboreal habits and slow deliberate
movements. The flesh is highly prized by the natives, and is palatable
to Europeans. The skins are largely imported into England, for the
manufacture of articles in which a cheap and durable fur is required.
KOBDO, a town of the Chinese Empire, in north-west Mongolia, at the
northern foot of the Mongolian Altai, on the right bank of the Buyantu
River, 13 m. from its entrance into Lake Khara-usu; 500 m. E.S.E. of
Biysk (Russian), and 470 m. W. of Ulyasutai. It is situated amidst a
dreary plain, and consists of a fortress, the residence of the governor
of the Kobdo district, and a small trading town, chiefly peopled by
Chinese and a few Mongols. It is, however, an important centre for trade
between the cattle-breeding nomads and Peking. It was founded by the
Chinese in 1731, and pillaged by the Mussulmans in 1872. The district of
Kobdo occupies the north-western corner of Mongolia, and is peopled
chiefly by Mongols, and also by Kirghiz and a few Soyotes, Uryankhes and
Khotons. It is governed by a Chinese commissioner, who has under him a
special Mongol functionary (Mongol, _dzurgan_). The chief monastery is
at Ulangom. Considerable numbers of sheep (about 1,000,000), sheepskins,
sheep and camel wool are exported to China, while Chinese cottons, brick
tea and various small goods are imported. Leather, velveteen, cotton,
iron and copper goods boxes, &c., are imported from Russia in exchange
for cattle, furs and wool. The absence of a cart road to Biysk hinders
the development of this trade.
KOBELL, WOLFGANG XAVER FRANZ, BARON VON (1803-1882), German
mineralogist, was born at Munich on the 19th of July 1803. He studied
chemistry and mineralogy at Landshut (1820-1823), and in 1826 became
professor of mineralogy in the university of Munich. He introduced some
new methods of mineral analyses, and in 1835 invented the stauroscope
for the study of the optical properties of crystals. He contributed
numerous papers to scientific journals, and described many new minerals.
He died at Munich on the 11th of November, 1882.
PUBLICATIONS.--_Charakteristik der Mineralien_ (2 vols. 1830-1831);
_Tafeln zur Bestimmung der Mineralien_ &c. (1833; and later editions,
ed. 12, by K. Oebbeke, 1884); _Grundzüge der Mineralogie_ (1838);
_Geschichte der Mineralogie von 1650-1860_ (1864).
KOCH, ROBERT (1843-1910), German bacteriologist, was born at Klausthal,
Hanover, on the 11th of December 1843. He studied medicine at Göttingen,
and it was while he was practising as a physician at Wollstein that he
began those bacteriological researches that made his name famous. In
1876 he obtained a pure culture of the bacillus of anthrax, announcing a
method of preventive inoculation against that disease seven years later.
He became a member of the Sanitary Commission at Berlin and a professor
at the School of Medicine in 1880, and five years later he was appointed
to a chair in Berlin University and director of the Institute of Health.
In 1882, largely as the result of the improved methods of
bacteriological investigation he was able to elaborate, he discovered
the bacillus of tuberculosis; and in the following year, having been
sent on an official mission to Egypt and India to study the aetiology of
Asiatic cholera, he identified the comma bacillus as the specific
organism of that malady. In 1890 great hopes were aroused by the
announcement that in tuberculin he had prepared an agent which exercised
an inimical influence on the growth of the tubercle bacillus, but the
expectations that were formed of it as a remedy for consumption were not
fulfilled, though it came into considerable vogue as a means of
diagnosing the existence of tuberculosis in animals intended for food.
At the Congress on Tuberculosis held in London in 1901 he maintained
that tuberculosis in man and in cattle is not the same disease, the
practical inference being that the danger to men of infection from milk
and meat is less than from other human subjects suffering from the
disease. This statement, however, was not regarded as properly proved,
and one of its results was the appointment of a British Royal Commission
to study the question. Dr Koch also investigated the nature of
rinderpest in South Africa in 1896, and found means of combating the
disease. In 1897 he went to Bombay at the head of a commission formed to
investigate the bubonic plague, and he subsequently undertook extensive
travels in pursuit of his studies on the origin and treatment of
malaria. He was summoned to South Africa a second time in 1903 to give
expert advice on other cattle diseases, and on his return was elected a
member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. In 1906-1907 he spent eighteen
months in East Africa, investigating sleeping-sickness. He died at
Baden-Baden of heart-disease on the 28th of May 1910. Koch was
undoubtedly one of the greatest bacteriologists ever known, and a great
benefactor of humanity by his discoveries. Honours were showered upon
him, and in 1905 he was awarded the Nobel prize for medicine.
Among his works may be mentioned: _Weitere Mitteilungen über ein
Heilmittel gegen Tuberkulose_ (Leipzig, 1891); and _Reiseberichte über
Rinderpest, Bubonenpest in Indien und Afrika, Tsetse- oder
Surra-Krankheit, Texasfieber, tropische Malaria, Schwarzwasserfieber_
(Berlin, 1898). From 1886 onwards he edited, with Dr Karl Flügge, the
_Zeitschrift für Hygiene und Infektionskrankheiten_ (published at
Leipzig). See Loeffler, "Robert Koch, zum 60ten Geburtstage" in _Deut.
Medizin. Wochenschr._ (No. 50, 1903).
KOCH, a tribe of north-eastern India, which has given its name to the
state of Kuch Behar (q.v.). They are probably of Mongolian stock, akin
to the Mech, Kachari, Garo and Tippera tribes, and originally spoke,
like these, a language of the Bodo group. But since one of their chiefs
established a powerful kingdom at Kuch Behar in the 16th century they
have gradually become Hinduized, and now adopt the name of Rajbansi (=
"of royal blood"). In 1901 the number in Eastern Bengal and Assam was
returned at nearly 2½ millions.
KOCK, CHARLES PAUL DE (1793-1871), French novelist, was born at Passy on
the 21st of May 1793. He was a posthumous child, his father, a banker of
Dutch extraction, having been a victim of the Terror. Paul de Kock began
life as a banker's clerk. For the most part he resided on the Boulevard
St Martin, and was one of the most inveterate of Parisians. He died in
Paris on the 27th of April 1871. He began to write for the stage very
early, and composed many operatic libretti. His first novel, _L'Enfant
de ma femme_ (1811), was published at his own expense. In 1820 he began
his long and successful series of novels dealing with Parisian life with
_Georgette, ou la mère du Tabellion_. His period of greatest and most
successful activity was the Restoration and the early days of Louis
Philippe. He was relatively less popular in France itself than abroad,
where he was considered as the special painter of life in Paris. Major
Pendennis's remark that he had read nothing of the novel kind for thirty
years except Paul de Kock, "who certainly made him laugh," is likely to
remain one of the most durable of his testimonials, and may be classed
with the legendary question of a foreign sovereign to a Frenchman who
was paying his respects, "Vous venez de Paris et vous devez savoir des
nouvelles. Comment se porte Paul de Kock?" The disappearance of the
_grisette_ and of the cheap dissipation described by Henri Murger
practically made Paul de Kock obsolete. But to the student of manners
his portraiture of low and middle class life in the first half of the
19th century at Paris still has its value.
The works of Paul de Kock are very numerous. With the exception of a few
not very felicitous excursions into historical romance and some
miscellaneous works of which his share in _La Grande ville, Paris_
(1842), is the chief, they are all stories of middle-class Parisian
life, of _guinguettes_ and _cabarets_ and equivocal adventures of one
sort or another. The most famous are _André le Savoyard_ (1825) and _Le
Barbier de Paris_ (1826).
His _Mémoires_ were published in 1873. See also Th. Trimm, _La Vie de
Charles Paul de Kock_ (1873).
KODAIKANAL, a sanatorium of southern India, in the Madura district of
Madras, situated in the Palni hills, about 7000 ft. above sea-level;
pop. (1901), 1912, but the number in the hot season would be much
larger. It is difficult of access, being 44 m. from a railway station,
and the last 11 m. are impracticable for wheeled vehicles. It contains a
government observatory, the appliances of which are specially adapted
for the study of terrestrial magnetism, seismology and solar physics.
KODAMA, GENTARO, COUNT (1852-1907), Japanese general, was born in
Choshu. He studied military science in Germany, and was appointed
vice-minister of war in 1892. He became governor-general of Formosa in
1900, holding at the same time the portfolio of war. When the conflict
with Russia became imminent in 1903, he gave up his portfolio to become
vice-chief of the general staff, a sacrifice which elicited much public
applause. Throughout the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) he served as chief
of staff to Field Marshal Oyama, and it was well understood that his
genius guided the strategy of the whole campaign, as that of General
Kawakami had done in the war with China ten years previously. General
Kodama was raised in rapid succession to the ranks of baron, viscount
and count, and his death in 1907 was regarded as a national calamity.
KODUNGALUR (or CRANGANUR), a town of southern India, in Cochin state,
within the presidency of Madras. Though now a place of little
importance, its historical interest is considerable. Tradition assigns
to it the double honour of having been the first field of St Thomas's
labours (A.D. 52) in India and the seat of Cheraman Perumal's
government. The visit of St Thomas is generally considered mythical; but
it is certain that the Syrian Church was firmly established here before
the 9th century (Burnell), and probably the Jews' settlement was still
earlier. The latter, in fact, claim to hold grants dated A.D. 378. The
cruelty of the Portuguese drove most of the Jews to Cochin. Up to 1314,
when the Vypin harbour was formed, the only opening in the Cochin
backwater, and outlet for the Periyar, was at Kodungalur, which must
then have been the best harbour on the coast. In 1502 the Syrian
Christians invoked the protection of the Portuguese. In 1523 the latter
built their first fort there, and in 1565 enlarged it. In 1661 the Dutch
took the fort, the possession of which for the next forty years was
contested between this nation, the zamorin, and the raja of Kodungalur.
In 1776 Tippoo seized the stronghold. The Dutch recaptured it two years
later, and, having ceded it to Tippoo in 1784, sold it to the Travancore
raja, and again in 1789 to Tippoo, who destroyed it in the following
year. The country round Kodungalur now forms an autonomous principality,
tributary to the raja of Cochin.
KOENIG, KARL DIETRICH EBERHARD (1774-1851), German palaeontologist, was
born at Brunswick in 1774, and was educated at Göttingen. In 1807 he
became assistant keeper, and in 1813 he was appointed keeper, of the
department of natural history in the British Museum, and afterwards of
geology and mineralogy, retaining the post until the close of his life.
He described many fossils in the British Museum in a classic work
entitled _Icones fossilium sectiles_ (1820-1825). He died in London on
the 6th of September 1851.
KOESFELD, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Westphalia, on
the Berkel, 38 m. by rail N.N.W. of Dortmund. Pop. (1905), 8449. It has
three Roman Catholic churches, one of which--the Gymnasial Kirche--is
used by the Protestant community. Here are the ruins of the Ludgeri
Castle, formerly the residence of the bishops of Münster, and also the
castle of Varlar, the residence of the princes of Salm-Horstmar. The
leading industries include the making of linen goods and machinery.
KOHAT, a town and district of British India, in the Peshawar division of
the North-West Frontier Province. The town is 37 m. south of Peshawar by
the Kohat Pass, along which a military road was opened in 1901. The
population in 1901 was 30,762, including 12,670 in the cantonment, which
is garrisoned by artillery, cavalry and infantry. In the Tirah campaign
of 1897-98 Kohat was the starting-point of Sir William Lockhart's
expedition against the Orakzais and Afridis. It is the military base for
the southern Afridi frontier as Peshawar is for the northern frontier of
the same tribe, and it lies in the heart of the Pathan country.
The DISTRICT OF KOHAT has an area of 2973 sq. m. It consists chiefly of
a bare and intricate mountain region east of the Indus, deeply scored
with river valleys and ravines, but enclosing a few scattered patches of
cultivated lowland. The eastern or Khattak country especially comprises
a perfect labyrinth of ranges, which fall, however, into two principal
groups, to the north and south of the Teri Toi river. The Miranzai
valley, in the extreme west, appears by comparison a rich and fertile
tract. In its small but carefully tilled glens, the plane, palm, fig and
many orchard trees flourish luxuriantly; while a brushwood of wild
olive, mimosa and other thorny bushes clothes the rugged ravines upon
the upper slopes. Occasional grassy glades upon their sides form
favourite pasture grounds for the Waziri tribes. The Teri Toi, rising on
the eastern limit of Upper Miranzai, runs due eastward to the Indus,
which it joins 12 m. N. of Makhad, dividing the district into two main
portions. The drainage from the northern half flows southward into the
Teri Toi itself, and northward into the parallel stream of the Kohat
Toi. That of the southern tract falls northwards also into the Teri Toi,
and southwards towards the Kurram and the Indus. The frontier mountains,
continuations of the Safed Koh system, attain in places a considerable
elevation, the two principal peaks, Dupa Sir and Mazi Garh, just beyond
the British frontier, being 8260 and 7940 ft. above the sea
respectively. The Waziri hills, on the south, extend like a wedge
between the boundaries of Bannu and Kohat, with a general elevation of
less than 4000 ft. The salt-mines are situated in the low line of hills
crossing the valley of the Teri Toi, and extending along both banks of
that river. The deposit has a width of a quarter of a mile, with a
thickness of 1000 ft.; it sometimes forms hills 200 ft. in height,
almost entirely composed of solid rock-salt, and may probably rank as
one of the largest veins of its kind in the world. The most extensive
exposure occurs at Bahadur Khel, on the south bank of the Teri Toi. The
annual output is about 16,000 tons, yielding a revenue of £40,000.
Petroleum springs exude from a rock at Panoba, 23 m. east of Kohat; and
sulphur abounds in the northern range. In 1901 the population was
217,865, showing an increase of 11% in the decade. The frontier tribes
on the Kohat border are the Afridis, Orakzais, Zaimukhts and Turis. All
these are described under their separate names. A railway runs from
Kushalgarh through Kohat to Thal, and the river Indus has been bridged
at Kushalgarh.
KOHAT PASS, a mountain pass in the North-West Frontier Province of
India, connecting Kohat with Peshawar. From the north side the defile
commences at 4½ m. S.W. of Fort Mackeson, whence it is about 12 or 13 m.
to the Kohat entrance. The pass varies from 400 yds. to 1¼ m. in width,
and its summit is some 600 to 700 ft. above the plain. It is inhabited
by the Adam Khel Afridis, and nearly all British relations with that
tribe have been concerned with this pass, which is the only connexion
between two British districts without crossing and recrossing the Indus
(see AFRIDI). It is now traversed by a cart-road.
KOHISTAN, a tract of country on the Peshawar border of the North-West
Frontier Province of India. Kohistan means the "country of the hills"
and corresponds to the English word highlands; but it is specially
applied to a district, which is very little known, to the south and west
of Chilas, between the Kagan valley and the river Indus. It comprises an
area of over 1000 sq. m., and is bounded on the N.W. by the river Indus,
on the N.E. by Chilas, and on the S. by Kagan, the Chor Glen and Allai.
It consists roughly of two main valleys running east and west, and
separated from each other by a mountain range over 16,000 ft. high. Like
the mountains of Chilas, those in Kohistan are snow-bound and rocky
wastes from their crests downwards to 12,000 ft. Below this the hills
are covered with fine forest and grass to 5000 or 6000 ft., and in the
valleys, especially near the Indus, are fertile basins under
cultivation. The Kohistanis are Mahommedans, but not of Pathan race, and
appear to be closely allied to the Chilasis. They are a well-built,
brave but quiet people who carry on a trade with British districts, and
have never given the government much trouble. There is little doubt that
the Kohistanis are, like the Kafirs of Kafiristan, the remnants of old
races driven by Mahommedan invasions from the valleys and plains into
the higher mountains. The majority have been converted to Islam within
the last 200 years. The total population is about 16,000.
An important district also known as Kohistan lies to the north of Kabul
in Afghanistan, extending to the Hindu Kush. The Kohistani Tajiks proved
to be the most powerful and the best organized clans that opposed the
British occupation of Kabul in 1879-80. Part of their country is highly
cultivated, abounding in fruit, and includes many important villages. It
is here that the remains of an ancient city have been lately discovered
by the amir's officials, which may prove to be the great city of
Alexander's founding, known to be to the north of Kabul, but which had
hitherto escaped identification.
The name of Kohistan is also applied to a tract of barren and hilly
country on the east border of Karachi district, Sind.
KOHL. (1) The name of the cosmetic used from the earliest times in the
East by women to darken the eyelids, in order to increase the lustre of
the eyes. It is usually composed of finely powdered antimony, but smoke
black obtained from burnt almond-shells or frankincense is also used.
The Arabic word _kohl_, from which has been derived "alcohol," is
derived from _kahala_, to stain. (2) "Kohl" or "kohl-rabi" (cole-rape,
from Lat. _caulis_, cabbage) is a kind of cabbage (q.v.), with a
turnip-shaped top, cultivated chiefly as food for cattle.
KOHLHASE, HANS, a German historical figure about whose personality some
controversy exists. He is chiefly known as the hero of Heinrich von
Kleist's novel, _Michael Kohlhaas_. He was a merchant, and not, as some
have supposed, a horsedealer, and he lived at Kölln in Brandenburg. In
October 1532, so the story runs, whilst proceeding to the fair at
Leipzig, he was attacked and his horses were taken from him by the
servants of a Saxon nobleman, one Günter von Zaschwitz. In consequence
of the delay the merchant suffered some loss of business at the fair and
on his return he refused to pay the small sum which Zaschwitz demanded
as a condition of returning the horses. Instead Kohlhase asked for a
substantial amount of money as compensation for his loss, and failing to
secure this he invoked the aid of his sovereign, the elector of
Brandenburg. Finding however that it was impossible to recover his
horses, he paid Zaschwitz the sum required for them, but reserved to
himself the right to take further action. Then unable to obtain redress
in the courts of law, the merchant, in a _Fehdebrief_, threw down a
challenge, not only to his aggressor, but to the whole of Saxony. Acts
of lawlessness were soon attributed to him, and after an attempt to
settle the feud had failed, the elector of Saxony, John Frederick I.,
set a price upon the head of the angry merchant. Kohlhase now sought
revenge in earnest. Gathering around him a band of criminals and of
desperadoes he spread terror throughout the whole of Saxony; travellers
were robbed, villages were burned and towns were plundered. For some
time the authorities were practically powerless to stop these outrages,
but in March 1540 Kohlhase and his principal associate, Georg
Nagelschmidt, were seized, and on the 22nd of the month they were broken
on the wheel in Berlin.
The life and fate of Kohlhase are dealt with in several dramas. See
Burkhardt, _Der historische Hans Kohlhase und H. von Kleists Michael
Kohlhaas_ (Leipzig, 1864).
KOKOMO, a city and the county-seat of Howard county, Indiana, U.S.A., on
the Wildcat River, about 50 m. N. of Indianapolis. Pop. (1890), 8261;
(1900), 10,609 of whom 499 were foreign-born and 359 negroes; (1910
census), 17,010. It is served by the Lake Erie & Western, the Pittsburg
Cincinnati Chicago & St Louis, and the Toledo St Louis & Western
railways, and by two interurban electric lines. Kokomo is a centre of
trade in agricultural products, and has various manufactures, including
flint, plate and opalescent glass, &c. The total value of the factory
product increased from $2,062,156 in 1900 to $3,651,105 in 1905, or
77.1%; and in 1905 the glass product was valued at $864,567, or 23.7% of
the total. Kokomo was settled about 1840 and became a city (under a
state law) in 1865.
KOKO-NOR (or KUKU-NOR) (_Tsing-hai_ of the Chinese, and _Tso-ngombo_ of
the Tanguts), a lake of Central Asia, situated at an altitude of 9975
ft., in the extreme N.E. of Tibet, 30 m. from the W. frontier of the
Chinese province of Kan-suh, in 100° E. and 37° N. It lies amongst the
eastern ranges of the Kuen-lun, having the Nan-shan Mountains to the
north, and the southern Koko-nor range (10,000 ft.) on the south. It
measures 66 m. by 40 m., and contains half a dozen islands, on one of
which is a Buddhist (i.e. Lamaist) monastery, to which pilgrims resort.
The water is salt, though an abundance of fish live in it, and it often
remains frozen for three months together in winter. The surface is at
times subject to considerable variations of level. The lake is entered
on the west by the river Buhain-gol. The nomads who dwell round its
shores are Tanguts.
KOKSHAROV, NIKOLAÍ IVANOVICH VON (1818-1893), Russian mineralogist and
major-general in the Russian army, was born at Ust-Kamenogork in Tomsk,
on the 5th of December 1818 (O.S.). He was educated at the military
school of mines in St Petersburg. At the age of twenty-two he was
selected to accompany R. I. Murchison and De Verneuil, and afterwards De
Keyserling, in their geological survey of the Russian Empire.
Subsequently he devoted his attention mainly to the study of mineralogy
and mining, and was appointed director of the Institute of Mines. In
1865 he became director of the Imperial Mineralogical Society of St
Petersburg. He contributed numerous papers on euclase, zircon, epidote,
orthite, monazite and other mineralogical subjects to the St Petersburg
and Vienna academies of science, to Poggendorf's _Annalen_, Leonhard and
Brown's _Jahrbuch_, &c. He also issued as separate works _Materialen zur
Mineralogie Russlands_ (10 vols., 1853-1891), and _Vorlesungen über
Mineralogie_ (1865). He died in St Petersburg on the 3rd of January 1893
(O.S.).
KOKSTAD, a town of South Africa, the capital of Griqualand East, 236 m.
by rail S.W. of Durban, 110 m. N. by W. of Port Shepstone, and 150 m. N.
of Port St John, Pondoland. Pop. (1904), 2903, of whom a third were
Griquas. The town is built on the outer slopes of the Drakensberg and is
4270 ft. above the sea. Behind it Mount Currie rises to a height of 7297
ft. An excellent water supply is derived from the mountains. The town is
well laid out, and possesses several handsome public buildings. It is
the centre of a thriving agricultural district and has a considerable
trade in wool, grain, cattle and horses with Basutoland, Pondoland and
the neighbouring regions of Natal. The town is named after the Griqua
chief Adam Kok, who founded it in 1869. In 1879 it came into the
possession of Cape Colony and was granted municipal government in 1893.
It is the residence of the Headman of the Griqua nation. (See KAFFRARIA
and GRIQUALAND.)
KOLA, a peninsula of northern Russia, lying between the Arctic Ocean on
the N. and the White Sea on the S. It forms part of the region of
Lapland and belongs administratively to the government of Archangel. The
Arctic coast, known as the Murman coast (Murman being a corruption of
Norman), is 260 m. long, and being subject to the influence of the North
Atlantic drift, is free from ice all the year round. It is a rocky
coast, built of granite, and rising to 650 ft., and is broken by several
excellent bays. On one of these, Kola Bay, the Russian government
founded in 1895 the naval harbour of Alexandrovsk. From May to August a
productive fishery is carried on along this coast. Inland the peninsula
rises up to a plateau, 1000 ft. in general elevation, and crossed by
several ranges of low mountains, which go up to over 3000 ft. in
altitude. The lower slopes of these mountains are clothed with forest up
to 1300 ft., and in places thickly studded with lakes, some of them of
very considerable extent, e.g. Imandra (330 sq. m.), Ump-jaur,
Nuorti-järvi, Guolle-jaur or Kola Lake, and Lu-jaur. From these issue
streams of appreciable magnitude, such as the Tuloma, Voronya, Yovkyok
or Yokanka, and Ponoi, all flowing into the Arctic, and the Varsuga and
Umba, into the White Sea. The area of the peninsula is estimated at
50,000 sq. m.
See A. O. Kihlmann and Palmén, _Die Expedition nach der Halbinsel
Kola_ (1887-1892) (Helsingfors); A. O. Kihlmann, _Bericht einer
naturwissenschaftlichen Reise durch Russisch-Lappland_ (Helsingfors,
1890); and W. Ramsay, _Geologische Beobachtungen auf der Halbinsel
Kola_ (Helsingfors, 1899).
KOLABA (or COLABA), a district of British India, in the southern
division of Bombay. Area, 2131 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 605,566, showing an
increase of 2% in the decade. The headquarters are at Alibagh. Lying
between the Western Ghats and the sea, Kolaba district abounds in hills,
some being spurs running at right angles to the main range, while others
are isolated peaks or lofty detached ridges. The sea frontage, of about
20 m., is throughout the greater part of its length fringed by a belt of
coco-nut and betel-nut palms. Behind this belt lies a stretch of flat
country devoted to rice cultivation. In many places along the banks of
the salt-water creeks there are extensive tracts of salt marshland, some
of them reclaimed, some still subject to tidal inundation, and others
set apart for the manufacture of salt. The district is traversed by a
few small streams. Tidal inlets, of which the principal are the Nagothna
on the north, the Roha or Chaul in the west, and the Bankot creek in the
south, run inland for 30 or 40 m., forming highways for a brisk trade in
rice, salt, firewood, and dried fish. Near the coast especially, the
district is well supplied with reservoirs. The Western Ghats have two
remarkable peaks--Raigarh, where Sivaji built his capital, and
Miradongar. There are extensive teak and black wood forests, the value
of which is increased by their proximity to Bombay. The Great Indian
Peninsula railway crosses part of the district, and communication with
Bombay is maintained by a steam ferry. Owing to its nearness to that
city, the district has suffered severely from plague. Kolaba district
takes its name from a little island off Alibagh, which was one of the
strongholds of Angria, the Mahratta pirate of the 18th century. The same
island has given its name to Kolaba Point, the spur of Bombay Island
running south that protects the entrance to the harbour. On Kolaba Point
are the terminus of the Bombay & Baroda railway, barracks for a European
regiment, lunatic asylum and observatory.
KOLAR, a town and district of India, in the state of Mysore. The town is
43 m. E. of Bangalore. Pop. (1901), 12,210. Although of ancient
foundation, it has been almost completely modernized. Industries include
the weaving of blankets and the breeding of turkeys for export.
The DISTRICT OF KOLAR has an area of 3180 sq. m. It occupies the portion
of the Mysore table-land immediately bordering the Eastern Ghats. The
principal watershed lies in the north-west, around the hill of Nandidrug
(4810 ft.), from which rivers radiate in all directions; and the whole
country is broken by numerous hill ranges. The chief rivers are the
Palar, the South Pinakini or Pennar, the North Pinakini, and the
Papagani, which are industriously utilized for irrigation by means of
anicuts and tanks. The rocks of the district are mostly syenite or
granite, with a small admixture of mica and feldspar. The soil in the
valleys consists of a fertile loam; and in the higher levels sand and
gravel are found. The hills are covered with scrub, jungle and
brushwood. In 1901 the population was 723,600, showing an increase of
22% in the decade. The district is traversed by the Bangalore line of
the Madras railway, with a branch 10 m. long, known as the Kolar
Goldfields railway. Gold prospecting in this region began in 1876, and
the industry is now settled on a secure basis. Here are situated the
mines of the Mysore, Champion Reef, Ooregum, and Nandidrug companies. To
the end of 1904 the total value of gold produced was 21 millions
sterling, and there had been paid in dividends 9 millions, and in
royalty to the Mysore state one million. The municipality called the
Kolar Gold Fields had in 1901 a population of 38,204; it has suffered
severely from plague. Electricity from the falls of the Cauvery (93 m.
distant) is utilized as the motive power in the mines. Sugar manufacture
and silk and cotton weaving are the other principal industries in the
district. The chief historical interest of modern times centres round
the hill fort of Nandidrug, which was stormed by the British in 1791,
after a bombardment of 21 days.
KOLBE, ADOLPHE WILHELM HERMANN (1818-1884), German chemist, was born on
the 27th of September 1818 at Elliehausen, near Göttingen, where in 1838
he began to study chemistry under F. Wöhler. In 1842 he became assistant
to R. W. von Bunsen at Marburg, and three years later to Lyon Playfair
at London. From 1847 to 1851 he was engaged at Brunswick in editing the
_Dictionary of Chemistry_ started by Liebig, but in the latter year he
went to Marburg as successor to Bunsen in the chair of chemistry. In
1865 he was called to Leipzig in the same capacity, and he died in that
city on the 25th of November 1884. Kolbe had an important share in the
great development of chemical theory that occurred about the middle of
the 19th century, especially in regard to the constitution of organic
compounds, which he viewed as derivatives of inorganic ones, formed from
the latter--in some cases directly--by simple processes of substitution.
Unable to accept Berzelius's doctrine of the unalterability of organic
radicals, he also gave a new interpretation to the meaning of copulae
under the influence of his fellow-worker Edward Frankland's conception
of definite atomic saturation-capacities, and thus contributed in an
important degree to the subsequent establishment of the structure
theory. Kolbe was a very successful teacher, a ready and vigorous
writer, and a brilliant experimentalist whose work revealed the nature
of many compounds the composition of which had not previously been
understood. He published a _Lehrbuch der organischen Chemie_ in 1854,
smaller textbooks of organic and inorganic chemistry in 1877-1883, and
_Zur Entwickelungsgeschichte der theoretischen Chemie_ in 1881. From
1870 he was editor of the _Journal für praktische Chemie_, in which many
trenchant criticisms of contemporary chemists and their doctrines
appeared from his pen.
KOLBERG (or COLBERG), a town of Germany, and seaport of the Prussian
province of Pomerania, on the right bank of the Persante, which falls
into the Baltic about a mile below the town, and at the junction of the
railway lines to Belgard and Gollnow. Pop. (1905), 22,804. It has a
handsome market-place with a statue of Frederick William III.; and there
are extensive suburbs, of which the most important is Münde. The
principal buildings are the huge red-brick church of St Mary, with five
aisles, one of the most remarkable churches in Pomerania, dating from
the 14th century; the council-house (Rathaus), erected after the plans
of Ernst F. Zwirner; and the citadel. Kolberg also possesses four other
churches, a theatre, a gymnasium, a school of navigation, and an
exchange. Its bathing establishments are largely frequented and attract
a considerable number of summer visitors. It has a harbour at the mouth
of the Persante, where there is a lighthouse. Woollen cloth, machinery
and spirits are manufactured; there is an extensive salt-mine in the
neighbouring Zillenberg; the salmon and lamprey fisheries are important;
and a fair amount of commercial activity is maintained. In 1903 a
monument was erected to the memory of Gneisenau and the patriot, Joachim
Christian Nettelbeck (1738-1824), through whose efforts the town was
saved from the French in 1806-7.
Originally a Slavonic fort, Kolberg is one of the oldest places of
Pomerania. At an early date it became the seat of a bishop, and although
it soon lost this distinction it obtained municipal privileges in 1255.
From about 1276 it ranked as the most important place in the episcopal
principality of Kamin, and from 1284 it was a member of the Hanseatic
League. During the Thirty Years' War it was captured by the Swedes in
1631, passing by the treaty of Westphalia to the elector of Brandenburg,
Frederick William I., who strengthened its fortifications. The town was
a centre of conflict during the Seven Years' War. In 1758 and again in
1760 the Russians besieged Kolberg in vain, but in 1762 they succeeded
in capturing it. Soon restored to Brandenburg, it was vigorously
attacked by the French in 1806 and 1807, but it was saved by the long
resistance of its inhabitants. In 1887 the fortifications of the town
were razed, and it has since become a fashionable watering-place,
receiving annually nearly 15,000 visitors.
See Riemann, _Geschichte der Stadt Kolberg_ (Kolberg, 1873); Stoewer,
_Geschichte der Stadt Kolberg_ (Kolberg, 1897); Schönlein, _Geschichte
der Belagerungen Kolbergs in den Jahren 1758, 1760, 1761 und 1807_
(Kolberg, 1878); and Kempin, _Führer durch Bad Kolberg_ (Kolberg,
1899).
KÖLCSEY, FERENCZ (1790-1838), Hungarian poet, critic and orator, was
born at Szodemeter, in Transylvania, on the 8th of August 1790. In his
fifteenth year he made the acquaintance of Kazinczy and zealously
adopted his linguistic reforms. In 1809 Kölcsey went to Pest and became
a "notary to the royal board." Law proved distasteful, and at Cseke in
Szatmár county he devoted his time to aesthetical study, poetry,
criticism, and the defence of the theories of Kazinczy. Kölcsey's early
metrical pieces contributed to the _Transylvanian Museum_ did not
attract much attention, whilst his severe criticisms of Csokonai, Kis,
and especially Berzsenyi, published in 1817, rendered him very
unpopular. From 1821 to 1826 he published many separate poems of great
beauty in the _Aurora_, _Hebe_, _Aspasia_, and other magazines of polite
literature. He joined Paul Szemere in a new periodical, styled _Élet és
literatura_ ("Life and Literature"), which appeared from 1826 to 1829,
in 4 vols., and gained for Kölcsey the highest reputation as a critical
writer. From 1832 to 1835 he sat in the Hungarian Diet, where his
extreme liberal views and his singular eloquence soon rendered him
famous as a parliamentary leader. Elected on the 17th of November 1830 a
member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, he took part in its first
grand meeting; in 1832, he delivered his famous oration on Kazinczy, and
in 1836 that on his former opponent Daniel Berzsenyi. When in 1838 Baron
Wesselényi was unjustly thrown into prison upon a charge of treason,
Kölcsey eloquently though unsuccessfully conducted his defence; and he
died about a week afterwards (August 24) from internal inflammation. His
collected works, in 6 vols., were published at Pest, 1840-1848, and his
journal of the diet of 1832-1836 appeared in 1848. A monument erected to
the memory of Kölcsey was unveiled at Szatmár-Németi on the 25th of
September 1864.
See G. Steinacker, _Ungarische Lyriker_ (Leipzig, and Pest, 1874); F.
Toldy, _Magyar Költök élete_ (2 vols., Pest, 1871); J. Ferenczy and J.
Danielik, _Magyar Irók_ (2 vols., Pest, 1856-1858).
KOLDING, a town of Denmark in the _amt_ (county) of Vejle, on the east
coast of Jutland, on the Koldingfjord, an inlet of the Little Belt, 9
m. N. of the German frontier. Pop. (1901), 12,516. It is on the Eastern
railway of Jutland. The harbour throughout has a depth of over 20 ft. A
little to the north-west is the splendid remnant of the royal castle
Koldinghuus, formerly called Oernsborg or Arensborg. It was begun by
Duke Abel in 1248; in 1808 it was burned. The large square tower was
built by Christian IV. (1588-1648), and was surmounted by colossal
statues, of which one is still standing. It contains an antiquarian and
historical museum (1892). The name of Kolding occurs in the 10th
century, but its earliest known town-rights date from 1321. In 1644 it
was the scene of a Danish victory over the Swedes, and on the 22nd of
April 1849 of a Danish defeat by the troops of Schleswig-Holstein. A
comprehensive view of the Little Belt with its islands, and over the
mainland, is obtained from the Skamlingsbank, a slight elevation 8½ m.
S.E., where an obelisk (1863) commemorates the effort made to preserve
the Danish language in Schleswig.
KOLGUEV, KOLGUEFF or KALGUYEV, an island off the north-west of Russia in
Europe, belonging to the government of Archangel. It lies about 50 m.
from the nearest point of the mainland, and is of roughly oval form, 54
m. in length from N.N.E. to S.S.W. and 39 m. in extreme breadth. It lies
in a shallow sea, and is quite low, the highest point being 250 ft.
above the sea. Peat-bogs and grass lands cover the greater part of the
surface; there are several considerable streams and a large number of
small lakes. The island is of recent geological formation; it consists
almost wholly of disintegrated sandstone or clay (which rises at the
north-west into cliffs up to 60 ft. high), with scattered masses of
granite. Vegetation is scanty, but bears, foxes and other Arctic
animals, geese, swans, &c., provide means of livelihood for a few
Samoyed hunters.
KOLHAPUR, a native state of India, within the Deccan division of Bombay.
It is the fourth in importance of the Mahratta principalities, the other
three being Baroda, Gwalior and Indore; and it is the principal state
under the political control of the government of Bombay. Together with
its _jagirs_ or feudatories, it covers an area of 3165 sq. m. In 1901
the population was 910,011. The estimated revenue is £300,000. Kolhapur
stretches from the heart of the Western Ghats eastwards into the plain
of the Deccan. Along the spurs of the main chain of the Ghats lie wild
and picturesque hill slopes and valleys, producing little but timber,
and till recently covered with rich forests. The centre of the state is
crossed by several lines of low hills running at right angles from the
main range. In the east the country becomes more open and presents the
unpicturesque uniformity of a well-cultivated and treeless plain, broken
only by an occasional river. Among the western hills are the ancient
Mahratta strongholds of Panhala, Vishalgarh, Bavda and Rungna. The
rivers, though navigable during the rains by boats of 2 tons burthen,
are all fordable during the hot months. Iron ore is found in the hills,
and smelting was formerly carried on to a considerable extent; but now
the Kolhapur mineral cannot compete with that imported from Europe.
There are several good stone quarries. The principal agricultural
products are rice, millets, sugar-cane, tobacco, cotton, safflower and
vegetables.
The rajas of Kolhapur trace their descent from Raja Ram, a younger son
of Sivaji the Great, the founder of the Mahratta power. The prevalence
of piracy caused the British government to send expeditions against
Kolhapur in 1765 and 1792; and in the early years of the 19th century
the misgovernment of the chief compelled the British to resort to
military operations, and ultimately to appoint an officer to manage the
state. In recent years the state has been conspicuously well governed,
on the pattern of British administration. The raja Shahu Chhatrapati,
G.C.S.I. (who is entitled to a salute of 21 guns) was born in 1874, and
ten years later succeeded to the throne by adoption. The principal
institutions are the Rajaram college, the high school, a technical
school, an agricultural school, and training-schools for both masters
and mistresses. The state railway from Miraj junction to Kolhapur town
is worked by the Southern Mahratta company. In recent years the state
has suffered from both famine and plague.
The town of KOLHAPUR, or KARVIR, is the terminus of a branch of the
Southern Mahratta railway, 30 m. from the main line. Pop. (1901),
54,373. Besides a number of handsome modern public buildings, the town
has many evidences of antiquity. Originally it appears to have been an
important religious centre, and numerous Buddhist remains have been
discovered in the neighbourhood.
KOLIN, or NEU-KOLIN (also _Kollin_; Czech, _Nový Kolín_), a town of
Bohemia, Austria, 40 m. E. of Prague by rail. Pop. (1900), 15,025,
mostly Czech. It is situated on the Elbe, and amongst its noteworthy
buildings may be specially mentioned the beautiful early Gothic church
of St Bartholomew, erected during the latter half of the 14th century.
The industries of the town include sugar-refining, steam mills, brewing,
and the manufacture of starch, syrup, spirits, potash and tin ware. The
neighbourhood is known for the excellence of its fruit and vegetables.
Kolin is chiefly famous on account of the battle here on the 18th of
June 1757, when the Prussians under Frederick the Great were defeated by
the Austrians under Daun (see SEVEN YEARS' WAR). The result was the
raising of the siege of Prague and the evacuation of Bohemia by the
Prussians. Kolin was colonized in the 13th century by German settlers
and made a royal city. In 1421 it was captured by the men of Prague, and
the German inhabitants who refused to accept "the four articles" were
expelled. In 1427 the town declared against Prague, was besieged by
Prokop the Great, and surrendered to him upon conditions at the close of
the year.
KOLIS, a caste or tribe of Western India, of uncertain origin. Possibly
the name is derived from the Turki _kuleh_ a slave; and, according to
one theory, this name has been passed on to the familiar word "cooly"
for an agricultural labourer. They form the main part of the inferior
agricultural population of Gujarat, where they were formerly notorious
as robbers; but they also extend into the Konkan and the Deccan. In 1901
the number of Kolis in all India was returned as nearly 3¾ millions; but
this total includes a distinct weaving caste of Kolis or Koris in
northern India.
KÖLLIKER, RUDOLPH ALBERT VON (1817-1905), Swiss anatomist and
physiologist, was born at Zürich on the 6th of July 1817. His father and
his mother were both Zürich people, and he in due time married a lady
from Aargau, so that Switzerland can claim him as wholly her own, though
he lived the greater part of his life in Germany. His early education
was carried on in Zürich, and he entered the university there in 1836.
After two years, however, he moved to the university of Bonn, and later
to that of Berlin, becoming at the latter place the pupil of Johannes
Müller and of F. G. J. Henle. He graduated in philosophy at Zürich in
1841, and in medicine at Heidelberg in 1842. The first academic post
which he held was that of prosector of anatomy under Henle; but his
tenure of this office was brief, for in 1844 his native city called him
back to its university to occupy a chair as professor extraordinary of
physiology and comparative anatomy. His stay here too, however, was
brief, for in 1847 the university of Würzburg, attracted by his rising
fame, offered him the post of professor of physiology and of
microscopical and comparative anatomy. He accepted the appointment, and
at Würzburg he remained thenceforth, refusing all offers tempting him to
leave the quiet academic life of the Bavarian town, where he died on the
2nd of November 1905.
Kölliker's name will ever be associated with that of the tool with which
during his long life he so assiduously and successfully worked, the
microscope. The time at which he began his studies coincided with that
of the revival of the microscopic investigation of living beings. Two
centuries earlier the great Italian Malpighi had started, and with his
own hand had carried far the study by the help of the microscope of the
minute structure of animals and plants. After Malpighi this branch of
knowledge, though continually progressing, made no remarkable bounds
forward until the second quarter of the 19th century, when the
improvement of the compound microscope on the one hand, and the
promulgation by Theodor Schwann and Matthias Schleiden of the "cell
theory" on the other, inaugurated a new era of microscopic
investigation. Into this new learning Kölliker threw himself with all
the zeal of youth, wisely initiated into it by his great teacher Henle,
whose sober and exact mode of inquiry went far at the time to give the
new learning a right direction and to counteract the somewhat fantastic
views which, under the name of the cell theory, were tending to be
prominent. Henle's labours were for the most part limited to the
microscopic investigation of the minute structure of the tissues of man
and of the higher animals, the latter being studied by him mainly with
the view of illustrating the former. But Kölliker had another teacher
besides Henle, the even greater Johannes Müller, whose active mind was
sweeping over the whole animal kingdom, striving to pierce the secrets
of the structure of living creatures of all sorts, and keeping steadily
in view the wide biological problems of function and of origin, which
the facts of structure might serve to solve. We may probably trace to
the influence of these two great teachers, strengthened by the spirit of
the times, the threefold character of Kölliker's long-continued and
varied labours. In all of them, or in almost all of them, the microscope
was the instrument of inquiry, but the problem to be solved by means of
the instrument belonged now to one branch of biology, now to another.
At Zürich, and afterwards at Würzburg, the title of the chair which he
held laid upon him the duty of teaching comparative anatomy, and very
many of the numerous memoirs which he published, including the very
first paper which he wrote, and which appeared in 1841 before he
graduated, "On the Nature of the so-called Seminal Animalcules," were
directed towards elucidating, by help of the microscope, the structure
of animals of the most varied kinds--that is to say, were zoological in
character. Notable among these were his papers on the Medusae and allied
creatures. His activity in this direction led him to make zoological
excursions to the Mediterranean Sea and to the coasts of Scotland, as
well as to undertake, conjointly with his friend C. T. E. von Siebold,
the editorship of the _Zeitschrift für Wissenschaftliche Zoologie_,
which, founded in 1848, continued under his hands to be one of the most
important zoological periodicals.
At the time when Kölliker was beginning his career the influence of Karl
Ernst von Baer's embryological teaching was already being widely felt,
men were learning to recognize the importance to morphological and
zoological studies of a knowledge of the development of animals; and
Kölliker plunged with enthusiasm into the relatively new line of
inquiry. His earlier efforts were directed to the invertebrata, and his
memoir on the development of cephalopods, which appeared in 1844, is a
classical work; but he soon passed on to the vertebrata, and studied not
only the amphibian embryo and the chick, but also the mammalian embryo.
He was among the first, if not the very first, to introduce into this
branch of biological inquiry the newer microscopic technique--the
methods of hardening, section-cutting and staining. By doing so, not
only was he enabled to make rapid progress himself, but he also placed
in the hands of others the means of a like advance. The remarkable
strides forward which embryology made during the middle and during the
latter half of the 19th century will always be associated with his name.
His _Lectures on Development_, published in 1861, at once became a
standard work.
But neither zoology nor embryology furnished Kölliker's chief claim to
fame. If he did much for these branches of science, he did still more
for histology, the knowledge of the minute structure of the animal
tissues. This he made emphatically his own. It may indeed be said that
there is no fragment of the body of man and of the higher animals on
which he did not leave his mark, and in more places than one his mark
was a mark of fundamental importance. Among his earlier results may be
mentioned the demonstration in 1847 that smooth or unstriated muscle is
made up of distinct units, of nucleated muscle-cells. In this work he
followed in the footsteps of his master Henle. A few years before this
men were doubting whether arteries were muscular, and no solid
histological basis as yet existed for those views as to the action of
the nervous system on the circulation, which were soon to be put
forward, and which had such a great influence on the progress of
physiology. By the above discovery Kölliker completed that basis.
Even to enumerate, certainly to dwell on, all his contributions to
histology would be impossible here: smooth muscle, striated muscle,
skin, bone, teeth, blood-vessels and viscera were all investigated by
him; and he touched none of them without striking out some new truths.
The results at which he arrived were recorded partly in separate
memoirs, partly in his great textbook on microscopical anatomy, which
first saw the light in 1850, and by which he advanced histology no less
than by his own researches. In the case of almost every tissue our
present knowledge contains something great or small which we owe to
Kölliker; but it is on the nervous system that his name is written in
largest letters. So early as 1845, while still at Zürich, he supplied
what was as yet still lacking, the clear proof that nerve-fibres are
continuous with nerve-cells, and so furnished the absolutely necessary
basis for all sound speculations as to the actions of the central
nervous system. From that time onward he continually laboured, and
always fruitfully, at the histology of the nervous system, and more
especially at the difficult problems presented by the intricate patterns
in which fibres and cells are woven together in the brain and spinal
cord. In his old age, at a time when he had fully earned the right to
fold his arms, and to rest and be thankful, he still enriched
neurological science with results of the highest value. From his early
days a master of method, he saw at a glance the value of the new Golgi
method for the investigation of the central nervous system, and, to the
great benefit of science, took up once more in his old age, with the aid
of a new means, the studies for which he had done so much in his youth.
It may truly be said that much of that exact knowledge of the inner
structure of the brain, which is rendering possible new and faithful
conceptions of its working, came from his hands.
Lastly, Kölliker was in his earlier years professor of physiology as
well as of anatomy; and not only did his histological labours almost
always carry physiological lessons, but he also enriched physiology with
the results of direct researches of an experimental kind, notably those
on curare and some other poisons. In fact, we have to go back to the
science of centuries ago to find a man of science of so many-sided an
activity as he. His life constituted in a certain sense a protest
against that specialized differentiation which, however much it may
under certain aspects be regretted, seems to be one of the necessities
of modern development. In Johannes Müller's days no one thought of
parting anatomy and physiology; nowadays no one thinks of joining them
together. Kölliker did in his work join them together, and indeed said
himself that he thought they ought never to be kept apart.
Naturally a man of so much accomplishment was not left without honours.
Formerly known simply as Kölliker, the title "von" was added to his
name. He was made a member of the learned societies of many countries;
in England, which he visited more than once, and where he became well
known, the Royal Society made him a fellow in 1860, and in 1897 gave him
its highest token of esteem, the Copley medal. (M. F.)
KOLLONTAJ, HUGO (1750-1812), Polish politician and writer, was born in
1750 at Niecislawice in Sandomir, and educated at Pinczow and Cracow.
After taking orders he went (1770) to Rome, where he obtained the degree
of doctor of theology and common law, and devoted himself
enthusiastically to the study of the fine arts, especially of
architecture and painting. At Rome too he obtained a canonry attached to
Cracow cathedral, and on his return to Poland in 1755 threw himself
heart and soul into the question of educational reform. His efforts were
impeded by the obstruction of the clergy of Cracow, who regarded him as
an adventurer; but he succeeded in reforming the university after his
own mind, and was its rector for three years (1782-1785). Kollontaj next
turned his attention to politics. In 1786 he was appointed
_referendarius_ of Lithuania, and during the Four Years' Diet
(1788-1792) displayed an amazing and many-sided activity as one of the
reformers of the constitution. He grouped around him all the leading
writers, publicists and progressive young men of the day; declaimed
against prejudices; stimulated the timid; inspired the lukewarm with
enthusiasm; and never rested till the constitution of the 3rd of May
1791 had been carried through. In June 1791 Kollontaj was appointed
vice-chancellor. On the triumph of the reactionaries and the fall of the
national party, he secretly placed in the king's hands his adhesion to
the triumphant Confederation of Targowica, a false step, much blamed at
the time, but due not to personal ambition but to a desire to save
something from the wreck of the constitution. He then emigrated to
Dresden. On the outbreak of Kosciuszko's insurrection he returned to
Poland, and as member of the national government and minister of finance
took a leading part in affairs. But his radicalism had now become of a
disruptive quality, and he quarrelled with and even thwarted Kosciuszko
because the dictator would not admit that the Polish republic could only
be saved by the methods of Jacobinism. On the other hand, the more
conservative section of the Poles regarded Kollontaj as "a second
Robespierre," and he is even suspected of complicity in the outrages of
the 17th and 18th of June 1794, when the Warsaw mob massacred the
political prisoners. On the collapse of the insurrection Kollontaj
emigrated to Austria, where from 1795 to 1802 he was detained as a
prisoner. He was finally released through the mediation of Prince Adam
Czartoryski, and returned to Poland utterly discredited. The remainder
of his life was a ceaseless struggle against privation and prejudice. He
died at Warsaw on the 28th of February 1812.
Of his numerous works the most notable are: _Political Speeches as
Vice-Chancellor_ (Pol.) (in 6 vols., Warsaw, 1791); _On the Erection
and Fall of the Constitution of May_ (Pol.) (Leipzig, 1793; Paris,
1868); _Correspondence with T. Czacki_ (Pol.) (Cracow, 1854); _Letters
written during Emigration, 1792-1794_ (Pol.) (Posen, 1872).
See Ignacz Badeni, _Necrology of Hugo Kollontaj_ (Pol.) (Cracow,
1819); Henryk Schmitt, _Review of the Life and Works of Kollontaj_
(Pol.) (Lemberg, 1860); Wojciek Grochowski, "Life of Kollontaj" (Pol.)
in _Tygod Illus._ (Warsaw, 1861). (R. N. B.)
KOLOMEA (Polish, _Kolomyja_), a town of Austria, in Galicia, 122 m. S.
of Lemberg by rail. Pop. (1900), 34,188, of which half were Jews. It is
situated on the Pruth, and has an active trade in agricultural products.
To the N.E. of Kolomea, near the Dniester, lies the village of
Czernelica, with ruins of a strongly fortified castle, which served as
the residence of John Sobieski during his campaigns against the Turks.
Kolomea is a very old town and is mentioned already in 1240, but the
assertion that it was a Roman settlement under the name of _Colonia_ is
not proved. It was the principal town of the Polish province of Pokutia,
and it suffered severely during the 15th and 16th centuries from the
attacks of the Moldavians and the Tatars.
KOLOMNA, a town of Russia, in the government of Moscow, situated on the
railway between Moscow and Ryazan, 72 m. S.E. of Moscow, at the
confluence of the Moskva river with the Kolomenka. Pop. (1897), 20,970.
It is an old town, mentioned in the annals in 1177, and until the 14th
century was the capital of the Ryazan principality. It suffered greatly
from the invasions of the Tatars in the 13th century, who destroyed it
four times, as well as from the wars of the 17th century; but it always
recovered and has never lost its commercial importance. During the 19th
century it became a centre for the manufacture of silks, cottons, ropes
and leather. Here too are railway workshops, where locomotives and
wagons are made. Kolomna carries on an active trade in grain, cattle,
tallow, skins, salt and timber. It has several old churches of great
archaeological interest, including two of the 14th century, one being
the cathedral. One gate (restored in 1895) of the fortifications of the
Kreml still survives.
KOLOZSVÁR (Ger. _Klausenburg_; Rum. _Cluj_), a town of Hungary, in
Transylvania, the capital of the county of Kolozs, and formerly the
capital of the whole of Transylvania, 248 m. E.S.E. of Budapest by rail.
Pop. (1900), 46,670. It is situated in a picturesque valley on the banks
of the Little Szamos, and comprises the inner town (formerly surrounded
with walls) and five suburbs. The greater part of the town lies on the
right bank of the river, while on the other side is the so-called Bridge
Suburb and the citadel (erected in 1715). Upon the slopes of the citadel
hill there is a gipsy quarter. With the exception of the old quarter,
Kolozsvár is generally well laid out, and contains many broad and fine
streets, several of which diverge at right angles from the principal
square. In this square is situated the Gothic church of St Michael
(1396-1432); in front is a bronze equestrian statue of King Matthias
Corvinus by the Hungarian sculptor Fadrusz (1902). Other noteworthy
buildings are the Reformed church, built by Matthias Corvinus in 1486
and ceded to the Calvinists by Bethlen Gabor in 1622; the house in which
Matthias Corvinus was born (1443), which contains an ethnographical
museum; the county and town halls, a museum, and the university
buildings. A feature of Kolozsvár is the large number of handsome
mansions belonging to the Transylvanian nobles, who reside here during
the winter. It is the seat of a Unitarian bishop, and of the
superintendent of the Calvinists for the Transylvanian circle. Kolozsvár
is the literary and scientific centre of Transylvania, and is the seat
of numerous literary and scientific associations. It contains a
university (founded in 1872), with four faculties--theology, philosophy,
law and medicine--frequented by about 1900 students in 1905; and amongst
its other educational establishments are a seminary for Unitarian
priests, an agricultural college, two training schools for teachers, a
commercial academy, and several secondary schools for boys and girls.
The industry comprises establishments for the manufacture of woollen and
linen cloth, paper, sugar, candles, soap, earthenwares, as well as
breweries and distilleries.
Kolozsvár is believed to occupy the site of a Roman settlement named
_Napoca_. Colonized by Saxons in 1178, it then received its German name
of _Klausenburg_, from the old word Klause, signifying a "mountain
pass." Between the years 1545 and 1570 large numbers of the Saxon
population left the town in consequence of the introduction of Unitarian
doctrines. In 1798 the town was to a great extent destroyed by fire. As
capital of Transylvania and the seat of the Transylvanian diets,
Kolozsvár from 1830 to 1848 became the centre of the Hungarian national
movement in the grand principality; and in December 1848 it was taken
and garrisoned by the Hungarians under General Bem.
KOLPINO, one of the chief iron-works of the crown in Russia, in the
government of St Petersburg, 16 m. S.E. of the city of St Petersburg, on
the railway to Moscow, and on the Izhora river. Pop. (1897), 8076. A
sacred image of St Nicholas in the Trinity church is visited by numerous
pilgrims on the 22nd of May every year. Here is an iron-foundry of the
Russian admiralty.
KOLS, a generic name applied by Hindus to the Munda, Ho and Oraon tribes
of Bengal. The Mundas are an aboriginal tribe of Dravidian physical
type, inhabiting the Chota Nagpur division, and numbering 438,000 in
1901. The majority of them are animists in religion, but Christianity is
making rapid strides among them. The village community in its primitive
form still exists among the Mundas; the discontent due to the oppression
of their landlords led to the Munda rising of 1899, and to the remedy of
the alleged grievances by a new settlement of the district. The Hos, who
are closely akin to the Mundas, also inhabit the Chota Nagpur division;
in 1901 they numbered 386,000. They were formerly a very pugnacious
race, who successfully defended their territory against all comers until
they were subdued by the British in the early part of the 19th century,
being known as the Larka (or fighting) Kols. They are still great
sportsmen, using the bow and arrow. Like the Mundas they are animists,
but they show little inclination for Christianity. Both Mundas and Hos
speak dialects of the obscure linguistic family known as Munda or Kol.
See _Imp. Gazetteer of India_, vols. xiii., xviii. (Oxford, 1908).
KOLYVAÑ. (1) A town of West Siberia, in the government of Tomsk, on the
Chaus river, 5 m. from the Ob and 120 m. S.S.W. of the city of Tomsk. It
is a wealthy town, the merchants carrying on a considerable export trade
in cattle, hides, tallow, corn and fish. It was founded in 1713 under
the name of Chausky Ostrog, and has grown rapidly. Pop. (1897), 11,703.
(2) KOLYVAÑSKIY ZAVOD, another town of the same government, in the
district of Biysk, Altai region, on the Byelaya river, 192 m. S.E. of
Barnaul; altitude, 1290 ft. It is renowned for its stone-cutting
factory, where marble, jasper, various porphyries and breccias are
worked into vases, columns, &c. Pop., 5000. (3) Old name of Reval
(q.v.).
KOMÁROM (Ger., _Komorn_), the capital of the county of Komárom, Hungary,
65 m. W.N.W. of Budapest by rail. Pop. (1900), 16,816. It is situated at
the eastern extremity of the island Csallóköz or Grosse Schütt, at the
confluence of the Waag with the Danube. Just below Komárom the two arms
into which the Danube separates below Pressburg, forming the Grosse
Schütt island, unite again. Since 1896 the market-town of Uj-Szöny,
which lies on the opposite bank of the Danube, has been incorporated
with Komárom. The town is celebrated chiefly for its fortifications,
which form the centre of the inland fortifications of the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy. A brisk trade in cereals, timber, wine and
fish is carried on. Komárom is one of the oldest towns of Hungary,
having received its charter in 1265. The fortifications were begun by
Matthias Corvinus, and were enlarged and strengthened during the Turkish
wars (1526-64). New forts were constructed in 1663 and were greatly
enlarged between 1805 and 1809. In 1543, 1594, 1598 and 1663 it was
beleaguered by the Turks. It was raised to the dignity of a royal free
town in 1751. During the revolutionary war of 1848-49 Komárom was a
principal point of military operations, and was long unsuccessfully
besieged by the Austrians, who on the 11th of July 1849 were defeated
there by General Görgei, and on the 3rd of August by General Klapka. On
the 27th of September the fortress capitulated to the Austrians upon
honourable terms, and on the 3rd and 4th of October was evacuated by the
Hungarian troops. The treasure of the Austrian national bank was removed
here from Vienna in 1866, when that city was threatened by the
Prussians.
KOMATI, a river of south-eastern Africa. It rises at an elevation of
about 5000 ft. in the Ermelo district of the Transvaal, 11 m. W. of the
source of the Vaal, and flowing in a general N. and E. direction reaches
the Indian Ocean at Delagoa Bay, after a course of some 500 miles. In
its upper valley near Steynsdorp are gold-fields, but the reefs are
almost entirely of low grade ore. The river descends the Drakensberg by
a pass 30 m. S. of Barberton, and at the eastern border of Swaziland is
deflected northward, keeping a course parallel to the Lebombo mountains.
Just W. of 32° E. and in 25° 25´ S. it is joined by one of the many
rivers of South Africa named Crocodile. This tributary rises, as the
Elands river, in the Bergendal (6437 ft.) near the upper waters of the
Komati, and flows E. across the high veld, being turned northward as it
reaches the Drakensberg escarpment. The fall to the low veld is over
2000 ft. in 30 m., and across the country between the Drakensberg and
the Lebombo (100 m.) there is a further fall of 3000 ft. A mile below
the junction of the Crocodile and Komati, the united stream, which from
this point is also known as the Manhissa, passes to the coast plain
through a cleft 626 ft. high in the Lebombo known as Komati Poort, where
are some picturesque falls. At Komati Poort, which marks the frontier
between British and Portuguese territory, the river is less than 60 m.
from its mouth in a direct line, but in crossing the plain it makes a
wide sweep of 200 m., first N. and then S., forming lagoon-like expanses
and backwaters and receiving from the north several tributaries. In
flood time there is a connexion northward through the swamps with the
basin of the Limpopo. The Komati enters the sea 15 m. N. of Lourenço
Marques. It is navigable from its mouth, where the water is from 12 to
18 ft. deep, to the foot of the Lebombo.
The railway from Lourenço Marques to Pretoria traverses the plain in a
direct line, and at mile 45 reaches the Komati. It follows the south
bank of the river and enters the high country at Komati Poort. At a
small town with the same name, 2 m. W. of the Poort, on the 23rd of
September 1900, during the war with England, 3000 Boers crossed the
frontier and surrendered to the Portuguese authorities. From the Poort
westward the railway skirts the south bank of the Crocodile river
throughout its length.
KOMOTAU (Czech, _Chomútov_), a town of Bohemia, Austria 79 m. N.N.W. of
Prague by rail. Pop. (1900), 15,925, almost exclusively German. It has
an old Gothic church, and its town-hall was formerly a commandery of the
Teutonic knights. The industrial establishments comprise manufactories
of woollen cloth, linen and paper, dyeing houses, breweries,
distilleries, vinegar works and the central workshops of the Buschtehrad
railway. Lignite is worked in the neighbourhood. Komotau was originally
a Czech market-place, but in 1252 it came into the possession of the
Teutonic Order and was completely Germanized. In 1396 it received a town
charter; and in 1416 the knights sold both town and lordship to
Wenceslaus IV. On the 16th of March 1421, the town was stormed by the
Taborites, sacked and burned. After several changes of ownership,
Komotau came in 1588 to Popel of Lobkovic, who established the Jesuits
here, which led to trouble between the Protestant burghers and the
over-lord. In 1594 the lordship fell to the crown, and in 1605 the town
purchased its freedom and was created a royal city.
KOMURA, JUTARO, COUNT (1855- ), Japanese statesman, was born in Hiuga.
He graduated at Harvard in 1877, and entered the foreign office in Tokyo
in 1884. He served as chargé d'affaires in Peking, as Japanese minister
in Seoul, in Washington, in St Petersburg, and in Peking (during the
Boxer trouble), earning in every post a high reputation for diplomatic
ability. In 1901 he received the portfolio of foreign affairs, and held
it throughout the course of the negotiations with Russia and the
subsequent war (1904-5), being finally appointed by his sovereign to
meet the Russian plenipotentiaries at Portsmouth, and subsequently the
Chinese representatives in Peking, on which occasions the Portsmouth
treaty of September 1905 and the Peking treaty of November in the same
year were concluded. For these services, and for negotiating the second
Anglo-Japanese alliance, he received the Japanese title of count and was
made a K.C.B. by King Edward VII. He resigned his portfolio in 1906 and
became privy councillor, from which post he was transferred to the
embassy in London, but he returned to Tokyo in 1908 and resumed the
portfolio of foreign affairs in the second Katsura cabinet.
KONARAK or KANARAK, a ruined temple in India, in the Puri district of
Orissa, which has been described as for its size "the most richly
ornamented building--externally at least--in the whole world." It was
erected in the middle of the 13th century, and was dedicated to the
sun-god. It consisted of a tower, probably once over 180 ft. high, with
a porch in front 140 ft. high, sculptured with figures of lions,
elephants, horses, &c.
KONG, the name of a town, district and range of hills in the N.W. of the
Ivory Coast colony, French West Africa. The hills are part of the band
of high ground separating the inner plains of West Africa from the coast
regions. In maps of the first half of the 19th century the range is
shown as part of a great mountain chain supposed to run east and west
across Africa, and is thus made to appear a continuation of the
Mountains of the Moon, or the snow-clad heights of Ruwenzori. The
culminating point of the Kong system is the Pic des Kommono, 4757 ft.
high. In general the summits of the hills are below 2000 ft. and not
more than 700 ft. above the level of the country. The "circle of Kong,"
one of the administrative divisions of the Ivory Coast colony, covers
46,000 sq. m. and has a population of some 400,000. The inhabitants are
negroes, chiefly Bambara and Mandingo. About a fourth of the population
profess Mahommedanism; the remainder are spirit worshippers. The town of
Kong, situated in 9° N., 4° 20´ W., is not now of great importance.
Probably René Caillié, who spent some time in the western part of the
country in 1827, was the first European to visit Kong. In 1888 Captain
L. G. Binger induced the native chiefs to place themselves under the
protection of France, and in 1893 the protectorate was attached to the
Ivory Coast colony. For a time Kong was overrun by the armies of Samory
(see SENEGAL), but the capture of that chief in 1898 was followed by the
peaceful development of the district by France (see IVORY COAST).
KONGSBERG, a mining town of Norway in Buskerud _amt_ (county), on the
Laagen, 500 ft. above the sea, and 61 m. W.S.W. of Christiania by rail.
Pop. (1900), 5585. With the exception of the church and the town-house,
the buildings are mostly of wood. The origin and whole industry of the
town are connected with the government silver-mines in the
neighbourhood. Their first discovery was made by a peasant in 1623,
since which time they have been worked with varying success. During the
18th century Kongsberg was more important than now, and contained double
its present population. Within the town are situated the smelting-works,
the mint, and a Government weapon factory. Three miles below the Laagen
forms a fine fall of 140 ft. (Labrofos). The neighbouring Jonksnut (2950
ft.) commands extensive views of the Telemark. A driving-road from
Kongsberg follows a favourite route for travellers through this
district, connecting with routes to Sand and Odde on the west coast.
KONIA. (1) A vilayet in Asia Minor which includes the whole, or parts
of, Pamphylia, Pisidia, Phrygia, Lycaonia, Cilicia and Cappadocia. It
was formed in 1864 by adding to the old eyalet of Karamania the western
half of Adana, and part of south-eastern Anadoli. It is divided into
five sanjaks: Adalia, Buldur, Hamid-abad, Konia and Nigdeh. The
population (990,000 Moslems and 80,000 Christians) is for the most part
agricultural and pastoral. The only industries are carpet-weaving and
the manufacture of cotton and silk stuffs. There are mines of chrome,
mercury, cinnabar, argentiferous lead and rock salt. The principal
exports are salt, minerals, opium, cotton, cereals, wool and livestock;
and the imports cloth-goods, coffee, rice and petroleum. The vilayet is
now traversed by the Anatolian railway, and contains the railhead of the
Ottoman line from Smyrna.
(2) The chief town [anc. _Iconium_ (q.v.)], altitude 3320 ft., situated
at the S.W. edge of the vast central plain of Asia Minor, amidst
luxuriant orchards famous in the middle ages for their yellow plums and
apricots and watered by streams from the hills. Pop. 45,000, including
5000 Christians. There are interesting remains of Seljuk buildings, all
showing strong traces of Persian influence in their decorative details.
The principal ruin is that of the palace of Kilij Arslan II., which
contained a famous hall. The most important mosques are the great
_Tekke_, which contains the tomb of the poet Mevlana Jelal ed-din Rumi,
a mystic (sufi) poet, founder of the order of Mevlevi (whirling)
dervishes, and those of his successors, the "Golden" mosque and those of
Ala ed-Din and Sultan Selim. The walls, largely the work of Ala ed-Din
I., are preserved in great part and notable for the number of ancient
inscriptions built into them. They once had twelve gates and were 30
ells in height. The climate is good--hot in summer and cold, with snow,
in winter. Konia is connected by railway with Constantinople and is the
starting-point of the extension towards Bagdad. After the capture of
Nicaea by the Crusaders (1097), Konia became the capital of the Seljuk
Sultans of Rum (see SELJUKS and TURKS). It was temporarily occupied by
Godfrey, and again by Frederick Barbarossa, but this scarcely affected
its prosperity. During the reign of Ala ed-Din I. (1219-1236) the city
was thronged with artists, poets, historians, jurists and dervishes,
driven westwards from Persia and Bokhara by the advance of the Mongols,
and there was a brief period of great splendour. After the break up of
the empire of Rum, Konia became a secondary city of the amirate of
Karamania and in part fell to ruin. In 1472 it was annexed to the
Osmanli empire by Mahommed II. In 1832 it was occupied by Ibrahim Pasha
who defeated and captured the Turkish general, Reshid Pasha, not far
from the walls. It had come to fill only part of its ancient circuit,
but of recent years it has revived considerably, and, since the railway
reached it, has acquired a semi-European quarter, with a German hotel,
cafés and Greek shops, &c.
See W. M. Ramsay, _Historical Geography of Asia Minor_ (1890); _St
Paul the Traveller_ (1895); G. Le Strange, _Lands of the E. Caliphate_
(1905). (D. G. H.)
KONIECPOLSKI, STANISLAUS (1591-1646), Polish soldier, was the most
illustrious member of an ancient Polish family which rendered great
services to the Republic. Educated at the academy of Cracow, he learned
the science of war under the great Jan Chodkiewicz, whom he accompanied
on his Muscovite campaigns, and under the equally great Stanislaus
Zolkiewski, whose daughter Catherine he married. On the death of his
first wife he wedded, in 1619, Christina Lubomirska. In 1619 he took
part in the expedition against the Turks which terminated so
disastrously at Cecora, and after a valiant resistance was captured and
sent to Constantinople, where he remained a close prisoner for three
years. On his return he was appointed commander of all the forces of the
Republic, and at the head of an army of 25,000 men routed 60,000 Tatars
at Martynow, following up this success with fresh victories, for which
he received the thanks of the diet and the palatinate of Sandomeria from
the king. In 1625 he was appointed guardian of the Ukraine against the
Tatars, but in 1626 was transferred to Prussia to check the victorious
advance of Gustavus Adolphus. Swedish historians have too often ignored
the fact that Koniecpolski's superior strategy neutralized all the
efforts of the Swedish king, whom he defeated again and again, notably
at Homerstein (April 1627) and at Trzciand (April 1629). But for the
most part the fatal parsimony of his country compelled Koniecpolski to
confine himself to the harassing guerrilla warfare in which he was an
expert. In 1632 he was appointed to the long vacant post of _hetman
wielki koronny_, or commander in chief of Poland, and in that capacity
routed the Tatars at Sasowy Rogi (April 1633) and at Paniawce (April and
October 1633), and the Turks, with terrific loss, at Abazd Basha. To
keep the Cossacks of the Ukraine in order he also built the fortress of
Kudak. As one of the largest proprietors in the Ukraine he suffered
severely from Cossack depredations and offered many concessions to them.
Only after years of conflict, however, did he succeed in reducing these
unruly desperadoes to something like obedience. In 1644 he once more
routed the Tatars at Ockmatow, and again in 1646 at Brody. This was his
last exploit, for he died the same year, to the great grief of
Wladislaus IV., who had already concerted with him the plan for a
campaign on a grand scale against the Turks, and relied principally upon
the Grand Hetman for its success. Though less famous than his
contemporaries Zolkiehwski and Chodkiewicz, Koniecpolski was fully their
equal as a general, and his inexorable severity made him an ideal
lord-marcher.
See an unfinished biography in the _Tyg. Illus. of Warsaw_ for 1863;
Stanislaw Przylenski, _Memorials of the Koniecpolskis_ (Pol.)
(Lemberg, 1842). (R. N. B.)
KÖNIG, KARL RUDOLPH (1832-1901), German physicist, was born at
Königsberg (Prussia) on the 26th of November 1832, and studied at the
university of his native town, taking the degree of Ph.D. About 1852 he
went to Paris, and became apprentice to the famous violin-maker, J. B.
Vuillaume, and some six years later he started business on his own
account. He called himself a "maker of musical instruments," but the
instruments for which his name is best known are tuning-forks, which
speedily gained a high reputation among physicists for their accuracy
and general excellence. From this business König derived his livelihood
for the rest of his life. He was, however, very far from being a mere
tradesman, and even as a manufacturer he regarded the quality of the
articles that left his workshop as a matter of greater solicitude than
the profits they yielded. Acoustical research was his real interest, and
to that he devoted all the time and money he could spare from his
business. An exhibit which he sent to the London Exhibition of 1862
gained a gold medal, and at the Philadelphia Exposition at 1876 great
admiration was expressed for a tonometric apparatus of his manufacture.
This consisted of about 670 tuning-forks, of as many different pitches,
extending over four octaves, and it afforded a perfect means for
testing, by enumeration of the beats, the number of vibrations producing
any given note and for accurately tuning any musical instrument. An
attempt was made to secure this apparatus for the university of
Pennsylvania, and König was induced to leave it behind him in America on
the assurance that it would be purchased; but, ultimately, the money not
being forthcoming, the arrangement fell through, to his great
disappointment and pecuniary loss. Some of the forks he disposed of to
the university of Toronto and the remainder he used as a nucleus for
the construction of a still more elaborate tonometer. While the range of
the old apparatus was only between 128 and 4096 vibrations a second, the
lowest fork of the new one made only 16 vibrations a second, while the
highest gave a sound too shrill to be perceptible by the human ear.
König will also be remembered as the inventor and constructor of many
other beautiful pieces of apparatus for the investigation of acoustical
problems, among which may be mentioned his wave-sirens, the first of
which was shown at Philadelphia in 1876. His original work dealt, among
other things, with Wheatstone's sound-figures, the characteristic notes
of the different vowels, manometric flames, &c.; but perhaps the most
important of his researches are those devoted to the phenomena produced
by the interference of two tones, in which he controverted the views of
H. von Helmholtz as to the existence of summation and difference tones.
He died in Paris on the 2nd of October 1901.
KÖNIGGRÄTZ (Czech, _Hradec Králové_), a town and episcopal see of
Bohemia, Austria, 74 m. E. of Prague by rail. Pop. (1900), 9773, mostly
Czech. It is situated in the centre of a very fertile region called the
"Golden Road," and contains many buildings of historical and
architectural interest. The cathedral was founded in 1303 by Elizabeth,
wife of Wenceslaus II; and the church of St John, built in 1710, stands
on the ruins of the old castle. The industries include the manufacture
of musical instruments, machinery, colours, and _carton-pierre_, as well
as gloves and wax candles. The original name of Königgrätz, one of the
oldest settlements in Bohemia, was _Chlumec Dobroslavsky_; the name
_Hradec_, or "the Castle," was given to it when it became the seat of a
count, and _Kralove_, "of the queen" (Ger. _Königin_), was prefixed when
it became one of the dower towns of the queen of Wenceslaus II.,
Elizabeth of Poland, who lived here for thirty years. It remained a
dower town till 1620. Königgrätz was the first of the towns to declare
for the national cause during the Hussite wars. After the battle of the
White Mountain (1620) a large part of the Protestant population left the
place. In 1639 the town was occupied for eight months by the Swedes.
Several churches and convents were pulled down to make way for the
fortifications erected under Joseph II. The fortress was finally
dismantled in 1884. Near Königgrätz took place, on the 3rd of July 1866,
the decisive battle (formerly called Sadowa) of the Austro-Prussian war
(see SEVEN WEEKS' WAR).
KÖNIGINHOF (_Dvur Kralove_ in Czech), the seat of a provincial district
and of a provincial law-court, is situated in north-eastern Bohemia on
the left bank of the Elbe, about 160 kilometres from Prague. Brewing,
corn-milling and cotton-weaving are the principal industries. Pop. about
11,000. The city is of very ancient origin. Founded by King Wenceslaus
II. of Bohemia (1278-1305), it was given by him to his wife Elizabeth,
and thus received the name of Dvur Kralove (the court of the queen).
During the Hussite wars, Dvur Kralove was several times taken and
retaken by the contending parties. In a battle fought partly within the
streets of the town, the Austrian army was totally defeated by the
Prussians on the 29th of June 1866. In the 19th century Dvur Kralove
became widely known as the spot where a MS. was found that was long
believed to be one of the oldest written documents in the Czech
language. In 1817 Wenceslas Hanka, afterwards for a long period
librarian of the Bohemian museum, declared that he had found in the
church tower in the town of Dvur Kralove when on a visit there, a very
ancient MS. containing epic and lyric poems. Though Dobrovsky, the
greatest Czech philologist of the time, from the first expressed
suspicions, the MS. known as the Kralodvorsky Rukopis manuscript of
Königinhof was long accepted as genuine, frequently printed and
translated into most European languages. Doubts as to the genuineness of
the document never, however, ceased, and they became stronger when Hanka
was convicted of having fabricated other false Bohemian documents. A
series of works and articles written by Professors Goll, Gebauer,
Masoryk, and others have recently proved that the MS. is a forgery, and
hardly any Bohemian scholars of the present day believe in its
genuineness.
The discussion of the authenticity of the MS. of Dvur Kralove lasted
with short interruptions about seventy years, and the Bohemian works
written on the subject would fill a considerable library. Count
Lützow's _History of Bohemian Literature_ gives a brief account of the
controversy.
KÖNIGSBERG (Polish _Krolewiec_), a town of Germany, capital of the
province of East Prussia and a fortress of the first rank. Pop. (1880),
140,800; (1890), 161,666; (1905), 219,862 (including the incorporated
suburbs). It is situated on rising ground, on both sides of the Pregel,
4½ m. from its mouth in the Frische Haff, 397 m. N. E. of Berlin, on the
railway to Eydtkuhnen and at the junction of lines to Pillau, Tilsit and
Kranz. It consists of three parts, which were formerly independent
administrative units, the Altstadt (old town), to the west, Löbenicht to
the east, and the island Kneiphof, together with numerous suburbs, all
embraced in a circuit of 9½ miles. The Pregel, spanned by many bridges,
flows through the town in two branches, which unite below the Grüne
Brücke. Its greatest breadth within the town is from 80 to 90 yards, and
it is usually frozen from November to March. Königsberg does not retain
many marks of antiquity. The Altstadt has long and narrow streets, but
the Kneiphof quarter is roomier. Of the seven market-places only that in
the Altstadt retains something of its former appearance. Among the more
interesting buildings are the Schloss, a long rectangle begun in 1255
and added to later, with a Gothic tower 277 ft. high and a chapel built
in 1592, in which Frederick I. in 1701 and William I. in 1861 crowned
themselves kings of Prussia; and the cathedral, begun in 1333 and
restored in 1856, a Gothic building with a tower 164 ft. high, adjoining
which is the tomb of Kant. The Schloss was originally the residence of
the Grand Masters of the Teutonic order and later of the dukes of
Prussia. Behind is the parade-ground, with the statues of Albert I. and
of Frederick William III. by August Kiss, and the grounds also contain
monuments to Frederick I. and William I. To the east is the
Schlossteich, a long narrow ornamental lake covering 12 acres. The
north-west side of the parade-ground is occupied by the new university
buildings, completed in 1865; these and the new exchange on the south
side of the Pregel are the finest architectural features of the town.
The university (Collegium Albertinum) was founded in 1544 by Albert I.,
duke of Prussia, as a "purely Lutheran" place of learning. It is chiefly
distinguished for its mathematical and philosophical studies, and
possesses a famous observatory, established in 1811 by Frederick William
Bessel, a library of about 240,000 volumes, a zoological museum, a
botanical garden, laboratories and valuable mathematical and other
scientific collections. Among its famous professors have been Kant (who
was born here in 1724 and to whom a monument was erected in 1864), J. G.
von Herder, Bessel, F. Neumann and J. F. Herbart. It is attended by
about 1000 students and has a teaching staff of over 100. Among other
educational establishments, Königsberg numbers four classical schools
(gymnasia) and three commercial schools, an academy of painting and a
school of music. The hospitals and benevolent institutions are numerous.
The town is less well equipped with museums and similar institutions,
the most noteworthy being the Prussia museum of antiquities, which is
especially rich in East Prussian finds from the Stone age to the Viking
period. Besides the cathedral the town has fourteen churches.
Königsberg is a naval and military fortress of the first order. The
fortifications were begun in 1843 and were only completed in 1905,
although the place was surrounded by walls in early times. The works
consist of an inner wall, brought into connexion with an outlying system
of works, and of twelve detached forts, of which six are on the right
and six on the left bank of the Pregel. Between them lie two great
forts, that of Friedrichsburg on an island in the Pregel and that of the
Kaserne Kronprinz on the east of the town, both within the environing
ramparts. The protected position of its harbour has made Königsberg one
of the most important commercial cities of Germany. A new channel has
recently been made between it and its port, Pillau, 29 miles distant, on
the outer side of the Frische Haff, so as to admit vessels drawing 20
feet of water right up to the quays of Königsberg, and the result has
been to stimulate the trade of the city. It is protected for a long
distance by moles, in which a break has been left in the Fischhauser
Wiek, to permit of freer circulation of the water and to prevent damage
to the mainland.
The industries of Königsberg have made great advances within recent
years, notable among them are printing-works and manufactures of
machinery, locomotives, carriages, chemicals, toys, sugar, cellulose,
beer, tobacco and cigars, pianos and amber wares. The principal exports
are cereals and flour, cattle, horses, hemp, flax, timber, sugar and
oilcake. There are two pretty public parks, one in the Hufen, with a
zoological garden attached, another the Luisenwahl which commemorates
the sojourn of Queen Louisa of Prussia in the town in the disastrous
year 1806.
The Altstadt of Königsberg grew up around the castle built in 1255 by the
Teutonic Order, on the advice of Ottaker II. King of Bohemia, after whom
the place was named. Its first site was near the fishing village of
Steindamm, but after its destruction by the Prussians in 1263 it was
rebuilt in its present position. It received civic privileges in 1286, the
two other parts of the present town--Löbenicht and Kneiphof--receiving
them a few years later. In 1340 Königsberg entered the Hanseatic League.
From 1457 it was the residence of the grand master of the Teutonic Order,
and from 1525 till 1618 of the dukes of Prussia. The trade of Königsberg
was much hindered by the constant shifting and silting up of the channels
leading to its harbour; and the great northern wars did it immense harm,
but before the end of the 17th century it had almost recovered.
In 1724 the three independent parts were united into a single town by
Frederick William I.
Königsberg suffered severely during the war of liberation and was
occupied by the French in 1807. In 1813 the town was the scene of the
deliberations which led to the successful uprising of Prussia against
Napoleon. During the 19th century the opening of a railway system in
East Prussia and Russia gave a new impetus to its commerce, making it
the principal outlet for the Russian staples--grain, seeds, flax and
hemp. It has now regular steam communication with Memel, Stettin, Kiel,
Amsterdam and Hull.
See Faber, _Die Haupt- und Residenzstadt Königsberg in Preussen_
(Königsberg, 1840); Schubert, _Zur 600-jährigen Jubelfeier
Königsbergs_ (Königsberg, 1855); Beckherrn, _Geschichte der
Befestigungen Königsbergs_ (Königsberg, 1890); H. G. Prutz, _Die
königliche Albertus-Universität zu Königsberg im 19 Jahrhundert_
(Königsberg, 1894); Armstedt, _Geschichte der königlichen Haupt- und
Residenzstadt Königsberg_ (Stuttgart, 1899); M. Schultze, _Königsberg
und Ostpreussen zu Anfang 1813_ (Berlin, 1901); and Gordak, _Wegweiser
durch Königsberg_ (Königsberg, 1904).
KÖNIGSBORN, a spa of Germany, in the Prussian province of Westphalia,
immediately to the N. of the town of Unna, of which it practically forms
a suburb. It has large saltworks, producing annually over 15,000 tons.
The brine springs, in connexion with which there is a hydropathic
establishment, have a temperature of 93° F., and are efficacious in skin
diseases, rheumatism and scrofula.
See Wegele, _Bad Königsborn und seine Heilmittel_ (Essen, 1902).
KÖNIGSHÜTTE, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Silesia,
situated in the middle of the Upper Silesian coal and iron district, 3
m. S. of Beuthen and 122 m. by rail S.E. of Breslau. Pop. (1852), 4495;
(1875), 26,040; (1900), 57,919. In 1869 it was incorporated with various
neighbouring villages, and raised to the dignity of a town. It has two
Protestant and three Roman Catholic churches and several schools and
benevolent institutions. The largest iron-works in Silesia is situated
at Königshütte, and includes puddling works, rolling-mills, and
zinc-works. Founded in 1797, it was formerly in the hands of government,
but is now carried on by a company. There are also manufactures of
bricks and glass and a trade in wood and coal. Nearly one-half of the
population of the town consists of Poles.
See Mohr, _Geschichte der Stadt Königshütte_ (Königshütte, 1890).
KÖNIGSLUTTER, a town of Germany, in the duchy of Brunswick, on the
Lutter 36 m. E. of Brunswick by the railway to Eisleben and Magdeburg.
Pop. (1905), 3260. It possesses an Evangelical church, a castle and some
interesting old houses. Its chief manufactures are sugar, machinery,
paper and beer. Near the town are the ruins of a Benedictine abbey
founded in 1135. In its beautiful church, which has not been destroyed,
are the tombs of the emperor Lothair II., his wife Richenza, and of his
son-in-law, Duke Henry the Proud of Saxony and Bavaria.
KÖNIGSMARK, MARIA AURORA, COUNTESS OF (1662-1728), mistress of Augustus
the Strong, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, belonged to a noble
Swedish family, and was born on the 8th of May 1662. Having passed some
years at Hamburg, where she attracted attention both by her beauty and
her talents, Aurora went in 1694 to Dresden to make inquiries about her
brother Philipp Christoph, count of Königsmark, who had suddenly and
mysteriously disappeared from Hanover. Here she was noticed by Augustus,
who made her his mistress; and in October 1696 she gave birth to a son
Maurice, afterwards the famous marshal de Saxe. The elector however
quickly tired of Aurora, who then spent her time in efforts to secure
the position of abbess of Quedlinburg, an office which carried with it
the dignity of a princess of the Empire, and to recover the lost
inheritance of her family in Sweden. She was made coadjutor abbess and
lady-provost (_Pröpstin_) of Quedlinburg, but lived mainly in Berlin,
Dresden and Hamburg. In 1702 she went on a diplomatic errand to Charles
XII. of Sweden on behalf of Augustus, but her adventurous journey ended
in failure. The countess, who was described by Voltaire as "the most
famous woman of two centuries," died at Quedlinburg on the 16th of
February 1728.
See F. Cramer, _Denkwürdigkeiten der Gräfin M. A. Königsmark_
(Leipzig, 1836); and _Biographische Nachrichten von der Gräfin M. A.
Königsmark_ (Quedlinburg, 1833); W. F. Palmblad, _Aurora Königsmark
und ihre Verwandte_ (Leipzig, 1848-1853); C. L. de Pöllnitz, _La Saxe
galante_ (Amsterdam, 1734); and O. J. B. von Corvin-Wiersbitzki,
_Maria Aurora, Gräfin von Königsmark_ (Rudolstadt, 1902).
KÖNIGSMARK, PHILIPP CHRISTOPH, COUNT OF (1665-1694), was a member of a
noble Swedish family, and is chiefly known as the lover of Sophia
Dorothea, wife of the English king George I. then electoral prince of
Hanover. Born on the 14th of March 1665, Königsmark was a brother of the
countess noticed above. After wandering and fighting in various parts of
Europe he entered the service of Ernest Augustus, elector of Hanover.
Here he made the acquaintance of Sophia Dorothea, and assisted her in
one or two futile attempts to escape from Hanover. Regarded, rightly or
wrongly, as the lover of the princess, he was seized, and disappeared
from history, probably by assassination, on the 1st of July 1694. One
authority states that George I. was accustomed to boast about this deed;
but this statement is doubted, and the Hanoverian court resolutely
opposed all efforts to clear up the mystery. It is not absolutely
certain that Sophia Dorothea was guilty of a criminal intrigue with
Königsmark, as it is probable that the letters which purport to have
passed between the pair are forgeries. The question of her guilt or
innocence, however, has been and still remains a fruitful and popular
subject for romance and speculation.
See _Briefwechsel des Grafen Königsmark und der Prinzessin Sophie
Dorothea von Celle_, edited by W. F. Palmblad (Leipzig, 1847); A.
Köcher, "Die Prinzessin von Ahlden," in the _Historische Zeitschrift_
(Munich, 1882); and W. H. Wilkins, _The Love of an Uncrowned Queen_
(London, 1900).
KÖNIGSSEE, or Lake of St Bartholomew, a lake of Germany, in the kingdom
of Bavaria, province of Upper Bavaria, about 2½ m. S. from
Berchtesgaden, 1850 ft. above sea-level. It has a length of 5 m., and a
breadth varying from 500 yards to a little over a mile, and attains a
maximum depth of 600 ft. The Königssee is the most beautiful of all the
lakes in the German Alps, pent in by limestone mountains rising to an
altitude of 6500 ft., the flanks of which descend precipitously to the
green waters below. The lake abounds in trout, and the surrounding
country is rich in game. On a promontory by the side of the lake is a
chapel to which pilgrimages are made on St Bartholomew's Day. Separated
by a narrow strip of land from the Königssee is the Obersee, a smaller
lake.
KÖNIGSTEIN, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Saxony, situated in a
deep valley on the left bank of the Elbe, at the influx of the Biela, in
the centre of Saxon Switzerland, 25 m. S.E. of Dresden by the railway to
Bodenbach and Testchen. It contains a Roman Catholic and a Protestant
church, a monument to the composer Julius Otto, and has some small
manufactures of machinery, celluloid, paper, vinegar and buttons. It is
chiefly remarkable for the huge fortress, lying immediately to the
north-west of the town, which crowns a sandstone rock rising abruptly
from the Elbe to a height of 750 ft. Across the Elbe lies the
Lilienstein, a similar formation, but unfortified. The fortress of
Königstein was probably a Slav stronghold as early as the 12th century,
but it is not mentioned in chronicles before the year 1241, when it was
a fief of Bohemia. In 1401 it passed to the margraves of Meissen and by
the treaty of Eger in 1459 it was formally ceded by Bohemia to Saxony.
About 1540 the works were strengthened, and the place was used as a
_point d'appui_ against inroads from Bohemia. Hence the phrase
frequently employed by historians that Königstein is "the key to
Bohemia." As a fact, the main road from Dresden into that country lies
across the hills several miles to the south-west, and the fortress has
exercised little, if any, influence in strategic operations, either
during the middle ages or in modern times. It was further strengthened
under the electors Christian I., John George I. and Frederick Augustus
II. of Saxony, the last of whom completed it in its present form. During
the Prussian invasion of Saxony in 1756 it served as a place of refuge
for the King of Poland, Augustus III., as it did also in 1849, during
the Dresden insurrection of May in that year, to the King of Saxony,
Frederick Augustus II. and his ministers. It was occupied by the
Prussians in 1867, who retained possession of it until the peace of
1871. It is garrisoned by detachments of several Saxon infantry
regiments, and serves as a treasure house for the state and also as a
place of detention for officers sentenced to fortress imprisonment. A
remarkable feature of the place is a well, hewn out of the solid rock to
a depth of 470 ft.
See Klemm, _Der Königstein in alter und neuer Zeit_ (Leipzig, 1905);
and Gautsch, _Aelteste Geschichte der sächsischen Schweiz_ (Dresden,
1880).
KÖNIGSWINTER, a town and summer resort of Germany, in the Prussian Rhine
province, on the right bank of the Rhine, 24 m. S.S.E. of Cologne by the
railway to Frankfort-on-Main, at the foot of the Siebengebirge. Pop.
(1905), 3944. The romantic Drachenfels (1010 ft.), crowned by the ruins
of a castle built early in the 12th century by the archbishop of
Cologne, rises behind the town. From the summit, to which there is a
funicular railway, there is a magnificent view, celebrated by Byron in
_Childe Harold's Pilgrimage_. A cave in the hill is said to have
sheltered the dragon which was slain by the hero Siegfried. The mountain
is quarried, and from 1267 onward supplied stone (trachyte) for the
building of Cologne cathedral. The castle of Drachenburg, built in 1883,
is on the north side of the hill. Königswinter has a Roman Catholic and
an Evangelical church, some small manufactures and a little shipping. It
has a monument to the poet, Wolfgang Müller. Near the town are the ruins
of the abbey of Heisterbach.
KONINCK, LAURENT GUILLAUME DE (1809-1887), Belgian palaeontologist and
chemist, was born at Louvain on the 3rd of May 1809. He studied medicine
in the university of his native town, and in 1831 he became assistant in
the chemical schools. He pursued the study of chemistry in Paris, Berlin
and Giessen, and was subsequently engaged in teaching the science at
Ghent and Liége. In 1856 he was appointed professor of chemistry in the
Liége University, and he retained this post until the close of his life.
About the year 1835 he began to devote his leisure to the investigation
of the Carboniferous fossils around Liége, and ultimately he became
distinguished for his researches on the palaeontology of the Palaeozoic
rocks, and especially for his descriptions of the mollusca, brachiopods,
crustacea and crinoids of the Carboniferous limestone of Belgium. In
recognition of this work the Wollaston medal was awarded to him in 1875
by the Geological Society of London, and in 1876 he was appointed
professor of palaeontology at Liége. He died at Liége on the 16th of
July 1887.
PUBLICATIONS.--_Éléments de chimie inorganique_ (1839); _Description
des animaux fossiles qui se trouvent dans le terrain Carbonifère de
Belgique_ (1842-1844, supp. 1851); _Recherches sur les animaux
fossiles_ (1847, 1873). See _Notice sur L. G. de Koninck_, by E.
Dupont; _Annuaire de l'Acad. roy. de Belgique_ (1891), with portrait
and bibliography.
KONINCK, PHILIP DE [de Coninck, de Koningh, van Koening] (1619-1688),
Dutch landscape painter, was born in Amsterdam in 1619. Little is known
of his history, except that he was a pupil of Rembrandt, whose influence
is to be seen in all his work. He painted chiefly broad sunny
landscapes, full of space, light and atmosphere. Portraits by him,
somewhat in the manner of Rembrandt, also exist; there are examples of
these in the galleries at Copenhagen and Christiania. Of his landscapes
the principal are "Vue de l'embouchure d'une rivière," at the Hague; a
slightly larger replica is in the National Gallery, London; "Lisière
d'un bois," and "Paysage" (with figures by A. Vandevelde) at Amsterdam;
and landscapes in Brussels, Florence (Uffizi), Berlin and Cologne.
Several of his works have been falsely attributed to Rembrandt, and many
more to his namesake and fellow-townsman SALOMON DE KONINCK (1609-1656),
who was also a disciple of Rembrandt; his paintings and etchings consist
mainly of portraits and biblical scenes.
Both these painters are to be distinguished from DAVID DE KONINCK
(1636-?1687), who is also known as "Rammelaar." He was born in Antwerp.
He studied there under Jan Fyt, and later settled in Rome, where he is
stated to have died in 1687; this is, however, doubtful. His pictures
are chiefly landscapes with animals, and still-life.
KONITZ, a town of Germany, in the province of West Prussia, at the
junction of railways to Schneidemühl and Gnesen, 68 m. S.W. of Danzig.
Pop. (1905), 11,014. It is still surrounded by its old fortifications,
has two Evangelical and two Roman Catholic churches, a new town-hall,
handsome public offices, and a prison. It has iron-foundries, saw-mills,
electrical works, and manufactures of bricks. Konitz was the first
fortified post established in Prussia by Hermann Balk, who in 1230 had
been commissioned as _Landmeister_, by the grand-master of the Teutonic
order, to reduce the heathen Prussians. For a long time it continued to
be a place of military importance.
See Uppenkamp, _Geschichte der Stadt Konitz_ (Konitz, 1873).
KONKAN, or CONCAN, a maritime tract of Western India, situated within
the limits of the Presidency of Bombay, and extending from the
Portuguese settlement of Goa on the S. to the territory of Daman,
belonging to the same nation, on the N. On the E. it is bounded by the
Western Ghats, and on the W. by the Indian Ocean. This tract comprises
the three British districts of Thana, Ratnagiri and Kolaba, and the
native states of Janjira and Sawantwari. It may be estimated at 300 m.
in length, with an average breadth of about 40. From the mountains on
its eastern frontier, which in one place attain a height of 4700 ft.,
the surface, marked by a succession of irregular hilly spurs from the
Ghats, slopes to the westward, where the mean elevation of the coast is
not more than 100 ft. above the level of the sea. Several mountain
streams, but none of any magnitude, traverse the country in the same
direction. One of the most striking characteristics of the climate is
the violence of the monsoon rains--the mean annual fall at Mahabaleshwar
amounting to 239 in. The coast has a straight general outline, but is
much broken into small bays and harbours. This, with the uninterrupted
view along the shore, and the land and sea breezes, which force vessels
steering along the coast to be always within sight of it, rendered this
country from time immemorial the seat of piracy; and so formidable had
the pirates become in the 18th century, that all ships suffered which
did not receive a pass from their chiefs. The Great Mogul maintained a
fleet for the express purpose of checking them, and they were frequently
attacked by the Portuguese. British commerce was protected by occasional
expeditions from Bombay; but the piratical system was not finally
extinguished until 1812. The southern Konkan has given its name to a
dialect of Marathi, which is the vernacular of the Roman Catholics of
Goa.
KONTAGORA, a province in the British protectorate of Northern Nigeria,
on the east bank of the Niger to the north of Nupe and opposite Borgu.
It is bounded W. by the Niger, S. by the province of Nupe, E. by that of
Zaria, and N. by that of Sokoto. It has an area of 14,500 sq. m. and a
population estimated at about 80,000. At the time of the British
occupation of Northern Nigeria the province formed a Fula emirate.
Before the Fula domination, which was established in 1864, the ancient
pagan kingdom of Yauri was the most important of the lesser kingdoms
which occupied this territory. The Fula conquest was made from Nupe on
the south and a tribe of independent and warlike pagans continued to
hold the country between Kontagora and Sokoto on the north. The province
was brought under British domination in 1901 as the result of a military
expedition sent to prevent audacious slave-raiding in British protected
territory and of threats directed against the British military station
of Jebba on the Niger. The town of Kontagora was taken in January of
1901. The emir Ibrahim fled, and was not captured till early in 1902.
The province, after having been held for a time in military occupation,
was organized for administration on the same system as the rest of the
protectorate. In 1903 Ibrahim, after agreeing to take the oath of
allegiance to the British crown and to accept the usual conditions of
appointment, which include the abolition of the slave trade within the
province, was reinstated as emir and the British garrison was withdrawn.
Since then the development of the province has progressed favourably.
Roads have been opened and Kontagora connected by telegraph with
headquarters at Zungeru. British courts of justice have been established
at the British headquarters, and native courts in every district. In
1904 an expedition reduced to submission the hitherto independent tribes
in the northern belt, who had up to that time blocked the road to
Sokoto. Their arms were confiscated and their country organized as a
district of the province under a chief and a British assistant resident.
KOORINGA [BURRA], a town of Burra county, South Australia on Burra
Creek, 101 m. by rail N. by E. of Adelaide. Pop. (1901), 1994. It is the
centre of a mining and agricultural district in which large areas are
devoted to wheat-growing. The famous Burra Burra copper mine, discovered
by a shepherd in 1844, is close to the town, while silver and lead ore
is also found in the vicinity.
KÖPENICK (CÖPENICK), a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of
Brandenburg, on an island in the Spree, 9 m. S.E. from Berlin by the
railway to Fürstenwalde. Pop. (1905), 27,721. It contains a royal
residence, which was built on the site of a palace which belonged to the
great elector, Frederick William. This is surrounded by gardens and
contains a fine banqueting hall and a chapel. Other buildings are a
Roman Catholic and a Protestant church and a teachers' seminary. The
varied industries embrace the manufacture of glass, linoleum,
sealing-wax and ink. In the vicinity is Spindlersfeld, with important
dye-works.
Köpenick, which dates from the 12th century, received municipal rights
in 1225. Shortly afterwards, it became the bone of contention between
Brandenburg and Meissen, but, at the issue of the feud, remained with
the former, becoming a favourite residence of the electors of
Brandenburg. In the palace the famous court martial was held in 1730,
which condemned the crown-prince of Prussia, afterwards Frederick the
Great, to death. In 1906 the place derived ephemeral fame from the
daring feat of a cobbler, one Wilhelm Voigt, who, attired as a captain
in the army, accompanied by soldiers, whom his apparent rank deceived,
took the mayor prisoner, on a fictitious charge of having falsified
accounts and absconded with a considerable sum of municipal money. The
"captain of Köpenick" was arrested, tried, and sentenced to a term of
imprisonment.
See Graf zu Dohna, _Kurfürstliche Schlösser in der Mark Brandenburg_
(Berlin, 1890).
KOPISCH, AUGUST (1799-1853), German poet, was born at Breslau on the
26th of May 1799. In 1815 he began the study of painting at the Prague
academy, but an injury to his hand precluded the prospects of any great
success in this profession, and he turned to literature. After a
residence in Dresden Kopisch proceeded, in 1822, to Italy, where, at
Naples, he formed an intimate friendship with the poet August, count of
Platen Hallermund. He was an expert swimmer, a quality which enabled him
in company with Ernst Fries to discover the blue grotto of Capri. In
1828 he settled at Berlin and was granted a pension by Frederick William
IV., who in 1838 conferred upon him the title of professor. He died at
Berlin on the 3rd of February 1853. Kopisch produced some very original
poetry, light in language and in form. He especially treated legends and
popular subjects, and among his _Gedichte_ (Berlin, 1836) are some naïve
and humorous little pieces such as _Die Historie von Noah_, _Die
Heinzelmännchen_, _Das grüne Tier_ and _Der Scheiderjunge von
Krippstedt_, which became widely popular. He also published a
translation of Dante's _Divine Comedy_ (Berlin, 1840), and under the
title _Agrumi_ (Berlin, 1838) a collection of translations of Italian
folk songs.
Kopisch's collected works were published in 5 vols. (Berlin, 1856.)
KOPP, HERMANN FRANZ MORITZ (1817-1892), German chemist, was born on the
30th of October 1817 at Hanau, where his father, Johann Heinrich Kopp
(1777-1858), a physician, was professor of chemistry, physics and
natural history at the Lyceum.
After attending the gymnasium of his native town, he studied at Marburg
and Heidelberg, and then, attracted by the fame of Liebig, went in 1839
to Giessen, where he became a _privatdozent_ in 1841, and professor of
chemistry twelve years later. In 1864 he was called to Heidelberg in the
same capacity, and he remained there till his death on the 20th of
February 1892. Kopp devoted himself especially to physico-chemical
inquiries, and in the history of chemical theory his name is associated
with several of the most important correlations of the physical
properties of substances with their chemical constitution. Much of his
work was concerned with specific volumes, the conception of which he set
forth in a paper published when he was only twenty-two years of age; and
the principles he established have formed the basis of subsequent
investigations in that subject, although his results have in some cases
undergone modification. Another question to which he gave much attention
was the connexion of the boiling-point of compounds, organic ones in
particular, with their composition. In addition to these and other
laborious researches, Kopp was a prolific writer. In 1843-1847 he
published a comprehensive _History of Chemistry_, in four volumes, to
which three supplements were added in 1869-1875. The _Development of
Chemistry in Recent Times_ appeared in 1871-1874, and in 1886 he
published a work in two volumes on _Alchemy in Ancient and Modern
Times_. In addition he wrote (1863) on theoretical and physical
chemistry for the Graham-Otto _Lehrbuch der Chemie_, and for many years
assisted Liebig in editing the _Annalen der Chemie_ and the
_Jahresbericht_.
He must not be confused with EMIL KOPP (1817-1875), who, born at
Warselnheim, Alsace, became in 1847 professor of toxicology and
chemistry at the École supérieure de Pharmacie at Strasburg, in 1849
professor of physics and chemistry at Lausanne, in 1852 chemist to a
Turkey-red factory near Manchester, in 1868 professor of technology at
Turin, and finally, in 1871, professor of technical chemistry at the
Polytechnic of Zürich, where he died in 1875.
KOPRÜLÜ, or KUPRILI (Bulgarian _Valésa_, Greek _Vélissa_), a town of
Macedonia, European Turkey, in the vilayet of Salonica, situated 600
ft. above sea-level, on the river Vardar, and on the Salonica-Mitrovitza
railway, 25 m. S.E. of Uskub. Pop. (1905), about 22,000. Koprülü has a
flourishing trade in silk; maize and mulberries are cultivated in the
neighbourhood. The Greek and Bulgarian names of the town may be corrupt
forms of the ancient Bylazora, described by Polybius as the chief city
of Paeonia.
KORA, or CORA, an ancient town of Northern India, in the Fatehpur
district of the United Provinces. Pop. (1901), 2806. As the capital of a
Mahommedan province, it gave its name to part of the tract (with
Allahabad) granted by Lord Clive to the titular Mogul emperor, Shah
Alam, in 1765.
KORAN. The Koran (Kor'án) is the sacred Book of Islam, on which the
religion of more than two hundred millions of Mahommedans is founded,
being regarded by them as the immediate word of God. And since the use
of the Koran in public worship, in schools and otherwise, is much more
extensive than, for example, the reading of the Bible in most Christian
countries, it has been truly described as the most widely-read book in
existence. This circumstance alone is sufficient to give it an urgent
claim on our attention, whether it suit our taste and fall in with our
religious and philosophical views or not. Besides, it is the work of
Mahomet, and as such is fitted to afford a clue to the spiritual
development of that most successful of all prophets and religious
personalities. It must be owned that the first perusal leaves on a
European an impression of chaotic confusion--not that the book is so
very extensive, for it is not quite as large as the New Testament. This
impression can in some degree be modified only by the application of a
critical analysis with the assistance of Arabian tradition.
Mahomet's View of Revelation.
To the faith of the Moslems, as has been said, the Koran is the word of
God, and such also is the claim which the book itself advances. For
except in sur. i.--which is a prayer for men--and some few passages
where Mahomet (vi. 104, 114; xxvii. 93; xlii. 8) or the angels (xix. 65;
xxxvii. 164 sqq.) speak in the first person without the intervention of
the usual imperative "say" (sing. or pl.), the speaker throughout is
God, either in the first person singular or more commonly the plural of
majesty "we." The same mode of address is familiar to us from the
prophets of the Old Testament; the human personality disappears, in the
moment of inspiration, behind the God by whom it is filled. But all the
greatest of the Hebrew prophets fall back speedily upon the unassuming
human "I"; while in the Koran the divine "I" is the stereotyped form of
address. Mahomet, however, really felt himself to be the instrument of
God; this consciousness was no doubt brighter at his first appearance
than it afterwards became, but it never entirely forsook him.
Nevertheless we cannot doubt his good-faith, not even in the cases in
which the moral quality of his actions leaves most to be desired. In
spite of all, the dominant fact remains, that to the end he was zealous
for his God and for the salvation of his people, nay, of the whole of
humanity, and that he never lost the unconquerable certainty of his
divine mission.
The rationale of revelation is explained in the Koran itself as follows:
In heaven is the original text ("the mother of the book," xliii. 3; "a
concealed book," lv. 77; "a well-guarded tablet," lxxxv. 22). By the
process of "sending down" (_tanzíl_), one piece after another was
communicated to the Prophet. The mediator was an angel, who is called
sometimes the "Spirit" (xxvi. 193), sometimes the "holy Spirit" (xvi.
104), and at a later time "Gabriel" (only in ii. 91, 92; lxvi. 4). This
angel dictates the revelation to the Prophet, who repeats it after him,
and afterwards proclaims it to the world (lxxxvii. 6, &c.). It is plain
that we have here a somewhat crude attempt of the Prophet to represent
to himself the more or less unconscious process by which his ideas arose
and gradually took shape in his mind. It is no wonder if in such
confused imagery the details are not always self-consistent. When, for
example, this heavenly archetype is said to be in the hands of "exalted
scribes" (lxxx. 13 sqq.), this seems a transition to a quite different
set of ideas, namely, the books of fate, or the record of all human
actions--conceptions which are actually found in the Koran. It is to be
observed, at all events, that Mahomet's transcendental idea of God, as a
Being exalted altogether above the world, excludes the thought of direct
intercourse between the Prophet and God.
Component Parts of the Koran.
It is an explicit statement of the Koran that the sacred book was
revealed ("sent down") by God, not all at once, but piecemeal and
gradually (xxv. 34). This is evident from the actual composition of the
book, and is confirmed by Moslem tradition. That is to say, Mahomet
issued his revelations in fly-leaves of greater or less extent. A single
piece of this kind was called either, like the entire collection,
_kor'an_, i.e. "recitation," "reading," or, better still, is the
equivalent of Aramaic _geryana_ "lectionary"; or _kitab_, "writing"; or
_sura_, which is perhaps the late-Hebrew _shura_, and means literally
"series." The last became, in the lifetime of Mahomet, the regular
designation of the individual sections as distinguished from the whole
collection; and accordingly it is the name given to the separate
chapters of the existing Koran. These chapters are of very unequal
length. Since many of the shorter ones are undoubtedly complete in
themselves, it is natural to assume that the longer, which are sometimes
very comprehensive, have arisen from the amalgamation of various
originally distinct revelations. This supposition is favoured by the
numerous traditions which give us the circumstances under which this or
that short piece, now incorporated in a larger section, was revealed;
and also by the fact that the connexion of thought in the present suras
often seems to be interrupted. And in reality many pieces of the long
suras have to be severed out as originally independent; even in the
short ones parts are often found which cannot have been there at first.
At the same time we must beware of carrying this sifting operation too
far,--as Nöldeke now believes himself to have done in his earlier works,
and as Sprenger also sometimes seems to do. That some suras were of
considerable length from the first is seen, for example, from xii.,
which contains a short introduction, then the history of Joseph, and
then a few concluding observations, and is therefore perfectly
homogeneous. In like manner, xx., which is mainly occupied with the
history of Moses, forms a complete whole. The same is true of xviii.,
which at first sight seems to fall into several pieces; the history of
the seven sleepers, the grotesque narrative about Moses, and that about
Alexander "the Horned," are all connected together, and the same rhyme
through the whole sura. Even in the separate narrations we may observe
how readily the Koran passes from one subject to another, how little
care is taken to express all the transitions of thought, and how
frequently clauses are omitted, which are almost indispensable. We are
not at liberty, therefore, in every case where the connexion in the
Koran is obscure, to say that it is really broken, and set it down as
the clumsy patchwork of a later hand. Even in the old Arabic poetry such
abrupt transitions are of very frequent occurrence. It is not uncommon
for the Koran, after a new subject has been entered on, to return
gradually or suddenly to the former theme,--a proof that there at least
separation is not to be thought of. In short, however imperfectly the
Koran may have been redacted, in the majority of cases the present suras
are identical with the originals.
How these revelations actually arose in Mahomet's mind is a question
which it is almost as idle to discuss as it would be to analyse the
workings of the mind of a poet. In his early career, sometimes perhaps
in its later stages also, many revelations must have burst from him in
uncontrollable excitement, so that he could not possibly regard them
otherwise than as divine inspirations. We must bear in mind that he was
no cold systematic thinker, but an Oriental visionary, brought up in
crass superstition, and without intellectual discipline; a man whose
nervous temperament had been powerfully worked on by ascetic
austerities, and who was all the more irritated by the opposition he
encountered, because he had little of the heroic in his nature. Filled
with his religious ideas and visions, he might well fancy he heard the
angel bidding him recite what was said to him. There may have been many
a revelation of this kind which no one ever heard but himself, as he
repeated it to himself in the silence of the night (lxxiii. 4). Indeed
the Koran itself admits that he forgot some revelations (lxxxvii. 7).
But by far the greatest part of the book is undoubtedly the result of
deliberation, touched more or less with emotion, and animated by a
certain rhetorical rather than poetical glow. Many passages are based
upon purely intellectual reflection. It is said that Mahomet
occasionally uttered such a passage immediately after one of those
epileptic fits which not only his followers, but (for a time at least)
he himself also, regarded as tokens of intercourse with the higher
powers. If that is the case, it is impossible to say whether the trick
was in the utterance of the revelation or in the fit itself.
The Koran Written.
How the various pieces of the Koran took literary form is uncertain.
Mahomet himself, so far as we can discover, never wrote down anything.
The question whether he could read and write has been much debated among
Moslems, unfortunately more with dogmatic arguments and spurious
traditions than authentic proofs. At present one is inclined to say that
he was not altogether ignorant of these arts, but that from want of
practice he found it convenient to employ some one else whenever he had
anything to write. After the migration to Medina (A.D. 622) we are told
that short pieces--chiefly legal decisions--were taken down immediately
after they were revealed, by an adherent whom he summoned for the
purpose; so that nothing stood in the way of their publication. Hence it
is probable that in Mecca, where the art of writing was commoner than in
Medina, he had already begun to have his oracles committed to writing.
That even long portions of the Koran existed in written form from an
early date may be pretty safely inferred from various indications;
especially from the fact that in Mecca the Prophet had caused insertions
to be made, and pieces to be erased in his previous revelations. For we
cannot suppose that he knew the longer suras by heart so perfectly that
he was able after a time to lay his finger upon any particular passage.
In some instances, indeed, he may have relied too much on his memory.
For example, he seems to have occasionally dictated the same sura to
different persons in slightly different terms. In such cases, no doubt,
he may have partly intended to introduce improvements; and so long as
the difference was merely in expression, without affecting the sense, it
could occasion no perplexity to his followers. None of them had literary
pedantry enough to question the consistency of the divine revelation on
that ground. In particular instances, however, the difference of reading
was too important to be overlooked. Thus the Koran itself confesses that
the unbelievers cast it up as a reproach to the Prophet that God
sometimes substituted one verse for another (xvi. 103). On one occasion,
when a dispute arose between two of his own followers as to the true
reading of a passage which both had received from the Prophet himself,
Mahomet is said to have explained that the Koran was revealed in seven
forms. In this apparently genuine dictum seven stands, of course, as in
many other cases, for an indefinite but limited number. But one may
imagine what a world of trouble it has cost the Moslem theologians to
explain the saying in accordance with their dogmatic beliefs. A great
number of explanations are current, some of which claim the authority of
the Prophet himself; as, indeed, fictitious utterances of Mahomet play
throughout a conspicuous part in the exegesis of the Koran. One very
favourite, but utterly untenable interpretation is that the "seven
forms," are seven different Arabic dialects.
Abrogated Readings.
When such discrepancies came to the cognizance of Mahomet it was
doubtless his desire that only one of the conflicting texts should be
considered authentic; only he never gave himself much trouble to have
his wish carried into effect. Although in theory he was an upholder of
verbal inspiration, he did not push the doctrine to its extreme
consequences; his practical good sense did not take these things so
strictly as the theologians of later centuries. Sometimes, however, he
did suppress whole sections or verses, enjoining his followers to efface
or forget them, and declaring them to be "abrogated." A very remarkable
case is that of the two verses in liii., when he had recognized three
heathen goddesses as exalted beings, possessing influence with God. This
had occurred in a moment of weakness, in order that by such a promise,
which yet left Allah in his lofty position, he might gain over his
fellow-countrymen. This object he achieved, but soon his conscience
smote him, and he declared these words to have been an inspiration of
Satan.
Abrogated Laws.
So much for abrogated readings; the case is somewhat different when we
come to the abrogation of laws and directions to the Moslems, which
often occurs in the Koran. There is nothing in this at variance with
Mahomet's idea of God. God is to him an absolute despot, who declares a
thing right or wrong from no inherent necessity but by his arbitrary
fiat. This God varies his commands at pleasure, prescribes one law for
the Christians, another for the Jews, and a third for the Moslems; nay,
he even changes his instructions to the Moslems when it pleases him.
Thus, for example, the Koran contains very different directions, suited
to varying circumstances, as to the treatment which idolaters are to
receive at the hands of believers. But Mahomet showed no anxiety to have
these superseded enactments destroyed. Believers could be in no
uncertainty as to which of two contradictory passages remained in force;
and they might still find edification in that which had become obsolete.
That later generations might not so easily distinguish the "abrogated"
from the "abrogating" did not occur to Mahomet, whose vision, naturally
enough, seldom extended to the future of his religious community.
Current events were invariably kept in view in the revelations. In
Medina it called forth the admiration of the Faithful to observe how
often God gave them the answer to a question whose settlement was
urgently required at the moment. The same näiveté appears in a remark of
the Caliph Othman about a doubtful case: "If the Apostle of God were
still alive, methinks there had been a Koran passage revealed on this
point." Not unfrequently the divine word was found to coincide with the
advice which Mahomet had received from his most intimate disciples.
"Omar was many a time of a certain opinion," says one tradition, "and
the Koran was then revealed accordingly."
Contents of the Koran.
The contents of the different parts of the Koran are extremely varied.
Many passages consist of theological or moral reflections. We are
reminded of the greatness, the goodness, the righteousness of God as
manifested in Nature, in history, and in revelation through the
prophets, especially through Mahomet. God is magnified as the One, the
All-powerful. Idolatry and all deification of created beings, such as
the worship of Christ as the Son of God, are unsparingly condemned. The
joys of heaven and the pains of hell are depicted in vivid sensuous
imagery, as is also the terror of the whole creation at the advent of
the last day and the judgment of the world. Believers receive general
moral instruction, as well as directions for special circumstances. The
lukewarm are rebuked, the enemies threatened with terrible punishment,
both temporal and eternal. To the sceptical the truth of Islam is held
forth; and a certain, not very cogent, method of demonstration
predominates. In many passages the sacred book falls into a diffuse
preaching style, others seem more like proclamations or general orders.
A great number contain ceremonial or civil laws, or even special
commands to individuals down to such matters as the regulation of
Mahomet's harem. In not a few definite questions are answered which had
actually been propounded to the Prophet by believers or infidels.
Mahomet himself, too, repeatedly receives direct injunctions, and does
not escape an occasional rebuke. One sura (i.) is a prayer, two (cxiii.
cxiv.) are magical formulas. Many suras treat of a single topic, others
embrace several.
Narratives.
From the mass of material comprised in the Koran--and the account we
have given is far from exhaustive--we should select the histories of the
ancient prophets and saints as possessing a peculiar interest. The
purpose of Mahomet is to show from these histories how God in former
times had rewarded the righteous and punished their enemies. For the
most part the old prophets only serve to introduce a little variety in
point of form, for they are almost in every case facsimiles of Mahomet
himself. They preach exactly like him, they have to bring the very same
charges against their opponents, who on their part behave exactly as the
unbelieving inhabitants of Mecca. The Koran even goes so far as to make
Noah contend against the worship of certain false gods, mentioned by
name, who were worshipped by the Arabs of Mahomet's time. In an address
which is put in the mouth of Abraham (xxvi. 75 sqq.), the reader quite
forgets that it is Abraham, and not Mahomet (or God himself), who is
speaking. Other narratives are intended rather for amusement, although
they are always well seasoned with edifying phrases. It is no wonder
that the godless Korrishites thought these stories of the Koran not
nearly so entertaining as those of Rostam and Ispandiar, related by Nadr
the son of Harith, who had learned in the course of his trade journeys
on the Euphrates the heroic mythology of the Persians. But the Prophet
was so exasperated by this rivalry that when Nadr fell into his power
after the battle of Badr, he caused him to be executed; although in all
other cases he readily pardoned his fellow-countrymen.
Relation to the Old and New Testaments.
These histories are chiefly about Scripture characters, especially those
of the Old Testament. But the deviations from the Biblical narratives
are very marked. Many of the alterations are found in the legendary
anecdotes of the Jewish Haggada and the New Testament Apocrypha; but
many more are due perhaps to misconceptions such as only a listener (not
the reader of a book) could fall into. One would suppose that the most
ignorant Jew could never have mistaken Haman, the minister of Ahasuerus,
for the minister of Pharaoh, as happens in the Koran, or identified
Miriam, the sister of Moses, with Mary (= Mariam), the mother of Christ.
So long, however, as we have no closer acquaintance with Arab Judaism
and Christianity, we must always reckon with the possibility that many
of these mistakes were due to adherents of these religions who were his
authorities, or were a naïve reproduction of versions already widely
accepted by his contemporaries. In addition to his misconceptions there
are sundry capricious alterations, some of them very grotesque, due to
Mahomet himself. For instance, in his ignorance of everything out of
Arabia, he makes the fertility of Egypt--where rain is almost never seen
and never missed--depend on rain instead of the inundations of the Nile
(xii. 49).
It is uncertain whether his account of Alexander was borrowed from Jews
or Christians, since the romance of Alexander belonged to the
stereotyped literature of that age. The description of Alexander as "the
Horned" in the Koran is, however, in accordance with the result of
recent researches, to be traced to a Syrian legend dating from A.D.
514-515 (Th. Nöldeke, "Beiträge zur Gesch. des Alexanderromanes" in
_Denkschriften Akad. Wien_, vol. xxxviii. No. 5, p. 27, &c.). According
to this, God caused horns to grow on Alexander's head to enable him to
overthrow all things. This detail of the legend is ultimately traceable,
as Hottinger long ago supposed, to the numerous coins on which Alexander
is represented with the ram's horns of Ammon.[1] Besides Jewish and
Christian histories there are a few about old Arabian prophets. In these
he seems to have handled his materials even more freely than in the
others.
The opinion has already been expressed that Mahomet did not make use of
written sources. Coincidences and divergences alike can always be
accounted for by oral communications from Jews who knew a little and
Christians who knew next to nothing. Even in the rare passages where we
can trace direct resemblances to the text of the Old Testament (cf. xxi.
105 with Ps. xxxvii. 29; i. 5 with Ps. xxvii. 11) or the New (cf. vii.
48 with Luke xvi. 24; xlvi. 19 with Luke xvi. 25), there is nothing more
than might readily have been picked up in conversation with any Jew or
Christian. In Medina, where he had the opportunity of becoming
acquainted with Jews of some culture, he learned some things out of the
Mishna, e.g. v. 35 corresponds almost word for word with Mishna
_Sanhedrin_ iv. 5; compare also ii. 183 with Mishna _Berak'hoth_ i. 2.
That these are only cases of oral communication will be admitted by any
one with the slightest knowledge of the circumstances. Otherwise we
might even conclude that Mahomet had studied the Talmud; e.g. the
regulation as to ablution by rubbing with sand, where water cannot be
obtained (iv. 46), corresponds to a talmudic ordinance (_Berak'hoth_ 15
a). Of Christianity he can have been able to learn very little, even in
Medina; as may be seen from the absurd travesty of the institution of
the Eucharist in v. 112 sqq. For the rest, it is highly improbable that
before the Koran any real literary production--anything that could be
strictly called a book--existed in the Arabic language.
Style.
In point of style and artistic effect, the different parts of the Koran
are of very unequal value. An unprejudiced and critical reader will
certainly find very few passages where his aesthetic susceptibilities
are thoroughly satisfied. But he will often be struck, especially in the
older pieces, by a wild force of passion, and a vigorous, if not rich,
imagination. Descriptions of heaven and hell, and allusions to God's
working in Nature, not unfrequently show a certain amount of poetic
power. In other places also the style is sometimes lively and
impressive; though it is rarely indeed that we come across such strains
of touching simplicity as in the middle of xciii. The greater part of
the Koran is decidedly prosaic; much of it indeed is stiff in style. Of
course, with such a variety of material, we cannot expect every part to
be equally vivacious, or imaginative, or poetic. A decree about the
right of inheritance, or a point of ritual, must necessarily be
expressed in prose, if it is to be intelligible. No one complains of the
civil laws in Exodus or the sacrificial ritual in Leviticus, because
they want the fire of Isaiah or the tenderness of Deuteronomy. But
Mahomet's mistake consists in persistent and slavish adherence to the
semi-poetic form which he had at first adopted in accordance with his
own taste and that of his hearers. For instance, he employs rhyme in
dealing with the most prosaic subjects, and thus produces the
disagreeable effect of incongruity between style and matter. It has to
be considered, however, that many of those sermonizing pieces which are
so tedious to us, especially when we read two or three in succession
(perhaps in a very inadequate translation), must have had a quite
different effect when recited under the burning sky and on the barren
soil of Mecca. There, thoughts about God's greatness and man's duty,
which are familiar to us from childhood, were all new to the hearers--it
is hearers we have to think of in the first instance, not readers--to
whom, at the same time, every allusion had a meaning which often escapes
our notice. When Mahomet spoke of the goodness of the Lord in creating
the clouds, and bringing them across the cheerless desert, and pouring
them out on the earth to restore its rich vegetation, that must have
been a picture of thrilling interest to the Arabs, who are accustomed to
see from three to five years elapse before a copious shower comes to
clothe the wilderness once more with luxuriant pastures. It requires an
effort for us, under our clouded skies, to realize in some degree the
intensity of that impression.
Rhetorical Form and Rhyme.
The fact that scraps of poetical phraseology are specially numerous in
the earlier suras, enables us to understand why the prosaic mercantile
community of Mecca regarded their eccentric townsman as a "poet," or
even a "possessed poet." Mahomet himself had to disclaim such titles,
because he felt himself to be a divinely inspired prophet; but we too,
from our standpoint, shall fully acquit him of poetic genius. Like many
other predominantly religious characters, he had no appreciation of
poetic beauty; and if we may believe one anecdote related of him, at a
time when every one made verses, he affected ignorance of the most
elementary rules of prosody. Hence the style of the Koran is not
poetical but rhetorical; and the powerful effect which some portions
produce on us is gained by rhetorical means. Accordingly the sacred book
has not even the artistic form of poetry; which, among the Arabs,
includes a stringent metre, as well as rhyme. The Koran is never
metrical, and only a few exceptionally eloquent portions fall into a
sort of spontaneous rhythm. On the other hand, the rhyme is regularly
maintained; although, especially in the later pieces, after a very
slovenly fashion. Rhymed prose was a favourite form of composition among
the Arabs of that day, and Mahomet adopted it; but if it imparts a
certain sprightliness to some passages, it proves on the whole a
burdensome yoke. The Moslems themselves have observed that the tyranny
of the rhyme often makes itself apparent in derangement of the order of
words, and in the choice of verbal forms which would not otherwise have
been employed; e.g. an imperfect instead of a perfect. In one place, to
save the rhyme, he calls Mount Sinai _Sinin_ (xcv. 2) instead of _Sina_
(xxiii. 20); in another Elijah is called _Ilyasin_ (xxxvii. 130) instead
of _Ilyas_ (vi. 85; xxxvii. 123). The substance even is modified to suit
exigencies of rhyme. Thus the Prophet would scarcely have fixed on the
unusual number of _eight_ angels round the throne of God (lxix. 17) if
the word _thamaniyah_, "eight," had not happened to fall in so well with
the rhyme. And when lv. speaks of _two_ heavenly gardens, each with
_two_ fountains and _two_ kinds of fruit, and again of _two_ similar
gardens, all this is simply because the dual termination (_an_)
corresponds to the syllable that controls the rhyme in that whole sura.
In the later pieces, Mahomet often inserts edifying remarks, entirely
out of keeping with the context, merely to complete his rhyme. In Arabic
it is such an easy thing to accumulate masses of words with the same
termination, that the gross negligence of the rhyme in the Koran is
doubly remarkable. One may say that this is another mark of the
Prophet's want of mental training, and incapacity for introspective
criticism.
Stylistic Weaknesses.
Dogma of the Stylistic Perfection of the Koran.
On the whole, while many parts of the Koran undoubtedly have
considerable rhetorical power, even over an unbelieving reader, the
book, aesthetically considered, is by no means a first-rate performance.
To begin with what we are most competent to criticize, let us look at
some of the more extended narratives. It has already been noticed how
vehement and abrupt they are where they ought to be characterized by
epic repose. Indispensable links, both in expression and in the sequence
of events, are often omitted, so that to understand these histories is
sometimes far easier for us than for those who heard them first, because
we know most of them from better sources. Along with this, there is a
great deal of superfluous verbiage; and nowhere do we find a steady
advance in the narration. Contrast in these respects the history of
Joseph (xii.) and its glaring improprieties with the admirably conceived
and admirably executed story in Genesis. Similar faults are found in the
non-narrative portions of the Koran. The connexion of ideas is extremely
loose, and even the syntax betrays great awkwardness. Anacolutha are of
frequent occurrence, and cannot be explained as conscious literary
devices. Many sentences begin with a "when" or "on the day when" which
seems to hover in the air, so that the commentators are driven to supply
a "think of this" or some such ellipsis. Again, there is no great
literary skill evinced in the frequent and needless harping on the same
words and phrases; in xviii., for example, "till that" (_hatta idha_)
occurs no fewer than eight times. Mahomet, in short, is not in any sense
a master of style. This opinion will be endorsed by any European who
reads through the book with an impartial spirit and some knowledge of
the language, without taking into account the tiresome effect of its
endless iterations. But in the ears of every pious Moslem such a
judgment will sound almost as shocking as downright atheism or
polytheism. Among the Moslems, the Koran has always been looked on as
the most perfect model of style and language. This feature of it is in
their dogmatic the greatest of all miracles, the incontestable proof of
its divine origin. Such a view on the part of men who knew Arabic
infinitely better than the most accomplished European Arabist will ever
do, may well startle us. In fact, the Koran boldly challenged its
opponents to produce ten suras, or even a single one, like those of the
sacred book, and they never did so. That, to be sure, on calm
reflection, is not so very surprising. Revelations of the kind which
Mahomet uttered, no unbeliever could produce without making himself a
laughing-stock. However little real originality there is in Mahomet's
doctrines, as against his own countrymen he was thoroughly original,
even in the form of his oracles. To compose such revelations at will was
beyond the power of the most expert literary artist; it would have
required either a prophet or a shameless impostor. And if such a
character appeared _after_ Mahomet, still he could never be anything but
an imitator, like the false prophets who arose about the time of his
death and afterwards. That the adversaries should produce any sample
whatsoever of poetry or rhetoric equal to the Koran is not at all what
the Prophet demands. In that case he would have been put to shame, even
in the eyes of many of his own followers, by the first poem that came to
hand. Nevertheless, it is on a false interpretation of this challenge
that the dogma of the incomparable excellence of the style and diction
of the Koran is based. The rest has been accomplished by dogmatic
prejudice, which is quite capable of working other miracles besides
turning a defective literary production into an unrivalled masterpiece
in the eyes of believers. This view once accepted, the next step was to
find everywhere evidence of the perfection of the style and language.
And if here and there, as one can scarcely doubt, there was among the
old Moslems a lover of poetry who had his difficulties about this dogma,
he had to beware of uttering an opinion which might have cost him his
head. We know of at least one rationalistic theologian who defined the
dogma in such a way that we can see he did not believe it (Shahrastani,
p. 39). The truth is, it would have been a miracle indeed if the style
of the Koran had been perfect. For although there was at that time a
recognized poetical style, already degenerating to mannerism, a
developed prose style did not exist. All beginnings are difficult; and
it can never be esteemed a serious charge against Mahomet that his book,
the first prose work of a high order in the language, testifies to the
awkwardness of the beginner. And further, we must always remember that
entertainment and aesthetic effect were at most subsidiary objects. The
great aim was persuasion and conversion; and, say what we will, that aim
has been realized on the most imposing scale.
Foreign words.
Mahomet repeatedly calls attention to the fact that the Koran is not
written, like other sacred books, in a strange language, but in Arabic,
and therefore is intelligible to all. At that time, along with foreign
ideas, many foreign words had crept into the language; especially
Aramaic terms for religious conceptions of Jewish or Christian origin.
Some of these had already passed into general use, while others were
confined to a more limited circle. Mahomet, who could not fully express
his new ideas in the common language of his countrymen, but had
frequently to find out new terms for himself, made free use of such
Jewish and Christian words, as was done, though perhaps to a smaller
extent, by certain thinkers and poets of that age who had more or less
risen above the level of heathenism. In Mahomet's case this is the less
wonderful because he was indebted to the instruction of Jews and
Christians, whose Arabic--as the Koran pretty clearly intimates with
regard to one of them--was very defective. On the other hand, it is yet
more remarkable that several of such borrowed words in the Koran have a
sense which they do not possess in the original language. It is not
necessary that this phenomenon should in every case be due to the same
cause. Just as the prophet often misunderstood traditional traits of the
sacred history, he may, as an unlearned man, likewise have often
employed foreign expressions wrongly. Other remarkable senses of words
were possibly already acclimatized in the language of Arabian Jews or
Christians. Thus, _forqan_ means really "redemption," but Mahomet uses
it for "revelation." The widespread opinion that this sense first
asserted itself in reference to the Arab root [Arabic word] (_faraqa_),
"sever," or "decide," is open to considerable doubt. There is, for
instance, no difficulty in deriving the Arab meaning of "revelation"
from the common Aramaic "salvation," and this transference must have
taken place in a community for which salvation formed the central object
of faith, i.e. either amongst those Jews who looked to the coming of a
Messiah or more probably, among Christians, since Christianity is in a
very peculiar sense the religion of salvation. _Milla_ is properly
"word" (= Aramaic _melltha_), but in the Koran "religion." It is
actually used of the religion of the Jews and Christians (once), of the
heathen (5 times), but mostly (8 times) of the religion of Abraham,
which Mahomet in the Medina period places on the same level with Islam.
Although of the Aramaic dialects none employs the term _Melltha_ in the
sense of religion, it appears that the prophet found such a use.
_Illiyun_, which Mahomet uses of a heavenly book (Sura 83; 18, 19), is
clearly the Hebrew _elyon_, "high" or "exalted." It is, however,
doubtful in what sense this word appeared to him, either as a name of
God, as in the Old Testament it often occurs and regularly without the
article, or actually as the epithet of a heavenly book, although this
use cannot be substantiated from Jewish literature. So again the word
_mathani_ is, as Geiger has conjectured, the regular plural of the
Aramaic _mathnitha_, which is the same as the Hebrew _Mishnah_, and
denotes in Jewish usage a legal decision of some of the ancient Rabbins.
But in the Koran Mahomet appears to have understood it in the sense of
"saying" or "sentence" (cf. xxxix. 24). On the other hand, it is by no
means certain that by "the Seven Mathani" (xv. 87) the seven verses of
Sura i. are meant. Words of undoubtedly Christian origin are less
frequent in the Koran. It is an interesting fact that of these a few
have come over from the Abyssinian; such as _hawariyun_ "apostles,"
_maida_ "table," _munafig_ "doubter, sceptic," _ragun_ "cursed,"
_mihrab_ "temple"; the first three of these make their first appearance
in suras of the Medina period. The word _shaitan_ "Satan," which was
likewise borrowed, at least in the first instance, from the Abyssinian,
had probably been already introduced into the language. Sprenger has
rightly observed that Mahomet makes a certain parade of these foreign
terms, as of other peculiarly constructed expressions; in this he
followed a favourite practice of contemporary poets. It is the tendency
of the imperfectly educated to delight in out-of-the-way expressions,
and on such minds they readily produce a remarkably solemn and
mysterious impression. This was exactly the kind of effect that Mahomet
desired, and to secure it he seems even to have invented a few odd
vocables, as _ghislin_ (lxix. 36), _sijjin_ (lxxxiii. 7, 8), _tasnim_
(lxxxiii. 27), and _salsabil_ (lxxvi. 18). But, of course, the necessity
of enabling his hearers to understand ideas which they must have found
sufficiently novel in themselves, imposed tolerably narrow limits on
such eccentricities.
Date of the Several Parts.
The constituents of our present Koran belong partly to the Mecca
period[2] (before A.D. 622), partly to the period commencing with the
migration to Medina (from the autumn of 622 to 8th June 632). Mahomet's
position in Medina was entirely different from that which he had
occupied in his native town. In the former he was from the first the
leader of a powerful party, and gradually became the autocratic ruler of
Arabia; in the latter he was only the despised preacher of a small
congregation. This difference, as was to be expected, appears in the
Koran. The Medina pieces, whether entire suras or isolated passages
interpolated in Meccan suras, are accordingly pretty broadly distinct,
as to their contents, from those issued in Mecca. In the great majority
of cases there can be no doubt whatever whether a piece first saw the
light in Mecca or in Medina; and for the most part the internal evidence
is borne out by Moslem tradition. And since the revelations given in
Medina frequently take notice of events about which we have fairly
accurate information, and whose dates are at least approximately known,
we are often in a position to fix their date with at any rate
considerable certainty; here again tradition renders valuable
assistance. Even with regard to the Medina passages, however, a great
deal remains uncertain, partly because the allusions to historical
events and circumstances are generally rather obscure, partly because
traditions about the occasion of the revelation of the various pieces
are often fluctuating, and often rest on misunderstanding or arbitrary
conjecture. An important criterion for judging the period during which
individual Meccan suras, interpolated in Medina revelations, arose
(e.g. _Sur._ xvi. 124, vi. 162) is provided by the Ibrahim legend, the
great importance of which, as throwing light on the evolution of
Mahomet's doctrine in its relation to older revealed religions, has been
convincingly set forth by Dr Snouck Hurgronje in his dissertation for
the doctor's degree and in later essays.[3] According to this, Ibrahim,
after the controversy with the Jews, first of all became Mahomet's
special forerunner in Medina, then the first Moslem, and finally the
founder of the Ka'ba. But at all events it is far easier to arrange in
some sort of chronological order the Medina suras than those composed in
Mecca. There is, indeed, one tradition which professes to furnish a
chronological list of all the suras. But not to mention that it occurs
in several divergent forms, and that it takes no account of the fact
that our present suras are partly composed of pieces of different dates,
it contains so many suspicious or undoubtedly false statements, that it
is impossible to attach any great importance to it. Besides, it is a
priori unlikely that a contemporary of Mahomet should have drawn up such
a list; and if any one had made the attempt he would have found it
almost impossible to obtain reliable information as to the order of the
earlier Meccan suras. We have in this list no genuine tradition, but
rather the lucubrations of an undoubtedly conscientious Moslem critic,
who may have lived about a century after the Flight.
The Meccan Suras.
Among the revelations put forth in Mecca there is a considerable number
of (for the most part) short suras, which strike every attentive reader
as being the oldest. They are in an altogether different strain from
many others, and in their whole composition they show least resemblance
to the Medina pieces. It is no doubt conceivable--as Sprenger
supposes--that Mahomet might have returned at intervals to his earlier
manner; but since this group possesses a remarkable similarity of style,
and since the gradual formation of a different style is on the whole an
unmistakable fact, the assumption has little probability; and we shall
therefore abide by the opinion that these form a distinct group. At the
opposite extreme from them stands another cluster, showing quite obvious
affinities with the style of the Medina suras, which must therefore be
assigned to the later part of the Prophet's work in Mecca. Between these
two groups stand a number of other Meccan suras, which in every respect
mark the transition from the first period to the third. It need hardly
be said that the three periods--which were first distinguished by
Professor Weil--are not separated by sharp lines of division. With
regard to some suras, it may be doubtful whether they ought to be
reckoned amongst the middle group, or with one or other of the extremes.
And it is altogether impossible, within these groups, to establish even
a probable chronological arrangement of the individual revelations. In
default of clear allusions to well-known events, or events whose date
can be determined, we might indeed endeavour to trace the psychological
development of the Prophet by means of the Koran, and arrange its parts
accordingly. But in such an undertaking one is always apt to take
subjective assumptions or mere fancies for established data. Good
traditions about the origin of the Meccan revelations are not very
numerous. In fact the whole history of Mahomet previous to the Flight is
so imperfectly related that we are not even sure in what year he
appeared as a prophet. Probably it was in A.D. 610; it may have been
somewhat earlier, but scarcely later. If, as one tradition says, xxx. 1
seq. ("The Romans are overcome in the nearest neighbouring land") refers
to the defeat of the Byzantines by the Persians, not far from Damascus,
about the spring of 614, it would follow that the third group, to which
this passage belongs, covers the greater part of the Meccan period. And
it is not in itself unlikely that the passionate vehemence which
characterizes the first group was of short duration. Nor is the
assumption contradicted by the tolerably well attested, though far from
incontestable statement, that when Omar was converted (A.D. 615 or 616),
xx., which belongs to the second group, already existed in writing. But
the reference of xxx. 1 seq. to this particular battle is by no means so
certain that positive conclusions can be drawn from it. It is the same
with other allusions in the Meccan suras to occurrences whose chronology
can be partially ascertained. It is better, therefore, to rest satisfied
with a merely relative determination of the order of even the three
great clusters of Meccan revelations.
Oldest Meccan Suras.
In the pieces of the first period the convulsive excitement of the
Prophet often expresses itself with the utmost vehemence. He is so
carried away by his emotion that he cannot choose his words; they seem
rather to burst from him. Many of these pieces remind us of the oracles
of the old heathen soothsayers, whose style is known to us from
imitations, although we have perhaps not a single genuine specimen. Like
those other oracles, the suras of this period, which are never very
long, are composed of short sentences with tolerably pure but rapidly
changing rhymes. The oaths, too, with which many of them begin were
largely used by the soothsayers. Some of these oaths are very uncouth
and hard to understand, some of them perhaps were not meant to be
understood, for indeed all sorts of strange things are met with in these
chapters. Here and there Mahomet speaks of visions, and appears even to
see angels before him in bodily form. There are some intensely vivid
descriptions of the resurrection and the last day which must have
exercised a demonic power over men who were quite unfamiliar with such
pictures. Other pieces paint in glowing colours the joys of heaven and
the pains of hell. However, the suras of this period are not all so wild
as these; and those which are conceived in a calmer mood appear to be
the oldest. Yet, one must repeat, it is exceedingly difficult to make
out any strict chronological sequence. For instance, it is by no means
certain whether the beginning of xcvi. is really, what a widely
circulated tradition calls it, the oldest part of the whole Koran. That
tradition goes back to the Prophet's favourite wife Ayesha; but as she
was not born at the time when the revelation is said to have been made,
it can only contain at the best what Mahomet told her years afterwards,
from his own not very clear recollection, with or without fictitious
additions, and this woman is little trustworthy. Moreover, there are
other pieces mentioned by others as the oldest. In any case xcvi. 1 sqq.
is certainly very early. According to the traditional view, which
appears to be correct, it treats of a vision in which the Prophet
receives an injunction to recite a revelation conveyed to him by the
angel. It is interesting to observe that here already two things are
brought forward as proofs of the omnipotence and care of God: one is the
creation of man out of a seminal drop--an idea to which Mahomet often
recurs; the other is the then recently introduced art of writing, which
the Prophet instinctively seizes on as a means of propagating his
doctrines. It was only after Mahomet encountered obstinate resistance
that the tone of the revelations became thoroughly passionate. In such
cases he was not slow to utter terrible threats against those who
ridiculed the preaching of the unity of God, of the resurrection, and of
the judgment. His own uncle Abu Lahab had rudely repelled him, and in a
brief special sura (cxi.) he and his wife are consigned to hell. The
suras of this period form almost exclusively the concluding portions of
the present text. One is disposed to assume, however, that they were at
one time more numerous, and that many of them were lost at an early
period.
Since Mahomet's strength lay in his enthusiastic and fiery imagination
rather than in the wealth of ideas and clearness of abstract thought on
which exact reasoning depends, it follows that the older suras, in which
the former qualities have free scope, must be more attractive to us than
the later. In the suras of the second period the imaginative glow
perceptibly diminishes; there is still fire and animation, but the tone
becomes gradually more prosaic. As the feverish restlessness subsides,
the periods are drawn out, and the revelations as a whole become longer.
The truth of the new doctrine is proved by accumulated instances of
God's working in nature and in history; the objections of opponents,
whether advanced in good faith or in jest, are controverted by
arguments; but the demonstration is often confused or even weak. The
histories of the earlier prophets, which had occasionally been briefly
touched on in the first period, are now related, sometimes at great
length. On the whole, the charm of the style is passing away.
The Fatiha.
There is one piece of the Koran, belonging to the beginning of this
period, if not to the close of the former, which claims particular
notice. This is Sura i., the Lord's Prayer of the Moslems, a vigorous
hymn of praise to God, the Lord of both worlds, which ends in a petition
for aid and true guidance (_huda_). The words of this sura, which is
known as _al-fatiha_ ("the opening one"), are as follows:--
(1) In the name of God, the compassionate compassioner. (2) Praise be
[literally "is"] to God, the Lord of the worlds, (3) the compassionate
compassioner, (4) the Sovereign of the day of judgment. (5) Thee do we
worship and of Thee do we beg assistance. (6) Direct us in the right
way; (7) in the way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious, on whom
there is no wrath, and who go not astray.
The thoughts are so simple as to need no explanation; and yet the prayer
is full of meaning. It is true that there is not a single original idea
of Mahomet's in it. Of the seven verses of the sura no less than five
(verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 6) have an extremely suspicious relationship with
the stereotyped formulae of Jewish and Christian liturgies. Verse 6
agrees, word for word, with Ps. xxvii. 11. On the other hand, the
question must remain open whether Mahomet only gave free renderings of
the several borrowed formulae, or whether in actually composing them he
kept existing models. The designation of God as the "Compassioner,"
_Rahman_, is simply the Jewish _Rahmana_, which was a favourite name for
God in the Talmudic period. The word had long before Mahomet's time been
used for God in southern Arabia (cf. e.g. the Sabaean Inscriptions,
Glaser, 554, line 32; 618, line 2).
Mahomet seems for a while to have entertained the thought of adopting
_al-Rahman_ as a proper name of God, in place of _Allah_, which was
already used by the heathens.[4] This purpose he ultimately
relinquished, but it is just in the suras of the second period that the
use of _Rahman_ is specially frequent. If, for this reason, it is to a
certain extent certain that Sura i. belongs to this period, yet we can
neither prove that it belongs to the beginning of the Mecca period nor
that the present introductory formula "In the name of God," &c.,
belonged to it from the first. It may therefore even be doubted whether
Mahomet at the outset looked upon the latter as revealed. Tradition, of
course, knows in this connexion no doubt, and looks upon the Fatiha
precisely as the most exalted portion of the Koran. Every Moslem who
says his five prayers regularly--as the most of them do--repeats it not
less than twenty times a day.
Latest Meccan Suras.
The suras of the third Meccan period, which form a fairly large part of
our present Koran, are almost entirely prosaic. Some of the revelations
are of considerable extent, and the single verses also are much longer
than in the older suras. Only now and then a gleam of poetic power
flashes out. A sermonizing tone predominates. The suras are very
edifying for one who is already reconciled to their import, but to us at
least they do not seem very well fitted to carry conviction to the minds
of unbelievers. That impression, however, is not correct, for in reality
the demonstrations of these longer Meccan suras appear to have been
peculiarly influential for the propagation of Islam. Mahomet's mission
was not to Europeans, but to a people who, though quick-witted and
receptive, were not accustomed to logical thinking, while they had
outgrown their ancient religion.
Medinan Suras.
When we reach the Medina period it becomes, as has been indicated, much
easier to understand the revelations in their historical relations,
since our knowledge of the history of Mahomet in Medina is tolerably
complete. In many cases the historical occasion is perfectly clear, in
others we can at least recognize the general situation from which they
arose, and thus approximately fix their time. There still remains,
however, a remnant, of which we can only say that it belongs to Medina.
The style of this period bears a fairly close resemblance to that of the
latest Meccan period. It is for the most part pure prose, enriched by
occasional rhetorical embellishments. Yet even here there are many
bright and impressive passages, especially in those sections which may
be regarded as proclamations to the army of the faithful. For the
Moslems Mahomet has many different messages. At one time it is a summons
to do battle for the faith; at another, a series of reflections on
recently experienced success or misfortune, or a rebuke for their weak
faith; or an exhortation to virtue, and so on. He often addresses
himself to the "doubters," some of whom vacillate between faith and
unbelief, others make a pretence of faith, while others scarcely take
the trouble even to do that. They are no consolidated party, but to
Mahomet they are all equally vexatious, because, as soon as danger has
to be encountered, or a contribution is levied, they all alike fall
away. There are frequent outbursts, ever increasing in bitterness,
against the Jews, who were very numerous in Medina and its neighbourhood
when Mahomet arrived. He has much less to say against the Christians,
with whom he never came closely in contact; and as for the idolaters,
there was little occasion in Medina to have many words with them. A part
of the Medina pieces consists of formal laws belonging to the
ceremonial, civil and criminal codes; or directions about certain
temporary complications. The most objectionable parts of the whole Koran
are those which treat of Mahomet's relations with women. The laws and
regulations were generally very concise revelations, but most of them
have been amalgamated with other pieces of similar or dissimilar import,
and are now found in very long suras.
Such is an imperfect sketch of the composition and the internal history
of the Koran, but it is probably sufficient to show that the book is a
very heterogeneous collection. If only those passages had been preserved
which had a permanent value for the theology, the ethics, or the
jurisprudence of the Moslems, a few fragments would have been amply
sufficient. Fortunately for knowledge, respect for the sacredness of the
letter has led to the collection of all the revelations that could
possibly be collected--the "abrogating" along with the "abrogated,"
passages referring to passing circumstances as well as those of lasting
importance. Every one who takes up the book in the proper religious
frame of mind, like most of the Moslems, reads pieces directed against
long-obsolete absurd customs of Mecca just as devoutly as the weightiest
moral precepts--perhaps even more devoutly, because he does not
understand them so well.
Mysterious Letters.
At the head of twenty-nine of the suras stand certain initial letters,
from which no clear sense can be obtained. Thus, before ii. iii. xxxi.
xxxii. we find [Arabic word] (_Alif Lam Mim_), before xl.-xlvi.
[Arabic word] (_Ha Mim_). Nöldeke at one time suggested that these
initials did not belong to Mahomet's text, but might be the monograms
of possessors of codices, which, through negligence on the part of the
editors, were incorporated in the final form of the Koran; he now
deems it more probable that they are to be traced to the Prophet
himself, as Sprenger, Loth and others suppose. One cannot indeed admit
the truth of Loth's statement that in the proper opening words of
these suras we may generally find an allusion to the accompanying
initials; but it can scarcely be accidental that the first verse of
the great majority of them (in iii. it is the second verse) contains
the word "book," "revelation," or some equivalent. They usually begin
with: "This is the book," or "Revelation ('down sending') of the
book," or something similar. Of suras which commence in this way only
a few (xviii. xxiv. xxv. xxxix.) want the initials, while only xxix.
and xxx. have the initials and begin differently. These few exceptions
may easily have proceeded from ancient corruptions; at all events they
cannot neutralize the evidence of the greater number. Mahomet seems to
have meant these letters for a mystic reference to the archetypal text
in heaven. To a man who regarded the art of writing, of which at the
best he had but a slight knowledge, as something supernatural, and who
lived amongst illiterate people, an A B C may well have seemed more
significant than to us who have been initiated into the mysteries of
this art from our childhood. The Prophet himself can hardly have
attached any particular meaning to these symbols: they served their
purpose if they conveyed an impression of solemnity and enigmatical
obscurity. In fact, the Koran admits that it contains many things
which neither can be, nor were intended to be, understood (iii. 5). To
regard these letters as ciphers is a precarious hypothesis, for the
simple reason that cryptography is not to be looked for in the very
infancy of Arabic writing. If they are actually ciphers, the
multiplicity of possible explanations at once precludes the hope of a
plausible interpretation. None of the efforts in this direction,
whether by Moslem scholars or by Europeans, has led to convincing
results. This remark applies even to the ingenious conjecture of
Sprenger, that the letters [Arabic word] (_Kaf He Ye Ain Sad_) before
xix. (which treats of John and Jesus, and, according to tradition, was
sent to the Christian king of Abyssinia) stand for _Jesus Nazarenus
Rex Judaeorum_. Sprenger arrives at this explanation by a very
artificial method; and besides, Mahomet was not so simple as the
Moslem traditionalists, who imagined that the Abyssinians could read a
piece of the Arabic Koran. It need hardly be said that the Moslems
have from of old applied themselves with great assiduity to the
decipherment of these initials, and have sometimes found the deepest
mysteries in them. Generally, however, they are content with the
prudent conclusion that God alone knows the meaning of these letters.
Transmission of the Koran.
Zaid's First Koran.
It is probable (see above) that Mahomet had already caused revelations
to be written down at Mecca, and that this began from the moment when he
felt certain that he was the transmitter of the actual text of a
heavenly book to mankind. It is even true that he may at some time or
another have formed the intention of collecting these revelations. The
idea of a heavenly model would in itself have suggested such a course
and, only in an inferior degree to this, the necessity of setting a new
and uncorrupted document of the divine will over against the sacred
scriptures of the Jews and Christians, the people of the Book, as the
Koran calls them. In any case, when Mahomet died, the separate pieces of
the Koran, notwithstanding their theoretical sacredness, existed only in
scattered copies; they were consequently in great danger of being
partially or entirely destroyed. Many Moslems knew large portions by
heart, but certainly no one knew the whole; and a merely oral
propagation would have left the door open to all kinds of deliberate and
inadvertent alterations. But now, after the death of the Prophet, most
of the Arabs revolted against his successor, and had to be reduced to
submission by force. Especially sanguinary was the struggle against the
prophet Maslama (Mubarrad, _Kamil_ 443, 5), commonly known by the
derisive diminutive Mosailima. At that time (A.D. 633) many of the most
devoted Moslems fell, the very men who knew most Koran pieces by heart.
Omar then began to fear that the Koran might be entirely forgotten, and
he induced the Caliph Abu Bekr to undertake the collection of all its
parts. The Caliph laid the duty on Zaid ibn Thabit, a native of Medina,
then about twenty-two years of age, who had often acted as amanuensis to
the Prophet, in whose service he is even said to have learned the Jewish
letters. The account of this collection of the Koran has reached us in
several substantially identical forms, and goes back to Zaid himself.
According to it, he collected the revelations from copies written on
flat stones, pieces of leather, ribs of palm-leaves (not palm-leaves
themselves), and such-like material, but chiefly "from the breasts of
men," i.e. from their memory. From these he wrote a fair copy, which he
gave to Abu Bekr, from whom it came to his successor Omar, who again
bequeathed it to his daughter Hafsa, one of the widows of the Prophet.
This redaction, commonly called _al-sohof_ ("the leaves"), had from the
first no canonical authority; and its internal arrangement can only be
conjectured.
Othman's Koran.
The Moslems were as far as ever from possessing a uniform text of the
Koran. The bravest of their warriors sometimes knew deplorably little
about it; distinction on _that_ field they cheerfully accorded to pious
men like Ibn Mas'ud. It was inevitable, however, that discrepancies
should emerge between the texts of professed scholars, and as these men
in their several localities were authorities on the reading of the
Koran, quarrels began to break out between the levies from different
districts about the true form of the sacred book. During a campaign in
A.H. 30 (A.D. 650-651), Hodhaifa, the victor in the great and decisive
battle of Nehaveand (see CALIPHATE; and PERSIA: _History_) perceived
that such disputes might become dangerous, and therefore urged on the
caliph Othman the necessity for a universally binding text. The matter
was entrusted to Zaid, who had made the former collection, with three
leading Koreishites. These brought together as many copies as they could
lay their hands on, and prepared an edition which was to be canonical
for all Moslems. To prevent any further disputes, they burned all the
other codices except that of Hafsa, which, however, was soon afterwards
destroyed by Merwan the governor of Medina. The destruction of the
earlier codices was an irreparable loss to criticism; but, for the
essentially political object of putting an end to controversies by
admitting only one form of the common book of religion and of law, this
measure was necessary.
The result of these labours is in our hands; as to how they were
conducted we have no trustworthy information, tradition being here too
much under the influence of dogmatic presuppositions. The critical
methods of a modern scientific commission will not be expected of an age
when the highest literary education for an Arab consisted in ability to
read and write. It now appears highly probable that this second
redaction took this simple form: Zaid read off from the codex which he
had previously written, and his associates, simultaneously or
successively, wrote one copy each to his dictation. These three
manuscripts will therefore be those which the caliph, according to
trustworthy tradition, sent in the first instance as standard copies to
Damascus, Basra and Kufa to the warriors of the provinces of which these
were the capitals, while he retained one at Medina. Be that as it may,
it is impossible now to distinguish in the present form of the book what
belongs to the first redaction from what is due to the second.
In the arrangement of the separate sections, a classification according
to contents was impracticable because of the variety of subjects often
dealt with in one sura. A chronological arrangement was out of the
question, because the chronology of the older pieces must have been
imperfectly known, and because in some cases passages of different dates
had been joined together. Indeed, systematic principles of this kind
were altogether disregarded at that period. The pieces were accordingly
arranged in indiscriminate order, the only rule observed being to place
the long suras first and the shorter towards the end, and even that was
far from strictly adhered to. The two magic formulae, suras cxiii.,
cxiv. owe their position at the end of the collection to their peculiar
contents, which differ from all the other suras; they are protecting
spells for the faithful. Similarly it is by reason of its contents that
sura i. stands at the beginning: not only because it is in praise of
Allah, as Psalm i. is in praise of the righteous man, but because it
gives classical expression to important articles of the faith. These are
the only special traces of design. The combination of pieces of
different origin may proceed partly from the possessors of the codices
from which Zaid compiled his first complete copy, partly from Zaid
himself. The individual suras are separated simply by the
superscription: "In the name of God, the compassionate Compassioner,"
which is wanting only in the ninth. The additional headings found in our
texts (the name of the suras, the number of verses, &c.) were not in the
original codices, and form no integral part of the Koran.
It is said that Othman directed Zaid and his associates, in cases of
disagreement, to follow the Koreish dialect; but, though well attested,
this account can scarcely be correct. The extremely primitive writing of
those days was quite incapable of rendering such minute differences as
can have existed between the pronunciation of Mecca and that of Medina.
The Koran not complete.
Othman's Koran was not complete. Some passages are evidently
fragmentary; and a few detached pieces are still extant which were
originally parts of the Koran, although they have been omitted by Zaid.
Amongst these are some which there is no reason to suppose Mahomet
desired to suppress. Zaid may easily have overlooked a few stray
fragments, but that he purposely omitted anything which he believed to
belong to the Koran is very unlikely. It has been conjectured that in
deference to his superiors he kept out of the book the names of
Mahomet's enemies, if they or their families came afterwards to be
respected. But it must be remembered that it was never Mahomet's
practice to refer explicitly to contemporary persons and affairs in the
Koran. Only a single friend, his adopted son Zaid (xxxiii. 37), and a
single enemy, his uncle Abu Lahab (cxi.)--and these for very special
reasons--are mentioned by name; and the name of the latter has been left
in the Koran with a fearful curse annexed to it, although his son had
embraced Islam before the death of Mahomet, and his descendants belonged
to the noblest families. So, on the other hand, there is no single verse
or clause which can be plausibly made out to be an interpolation by Zaid
at the instance of Abu Bekr, Omar, or Othman. Slight clerical errors
there may have been, but the Koran of Othman contains none but genuine
elements--though sometimes in very strange order. All efforts of
European scholars to prove the existence of later interpolations in the
Koran have failed.
Of the four exemplars of Othman's Koran, one was kept in Medina, and one
was sent to each of the three metropolitan cities, Kufa, Basra, and
Damascus. It can still be pretty clearly shown in detail that these four
codices deviated from one another in points of orthography, in the
insertion or omission of a wa ("and") and such-like minutiae; but these
variations nowhere affect the sense. All later manuscripts are derived
from these four originals.
Other Editions.
At the same time, the other forms of the Koran did not at once become
extinct. In particular we have some information about the codex of Ubay
ibn Ka'b. If the list which gives the order of its suras is correct, it
must have contained substantially the same materials as our text; in
that case Ubay ibn Ka'b must have used the original collection of Zaid.
The same is true of the codex of Ibn Mas'ud, of which we have also a
catalogue. It appears that the principle of putting the longer suras
before the shorter was more consistently carried out by him than by
Zaid. He omits i. and the magical formulae of cxiii., cxiv. Ubay, on the
other hand, had embodied two additional short prayers, which we may
regard as Mahomet's. One can easily understand that differences of
opinion may have existed as to whether and how far formularies of this
kind belonged to the Koran. Some of the divergent readings of both these
texts have been preserved as well as a considerable number of other
ancient variants. Most of them are decidedly inferior to the received
readings, but some are quite as good, and a few deserve preference.
Ibn Mas'ud.
The only man who appears to have seriously opposed the general
introduction of Othman's text is Ibn Mas'ud. He was one of the oldest
disciples of the Prophet, and had often rendered him personal service;
but he was a man of contracted views, although he is one of the pillars
of Moslem theology. His opposition had no effect. Now when we consider
that at that time there were many Moslems who had heard the Koran from
the mouth of the Prophet, that other measures of the imbecile Othman met
with the most vehement resistance on the part of the bigoted champions
of the faith, that these were still further incited against him by some
of his ambitious old comrades until at last they murdered him, and
finally that in the civil wars after his death the several parties were
glad of any pretext for branding their opponents as infidels;--when we
consider all this, we must regard it as a strong testimony in favour of
Othman's Koran that no party found fault with his conduct in this
matter, or repudiated the text formed by Zaid, who was one of the most
devoted adherents of Othman and his family, and that even among the
Shiites criticism of the caliph's action is only met with as a rare
exception.
Later History of the Text.
But this redaction is not the close of the textual history of the
Koran. The ancient Arabic alphabet was very imperfect; it not only
wanted marks for the short and in part even for the long vowels, but
it often expressed several consonants by the same sign, e.g. one and
the same character could mean B, T, Th at the beginning and N and J
(I) in the middle of words. Hence there were many words which could
be read in very different ways. This variety of possible readings was
at first very great, and many readers seem to have actually made it
their object to discover pronunciations which were new, provided they
were at all appropriate to the ambiguous text. There was also a
dialectic licence in grammatical forms, which had not as yet been
greatly restricted. An effort was made by many to establish a more
refined pronunciation for the Koran than was usual in common life or
in secular literature. The various schools of "readers" differed very
widely from one another; although for the most part there was no
important divergence as to the sense of words. A few of them gradually
rose to special authority, and the rest disappeared. Seven readers are
generally reckoned chief authorities, but for practical purposes this
number was continually reduced in process of time; so that at present
only two "reading-styles" are in actual use,--the common style of
Hafs, and that of Nafi'; which prevails in Africa to the west of
Egypt. There is, however, a very comprehensive massoretic literature
in which a number of other styles are indicated. The invention of
vowel-signs of diacritic points to distinguish similarly formed
consonants, and of other orthographic signs, soon put a stop to
arbitrary conjectures on the part of the readers. Many zealots
objected to the introduction of these innovations in the sacred text,
but theological consistency had to yield to practical necessity. In
accurate codices, indeed, all such additions, as well as the titles of
the sura, &c., are written in coloured ink, while the black characters
profess to represent exactly the original of Othman. But there is
probably no copy quite faithful in this respect. Moreover, the right
recitation of the Koran is an art which even people of Arab tongue can
only learn with great difficulty. In addition to the nuances of
pronunciation already alluded to, there is a semi-musical modulation.
In these matters also the various schools differ.
Manuscripts.
In European libraries, besides innumerable modern manuscripts of the
Koran, there are also codices, or fragments, of high antiquity, some
of them probably dating from the 1st century of the Flight. For the
restoration of the text, however, the works of ancient scholars on its
readings and modes of writing are more important than the manuscripts;
which, however elegantly they may be written and ornamented, proceed
from irresponsible copyists. The original, written by Othman himself,
has indeed been exhibited in various parts of the Mahommedan world.
The library of the India Office contains one such manuscript, bearing
the subscription: "Written by 'Othman the son of 'Affan." These, of
course, are barefaced forgeries, although of very ancient date; so are
those which profess to be from the hand of 'Ali, one of which is
preserved in the same library. In recent times the Koran has been
often printed and lithographed, both in the East and the West. In
Mahommedan countries lithography alone is employed.
Commentators.
Shortly after Mahomet's death certain individuals applied themselves
to the exposition of the Koran. Much of it was obscure from the
beginning, other sections were unintelligible apart from a knowledge
of the circumstances of their origin. Unfortunately, those who took
possession of this field were not very honourable. Ibn 'Abbas, a
cousin of Mahomet, and the chief source of the traditional exegesis of
the Koran, has, on theological and other grounds, given currency to a
number of falsehoods; and at least some of his pupils have emulated
his example. These earliest expositions dealt more with the sense and
connexion of whole verses than with the separate words. Afterwards, as
the knowledge of the old language declined, and the study of philology
arose, more attention began to be paid to the explanation of vocables.
A good many fragments of this older theological and philological
exegesis have survived from the first two centuries of the Flight,
although we have no complete commentary of this period. The great
commentary of Tabari, A.D. 839-923, of which for the last few years we
have possessed an Oriental edition in 30 parts (Cairo A.H. 1321 = A.D.
1903), is very full when it comes to speak of canonical law, as well
as in its accounts of the occasions of the several revelations; for,
as in his great historical work, he faithfully records a large number
of traditions with the channels by which they have come down to us
(genealogical trees, _isnad_). In other respects the hopes based upon
this commentary have not been fulfilled.
Translations.
Another very famous commentary is that of Zamakhshari (A.D.
1075-1144), edited by Nassau-Lees, Calcutta, 1859; but this scholar,
with his great insight and still greater subtlety, is too apt to read
his own scholastic ideas into the Koran. The favourite commentary of
Baidawi (d. A.D. 1286), edited by Fleischer (Leipzig, 1846-1848), is
little more than an abridgment of Zamakhshari's. Thousands of
commentaries on the Koran, some of them of prodigious size, have been
written by Moslems; and even the number of those still extant in
manuscript is by no means small. Although these works all contain much
that is useless or false, yet they are invaluable aids to our
understanding of the sacred book. An unbiased European can, no doubt,
see many things at a glance more clearly than a good Moslem who is
under the influence of religious prejudice; but we should still be
helpless without the exegetical literature of the Mahommedans. Even
the Arabian Moslems would only understand the Koran very dimly and
imperfectly if they did not give special attention to the study of its
interpretation. The advantage of being in a language commonly
understood, which the holy book claims for itself, has vanished in
the course of thirteen centuries. According to the dominant view,
however, the ritual use of the Koran is not in the least concerned
with the sacred words being understood, but solely with their being
quite properly recited. Nevertheless, a great deal remains to be
accomplished by European scholarship for the correct interpretation of
the Koran. We want, for example, an exhaustive classification and
discussion of all the Jewish elements in the Koran; a praiseworthy
beginning was made in Geiger's youthful essay _Was hat Mohamed aus dem
Judenthum aufgenommen?_ (Bonn, 1833; the "second revised edition,"
Leipzig, 1902, is only a reprint). We want especially a thorough
commentary, executed with the methods and resources of modern science.
No European language, it would seem, can even boast of a translation
which completely satisfies modern requirements. The best are in
English; where we have the extremely paraphrastic, but for its time
admirable translation of George Sale (repeatedly printed), that of
Rodwell (1861), which seeks to give the pieces in chronological order,
and that of Palmer (1880), who wisely follows the traditional
arrangements. The introduction which accompanies Palmer's translation
is not in all respects abreast of the most recent scholarship.
Considerable extracts from the Koran are well translated in E. W.
Lane's _Selections from the Kur-an_. Not much can be said in praise of
the complete translations into the German language, neither of that of
Ullmann, which has appeared in several editions, nor of that of
Henning (Leipzig) and Grigull (Halle), all of them shallow amateurs
who have no notion of the difficulties to be met with in the task, and
are almost entirely dependent on Sale. Friedrich Rückert's excellent
version (published by August Müller, Frankfort-on-Maine, 1888) gives
only selections. M. Klamroth's translation of the fifty oldest suras,
_Die fünfzig ältesten Suren_ (Hamburg, 1890) attempts successfully to
reproduce the rhymed form of the originals. The publication of the
translation of the Koran by the great Leipzig Arabic scholar, H. L.
Fleischer (d. 1888) has so far unfortunately been delayed. (For modern
editions, commentaries, &c., see MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION: _Bibliography_).
Besides commentaries on the whole Koran, or on special parts and
topics, the Moslems possess a whole literature bearing on their sacred
book. There are works on the spelling and right pronunciation of the
Koran, works on the beauty of its language, on the number of its
verses, words and letters, &c.; nay, there are even works which would
nowadays be called "historical and critical introductions." Moreover,
the origin of Arabic philology is intimately connected with the
recitation and exegesis of the Koran. To exhibit the importance of the
sacred book for the whole mental life of the Moslems would be simply
to write the history of that life itself; for there is no department
in which its all-pervading, but unfortunately not always salutary,
influence has not been felt.
Eternity of the Koran.
The unbounded reverence of the Moslems for the Koran reaches its
climax in the dogma that this book, as the divine word, i.e. thought,
is immanent in God, and consequently _eternal_ and _uncreated_. This
dogma, which was doubtless due to the influence of the Christian
doctrine of the eternal Word of God, has been accepted by almost all
Mahommedans since the beginning of the 3rd century. Some theologians
did indeed protest against it with great energy; it was in fact too
preposterous to declare that a book composed of unstable words and
letters, and full of variants, was absolutely divine. But what were
the distinctions and sophisms of the theologians for, if they could
not remove such contradictions, and convict their opponents of heresy?
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The following works may be especially consulted: Weil,
_Einleitung in den Koran_ (2nd ed., 1878); Th. Nöldeke, _Geschichte
des Qoran's_ (Göttingen, 1860; 2nd ed. by Friedrich Schwally, 1908);
the Lives of Mahomet by William Muir and Aloys Sprenger (vols.
i.-iii., Berlin, 1861-1865; 2nd ed., 1869); C. Snouck Hurgronje, _Het
mekkaansche Feest_ (Leiden, 1880), _De Islam_ (de Gids, 1886, ii.
257-273, 454-498, iii. 90-134); "Une nouvelle biographie de Mohammed,"
_Revue de l'histoire des religions_, tome 29, p. 48 f., 149 sqq.;
Leone Caetani, _Annali dell'Islam_, i. (Milan, 1905), ii.(Milan,
1907); Frants Buhl, _Muhammeds Liv_ (Copenhagen, 1903).
(Th. N.; Fr. Sy.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Reproductions of such Ptolemaic and Lysimachan coins are to be
found in J. J. Bernouilli, _Die erhaltenen Darstellungen Alexanders
d. Gr._ (Munich, 1905), Tab. VIII.; also in Theodor Schreiber,
"Studien über das Bildniss Alexanders des Gr." in the _Abh. Sachs.
Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften_, Bd. xxi. (1903), Tab. XIII.
[2] For the schemes of Nöldeke and Grimm see MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION.
[3] See Bibliography at end.
[4] Since in Arabic also the root [Arabic word] signifies "to have
pity," the Arabs must have at once perceived the force of the new
name. While the foreign word _Rahman_ is, in accordance with its
origin, everywhere in the Koran to be understood as "Merciful," there
is some doubt as to _Rahim_. The close connexion of the two
expressions, it is true, makes it probable that Mahomet only added
the adjective _Rahim_ to the substantive _Rahman_ in order to
strengthen the conception. But the genuine Arab meaning of _Rahim_ is
"gracious," and thus, the old Mahommedan Arab papyri render this word
by [Greek: philanthrôpos].
KORAT, the capital of the provincial division (_Monton_) of Nakawn Racha
Sema, or "the frontier country," in Siam; in 102° 5´ E., 14° 59´ N. Pop.
about 7000, mixed Cambodian and Siamese. It is the headquarters of a
high commissioner and of an army division. It is the terminus of a
railway from Bangkok, 170 m. distant, and the distributing centre for
the whole of the plateau district which forms the eastern part of Siam.
There are copper mines of reputed wealth in the neighbourhood. It is the
centre of a silk-growing district and is the headquarters of the
government sericultural department, instituted in 1904 with the
assistance of Japanese experts for the purpose of improving the quality
of Siamese silk. The government is that of an ordinary provincial
division of Siam. A French vice-consul resides here. Since the founding
of Ayuthia in the 14th century, Korat has been tributary to, or part
of, Siam, with occasional lapses into independence or temporary
subjection to Cambodia. Before that period it was probably part of
Cambodia, as appears from the nature of the ruins still to be seen in
its neighbourhood. In 1896 the last vestige of its tributary condition
vanished with the introduction of the present system of Siamese rural
administration.
KORDOFAN, a country of north-east Africa, forming a _mudiria_ (province)
of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. It lies mainly between 12° and 16° W. and
29° and 32½° E., and has an area of about 130,000 sq. m., being bounded
W. by Darfur, N. by the Bayuda steppes, E. by the White Nile mudiria and
S. by the country of the Shilluks and other negro tribes, forming part
of the Upper Nile mudiria.
The greater part of Kordofan consists of undulating plains, riverless,
barren, monotonous, with an average altitude of 1500 ft. Thickets and
small acacias dot the steppes, which, green during the _kharif_ or rainy
season, at other times present a dull brown burnt-up aspect. In the
west, isolated peaks, such as Jebel Abu Senum and Jebel Kordofan, rise
from 150 to 600 ft. above the plain. North-west are the mountain groups
of Kaja and Katul (2000 to 3000 ft.), in the east are the Jebel Daier
and Jebel Tagale (Togale), ragged granitic ranges with precipitous
sides. In the south are flat, fertile and thickly wooded plains, which
give place to jungle at the foot of the hills of Dar Nuba, the district
forming the south-east part of Kordofan. Dar Nuba is well-watered, the
scenery is diversified and pretty, affording a welcome contrast to that
of the rest of the country. Some of the Nuba hills exceed 3000 ft. in
height. The south-western part of the country, a vast and almost level
plain, is known as Dar Homr. A granitic sand with abundance of mica and
feldspar forms the upper stratum throughout the greater part of
Kordofan; but an admixture of clay, which is observable in the north,
becomes strongly marked in the south, where there are also stretches of
black vegetable mould. Beneath there appears to be an unbroken surface
of mica schist. Though there are no perennial rivers, there are
watercourses (_khors_ or _wadis_) in the rainy season; the chief being
the Khor Abu Habl, which traverses the south-central region. In Dar Homr
the Wadi el Ghalla and the Khor Shalango drain towards the Homr affluent
of the Bahr el Ghazal. During the rainy season there is a considerable
body of water in these channels, but owing partly to rapid evaporation
and partly to the porous character of the soil the surface of the
country dries rapidly. The water which has found its way through the
granitic sand flows over the surface of the mica schist and settles in
the hollows, and by sinking wells to the solid rock a supply of water
can generally be obtained. It is estimated that (apart from those in a
few areas where the sand stratum is thin and water is reached at the
depth of a few feet) there are about 900 of these wells. They are narrow
shafts going down usually 30 to 50 ft., but some are over 200 ft. deep.
The water is raised by rope and bucket at the cost of enormous labour,
and in few cases is any available for irrigation. The very cattle are
trained to go a long time without drinking. Entire villages migrate
after the harvest to the neighbourhood of some plentiful well. In a few
localities the surface depressions hold water for the greater part of
the year but there is only one permanent lake--Keilat, which is some
four miles by two. As there is no highland area draining into Kordofan,
the underground reservoirs are dependent on the local rainfall, and a
large number of the wells are dry during many months. The rainy season
lasts from mid-June to the end of September, rain usually falling every
three or four days in brief but violent showers. In general the climate
is healthy except in the rainy season, when large tracts are converted
into swamps and fever is very prevalent. In the _shita_ or cold weather
(October to February inclusive) there is a cold wind from the north. The
seif or hot weather lasts from March to mid-June; the temperature rarely
exceeds 105° F.
The chief constituent of the low scrub which covers the northern part
of the country is the grey gum acacia (_hashob_). In the south the red
gum acacias (_talh_) are abundant. In Dar Hamid, in the N.W. of
Kordofan, date, dom and other palms grow. The basbab or calabash tree,
known in the eastern Sudan as the _tebeldi_ and locally _Homr_, is
fairly common and being naturally hollow the trees collect water,
which the natives regularly tap. Another common source of water supply
is a small kind of water melon which grows wild and is also
cultivated. In the dense jungles of the south are immense creepers,
some of them rubber-vines. The cotton plant is also found. The fauna
includes the elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, giraffe, lion, leopard,
cheetah, roan-antelope, hartebeeste, kudu and many other kinds of
antelope, wart-hog, hares, quail, partridge, jungle-fowl, bustard and
guinea-fowl. Nearly all the kinds of game mentioned are found chiefly
in the western and southern districts. The ril or addra gazelle found
in N. and N.W. Kordofan are not known elsewhere in the eastern Sudan.
Reptiles, sand-flies and mosquitoes are common. Ostriches are found in
the northern steppes. The chief wealth of the people consists in the
gum obtained from the grey acacias, in oxen, camels and ostrich
feathers. The finest cattle are of the humped variety, the bulls of
the Baggara being trained to the saddle and to carry burdens. There
are large herds of camel, the camel-owning Arabs usually owning also
large numbers of sheep and goats. Dukhn, a species of millet which can
grow in the arid northern districts is there the chief grain crop, its
place in the south being taken by durra. Dukhn is, however, the only
crop cultivated in Dar Homr. From this grain a beer called _merissa_
is brewed. Barley and cotton are cultivated in some districts. A
little gold dust is obtained, but the old gold and other mines in the
Tagale country have been, apparently, worked out. Iron is found in
many districts and is smelted in a few places. In the absence of fuel
the industry is necessarily a small one. There are large beds of
hematite some 60 m. N.W. and the same distance N.E. of El Obeid.
_Inhabitants._--The population of Kordofan was officially estimated in
1903 to be 550,000. The inhabitants are roughly divisible into two
types--Arabs in the plains and Nubas in the hills. Many of the villagers
of the plains are however of very mixed blood--Arab, Egyptian, Turkish,
Levantine and Negro. It is said that some village communities are
descended from the original negro inhabitants. They all speak Arabic.
The most important village tribe is the Gowama, who own most of the
gum-producing country. Other large tribes are the Dar Hamid and the
Bederia--the last-named living round El Obeid. The nomad Arabs are of
two classes, camel owners (_Siat El Ilbil_) and cattle owners
(_Baggara_), the first-named dwelling in the dry northern regions, the
Baggara in southern Kordofan. Of the camel-owning tribes the chief are
the Hamar and the Kabbabish. Many of the Hamar have settled down in
villages. The Baggara are great hunters, and formerly were noted slave
raiders. They possess many horses, but when journeying place their
baggage on their oxen. They use a stabbing spear, small throwing spears,
and a broad-bladed short sword. Some of the richer men possess suits of
chain armour. The principal Baggara tribes are the Hawazma, Meseria,
Kenana, Habbania, and Homr. The Homr are said to have entered Kordofan
from Wadai about the end of the 18th century and to have come from North
Africa. They speak a purer Arabic than the riverain tribes. The Nubas
are split into many tribes, each under a _mek_ or king, who is not
uncommonly of Arab descent. The Nubas have their own language, though
the inhabitants of each hill have usually a different dialect. They are
a primitive race, very black, of small build but distinctive negro
features. They have feuds with one another and with the Baggara. During
the _mahdia_ they maintained their independence. The Nubas appear to
have been the aboriginal inhabitants of the country and are believed to
be the original stock of the Nubians of the Nile Valley (see NUBIA). In
the northern hills are communities of black people with woolly hair but
of non-negro features. They speak Arabic and are called Nuba Arabs. Some
of the southern hills are occupied by Arab-speaking negroes, escaped
slaves and their descendants, who called themselves after the tribe they
formerly served and who have little intercourse with the Nubas.
The capital, El Obeid (q.v.), is centrally situated. On it converge
various trade routes, notably from Darfur and from Dueim, a town on the
White Nile 125 m. above Khartum, which served as port for the province.
Thence was despatched the gum for the Omdurman market. But the railway
from Khartum to El Obeid, via Sennar, built in 1909-1911, crosses the
Nile some 60 m. farther south above Abba Island. Nahud (pop. about
10,000), 165 m. W.S.W. of El Obeid, is a commercial centre which has
sprung into importance since the fall of the dervishes. All the trade
with Darfur passes through the town, the chief commerce being in cattle,
feathers, ivory and cotton goods. Trade is largely in the hands of
Greeks, Syrians, Danagla and Jaalin. Taiara, on the route between El
Obeid and the Nile, was destroyed by the dervishes but has been rebuilt
and is a thriving mart for the gum trade. El Odoaiya or Eddaiya is the
headquarters of the Homr country. It and Baraka in the Muglad district
are on the trade road between Nahud and Shakka in Darfur.
Bara is a small town some 50 m. N.N.E. of Obeid. Talodi and Tendek are
government stations in the Nuba country. The Nubas have no large towns.
They live in villages on the hillsides or summits. The usual habitation
built both by Arabs and Nubas is the tukl, a conical-shaped hut made of
stone, mud, wattle and daub or straw. The Nuba tukls are the better
built. In the chief towns houses are built of mud bricks with flat
roofs.
_History._--Of the early history of Kordofan there is little record. It
never formed an independent state. About the beginning of the 16th
century Funj from Sennar settled in the country; towards the end of that
century Kordofan was conquered by Suleiman Solon, sultan of Darfur.
About 1775 it was conquered by the Funj, and there followed a
considerable immigration of Arab tribes into the country. The Sennari
however suffered a decisive defeat in 1784 and thereafter under Darfur
viceroys the country enjoyed prosperity. In 1821 Kordofan was conquered
by Mahommed Bey the defterdar, son-in-law of Mehemet Ali, pasha of
Egypt. It remained under Egyptian rule till 1882 when Mahommed Ahmed,
the mahdi, raised the country to revolt. It was in Kordofan that Hicks
Pasha and his army, sent to crush the revolt, were annihilated (Nov.
1883). The Baggara of Kordofan from that time onward were the chief
supporters of the mahdi, and his successor, the khalifa Abdullah, was a
Baggara. In Kordofan in 1899 the khalifa met his death, the country
having already passed into the hands of the new Sudan government. The
chief difficulty experienced by the administration was to habituate the
Arabs and Nubas, both naturally warlike, to a state of peace. In
consequence of the anti-slave raiding measures adopted, the Arabs of
Talodi in May 1906 treacherously massacred the mamur of that place and
40 men of the Sudanese regiment. The promptness with which this
disturbance was suppressed averted what otherwise might have been a
serious rising. (See SUDAN: _Anglo-Egyptian_, § "History.")
See _The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan_, edited by Count Gleichen (London,
1905); H. A. MacMichael, _Notes on the History of Kordofan before the
Egyptian Conquest_ (Cairo, 1907); John Petherick, _Egypt, the Sudan,
and Central Africa_ (London, 1861); Ignaz Pallme, _Beschreibung von
Kordofan_ (Stuttgart, 1843; trans. _Travels in Kordofan_, London,
1844); Major H. G. Prout, _General Report on Province of Kordofan_
(Cairo, 1877); Ernst Marno, _Reise in der egypt. Equat. Provinz_
(Vienna, 1879); papers (with maps) by Capt. W. Lloyd in the _Geog.
Journ._ (June 1907 and March 1910); and the bibliography given under
SUDAN: _Anglo-Egyptian_.
KOREA, or COREA (CH'AO HSIEN, DAI HAN). Its mainland portion consists of
a peninsula stretching southwards from Manchuria, with an estimated
length of about 600 m., an extreme breadth of 135 m., and a coast-line
of 1740 m. It extends from 34° 18´ to 43° N., and from 124° 36´ to 130°
47´ E. Its northern boundary is marked by the Tumen and Yalu rivers; the
eastern boundary by the Sea of Japan; the southern boundary by Korea
Strait; and the western boundary by the Yalu and the Yellow Sea. For 11
m. along the Tumen river the north frontier is conterminous with Russia
(Siberia); otherwise Korea has China (Manchuria) on its land frontier.
Nearly the whole surface of the country is mountainous. (For map, see
JAPAN.)
The south and west coasts are fringed by about 200 islands (exclusive of
islets), two-thirds of which are inhabited; 100 of them are from 100 to
2000 ft. in height, and many consist of bold bare masses of volcanic
rock. The most important are Quelpart and the Nan Hau group. The latter,
36 m. from the eastern end of Quelpart, possesses the deep,
well-sheltered and roomy harbour of Port Hamilton, which lies between
the north points of the large and well-cultivated islands of Sun-ho-dan
and So-dan, which have a population of 2000. Aitan, between their
south-east points, completes this noble harbour. The east coast of Korea
is steep and rock-bound, with deep water and a tidal rise and fall of 1
to 2 ft. The west coast is often low and shelving, and abounds in
mud-banks, and the tidal rise and fall is from 20 to 36 ft. Korean
harbours, except two or three which are closed by drift ice for some
weeks in winter, are ice-free. Among them are Port Shestakov, Port
Lazarev, and Wön-san (Gensan), in Broughton Bay;[1] Fusan, Ma-san-po, at
the mouth of the Nak-tong, on the south coast; Mok-po, Chin-nampo, near
the mouth of the Tai-dong; and Chemulpo, near the mouth of the Han, the
port of the capital and the sea terminus of the first Korean railway on
the west coast.
Korea is distinctly mountainous, and has no plains deserving the name.
In the north there are mountain groups with definite centres, the most
notable being Paik-tu San or Pei-shan (8700 ft.) which contains the
sources of the Yalu and Tumen. From these groups a lofty range runs
southwards, dividing the empire into two unequal parts. On its east,
between it and the coast, which it follows at a moderate distance, is a
fertile strip difficult of access, and on the west it throws off so many
lateral ranges and spurs as to break up the country into a chaos of
corrugated and precipitous hills and steep-sided valleys, each with a
rapid perennial stream. Farther south this axial range, which includes
the Diamond Mountain group, falls away towards the sea in treeless spurs
and small and often infertile levels. The northern groups and the
Diamond Mountain are heavily timbered, but the hills are covered mainly
with coarse, sour grass and oak and chestnut scrub. The rivers are
shallow and rocky, and are usually only navigable for a few miles from
the sea. Among the exceptions are the Yalu (Amnok), Tumen, Tai-dong,
Naktong, Mok-po, and Han. The last, rising in Kang-wön-do, 30 m. from
the east coast, cuts Korea nearly in half, reaching the sea on the west
coast near Chemulpo; and, in spite of many serious rapids, is a valuable
highway for commerce for over 150 miles.
_Geology._--The geology of Korea is very imperfectly known.
Crystalline schists occupy a large part of the country, forming all
the higher mountain ranges. They are always strongly folded and it is
in them that the mineral wealth of Korea is situated. Towards the
Manchurian frontier they are covered unconformably by some 1600 ft. of
sandstones, clay-slates and limestones, which contain Cambrian fossils
and are the equivalents of a part of the Sinian system of China.
Carboniferous beds, consisting chiefly of slates, sandstones and
conglomerates, are found in the south-eastern provinces. They contain
a few seams of coal, but the most important coal-bearing deposits of
the country belong to the Tertiary period. Recent eruptive and
volcanic rocks are met with in the interior of Korea and also in the
island of Quelpart. The principal mountain in the latter, Hal-la-san
(or Mount Auckland), according to Chinese stories, was in eruption in
the year 1007. With this possible exception there are no active
volcanoes in Korea, and the region has also been remarkably free from
earthquakes throughout historic times.
_Climate._--The climate is superb for nine months of the year, and the
three months of rain, heat and damp are not injurious to health.
Koreans suffer from malaria, but Europeans and their children are
fairly free from climatic maladies, and enjoy robust health. The
summer mean temperature of Seoul is about 75° F., that of winter about
33°; the average rainfall, 36.3 in. in the year, and of the rainy
season 21.86 in. The rains come in July and August on the west and
north-east coasts, and from April to July on the south coast, the
approximate mean annual rainfall of these localities being 30, 35 and
42 in. respectively. These averages are based on the observations of
seven years only.
_Flora._--The plants and animals await study and classification. Among
the indigenous trees are the _Abies excelsa_, _Abies microsperma_,
_Pinus sinensis_, _Pinus pinea_, three species of oak, five of maple,
lime, birch, juniper, mountain ash, walnut, Spanish chestnut, hazel,
willow, hornbeam, hawthorn, plum, pear, peach, _Rhus vernicifera_, (?)
_Rhus semipinnata_, _Acanthopanax ricinifolia_, _Zelkawa_, _Thuja
orientalis_, _Elaeagnus_, _Sophora Japonica_, &c. Azaleas and
rhododendrons are widely distributed, as well as other flowering
shrubs and creepers, _Ampelopsis Veitchii_ being universal. Liliaceous
plants and cruciferae are numerous. The native fruits, except walnuts
and chestnuts, are worthless. The persimmon attains perfection, and
experiment has proved the suitability of the climate to many foreign
fruits. The indigenous economic plants are few, and are of no
commercial value, excepting wild _ginseng_, bamboo, which is applied
to countless uses, and "tak-pul" (_Hibiscus Manihot_), used in the
manufacture of paper.
_Fauna._--The tiger takes the first place among wild animals. He is of
great size, his skin is magnificent, and he is so widely distributed
as to be a peril to man and beast. Tiger-hunting is a profession with
special privileges. Leopards are numerous, and have even been shot
within the walls of Seoul. There are deer (at least five species),
boars, bears, antelopes, beavers, otters, badgers, tiger-cats, marten,
an inferior sable, striped squirrels, &c. Among birds there are black
eagles, peregrines (largely used in hawking), and, specially protected
by law, turkey bustards, three varieties of pheasants, swans, geese,
common and spectacled teal, mallards, mandarin ducks white and pink
ibis, cranes, storks, egrets, herons, curlews, pigeons, doves,
nightjars, common and blue magpies, rooks, crows, orioles, halcyon and
blue kingfishers, jays, nut-hatches, redstarts, snipe, grey shrikes,
hawks, kites, &c. But, pending further observations, it is not
possible to say which of the smaller birds actually breed in Korea and
which only make it a halting-place in their annual migrations.
_Area and Population._--The estimated area is 82,000 sq. m.--somewhat
under that of Great Britain. The first complete census was taken in
1897, and returned the population in round numbers at 17,000,000,
females being in the majority. It was subsequently, however, estimated
at a maximum of 12,000,000. There is a foreign population of about
65,000, of whom 60,000 are Japanese. It is estimated that little more
than half the arable land is under cultivation, and that the soil could
support an additional 7,000,000. The native population is absolutely
homogeneous. Northern Korea, with its severe climate, is thinly peopled,
while the rich and warm provinces of the south and west are populous. A
large majority of the people are engaged in agriculture. There is little
emigration, except into Russian and Chinese territory, but some Koreans
have emigrated to Hawaii and Mexico.
The capital is the inland city of Seoul, with a population of nearly
200,000. Among other towns, Songdo (Kaisöng), the capital from about 910
to 1392, is a walled city of the first rank, 25 m. N.W. of Seoul, with a
population of 60,000. It possesses the stately remains of the palace of
the Korean kings of the Wang dynasty, is a great centre of the grain
trade and the sole centre of the _ginseng_ manufacture, makes wooden
shoes, coarse pottery and fine matting, and manufactures with sesamum
oil the stout oiled paper for which Korea is famous. Phyöng-yang, a city
on the Tai-dong, had a population of 60,000 before the war of 1894, in
which it was nearly destroyed; but it fast regained its population. It
lies on rocky heights above a region of stoneless alluvium on the east,
and with the largest and richest plain in Korea on the west. It has five
coal-mines within ten miles, and the district is rich in iron, silk,
cotton, and grain. It has easy communication with the sea (its port
being Chin-nampo), and is important historically and commercially.
Auriferous quartz is worked by a foreign company in its neighbourhood.
Near the city is the illustrated standard of land measurement cut by
Ki-tze in 1124 B.C.
With the exceptions of Kang-hwa, Chöng-ju, Tung-nai, Fusan, and Wön-san,
it is very doubtful if any other Korean towns reach a population of
15,000. The provincial capitals and many other cities are walled. Most
of the larger towns are in the warm and fertile southern provinces. One
is very much like another, and nearly all their streets are replicas of
the better alleys of Seoul. The actual antiquities of Korea are dolmens,
sepulchral pottery, and Korean and Japanese fortifications.
_Race._--The origin of the Korean people is unknown. They are of the
Mongol family; their language belongs to the so-called Turanian group,
is polysyllabic, possesses an alphabet of 11 vowels and 14 consonants,
and a script named _En-mun_. Literature of the higher class and official
and upper class correspondence are exclusively in Chinese characters,
but since 1895 official documents have contained an admixture of
_En-mun_. The Koreans are distinct from both Chinese and Japanese in
physiognomy, though dark straight hair, dark oblique eyes, and a tinge
of bronze in the skin are always present. The cheek-bones are high; the
nose inclined to flatness; the mouth thin-lipped and refined among
patricians, and wide and full-lipped among plebeians; the ears are
small, and the brow fairly well developed. The expression indicates
quick intelligence rather than force and mental calibre. The male height
averages 5 ft. 4½ in. The hands and feet are small and well-formed. The
physique is good, and porters carry on journeys from 100 to 200 lb. Men
marry at from 18 to 20 years, girls at 16, and have large families, in
which a strumous taint is nearly universal. Women are secluded and
occupy a very inferior position. The Koreans are rigid monogamists, but
concubinage has a recognized status.
_Production and Industries._ i. _Minerals._--Extensive coal-fields,
producing coal of fair quality, as yet undeveloped, occur in Hwang-hai
Do and elsewhere. Iron is abundant, especially in Phyöng-an Do, and rich
copper ore, silver and galena are found. Crystal is a noted product of
Korea, and talc of good quality is also present. In 1885 the rudest
process of "placer" washing produced an export of gold dust amounting to
£120,000; quartz-mining methods were subsequently introduced, and the
annual declared value of gold produced rose to about £450,000; but much
is believed to have been sent out of the country clandestinely. The
reefs were left untouched till 1897, when an American company, which had
obtained a concession in Phyöng-an Do in 1895, introduced the latest
mining appliances, and raised the declared export of 1898 to £240,047,
believed to represent a yield for that year of £600,000. Russian,
German, English, French and Japanese applicants subsequently obtained
concessions. The _concessionnaires_ regard Korean labour as docile and
intelligent. The privilege of owning mines in Korea was extended to
aliens under the Mining Regulations of 1906.
ii. _Agriculture._--Korean soil consists largely of light sandy loam,
disintegrated lava, and rich, stoneless alluvium, from 3 to 10 ft. deep.
The rainfall is abundant during the necessitous months of the year,
facilities for the irrigation of the rice crop are ample, and drought
and floods are seldom known. Land is held from the proprietors on the
terms of receiving seed from them and returning half the produce, the
landlord paying the taxes. Any Korean can become a landowner by
reclaiming and cultivating unoccupied crown land for three years free of
taxation, after which he pays taxes annually. Good land produces two
crops a year. The implements used are two makes of iron-shod wooden
ploughs; a large shovel, worked by three or five men, one working the
handle, the others jerking the blade by ropes attached to it; a short
sharp-pointed hoe, a bamboo rake, and a wooden barrow, all of rude
construction. Rice is threshed by beating the ears on a log; other
grains, with flails on mud threshing-floors. Winnowing is performed by
throwing up the grain on windy days. Rice is hulled and grain coarsely
ground in stone querns or by water pestles. There are provincial
horse-breeding stations, where pony stallions, from 10 to 12 hands high,
are bred for carrying burdens. Magnificent red bulls are bred by the
farmers for ploughing and other farming operations, and for the
transport of goods. Sheep and goats are bred on the imperial farms, but
only for sacrifice. Small, hairy, black pigs, and fowls, are universal.
The cultivation does not compare in neatness and thoroughness with that
of China and Japan. There are no trustworthy estimates of the yield of
any given measurement of land. The farmers put the average yield of rice
at thirty-fold, and of other grain at twenty-fold. Korea produces all
cereals and root crops except the tropical, along with cotton, tobacco,
a species of the Rhea plant used for making grass-cloth, and the
_Brousonettia papyrifera_. The articles chiefly cultivated are rice,
millet, beans, _ginseng_ (at Songdo), cotton, hemp, oil-seeds, bearded
wheat, oats, barley, sorghum, and sweet and Irish potatoes. Korean
agriculture suffers from infamous roads, the want of the exchange of
seed, and the insecurity of the gains of labour. It occupies about
three-fourths of the population.
iii. _Other Industries._--The industries of Korea, apart from supplying
the actual necessaries of a poor population, are few and rarely
collective. They consist chiefly in the manufacture of sea-salt, of
varied and admirable paper, thin and poor silk, horse-hair crinoline for
hats, fine split bamboo blinds, hats and mats, coarse pottery, hemp
cloth for mourners, brass bowls and grass-cloth. Wön-san and Fusan are
large fishing centres, and salt fish and fish manure are important
exports; but the prolific fishing-grounds are worked chiefly by Japanese
labour and capital. Paper and _ginseng_ are the only manufactured
articles on the list of Korean exports. The arts are nil.
_Commerce._--A commercial treaty was concluded with Japan in 1876, and
treaties with the European countries and the United States of America
were concluded subsequently. An imperial edict of the 20th of May 1904
annulled all Korean treaties with Russia. After the opening of certain
Korean ports to foreign trade, the customs were placed under the
management of European commissioners nominated by Sir Robert Hart from
Peking. The ports and other towns open are Seoul, Chemulpo, Fusan,
Wön-san, Chin-nampo, Mok-po, Kun-san, Ma-san-po, Song-chin, Wiju,
Yong-ampo, and Phyöng-yang. The value of foreign trade of the open ports
has fluctuated considerably, but has shown a tendency to increase on the
whole. For example, in 1884 imports were valued at £170,113 and exports
at £95,377. By 1890 imports had risen to £790,261, and thereafter
fluctuated greatly, standing at only £473,598 in 1893, but at £1,017,238
in 1897, and £1,382,352 in 1901, but under abnormal conditions in 1904
this last amount was nearly doubled. Exports in 1890 were valued at
£591,746; they also fluctuated greatly, falling to £316,072 in 1893, but
standing at £863,828 in 1901, and having a further increase in some
subsequent years. These figures exclude the value of gold dust. The
principal imports are cotton goods, railway materials, mining supplies
and metals, tobacco, kerosene, timber, and clothing. Japanese cotton
yarns are imported to be woven into a strong cloth on Korean hand-looms.
Beans and peas, rice, cowhides, and ginseng are the chief exports, apart
from gold.
_Communications._--Under Japanese auspices a railway from Chemulpo to
Seoul was completed in 1900. This became a branch of the longer line
from Fusan to Seoul (286 m.), the concession for which was granted in
1898. This line was pushed forward rapidly on the outbreak of the
Russo-Japanese War, and the whole was opened early in 1905. A railway
from Seoul to Wiju was planned under French engineers, but the work
was started by the Korean government. This line also, however, was
taken over by the Japanese military authorities, and the first trains
ran through early in 1905, in which year Japan obtained control of the
whole of the Korean internal communications. The main roads centring
in Seoul are seldom fit even for the passage of ox-carts, and the
secondary roads are bad bridle-tracks, frequently degenerating into
"rock ladders." Some improvements, however, have been effected under
Japanese direction. The inland transit of goods is almost entirely on
the backs of bulls carrying from 450 to 600 lb., on ponies carrying
200 lb., and on men carrying from 100 to 150 lb., bringing the average
cost up to a fraction over 8d. per mile per ton. The corvée exists,
with its usual hardships. Bridges are made of posts, carrying a
framework either covered with timber or with pine branches and earth.
They are removed at the beginning of the rainy season, and are not
replaced for three months. The larger rivers are unbridged, but there
are numerous government ferries. The infamous roads and the risks
during the bridgeless season greatly hamper trade. Japanese steamers
ply on the Han between Chemulpo and Seoul.
A postal system, established in 1894-1895, has been gradually
extended. There are postage stamps of four values. The Japanese, under
the agreement of 1905, took over the postal, telegraphic and telephone
services. Korea is connected with the Chinese and Japanese telegraph
systems by a Japanese line from Chemulpo via Seoul to Fusan, and by a
line acquired by the empire between Seoul and Wiju. The state has also
lines from Seoul to the open ports, &c. Korea has regular steam
communication with ports in Japan, the Gulf of Pechili, Shanghai, &c.
Her own mercantile marine is considerable.
_Government._--From 1895, when China renounced her claims to suzerainty,
to 1910 the king (since 1897 emperor) was in theory an independent
sovereign, Japan in 1904 guaranteeing the welfare and dignity of the
imperial house. Under a treaty signed at Seoul on the 17th of November
1905, Japan directed the external relations of Korea, and Japanese
diplomatic and consular representatives took charge of Korean subjects
and interests in foreign countries. Japan undertook the maintenance of
existing treaties between Korea and foreign powers; and Korea agreed
that her future foreign treaties should be concluded through the medium
of Japan. A resident-general represented Japan at Seoul, to direct
diplomatic affairs, the first being the Marquis Ito. Under a further
convention of July 1907, the resident-general's powers were enormously
increased. In administrative reforms the Korean government followed his
guidance; laws could not be enacted nor administrative measures
undertaken without his consent; the appointment and dismissal of high
officials, and the engagement of foreigners in government employ, were
subject to his pleasure. Each department of state has a Japanese
vice-minister, and a large proportion of Japanese officials were
introduced into these departments as well as Japanese chiefs of the
bureaus of police and customs. By a treaty dated August 22nd 1910, which
came into effect seven days later the emperor of Korea made "complete
and permanent cession to the emperor of Japan of all rights of
sovereignty over the whole of Korea." The entire direction of the
administration was then taken over by the Japanese resident-general, who
was given the title of governor-general. The jurisdiction of the
consular courts was abolished but Japan guaranteed the continuance of
the existing Korean tariff for ten years.
_Local Administration._--Korea for administrative purposes is divided
into provinces and prefectures or magistracies. Japanese reforms in
this department have been complete. Each provincial government has a
Japanese secretary, police inspector and clerks. The secretary may
represent the governor in his absence.
_Law._--A criminal code, scarcely equalled for barbarity, though twice
mitigated by royal edict since 1785, remained in force in its main
provisions till 1895. Subsequently, a mixed commission of revision
carried out some good work. Elaborate legal machinery was devised,
though its provisions were constantly violated by the imperial will
and the gross corruption of officials. Five classes of law courts were
established, and provision was made for appeals in both civil and
criminal cases. Abuses in legal administration and in tax-collecting
were the chief grievances which led to local insurrections. Oppression
by the throne and the official and noble classes prevailed
extensively; but the weak protected themselves by the use of the
_Kyei_, or principle of association, which developed among Koreans
into powerful trading gilds, trades-unions, mutual benefit
associations, money-lending gilds, &c. Nearly all traders, porters and
artisans were members of gilds, powerfully bound together and strong
by combined action and mutual helpfulness in time of need. Under the
Japanese régime the judiciary and the executive were rigidly
separated. The law courts, including the court of cassation, three
courts of appeal, eight local courts, and 115 district courts, were
put under Japanese judges, and the codification of the laws was
undertaken. The prison system was also reformed.
_Finance and Money._--Until 1904 the finances of Korea were completely
disorganized; the currency was chaotic, and the budget was an official
formality making little or no attempt at accuracy. By agreement of the
22nd of August 1904, Korea accepted a Japanese financial adviser, and
valuable reforms were quickly entered upon under the direction of the
first Japanese official, Mr T. Megata. He had to contend against
corrupt officialdom, indiscriminate expenditure, and absence of
organization in the collection of revenue, apart from the confusion
with regard to the currency. This last was nominally on a silver
standard. The coins chiefly in use were (i) copper _cash_, which were
strung in hundreds on strings of straw, and, as about 9lb. weight was
equal to one shilling, were excessively cumbrous, but were
nevertheless valued at their face value; (ii) nickel coins, which,
being profitable to mint, were issued in enormous quantities, quickly
depreciated, and were moreover extensively forged. The Dai Ichi Ginko
(First Bank of Japan), which has a branch in Seoul and agencies in
other towns, was made the government central treasury, and its notes
were recognized as legal tender in Korea. The currency of Korea being
thus fixed, the first step was to reorganize the nickel coinage. From
the 1st of August 1905 the old nickels paid into the treasury were
remitted and the issue carefully regulated; so also with the cash,
which was retained as a subsidiary coinage, while a supplementary
coinage was issued of silver 10-sen pieces and bronze 1-sen and
half-sen pieces. To aid the free circulation of money and facilitate
trade, the government grants subsidies for the establishment of
co-operative warehouse companies with bonded warehouses. Regulations
have also been promulgated with respect to promissory notes, which
have long existed in Korea. They took the form of a piece of paper
about an inch broad and five to eight inches long, on which was
written the sum, the date of payment and the name of the payer and
payee, with their seals; the paper was then torn down its length, and
one half given to each party. The debtor was obliged to pay the amount
of the debt to any person who presented the missing half of the bill.
The readiness with which they were accepted led to over-issue, and,
consequently, financial crises. The new regulations require the
amount of the notes to be expressed in yen, not to be payable in old
nickel coins or cash. The notes can only be issued by members of a
note association, a body constituted under government regulations,
whose members must uphold the credit and validity of their notes. The
notes must also be made payable to a definite person and require
endorsement, safeguards which were previously lacking. Administrative
reform was also taken in hand; the large number of superfluous and
badly paid officials was considerably reduced, and the status and
salary of all existing government officials considerably improved. An
endeavour was made to publish an annual budget, in which the revenue
and expenditure should accurately represent the sums actually received
and expended. Regulations were framed for the purpose of establishing
adequate supervision over the revenue and expenditure for the
abolition of irregular taxation and extortions, as well as the
practice of farming out the collection of the revenue to individuals,
and, generally, to adapt the whole collection and expenditure of the
national revenue to modern ideas of public finance. Down to 1910 the
sum expended by Japan on Korean reforms was estimated to approach
fifteen millions sterling. Among reforms not specifically referred to
may be mentioned the improvement of coastwise navigation, the
provision of posts, roads, railways, public buildings, hospitals and
sanitary works, and the official advancement of industries.
_Religion._--Buddhism, which swayed Korea from the 10th to the 14th
century, has been discredited for three centuries, and its priests are
ignorant, immoral and despised. Confucianism is the official cult, and
all officials offer sacrifices and homage at stated seasons in the
Confucian temples. Confucian ethics are the basis of morality and
social order. Ancestor-worship is universal. The popular cult is,
however, the propitiation of demons, a modification of the Shamanism
of northern Asia. The belief in demons, mostly malignant, keeps the
Koreans in constant terror, and much of their substance is spent on
propitiations. Sorceresses and blind sorcerers are the intermediaries.
At the close of the 19th century the fees annually paid to these
persons were estimated at £150,000; there were in Seoul 1000
sorceresses, and very large sums are paid to the male sorcerers and
geomancers.
Putting aside the temporary Christian work of a Jesuit chaplain to the
Japanese Christian General Konishe, in 1594 during the Japanese
invasion, as well as that on a larger scale by students who received
the evangel in the Roman form from Peking in 1792, and had made 4000
converts by the end of 1793, the first serious attempt at the
conversion of Korea was made by the French _Société des Missions
Étrangères_ in 1835. In spite of frequent persecutions, there were
16,500 converts in 1857 and 20,000 in 1866, in which year the French
bishops and priests were martyred by order of the emperor's father,
and several thousand native Christians were beheaded, banished or
imprisoned. This mission in 1900 had about 30 missionaries and 40,000
converts. In 1884 and 1885, toleration being established, Protestant
missionaries of the American Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal
Churches entered Korea, and were followed by a large number of agents
of other denominations. An English bishop, clergy, doctors and nursing
sisters arrived in 1890. Hospitals, orphanages, schools and an
admirable college in Seoul have been founded, along with tri-lingual
(Chinese, Korean and English) printing-presses; religious, historical
and scientific works and much of the Bible have been translated into
_En-mun_, and periodicals of an enlightened nature in the Korean
script are also circulated. The progress of Protestant missions was
very slow for some years, but from 1895 converts multiplied.
_Education._--The "Royal Examinations" in Chinese literature held in
Seoul up to 1894, which were the entrance to official position, being
abolished, the desire for a purely Chinese education diminished. In
Seoul there were established an imperial English school with two
foreign teachers, a reorganized Confucian college, a normal college
under a very efficient foreign principal, Japanese, Chinese, Russian
and French schools, chiefly linguistic, several Korean primary
schools, mission boarding-schools, and the _Pai Chai_ College
connected with the American Methodist Episcopal Church, under imperial
patronage, and subsidized by government, in which a liberal education
of a high class was given and _En-mun_ receives much attention. The
Koreans are expert linguists, and the government made liberal grants
to the linguistic schools. In the primary schools boys learn
arithmetic, and geography and Korean history are taught, with the
outlines of the governmental systems of other civilized countries. The
education department has been entirely reorganized under the Japanese
régime, Japanese models being followed.
_History._--By both Korean and Chinese tradition Ki-tze--a councillor of
the last sovereign of the 3rd Chinese dynasty, a sage, and the reputed
author of parts of the famous Chinese classic, the _Shu-King_--is
represented as entering Korea in 1122 B.C. with several thousand Chinese
emigrants, who made him their king. The peninsula was then peopled by
savages living in caves and subterranean holes. By both learned and
popular belief in Korea Ki-tze is recognized as the founder of Korean
social order, and is greatly reverenced. He called the new kingdom
_Ch'ao-Hsien_, pacified and policed its borders, and introduced laws
and Chinese etiquette and polity. Korean ancient history is far from
satisfying the rigid demands of modern criticism, but it appears that
Ki-tze's dynasty ruled the peninsula until the 4th century B.C., from
which period until the 10th century A.D. civil wars and foreign
aggressions are prominent. Nevertheless, Hiaksai, which with Korai and
Shinra then constituted Korea, was a centre of literary culture in the
4th century, through which the Chinese classics and the art of writing
reached the other two kingdoms. Buddhism, a forceful civilizing element,
reached Hiaksai in A.D. 384, and from it the sutras and images of
northern Buddhism were carried to Japan, as well as Chinese letters and
ethics. Internecine wars were terminated about 913 by Wang the Founder,
who unified the peninsula under the name Korai, made Song-do its
capital, and endowed Buddhism as the state religion. In the 11th century
Korea was stripped of her territory west of the Yalu by a warlike horde
of Tungus stock, since which time her frontiers have been stationary.
The Wang dynasty perished in 1392, an important epoch in the peninsula,
when Ni Taijo, or Litan, the founder of the present dynasty, ascended
the throne, after his country had suffered severely from Jenghiz and
Khublai Khan. He tendered his homage to the first Ming emperor of China,
received from him his investiture as sovereign, and accepted from him
the Chinese calendar and chronology, in itself a declaration of fealty.
He revived the name _Ch'ao-Hsien_, changed the capital from Song-do to
Seoul, organized an administrative system, which with some modifications
continued till 1895, and exists partially still, carried out vigorous
reforms, disestablished Buddhism, made merit in Chinese literary
examinations the basis of appointment to office, made Confucianism the
state religion, abolished human sacrifices and the burying of old men
alive, and introduced that Confucian system of education, polity, and
social order which has dominated Korea for five centuries. Either this
king or an immediate successor introduced the present national costume,
the dress worn by the Chinese before the Manchu conquest. The early
heirs of this vigorous and capable monarch used their power, like him,
for the good of the people; but later decay set in, and Japanese
buccaneers ravaged the coasts, though for two centuries under Chinese
protection Korea was free from actual foreign invasion. In 1592 occurred
the epoch-making invasion of Korea by a Japanese army of 300,000 men, by
order of the great regent Hideyoshi. China came to the rescue with
60,000 men, and six years of a gigantic and bloody war followed, in
which Japan used firearms for the first time against a foreign foe.
Seoul and several of the oldest cities were captured, and in some
instances destroyed, the country was desolated, and the art treasures
and the artists were carried to Japan. The Japanese troops were recalled
in 1598 at Hideyoshi's death. The port and fishing privileges of Fusan
remained in Japanese possession, a heavy tribute was exacted, and until
1790 the Korean king stood in humiliating relations towards Japan. Korea
never recovered from the effects of this invasion, which bequeathed to
all Koreans an intense hatred of the Japanese.
In 1866, 1867, and 1871 French and American punitive expeditions
attacked parts of Korea in which French missionaries and American
adventurers had been put to death, and inflicted much loss of life, but
retired without securing any diplomatic successes, and Korea continued
to preserve her complete isolation. The first indirect step towards
breaking it down had been taken in 1860, when Russia obtained from China
the cession of the Usuri province, thus bringing a European power down
to the Tumen. A large emigration of famine-stricken Koreans and
persecuted Christians into Russian territory followed. The emigrants
were very kindly received, and many of them became thrifty and
prosperous farmers. In 1876 Japan, with the consent of China, wrung a
treaty from Korea by which Fusan was fully opened to Japanese settlement
and trade, and Wön-san (Gensan) and Inchiun (Chemulpo) were opened to
her in 1880. In 1882 China promulgated her "Trade and Frontier
Regulations," and America negotiated a commercial treaty, followed by
Germany and Great Britain in 1883, Italy and Russia in 1884, France in
1886, and Austria in 1892. A "Trade Convention" was also concluded with
Russia. Seoul was opened in 1884 to foreign residence, and the provinces
to foreign travel, and the diplomatic agents of the contracting powers
obtained a recognized status at the capital. These treaties terminated
the absolute isolation which Korea had effectually preserved. During the
negotiations, although under Chinese suzerainty, she was treated with as
an independent state. Between 1897 and 1899, under diplomatic pressure,
a number of ports were opened to foreign trade and residence. From 1882
to 1894 the chief event in the newly opened kingdom was a plot by the
Tai-won-Kun, the father of the emperor, to seize on power, which led to
an attack on the Japanese legation, the members of which were compelled
to fight their way, and that not bloodlessly, to the sea. Japan secured
ample compensation; and the Chinese resident, aided by Chinese troops,
deported the Tai-won-Kun to Tientsin. In 1884 at an official banquet the
leaders of the progressive party assassinated six leading Korean
statesmen, and the intrigues in Korea of the banished or escaped
conspirators created difficulties which were very slow to subside. In
spite of a constant struggle for ascendancy between the queen and the
returned Tai-won-Kun, the next decade was one of quiet. China, always
esteemed in Korea, consolidated her influence under the new conditions
through a powerful resident; prosperity advanced, and certain reforms
were projected by foreign "advisers." In May 1894 a more important
insurrectionary rising than usual led the king to ask armed aid from
China. She landed 2000 troops on the 10th of June, having previously, in
accordance with treaty provisions, notified Japan of her intention. Soon
after this Japan had 12,000 troops in Korea, and occupied the capital
and the treaty ports. Then Japan made three sensible proposals for
Korean reform, to be undertaken jointly by herself and China. China
replied that Korea must be left to reform herself, and that the
withdrawal of the Japanese troops must precede negotiations. Japan
rejected this suggestion, and on the 23rd of July attacked and occupied
the royal palace. After some further negotiations and fights by land and
sea between Japan and China war was declared formally by Japan, and
Korea was for some time the battle-ground of the belligerents. The
Japanese victories resulted for Korea in the solemn renunciation of
Chinese suzerainty by the Korean king, the substitution of Japanese for
Chinese influence, the introduction of many important reforms under
Japanese advisers, and of checks on the absolutism of the throne.
Everything promised well. The finances flourished under the capable
control of Mr (afterwards Sir) M'Leavy Brown, C.M.G. Large and judicious
retrenchments were carried out in most of the government departments. A
measure of judicial and prison reform was granted. Taxation was placed
on an equable basis. The pressure of the trade gilds was relaxed. Postal
and educational systems were introduced. An approach to a constitution
was made. The distinction between patrician and plebeian, domestic
slavery, and beating and slicing to death were abolished. The age for
marriage of both sexes was raised. Chinese literary examinations ceased
to be a passport to office. Classes previously degraded were
enfranchised, and the alliance between two essentially corrupt systems
of government was severed. For about eighteen months all the departments
were practically under Japanese control. On the 8th of October 1895 the
Tai-won-Kun, with Korean troops, aided by Japanese troops under the
orders of Viscount Miura, the Japanese minister, captured the palace,
assassinated the queen, and made a prisoner of the king, who, however,
four months later, escaped to the Russian legation, where he remained
till the spring of 1897. Japanese influence waned. The engagements of
the advisers were not renewed. A strong retrograde movement set in.
Reforms were dropped. The king, with the checks upon his absolutism
removed, reverted to the worst traditions of his dynasty, and the
control and arrangements of finance were upset by Russia.
At the close of 1897 the king assumed the title of emperor, and changed
the official designation of the empire to _Dai Han_--Great Han. By 1898
the imperial will, working under partially new conditions, produced
continual chaos, and by 1900 succeeded in practically overriding all
constitutional restraints. Meanwhile Russian intrigue was constantly
active. At last Japan resorted to arms, and her success against Russia
in the war of 1904-5 enabled her to resume her influence over Korea. On
the 23rd of February 1904 an agreement was determined whereby Japan
resumed her position as administrative adviser to Korea, guaranteed the
integrity of the country, and bound herself to maintain the imperial
house in its position. Her interests were recognized by Russia in the
treaty of peace (September 5, 1905), and by Great Britain in the
Anglo-Japanese agreement of the 12th of August 1905. The Koreans did not
accept the restoration of Japanese influence without demur. In August
1905 disturbances arose owing to an attempt by some merchants to obtain
special assistance from the treasury on the pretext of embarrassment
caused by Japanese financial reforms; these disturbances spread to some
of the provinces, and the Japanese were compelled to make a show of
force. Prolonged negotiations were necessary to the completion of the
treaty of the 17th of November 1905, whereby Japan obtained the control
of Korea's foreign affairs and relations, and the confirmation of
previous agreements, the far-reaching results of which have been
indicated. Nor was opposition to Japanese reforms confined to popular
demonstration. In 1907 a Korean delegacy, headed by Prince Yong, a
member of the imperial family, was sent out to lay before the Hague
conference of that year, and before all the principal governments, a
protest against the treatment of Korea by Japan. While this was of
course fruitless from the Korean point of view, it indicated that the
Japanese must take strong measures to suppress the intrigues of the
Korean court.
At the instigation of the Korean ministry the emperor abdicated on the
19th of July 1907, handing over the crown to his son. Somewhat serious
_émeutes_ followed in Seoul and elsewhere, and the Japanese proposals
for a new convention, increasing the powers of the resident general, had
to be presented to the cabinet under a strong guard. The convention was
signed on the 25th of July. One of the reforms immediately undertaken
was the disbanding of the Korean standing army, which led to an
insurrection and an intermittent guerrilla warfare which, owing to the
nature of the country, was not easy to subdue. Under the direction of
Prince Ito (q.v.) the work of reform was vigorously prosecuted. In July
1909, General Teranchi, Japanese minister of war, became
resident-general, with the mission to bring about annexation. This was
effected peacefully in August 1910, the emperor of Korea by formal
treaty surrendering his country and crown. (See JAPAN.)
AUTHORITIES.--The first Asiatic notice of Korea is by Khordadbeh, an
Arab geographer of the 9th century A.D., in his _Book of Roads and
Provinces_, quoted by Baron Richthofen in his great work on _China_,
p. 575. The earliest European source of information is a narrative by
H. Hamel, a Dutchman, who was shipwrecked on the coast of Quelpart in
1654, and held in captivity in Korea for thirteen years. The amount of
papers on Korea scattered through English, German, French and Russian
magazines, and the proceedings of geographical societies, is very
great, and for the last three centuries Japanese writers have
contributed largely to the sum of general knowledge of the peninsula.
The list which follows includes some of the more recent works which
illustrate the history, manners and customs, and awakening of Korea:
_British Foreign Office Reports on Korean Trade, Annual Series_
(London); _Bibliographie koréanne_ (3 vols., Paris, 1897); Mrs. I. L.
Bishop, _Korea and her Neighbours_ (2 vols., London, 1897); M. von
Brandt, _Ostasiatische Fragen_ (Leipzig, 1897); A. E. J. Cavendish and
H. E. Goold Adams, _Korea, and the Sacred White Mountain_ (London,
1894); Stewart Culin, _Korean Games_ (Philadelphia, 1895); Curzon,
_Problems of the Far East_ (London, 1896); Dallet, _Histoire de
l'église de Korée_ (2 vols., Paris, 1874); J. S. Gale, _Korean
Sketches_ (Edinburgh, 1898); W. E. Griffis, _The Hermit Nation_ (8th
and revised edition, New York, 1907); H. Hamel, _Relation du naufrage
d'un vaisseau Halindois, &c., traduite du Flamond par M. Minutoli_
(Paris, 1670); Okoji Hidemoto, _Der Feldzug der Japanir gegen Korea im
Jahre 1597; translated from Japanese by Professor von Pfizmaier_ (2
vols., Vienna, 1875); M. Jametel, "La Korée: ses ressources, son
avenir commercial," _L'Économiste française_ (Paris, July 1881);
Percival Lowell, _Chosön: The Land of the Morning Calm_ (London,
Boston, 1886); L. J. Miln, _Quaint Korea_ (Harper, New York, 1895);
V. de Laguerie, _La Korée indépendante, russe ou japonaise?_ (Paris,
1898); J. Ross, _Korea: Its History, Manners and Customs_ (Paisley,
1880); W. H. Wilkinson, _The Korean Government: Constitutional Changes
in Korea during the period 23rd July 1894--30th June 1896_ (Shanghai,
1896); A. Hamilton, _Korea_ (London, 1903); C. J. D. Taylor, _Koreans
at Home_ (London, 1904); E. Boudaret, _En Corée_ (Paris, 1904);
Laurent-Crémazy, _Le Code pénal de la Corée_ (Paris, 1904); G. T.
Ladd, _In Korea with Marquis Ito_ (London, 1908); Dictionaries and
vocabularies by W. F. Myers (English secretary of Legation at Peking),
the French missionaries, and others, were superseded in 1898 by a
large and learned volume by the Rev J. S. Gale, a Presbyterian
missionary, who devoted some years to the work. On geology, see C.
Gottsche, "Geologische Skizze von Korea," _Sitz. preuss. Akad. Wiss._
(Berlin, Jahrg. 1886, pp. 857-873, Pl. viii.). A summary of this
paper, with a reproduction of the map, is given by L. Pervinquière in
_Rev. sci._ Paris, 5th series, vol. i. (1904), pp. 545-552.
(I. L. B.; O. J. R. H.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Named after William Robert Broughton (1762-1821), an English
navigator who explored these seas in 1795-1798.
KOREA, a tributary state of India, transferred from Bengal to the
Central Provinces in 1905; area, 1631 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 35,113, or
only 22 persons per sq. m.; estimated revenue, £1200. It consists of an
elevated table-land, with hills rising to above 3000 ft. Such traffic as
there is is carried by means of pack-bullocks.
KORESHAN ECCLESIA, THE, or CHURCH ARCHTRIUMPHANT, a communistic body,
founded by Cyrus R. Teed, a medical practitioner, who was born at Utica,
New York, in 1839. Teed was regarded by his adherents as "the new
Messiah now in the World," and many other extravagant views both in
science and economics are held by them. Two communities were founded: in
Chicago (1886) and at Estero, in Lee county, Florida (1894), where in
1903 the Chicago community removed. Their name is derived from Koresh,
the Hebrew form of Cyrus, and they have a journal, _The Flaming Sword_.
KORIN, OGATA (c. 1657-1716), Japanese painter and lacquerer, was born at
Koto, the son of a wealthy merchant who had a taste for the arts and is
said to have given his son some elementary instruction therein. Korin
also studied under Soken Yamamoto, Kano, Tsunenobu and Gukei Sumiyoshi;
and he was greatly influenced by his predecessors Koyetsu and Sotatsu.
On arriving at maturity, however, he broke away from all tradition, and
developed a very original and quite distinctive style of his own, both
in painting and in the decoration of lacquer. The characteristic of this
is a bold impressionism, which is expressed in few and simple highly
idealized forms, with an absolute disregard either of realism or of the
usual conventions. In lacquer Korin's use of white metals arid of
mother-of-pearl is notable; but herein he followed Koyetsu. Korin died
on the 2nd of June 1716, at the age of fifty-nine. His chief pupils were
Kagei Tatebashi and Shiko Watanable; but the present knowledge and
appreciation of his work are largely due to the efforts of Hoitsu Sakai,
who brought about a revival of Korin's style.
See A. Morrison, _The Painters of Japan_ (1902); S. Tajima,
_Masterpieces selected from the Korin School_ (1903); S. Hoitsu, _The
100 Designs by Korin_ (1815) and _More Designs by Korin_ (1826).
(E. F. S.)
KORKUS, an aboriginal tribe of India, dwelling on the Satpura hills in
the Central Provinces. They are of interest as being the westernmost
representatives of the Munda family of speech. They are rapidly becoming
hinduized, as may be gathered from the figures of the census of 1901,
which show 140,000 Korkus by race, but only 88,000 speakers of the Korku
language.
KÖRMÖCZBÁNYA (German, _Kremnitz_), an old mining town, in the county of
Bars, in Hungary, 158 m. N. of Budapest by rail. Pop. (1900), 4299. It
is situated in a deep valley in the Hungarian Ore Mountains region.
Among its principal buildings are the castle, several Roman Catholic
(from the 13th and 14th centuries) and Lutheran churches, a Franciscan
monastery (founded 1634), the town-hall, and the mint where the
celebrated Kremnitz gold ducats were formerly struck. The bulk of the
inhabitants find employment in connexion with the gold and silver mines.
By means of a tunnel 9 m. in length, constructed in 1851-1852, the water
is drained off from the mines into the river Gran. According to
tradition, Körmöczbánya was founded in the 8th century by Saxons. The
place is mentioned in documents in 1317, and became a royal free town
in 1328, being therefore one of the oldest free towns in Hungary.
KÖRNER, KARL THEODOR (1791-1813), German poet and patriot, often called
the German "Tyrtaeus," was born at Dresden on the 23rd of September
1791. His father, Christian Gottfried Körner (1756-1831), a
distinguished Saxon jurist, was Schiller's most intimate friend. He was
educated at the Kreuzschule in Dresden and entered at the age of
seventeen the mining academy at Freiburg in Saxony, where he remained
two years. Here he occupied himself less with science than with verse, a
collection of which appeared under the title _Knospen_ in 1810. In this
year he went to the university of Leipzig, in order to study law; but he
became involved in a serious conflict with the police and was obliged to
continue his studies in Berlin. In August 1811 Körner went to Vienna,
where he devoted himself entirely to literary pursuits; he became
engaged to the actress Antonie Adamberger, and, after the success of
several plays produced in 1812, he was appointed poet to the
Hofburgtheater. When the German nation rose against the French yoke, in
1813, Körner gave up all his prospects at Vienna and joined Lützow's
famous corps of volunteers at Breslau. On his march to Leipzig he passed
through Dresden, where he issued his spirited _Aufruf an die Sachsen_,
in which he called upon his countrymen to rise against their oppressors.
He became lieutenant towards the end of April, and took part in a
skirmish at Kitzen near Leipzig on the 7th of June, when he was severely
wounded. After being nursed by friends at Leipzig and Carlsbad, he
rejoined his corps and fell in an engagement outside a wood near
Gadebusch in Mecklenburg on the 26th of August 1813. He was buried by
his comrades under an oak close to the village of Wöbbelin, where there
is a monument to him.
The abiding interest in Körner is patriotic and political rather than
literary. His fame as a poet rests upon his patriotic lyrics, which were
published by his father under the title _Leier und Schwert_ in 1814.
These songs, which fired the poet's comrades to deeds of heroism in
1813, bear eloquent testimony to the intensity of the national feeling
against Napoleon, but judged as literature they contain more bombast
than poetry. Among the best known are "Lützow's wilde verwegene Jagd,"
"Gebet während der Schlacht" (set to music by Weber) and "Das
Schwertlied." This last was written immediately before his death, and
the last stanza added on the fatal morning. As a dramatist Körner was
remarkably prolific, but his comedies hardly touch the level of
Kotzebue's and his tragedies, of which the best is _Zriny_ (1814), are
rhetorical imitations of Schiller's.
His works have passed through many editions. Among the more recent
are: _Sämtliche Werke_ (Stuttgart, 1890), edited by Adolf Stern; by H.
Zimmer (2 vols., Leipzig, 1893) and by E. Goetze (Berlin, 1900). The
most valuable contributions to our knowledge of the poet have been
furnished by E. Peschel, the founder and director of the Körner Museum
in Dresden, in _Theodor Körners Tagebuch und Kriegslieder, aus dem
Jahre 1813_ (Freiburg, 1893) and, in conjunction with E. Wildenow,
_Theodor Körner und die Seinen_ (Leipzig, 1898).
KORNEUBURG, a town of Austria, in Lower Austria, 9 m. N.W. of Vienna by
rail. Pop. (1900), 8298. It is situated on the left bank of the Danube,
opposite Klosterneuburg. It is a steamship station and an important
emporium of the salt and corn trade. The industry comprises the
manufacture of coarse textiles, pasteboard, &c. Its charter as a town
dates from 1298, and it was a much frequented market in the preceding
century. At the beginning of the 15th century it was surrounded by
walls, and in 1450 a fortress was erected. It was frequently involved in
the conflict between the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus and the
emperor Frederick William III., and also during the Thirty Years' War.
KOROCHA, a town of central Russia, in the government of Kursk, 75 m.
S.S.E. of the city of Kursk, on the Korocha river. Pop. (1897), 14,405.
Its inhabitants live by gardening, exporting large quantities of dried
cherries, by making candles and leather, and by trade; the merchants
purchase cattle, grain and salt in the south and send them to Moscow.
Founded in 1638, Korocha was formerly a small fort intended to check the
Tatar invasions.
KORSÖR, a seaport of Denmark, in the _amt_ (county) of the island of
Zealand, 69 m. by rail W.S.W. of Copenhagen, on the east shore of the
Great Belt. Pop. (1901), 6054. The harbour, which is formed by a bay of
the Baltic, has a depth throughout of 20 ft. It is the point of
departure and arrival of the steam ferry to Nyborg on Fünen, lying on
the Hamburg, Schleswig, Fredericia and Copenhagen route. There is also
regular communication by water with Kiel. The chief exports are fish,
cereals, bacon; imports, petroleum and coal. A market town since the
14th century, Korsör has ruins of an old fortified castle, on the south
side of the channel, dating from the 14th and 17th centuries.
KORTCHA (Slavonic, _Goritza_ or _Koritza_), a city of Albania, European
Turkey, in the vilayet of Iannina, in a wide plain watered by the Devol
and Dunavitza rivers, and surrounded by mountains on every side except
the north, where Lake Malik constitutes the boundary. Pop. (1905), about
10,000, including Greeks, Albanians and Slavs. Kortcha is the see of an
Orthodox Greek metropolitan, whose large cathedral is richly decorated
in the interior with paintings and statues. The Kortcha school for
girls, conducted by American missionaries, is the only educational
establishment in which the Turkish government permits the use of
Albanian as the language of instruction. The local trade is chiefly
agricultural.
KORYAKS, a Mongoloid people of north-eastern Siberia, inhabiting the
coast-lands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the
country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the
southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the
Chukchis, whom they closely resemble in physique and in manner of life.
Thus they are divided into the settled fishing tribes and the nomad
reindeer breeders and hunters. The former are described as being more
morally and physically degraded even than the Chukchis, and hopelessly
poor. The Koryaks of the interior, on the other hand, still own enormous
reindeer herds, to which they are so attached that they refuse to part
with an animal to a stranger at any price. They are in disposition
brave, intelligent and self-reliant, and recognize no master. They have
ever tenaciously resisted Russian aggression, and in their fights with
the Cossacks have proved themselves recklessly brave. When outnumbered
they would kill their women and children, set fire to their homes, and
die fighting. Families usually gather in groups of sixes or sevens,
forming miniature states, in which the nominal chief has no
predominating authority, but all are equal. The Koryaks are polygamous,
earning their wives by working for their fathers-in-law. The women and
children are treated well, and Koryak courtesy and hospitality are
proverbial. The chief wedding ceremony is a forcible abduction of the
bride. They kill the aged and infirm, in the belief that thus to save
them from protracted sufferings is the highest proof of affection. The
victims choose their mode of death, and young Koryaks practise the art
of giving the fatal blow quickly and mercifully. Infanticide was
formerly common, and one of twins was always sacrificed. They burn their
dead. The prevailing religion is Shamanism; sacrifices are made to evil
spirits, the heads of the victims being placed on stones facing east.
See G. Kennan, _Tent Life in Siberia_ (1871); "Über die Koriaken u.
ihnen nähe verwandten Tchouktchen," in _Bul. Acad. Sc. St.
Petersburg_, xii. 99.
KOSCIUSCO, the highest mountain in Australia, in the range of the
Australian Alps, towards the south-eastern extremity of New South Wales.
Its height is 7328 ft. An adjacent peak to the south, Mueller's Peak,
long considered the highest in the continent, is 7268 ft. high. A
meteorological station was established on Kosciusco in 1897.
KOSCIUSZKO, TADEUSZ ANDRZEJ BONAWENTURA (1746-1817), Polish soldier and
statesman, the son of Ludwik Kosciuszko, sword-bearer of the palatinate
of Brzesc, and Tekla Ratomska, was born in the village of
Mereczowszczyno. After being educated at home he entered the corps of
cadets at Warsaw, where his unusual ability and energy attracted the
notice of Prince Adam Casimir Czartoryski, by whose influence in 1769 he
was sent abroad at the expense of the state to complete his military
education. In Germany, Italy and France he studied diligently,
completing his course at Brest, where he learnt fortification and naval
tactics, returning to Poland in 1774 with the rank of captain of
artillery. While engaged in teaching the daughters of the Grand Hetman,
Sosnowski of Sosnowica, drawing and mathematics, he fell in love with
the youngest of them, Ludwika, and not venturing to hope for the consent
of her father, the lovers resolved to fly and be married privately.
Before they could accomplish their design, however, the wooer was
attacked by Sosnowski's retainers, but defended himself valiantly till,
covered with wounds, he was ejected from the house. This was in 1776.
Equally unfortunate was Kosciuszko's wooing of Tekla Zurowska in 1791,
the father of the lady in this case also refusing his consent.
In the interval between these amorous episodes Kosciuszko won his spurs
in the New World. In 1776 he entered the army of the United States as a
volunteer, and brilliantly distinguished himself, especially during the
operations about New York and at Yorktown. Washington promoted
Kosciuszko to the rank of a colonel of artillery and made him his
adjutant. His humanity and charm of manner made him moreover one the
most popular of the American officers. In 1783 Kosciuszko was rewarded
for his services and his devotion to the cause of American independence
with the thanks of Congress, the privilege of American citizenship, a
considerable annual pension with landed estates, and the rank of
brigadier-general, which he retained in the Polish service.
In the war following upon the proclamation of the constitution of the
3rd of May 1791 and the formation of the reactionary Confederation of
Targowica (see POLAND: _History_), Kosciuszko took a leading part. As
the commander of a division under Prince Joseph Poniatowski he
distinguished himself at the battle of Zielence in 1792, and at Dubienka
(July 18) with 4000 men and 10 guns defended the line of the Bug for
five days against the Russians with 18,000 men and 60 guns, subsequently
retiring upon Warsaw unmolested. When the king acceded to the
Targowicians, Kosciuszko with many other Polish generals threw up his
commission and retired to Leipzig, which speedily became the centre of
the Polish emigration. In January 1793, provided with letters of
introduction from the French agent Perandier, Kosciuszko went on a
political mission to Paris to induce the revolutionary government to
espouse the cause of Poland. In return for assistance he promised to
make the future government of Poland as close a copy of the French
government as possible; but the Jacobins, already intent on detaching
Prussia from the anti-French coalition, had no serious intention of
fighting Poland's battles. The fact that Kosciuszko's visit synchronized
with the execution of Louis XVI. subsequently gave the enemies of Poland
a plausible pretext for accusing her of Jacobinism, and thus prejudicing
Europe against her. On his return to Leipzig Kosciuszko was invited by
the Polish insurgents to take the command of the national armies, with
dictatorial power. He hesitated at first, well aware that a rising in
the circumstances was premature. "I will have nothing to do with Cossack
raiding," he replied; "if war we have, it must be a regular war." He
also insisted that the war must be conducted on the model of the
American War of Independence, and settled down in the neighbourhood of
Cracow to await events. When, however, he heard that the insurrection
had already broken out, and that the Russian armies were concentrating
to crush it, Kosciuszko hesitated no longer, but hastened to Cracow,
which he reached on the 23rd of March 1794. On the following day his
arms were consecrated according to ancient custom at the church of the
Capucins, by way of giving the insurrection a religious sanction
incompatible with Jacobinism. The same day, amidst a vast concourse of
people in the market-place, Kosciuszko took an oath of fidelity to the
Polish nation; swore to wage war against the enemies of his country; but
protested at the same time that he would fight only for the independence
and territorial integrity of Poland.
The insurrection had from the first a purely popular character. We find
none of the great historic names of Poland in the lists of the original
confederates. For the most part the confederates of Kosciuszko were
small squires, traders, peasants and men of low degree generally. Yet
the comparatively few gentlemen who joined the movement sacrificed
everything to it. Thus, to take but a single instance, Karol Prozor sold
the whole of his ancestral estates and thus contributed 1,000,000
thalers to the cause. From the 24th of March to the 1st of April
Kosciuszko remained at Cracow organizing his forces. On the 3rd of April
at Raclawice, with 4000 regulars, and 2000 peasants armed only with
scythes and pikes, and next to no artillery, he defeated the Russians,
who had 5000 veterans and 30 guns. This victory had an immense moral
effect, and brought into the Polish camp crowds of waverers to what had
at first seemed a desperate cause. For the next two months Kosciuszko
remained on the defensive near Sandomir. He durst not risk another
engagement with the only army which Poland so far possessed, and he had
neither money, officers nor artillery. The country, harried incessantly
during the last two years, was in a pitiable condition. There was
nothing to feed the troops in the very provinces they occupied, and
provisions had to be imported from Galicia. Money could only be obtained
by such desperate expedients as the melting of the plate of the churches
and monasteries, which was brought in to Kosciuszko's camp at Pinczow
and subsequently coined at Warsaw, minus the royal effigy, with the
inscription: "Freedom, Integrity and Independence of the Republic,
1794." Moreover, Poland was unprepared. Most of the regular troops were
incorporated in the Russian army, from which it was very difficult to
break away, and until these soldiers came in Kosciuszko had principally
to depend on the valour of his scythemen. But in the month of April the
whole situation improved. On the 17th of that month the 2000 Polish
troops in Warsaw expelled the Russian garrison after days of street
fighting, chiefly through the ability of General Mokronowski, and a
provisional government was formed. Five days later Jakob Jasinski drove
the Russians from Wilna.
By this time Kosciuszko's forces had risen to 14,000, of whom 10,000
were regulars, and he was thus able to resume the offensive. He had
carefully avoided doing anything to provoke Austria or Prussia. The
former was described in his manifestoes as a potential friend; the
latter he never alluded to as an enemy. "Remember," he wrote, "that the
only war we have upon our hands is war to the death against the
Muscovite tyranny." Nevertheless Austria remained suspicious and
obstructive; and the Prussians, while professing neutrality, very
speedily effected a junction with the Russian forces. This Kosciuszko,
misled by the treacherous assurances of Frederick William's ministers,
never anticipated, when on the 4th of June he marched against General
Denisov. He encountered the enemy on the 5th of June at Szczekociny, and
then discovered that his 14,000 men had to do not merely with a Russian
division but with the combined forces of Russia and Prussia, numbering
25,000 men. Nevertheless, the Poles acquitted themselves manfully, and
at dusk retreated in perfect order upon Warsaw unpursued. Yet their
losses had been terrible, and of the six Polish generals present three,
whose loss proved to be irreparable, were slain, and two of the others
were seriously wounded. A week later another Polish division was
defeated at Kholm; Cracow was taken by the Prussians on the 22nd of
June; and the mob at Warsaw broke upon the gaols and murdered the
political prisoners in cold blood. Kosciuszko summarily punished the
ringleaders of the massacres and had 10,000 of the rank and file drafted
into his camp, which measures had a quieting effect. But now dissensions
broke out among the members of the Polish government, and it required
all the tact of Kosciuszko to restore order amidst this chaos of
suspicions and recriminations. At this very time too he had need of all
his ability and resource to meet the external foes of Poland. On the 9th
of July Warsaw was invested by Frederick William of Prussia with an army
of 25,000 men and 179 guns, and the Russian general Fersen with 16,000
men and 74 guns, while a third force of 11,000 occupied the right bank
of the Vistula. Kosciuszko for the defence of the city and its outlying
fortifications could dispose of 35,000 men, of whom 10,000 were
regulars. But the position, defended by 200 inferior guns, was a strong
one, and the valour of the Poles and the engineering skill of
Kosciuszko, who was now in his element, frustrated all the efforts of
the enemy. Two unsuccessful assaults were made upon the Polish positions
on the 26th of August and the 1st of September, and on the 6th the
Prussians, alarmed by the progress of the Polish arms in Great Poland,
where Jan Henryk Dabrowski captured the Prussian fortress of Bydogoszcz
and compelled General Schwerin with his 20,000 men to retire upon
Kalisz, raised the siege. Elsewhere, indeed, after a brief triumph the
Poles were everywhere worsted, and Suvarov, after driving them before
him out of Lithuania was advancing by forced marches upon Warsaw. Even
now, however, the situation was not desperate, for the Polish forces
were still numerically superior to the Russian. But the Polish generals
proved unequal to carrying out the plans of the dictator; they allowed
themselves to be beaten in detail, and could not prevent the junction of
Suvarov and Fersen. Kosciuszko himself, relying on the support of
Poninski's division 4 m. away, attacked Fersen at Maciejowice on the
10th of October. But Poninski never appeared, and after a bloody
encounter the Polish army of 7000 was almost annihilated by the 16,000
Russians; and Kosciuszko, seriously wounded and insensible, was made a
prisoner on the field of battle. The long credited story that he cried
"Finis Poloniae!" as he fell is a fiction.
Kosciuszko was conveyed to Russia, where he remained till the accession
of Paul in 1796. On his return on the 19th of December 1796 he paid a
second visit to America, and lived at Philadelphia till May 1798, when
he went to Paris, where the First Consul earnestly invited his
co-operation against the Allies. But he refused to draw his sword unless
Napoleon undertook to give the restoration of Poland a leading place in
his plans; and to this, as he no doubt foresaw, Bonaparte would not
consent. Again and again he received offers of high commands in the
French army, but he kept aloof from public life in his house at
Berville, near Paris, where the emperor Alexander visited him in 1814.
At the Congress of Vienna his importunities on behalf of Poland finally
wearied Alexander, who preferred to follow the counsels of Czartoryski;
and Kosciuszko retired to Solothurn, where he lived with his friend
Zeltner. Shortly before his death, on the 2nd of April 1817, he
emancipated his serfs, insisting only on the maintenance of schools on
the liberated estates. His remains were carried to Cracow and buried in
the cathedral; while the people, reviving an ancient custom, raised a
huge mound to his memory near the city.
Kosciuszko was essentially a democrat, but a democrat of the school of
Jefferson and Lafayette. He maintained that the republic could only be
regenerated on the basis of absolute liberty and equality before the
law; but in this respect he was far in advance of his age, and the
aristocratic prejudices of his countrymen compelled him to resort to
half measures. He wrote _Manoeuvres of Horse Artillery_ (New York, 1808)
and a description of the campaign of 1792 (in vol. xvi. of E.
Raczynski's _Sketch of the Poles and Poland_ (Posen, 1843).
See Jozef Zajaczek, _History of the Revolution of_ 1794 (Pol.)
(Lemberg, 1881); Leonard Jakob Borejko Chodzko, _Biographie du général
Kosciuszko_ (Fontainebleau, 1837); Karol Falkenstein, _Thaddäus
Kosciuszko_ (2nd ed., Leipzig, 1834; French ed., Paris, 1839); Antoni
Choloniewski, _Tadeusz Kosciuszko_ (Pol.) (Lemberg, 1902); Franciszek
Rychlicki, _T. Kosciuszko and the Partition of Poland_ (Pol.) (Cracow,
1875). (R. N. B.)
KÖSEN, a village and summer resort of Germany, in the Prussian province
of Saxony, 33 m. by rail S. by W. of Halle, on the Saale. Pop. (1905),
2990. The town has a mineral spring, which is used for bathing, being
efficacious for rheumatism and other complaints. Kösen, which became a
town in 1869, has large mill-works; it has a trade in wood and wine. On
the adjacent Rudelsburg, where there is a ruined castle, the German
students have erected a monument to their comrades who fell in the
Franco-German War of 1870-71. Hereon are also memorials to Bismarck and
to the emperor William I. The town is famous as the central
meeting-place of the German students' corps, which hold an annual
congress here every Whitsuntide.
See Techow, _Führer durch Kösen und Umgegend_ (Kösen, 1889); and
Rosenberg, _Kösen_ (Naumburg, 1877).
KOSHER, or KASHER (Hebrew clean, right, or fit), the Jewish term for any
food or vessels for food made ritually fit for use, in contradistinction
to those _pasul_, unfit, and _terefah_, forbidden. Thus the vessels used
at the Passover are "kosher," as are also new metal vessels bought from
a Gentile after they have been washed in a ritual bath. But the term is
specially used of meat slaughtered in accordance with the law of Moses.
The _schochat_ or butcher must be a devout Jew and of high moral
character, and be duly licensed by the chief rabbi. The
slaughtering--the object of which is to insure the complete bleeding of
the body, the Jews being forbidden to eat blood--is done by severing the
windpipe with a long and razor-sharp knife by one continuous stroke
backwards and forwards. No unnecessary force is permitted, and no
stoppage must occur during the operation. The knife is then carefully
examined, and if there be the slightest flaw in its blade the meat
cannot be eaten, as the cut would not have been clean, the uneven blade
causing a thrill to pass through the beast and thus driving the blood
again through the arteries. After this every portion of the animal is
thoroughly examined, for if there is any organic disease the devout Jew
cannot taste the meat. In order to soften meat before it is salted, so
as to allow the salt to extract the blood more freely, the meat is
soaked in water for about half an hour. It is then covered with salt for
about an hour and afterwards washed three times. Kosher meat is labelled
with the name of the slaughterer and the date of killing.
KÖSLIN, or CÖSLIN, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of
Pomerania, at the foot of the Gollenberg (450 ft.), 5 m. from the
Baltic, and 105 m. N.E. of Stettin by rail. Pop. (1905), 21,474. The
town has two Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, a gymnasium, a
cadet academy and a deaf and dumb asylum. In the large market place is
the statue of the Prussian king Frederick William I., erected in 1824,
and there is a war memorial on the Friedrich Wilhelm Platz. The
industries include the manufacture of soap, tobacco, machinery, paper,
bricks and tiles, beer and other goods. Köslin was built about 1188 by
the Saxons, and raised to the rank of a town in 1266. In 1532 it
accepted the doctrines of the Reformation. It was severely tried in the
Thirty Years' War and in the Seven Years' War, and in 1720 it was burned
down. On the Gollenberg stands a monument to the memory of the
Pomeranians who fell in the war of 1813-15.
KOSSOVO, or Kosovo, a vilayet of European Turkey, comprising the sanjak
of Uskub in Macedonia, and the sanjaks of Prizren and Novibazar (q.v.)
in northern Albania. Pop. (1905), about 1,100,000; area, 12,700 sq. m.
For an account of the physical features of Kossovo, see ALBANIA and
MACEDONIA. The inhabitants are chiefly Albanians and Slavs, with smaller
communities of Greeks, Turks, Vlachs and gipsies. A few good roads
traverse the vilayet (see USKÜB), and the railway from Salonica
northward bifurcates at Usküb, the capital, one branch going to
Mitrovitza in Albania, the other to Nish in Servia. Despite the
undoubted mineral wealth of the vilayet, the only mines working in 1907
were two chrome mines, at Orasha and Verbeshtitza. In the volume of its
agricultural trade, however, Kossovo is unsurpassed by any Turkish
province. The exports, worth about £950,000, include livestock, large
quantities of grain and fruit, tobacco, vegetables, opium, hemp and
skins. Rice is cultivated for local consumption, and sericulture is a
growing industry, encouraged by the Administration of the Ottoman Debt.
The yearly value of the imports is approximately £1,200,000; these
include machinery and other manufactured goods, metals, groceries,
chemical products and petroleum, which is used in the flour-mills and
factories on account of the prohibitive price of coal. There is
practically no trade with Adriatic ports; two-thirds of both exports and
imports pass through Salonica, the remainder going by rail into Servia.
The chief towns, Usküb (32,000), Prizren (30,000), Koprülü (22,000),
Ishtib [Slav. _Stip_] (21,000), Novibazar (12,000) and Prishtina
(11,000) are described in separate articles.
In the middle ages the vilayet formed part of the Servian Empire, its
northern districts are still known to the Serbs as Old Servia (_Stara
Srbiya_). The plain of Kossovo (Kossovopolje, "Field of Blackbirds"), a
long valley lying west of Prishtina and watered by the Sibnitza, a
tributary of the Servian Ibar, is famous in Balkan history and legend as
the scene of the battle of Kossovo (1389), in which the power of Servia
was destroyed by the Turks. (See SERVIA: _History_.)
KOSSUTH, FERENCZ LAJOS AKOS (1841- ), Hungarian statesman, the son of
Lajos Kossuth, was born on the 16th of November 1841, and educated at
the Paris Polytechnic and the London University, where in 1859 he won a
prize for political economy. After working as a civil engineer on the
Dean Forest railway he went (1861) to Italy, where he resided for the
next thirty-three years, taking a considerable part in the railway
construction of the peninsula, and at the same time keeping alive the
Hungarian independence question by a whole series of pamphlets and
newspaper articles. At Cesena in 1876 he married Emily Hoggins. In 1885
he was decorated for his services by the Italian government. His last
great engineering work was the construction of the steel bridges for the
Nile. In 1894 he escorted his father's remains to Hungary, and the
following year resolved to settle in his native land and took the oath
of allegiance. As early as 1867 he had been twice elected a member of
the Hungarian diet, but on both occasions refused to accept the mandate.
On the 10th of April 1895 he was returned for Tapolca and in 1896 for
Cegléd, and from that time took an active part in Hungarian politics. In
the autumn of 1898 he became the leader of the obstructionists or
"Independence Party," against the successive Szell, Khuen-Haderváry,
Szápáry and Stephen Tisza administrations (1898-1904), exercising great
influence not only in parliament but upon the public at large through
his articles in the _Egyetértés_. The elections of 1905 having sent his
party back with a large majority, he was received in audience by the
king and helped to construct the Wekerle ministry, of which he was one
of the most distinguished members.
See Sturm, _The Almanack of the Hungarian Diet_ (1905-1910), art.
"Kossuth" (Hung.) (Budapest, 1905).
KOSSUTH, LAJOS [Louis] (1802-1894), Hungarian patriot, was born at
Monok, a small town in the county of Zemplin, on the 19th of September
1802. His father, who was descended from an old untitled noble family
and possessed a small estate, was by profession an advocate. Louis, who
was the eldest of four children, received from his mother a strict
religious training. His education was completed at the Calvinist college
of Sárospatak and at the university of Budapest. At the age of nineteen
he returned home and began practice with his father. His talents and
amiability soon won him great popularity, especially among the peasants.
He was also appointed steward to the countess Szápáry, a widow with
large estates, and as her representative had a seat in the county
assembly. This position he lost owing to a quarrel with his patroness,
and he was accused of appropriating money to pay a gambling debt. His
fault cannot have been very serious, for he was shortly afterwards (he
had in the meantime settled in Pesth) appointed by Count Hunyady to be
his deputy at the National Diet in Pressburg (1825-1827, and again in
1832). It was a time when, under able leaders, a great national party
was beginning the struggle for reform against the stagnant Austrian
government. As deputy he had no vote, and he naturally took little share
in the debates, but it was part of his duty to send written reports of
the proceedings to his patron, since the government, with a
well-grounded fear of all that might stir popular feeling, refused to
allow any published reports. Kossuth's letters were so excellent that
they were circulated in MS. among the Liberal magnates, and soon
developed into an organized parliamentary gazette (_Orszagyulesi
tudositasok_), of which he was editor. At once his name and influence
spread. In order to increase the circulation, he ventured on
lithographing the letters. This brought them under the official censure,
and was forbidden. He continued the paper in MS., and when the
government refused to allow it to be circulated through the post sent it
out by hand. In 1836 the Diet was dissolved. Kossuth continued the
agitation by reporting in letter form the debates of the county
assemblies, to which he thereby gave a political importance which they
had not had when each was ignorant of the proceedings of the others. The
fact that he embellished with his own great literary ability the
speeches of the Liberals and Reformers only added to the influence of
his news-letters. The government in vain attempted to suppress the
letters, and other means having failed, he was in May 1837, with
Weszelenyi and several others, arrested on a charge of high treason.
After spending a year in prison at Ofen, he was tried and condemned to
four more years' imprisonment. His confinement was strict and injured
his health, but he was allowed the use of books. He greatly increased
his political information, and also acquired, from the study of the
Bible and Shakespeare, a wonderful knowledge of English. His arrest had
caused great indignation. The Diet, which met in 1839, supported the
agitation for the release of the prisoners, and refused to pass any
government measures; Metternich long remained obdurate, but the danger
of war in 1840 obliged him to give way. Immediately after his release
Kossuth married Teresa Meszleny, a Catholic, who during his prison days
had shown great interest in him. Henceforward she strongly urged him on
in his political career; and it was the refusal of the Roman priests to
bless their union that first prompted Kossuth to take up the defence of
mixed marriages.
He had now become a popular leader. As soon as his health was restored
he was appointed (January 1841) editor of the _Pesti Hirlap_, the newly
founded organ of the party. Strangely enough, the government did not
refuse its consent. The success of the paper was unprecedented. The
circulation soon reached what was then the immense figure of 7000. The
attempts of the government to counteract his influence by founding a
rival paper, the _Vilag_, only increased his importance and added to the
political excitement. The warning of the great reformer Szechenyi that
by his appeal to the passions of the people he was leading the nation to
revolution was neglected. Kossuth, indeed, was not content with
advocating those reforms--the abolition of entail, the abolition of
feudal burdens, taxation of the nobles--which were demanded by all the
Liberals. By insisting on the superiority of the Magyars to the Slavonic
inhabitants of Hungary, by his violent attacks on Austria (he already
discussed the possibility of a breach with Austria), he raised the
national pride to a dangerous pitch. At last, in 1844, the government
succeeded in breaking his connexion with the paper. The proprietor, in
obedience to orders from Vienna (this seems the most probable account),
took advantage of a dispute about salary to dismiss him. He then applied
for permission to start a paper of his own. In a personal interview
Metternich offered to take him into the government service. The offer
was refused, and for three years he was without a regular position. He
continued the agitation with the object of attaining both the political
and commercial independence of Hungary. He adopted the economic
principles of List, and founded a society, the "Vedegylet," the members
of which were to consume none but home produce. He advocated the
creation of a Hungarian port at Fiume. With the autumn of 1847 the great
opportunity of his life came. Supported by the influence of Louis
Batthyany, after a keenly fought struggle he was elected member for
Budapest in the new Diet. "Now that I am a deputy, I will cease to be an
agitator," he said. He at once became chief leader of the Extreme
Liberals. Deak was absent. Batthyany, Szechenyi, Szemere, Eotvos, his
rivals, saw how his intense personal ambition and egoism led him always
to assume the chief place, and to use his parliamentary position to
establish himself as leader of the nation; but before his eloquence and
energy all apprehensions were useless. His eloquence was of that nature,
in its impassioned appeals to the strongest emotions, that it required
for its full effect the highest themes and the most dramatic situations.
In a time of rest, though he could never have been obscure, he would
never have attained the highest power. It was therefore a necessity of
his nature, perhaps unconsciously, always to drive things to a crisis.
The crisis came, and he used it to the full.
On the 3rd of March 1848, as soon as the news of the revolution in
Paris had arrived, in a speech of surpassing power he demanded
parliamentary government for Hungary and constitutional government for
the rest of Austria. He appealed to the hope of the Habsburgs, "our
beloved Archduke Francis Joseph," to perpetuate the ancient glory of the
dynasty by meeting half-way the aspirations of a free people. He at once
became the leader of the European revolution; his speech was read aloud
in the streets of Vienna to the mob by which Metternich was overthrown
(March 13), and when a deputation from the Diet visited Vienna to
receive the assent of the emperor to their petition it was Kossuth who
received the chief ovation. Batthyany, who formed the first responsible
ministry, could not refuse to admit Kossuth, but he gave him the
ministry of finance, probably because that seemed to open to him fewest
prospects of engrossing popularity. If that was the object, it was in
vain. With wonderful energy he began developing the internal resources
of the country: he established a separate Hungarian coinage--as always,
using every means to increase the national self-consciousness; and it
was characteristic that on the new Hungarian notes which he issued his
own name was the most prominent inscription; hence the name of _Kossuth
Notes_, which was long celebrated. A new paper was started, to which was
given the name of _Kossuth Hirlapia_, so that from the first it was
Kossuth rather than the Palatine or the president of the ministry whose
name was in the minds of the people associated with the new government.
Much more was this the case when, in the summer, the dangers from the
Croats, Serbs and the reaction at Vienna increased. In a great speech of
11th July he asked that the nation should arm in self-defence, and
demanded 200,000 men; amid a scene of wild enthusiasm this was granted
by acclamation. When Jellachich was marching on Pesth he went from town
to town rousing the people to the defence of the country, and the
popular force of the _Honved_ was his creation. When Batthyany resigned
he was appointed with Szemere to carry on the government provisionally,
and at the end of September he was made President of the Committee of
National Defence. From this time he was in fact, if not in name, the
dictator. With marvellous energy he kept in his own hands the direction
of the whole government. Not a soldier himself, he had to control and
direct the movements of armies; can we be surprised if he failed, or if
he was unable to keep control over the generals or to establish that
military co-operation so essential to success? Especially it was Görgei
(q.v.) whose great abilities he was the first to recognize, who refused
obedience; the two men were in truth the very opposite to one another:
the one all feeling, enthusiasm, sensibility; the other cold, stoical,
reckless of life. Twice Kossuth deposed him from the command; twice he
had to restore him. It would have been well if Kossuth had had something
more of Görgei's calculated ruthlessness, for, as has been truly said,
the revolutionary power he had seized could only be held by
revolutionary means; but he was by nature soft-hearted and always
merciful; though often audacious, he lacked decision in dealing with
men. It has been said that he showed a want of personal courage; this is
not improbable, the excess of feeling which made him so great an orator
could hardly be combined with the coolness in danger required of a
soldier; but no one was able, as he was, to infuse courage into others.
During all the terrible winter which followed, his energy and spirit
never failed him. It was he who overcame the reluctance of the army to
march to the relief of Vienna; after the defeat of Schwechat, at which
he was present, he sent Bem to carry on the war in Transylvania. At the
end of the year, when the Austrians were approaching Pesth, he asked for
the mediation of Mr Stiles, the American envoy. Windischgrätz, however,
refused all terms, and the Diet and government fled to Debrecszin,
Kossuth taking with him the regalia of St Stephen, the sacred Palladium
of the Hungarian nation. Immediately after the accession of the Emperor
Francis Joseph all the concessions of March had been revoked and Kossuth
with his colleagues outlawed. In April 1849, when the Hungarians had won
many successes, after sounding the army, he issued the celebrated
declaration of Hungarian independence, in which he declared that "the
house of Habsburg-Lorraine, perjured in the sight of God and man, had
forfeited the Hungarian throne." It was a step characteristic of his
love for extreme and dramatic action, but it added to the dissensions
between him and those who wished only for autonomy under the old
dynasty, and his enemies did not scruple to accuse him of aiming at the
crown himself. For the time the future form of government was left
undecided, but Kossuth was appointed responsible governor. The hopes of
ultimate success were frustrated by the intervention of Russia; all
appeals to the western powers were vain, and on the 11th of August
Kossuth abdicated in favour of Görgei, on the ground that in the last
extremity the general alone could save the nation. How Görgei used his
authority to surrender is well known; the capitulation was indeed
inevitable, but a greater man than Kossuth would not have avoided the
last duty of conducting the negotiations so as to get the best terms.
With the capitulation of Villagos Kossuth's career was at an end. A
solitary fugitive, he crossed the Turkish frontier. He was hospitably
received by the Turkish authorities, who, supported by Great Britain,
refused, notwithstanding the threats of the allied emperors, to
surrender him and the other fugitives to the merciless vengeance of the
Austrians. In January 1849 he was removed from Widdin, where he had been
kept in honourable confinement, to Shumla, and thence to Katahia in Asia
Minor. Here he was joined by his children, who had been confined at
Pressburg; his wife (a price had been set on her head) had joined him
earlier, having escaped in disguise. In September 1851 he was liberated
and embarked on an American man-of-war. He first landed at Marseilles,
where he received an enthusiastic welcome from the people, but the
prince-president refused to allow him to cross France. On the 23rd of
October he landed at Southampton and spent three weeks in England, where
he was the object of extraordinary enthusiasm, equalled only by that
with which Garibaldi was received ten years later. Addresses were
presented to him at Southampton, Birmingham and other towns; he was
officially entertained by the lord mayor of London; at each place he
pleaded the cause of his unhappy country. Speaking in English, he
displayed an eloquence and command of the language scarcely excelled by
the greatest orators in their own tongue. The agitation had no immediate
effect, but the indignation which he aroused against Russian policy had
much to do with the strong anti-Russian feeling which made the Crimean
War possible.
From England he went to the United States of America: there his
reception was equally enthusiastic, if less dignified; an element of
charlatanism appeared in his words and acts which soon destroyed his
real influence. Other Hungarian exiles protested against the claim he
appeared to make that he was the one national hero of the revolution.
Count Casimir Batthyany attacked him in _The Times_, and Szemere, who
had been prime minister under him, published a bitter criticism of his
acts and character, accusing him of arrogance, cowardice and duplicity.
He soon returned to England, where he lived for eight years in close
connexion with Mazzini, by whom, with some misgiving, he was persuaded
to join the Revolutionary Committee. Quarrels of a kind only too common
among exiles followed; the Hungarians were especially offended by his
claim still to be called governor. He watched with anxiety every
opportunity of once more freeing his country from Austria. An attempt to
organize a Hungarian legion during the Crimean War was stopped; but in
1859 he entered into negotiations with Napoleon, left England for Italy,
and began the organization of a Hungarian legion, which was to make a
descent on the coast of Dalmatia. The Peace of Villafranca made this
impossible. From that time he resided in Italy; he refused to follow the
other Hungarian patriots, who, under the lead of Deak, accepted the
composition of 1867; for him there could be no reconciliation with the
house of Habsburg, nor would he accept less than full independence and a
republic. He would not avail himself of the amnesty, and, though elected
to the Diet of 1867, never took his seat. He never lost the affections
of his countrymen, but he refrained from an attempt to give practical
effect to his opinions, nor did he allow his name to become a new cause
of dissension. A law of 1879, which deprived of citizenship all
Hungarians who had voluntarily been absent ten years, was a bitter blow
to him.
He died in Turin on the 20th of March 1894; his body was taken to Pesth,
where he was buried amid the mourning of the whole nation, Maurus Jokai
delivering the funeral oration. A bronze statue, erected by public
subscription, in the Kerepes cemetery, commemorates Hungary's purest
patriot and greatest orator.
Many points in Kossuth's career and character will probably always
remain the subject of controversy. His complete works were published
in Hungarian at Budapest in 1880-1895. The fullest account of the
Revolution is given in Helfert, _Geschichte Oesterreichs_ (Leipzig,
1869, &c.), representing the Austrian view, which may be compared with
that of C. Gracza, _History of the Hungarian War of Independence,
1848-1849_ (in Hungarian) (Budapest, 1894). See also E. O. S.,
_Hungary and its Revolutions, with a Memoir of Louis Kossuth_ (Bohn,
1854); Horvath, _25 Jahre aus der Geschichte Ungarns, 1823-1848_
(Leipzig, 1867); Maurice, _Revolutions of 1848-1849_; W. H. Stiles,
_Austria in 1848-1849_ (New York, 1852); Szemere, _Politische
Charakterskizzen: III. Kossuth_ (Hamburg, 1853); Louis Kossuth,
_Memoirs of my Exile_ (London, 1880); Pulszky, _Meine Zeit, mein
Leben_ (Pressburg, 1880); A. Somogyi, _Ludwig Kossuth_ (Berlin, 1894).
(J. W. He.)
KOSTER (or COSTER), LAURENS (c. 1370-1440), Dutch printer, whose claims
to be considered at least one of the inventors of the art (see
TYPOGRAPHY) have been recognized by many investigators. His real name
was Laurens Janssoen-Koster (i.e. sacristan) being merely the title
which he bore as an official of the great parish church of Haarlem. We
find him mentioned several times between 1417 and 1434 as a member of
the great council, as an assessor (_scabinus_), and as the city
treasurer. He probably perished in the plague that visited Haarlem in
1439-1440; his widow is mentioned in the latter year. His descendants,
through his daughter Lucia, can be traced down to 1724.
See Peter Scriver, _Beschryvinge der Stad Harlem_ (Haarlem, 1628);
Scheltema, _Levensschets van Laurens d. Koster_ (Haarlem, 1834); Van
der Linde, _De Haarlemsche Costerlegende_ (Hague, 1870).
KOSTROMA, a government of central Russia, surrounded by those of
Vologda, Vyatka, Nizhniy-Novgorod, Vladimir and Yaroslav, lying mostly
on the left bank of the upper Volga. It has an area of 32,480 sq. m. Its
surface is generally undulating, with hilly tracts on the right bank of
the Volga, and extensive flat and marshy districts in the east. Rocks of
the Permian system predominate, though a small tract belongs to the
Jurassic, and both are overlain by thick deposits of Quaternary clays.
The soil in the east is for the most part sand or a sandy clay; a few
patches, however, are fertile black earth. Forests, yielding excellent
timber for ship-building, and in many cases still untouched, occupy 61%
of the area of the government. The export of timber is greatly
facilitated by the navigable tributaries of the Volga, e.g. the
Kostroma, Unzha, Neya, Vioksa and Vetluga. The climate is severe; frosts
of -22° F. are common in January, and the mean temperature of the year
is only 3°.1 (summer, 64°.5; winter, -13°.3). The population, which
numbered 1,176,000 in 1870 and 1,424,171 in 1897, is almost entirely
Russian. The estimated population in 1906 was 1,596,700. Out of
20,000,000 acres, 7,861,500 acres belong to private owners, 6,379,500 to
the peasant communities, 3,660,800 to the crown, and 1,243,000 to the
imperial family. Agriculture is at a low ebb; only 4,000,000 acres are
under crops (rye, oats, wheat and barley), and the yield of corn is
insufficient for the wants of the population. Flax and hops are
cultivated to an increasing extent. But market-gardening is of some
importance. Bee-keeping was formerly an important industry. The chief
articles of commerce are timber, fuel, pitch, tar, mushrooms, and wooden
wares for building and household purposes, which are largely
manufactured by the peasantry and exported to the steppe governments of
the lower Volga and the Don. Boat-building is also carried on. Some
other small industries, such as the manufacture of silver and copper
wares, leather goods, bast mats and sacks, lace and felt boots, are
carried on in the villages; but the trade in linen and towelling,
formerly the staple, is declining. There are cotton, flax and linen
mills, engineering and chemical works, distilleries, tanneries and paper
mills. The government of Kostroma is divided into twelve districts, the
chief towns of which, with populations in 1897, are Kostroma (q.v.),
Bui (2626), Chukhloma (2200), Galich (6182), Kineshma (7564), Kologriv
(2566), Makariev (6068), Nerekhta (3002), Soligalich (3420), Varnavin
(1140), Vetluga (5200) and Yurievets (4778).
KOSTROMA, a town of Russia, capital of the government of the same name,
230 m. N.N.E. of Moscow and 57 m. E.N.E. from Yaroslav, on the left bank
of the Volga, at the mouth of the navigable Kostroma, with suburbs on
the opposite side of the Volga. Pop. (1897), 41,268. Its glittering
gilded cupolas make it a conspicuous feature in the landscape as it
climbs up the terraced river bank. It is one of the oldest towns of
Russia, having been founded in 1152. Its fort was often the refuge of
the princes of Moscow during war, but the town was plundered more than
once by the Tatars. The cathedral, built in 1239 and rebuilt in 1773, is
situated in the kreml, or citadel, and is a fine monument of old Russian
architecture. In the centre of the town is a monument to the peasant
Ivan Susanin and the tsar Michael (1851). The former sacrificed his own
life in 1669 by leading the Poles astray in the forests in order to save
the life of his own tsar Michael Fedeorovich. On the opposite bank of
the Volga, close to the water's edge, stands the monastery of Ipatiyev,
founded in 1330, with a cathedral built in 1586, both associated with
the election of Tsar Michael (1669). Kostroma has been renowned since
the 16th century for its linen, which was exported to Holland, and the
manufacture of linen and linen-yarn is still kept up to some extent. The
town has also cotton-mills, tanneries, saw-mills, an iron-foundry and a
machine factory. It carries on an active trade--importing grain, and
exporting linen, linen yarn, leather, and especially timber and wooden
wares.
KÖSZEG (Ger. _Güns_), a town in the county of Vas, in Hungary, 173 m. W.
of Budapest by rail. Pop. (1900), 7422. It is pleasantly situated in the
valley of the Güns, and is dominated towards the west by the peaks of
Altenhaus (2000 ft.) and of the Geschriebene Stein (2900 ft.). It
possesses a castle of Count Esterhazy, a modern Roman Catholic Church in
Gothic style and two convents. It has important cloth factories and a
lively trade in fruit and wine. The town has a special historical
interest for the heroic and successful defence of the fortress by
Nicolas Jurisics against a large army of Sultan Soliman, in July-August
1532, which frustrated the advance of the Turks to Vienna for that year.
To the south-east of Köszeg, at the confluence of the Güns with the
Raab, is situated the town of Sárvár (pop. 3158), formerly fortified,
where in 1526 the first printing press in Hungary was established.
KOTAH, a native state of India, in the Rajputana agency, with an area of
5684 sq. m. The country slopes gently northwards from the high
table-land of Malwa, and is drained by the Chambal with its tributaries,
all flowing in a northerly or north-easterly direction. The Mokandarra
range, from 1200 to 1600 ft. above sea-level, runs from south-east to
north-west. The Mokandarra Pass through these hills, in the
neighbourhood of the highest peak (1671 ft.), has been rendered
memorable by the passage of Colonel Monson's army on its disastrous
retreat in 1804. There are extensive game preserves, chiefly covered
with grass. In addition to the usual Indian grains, wheat, cotton,
poppy, and a little tobacco of good quality are cultivated. The
manufactures are very limited. Cotton fabrics are woven, but are being
rapidly superseded by the cheap products of Bombay and Manchaster.
Articles of wooden furniture are also constructed. The chief articles of
export are opium and grain; salt, cotton and woollen cloth are imported.
Kotah is an offshoot from Bundi state, having been bestowed upon a
younger son of the Bundi raja by the emperor Shah Jahan in return for
services rendered him when the latter was in rebellion against his
father Jahangir. In 1897 a considerable portion of the area taken to
form Jhalawar (q.v.) in 1838 was restored to Kotah. In 1901 the
population was 544,879, showing a decrease of 24% due to the results of
famine. The estimated revenue is £206,000; tribute, £28,000. The maharao
Umad Singh, was born in 1873, and succeeded in 1889. He was educated at
the Mayo College, Ajmere, and became a major in the British army. A
continuation of the branch line of the Indian Midland railway from Goona
to Baran passes through Kotah, and it is also traversed by a new line,
opened in 1909. The state suffered from drought in 1896-1897, and again
more severely in 1899-1900.
The town of Kotah is on the right bank of the Chambal. Pop. (1901),
33,679. It is surrounded and also divided into three parts by massive
walls, and contains an old and a new palace of the maharao and a number
of fine temples. Muslins are the chief articles of manufacture, but the
town has no great trade, and this and the unhealthiness of the site may
account for the decrease in population.
KOTAS (Kotar, Koter, Kohatur, Gauhatar), an aboriginal tribe of the
Nilgiri hills, India. They are a well-made people, of good features,
tall, and of a dull copper colour, but some of them are among the
fairest of the hill tribes. They recognize no caste among themselves,
but are divided into _keris_ (streets), and a man must marry outside his
_keri_. Their villages (of which there are seven) are large, averaging
from thirty to sixty huts. They are agriculturists and herdsmen, and the
only one of the hill tribes who practise industrial arts, being
excellent as carpenters, smiths, tanners and basket-makers. They do
menial work for the Todas, to whom they pay a tribute. They worship
ideal gods, which are not represented by any images. Their language is
an old and rude dialect of Kanarese. In 1901 they numbered 1267.
KOTKA, a seaport of Finland, in the province of Viborg, 35 m. by rail
from Kuivola junction on the Helsingfors railway, on an island of the
same name at the mouth of the Kymmene river. Pop. (1904), 7628. It is
the chief port for exports from and imports to east Finland and a centre
of the timber trade.
KOTRI, a town of British India, in Karachi district, Sind, situated on
the right bank of the Indus. Pop. (1901), 7617. Kotri is the junction of
branches of the North-Western railway, serving each bank of the Indus,
which is here crossed by a railway bridge. It was formerly the station
for Hyderabad, which lies across the Indus, and the headquarters of the
Indus steam flotilla, now abolished in consequence of the development of
railway facilities. Besides its importance as a railway centre, however,
Kotri still has a considerable general transit trade by river.
KOTZEBUE, AUGUST FRIEDRICH FERDINAND VON (1761-1819), German dramatist,
was born on the 3rd of May, 1761, at Weimar. After attending the
gymnasium of his native town, he went in his sixteenth year to the
university of Jena, and afterwards studied about a year in Duisburg. In
1780 he completed his legal course and was admitted an advocate. Through
the influence of Graf Görtz, Prussian ambassador at the Russian court,
he became secretary of the governor-general of St Petersburg. In 1783 he
received the appointment of assessor to the high court of appeal in
Reval, where he married the daughter of a Russian lieutenant-general. He
was ennobled in 1785, and became president of the magistracy of the
province of Esthonia. In Reval he acquired considerable reputation by
his novels, _Die Leiden der Ortenbergischen Familie_ (1785) and
_Geschichte meines Vaters_ (1788), and still more by the plays _Adelheid
von Wulfingen_ (1789), _Menschenhass und Reue_ (1790) and _Die Indianer
in England_ (1790). The good impression produced by these works was,
however, almost effaced by a cynical dramatic satire, _Doktor Bahrdt mit
der eisernen Stirn_, which appeared in 1790 with the name of Knigge on
the title-page. After the death of his first wife Kotzebue retired from
the Russian service, and lived for a time in Paris and Mainz; he then
settled in 1795 on an estate which he had acquired near Reval and gave
himself up to literary work. Within a few years he published six volumes
of miscellaneous sketches and stories (_Die jüngsten Kinder meiner
Laune_, 1793-1796) and more than twenty plays, the majority of which
were translated into several European languages. In 1798 he accepted the
office of dramatist to the court theatre in Vienna, but owing to
differences with the actors he was soon obliged to resign. He now
returned to his native town, but as he was not on good terms with
Goethe, and had openly attacked the Romantic school, his position in
Weimar was not a pleasant one. He had thoughts of returning to St
Petersburg, and on his journey thither he was, for some unknown reason,
arrested at the frontier and transported to Siberia. Fortunately he had
written a comedy which flattered the vanity of the emperor Paul I.; he
was consequently speedily brought back, presented with an estate from
the crown lands of Livonia, and made director of the German theatre in
St Petersburg. He returned to Germany when the emperor Paul died, and
again settled in Weimar; he found it, however, as impossible as ever to
gain a footing in literary society, and turned his steps to Berlin,
where in association with Garlieb Merkel (1769-1850) he edited _Der
Freimütige_ (1803-1807) and began his _Almanach dramatischer Spiele_
(1803-1820). Towards the end of 1806 he was once more in Russia, and in
the security of his estate in Esthonia wrote many satirical articles
against Napoleon in his journals _Die Biene_ and _Die Grille_. As
councillor of state he was attached in 1816 to the department for
foreign affairs in St Petersburg, and in 1817 went to Germany as a kind
of spy in the service of Russia, with a salary of 15,000 roubles. In a
weekly journal (_Literarisches Wochenblatt_) which he published in
Weimar he scoffed at the pretensions of those Germans who demanded free
institutions, and became an object of such general dislike that he was
obliged to move to Mannheim. He was especially detested by the young
enthusiasts for liberty, and one of them, Karl Ludwig Sand, a
theological student, stabbed him, in Mannheim, on the 23rd of March
1819. Sand was executed, and the government made his crime an excuse for
placing the universities under strict supervision.
Besides his plays, Kotzebue wrote several historical works, which,
however, are too one-sided and prejudiced to have much value. Of more
interest are his autobiographical writings, _Meine Flucht nach Paris im
Winter_ 1790 (1791), _Über meinen Aufenthalt in Wien_ (1799), _Das
merkwürdigste Jahr meines Lebens_ (1801), _Erinnerungen aus Paris_
(1804), and _Erinnerungen von meiner Reise aus Liefland nach Rom und
Neapel_ (1805). As a dramatist he was extraordinarily prolific, his
plays numbering over 200; his popularity, not merely on the German, but
on the European stage, was unprecedented. His success, however, was due
less to any conspicuous literary or poetic ability than to an
extraordinary facility in the invention of effective situations; he
possessed, as few German playwrights before or since, the unerring
instinct for the theatre; and his influence on the _technique_ of the
modern drama from Scribe to Sardou and from Bauernfeld to Sudermann is
unmistakable. Kotzebue is to be seen to best advantage in his comedies,
such as _Der Wildfang_, _Die beiden Klingsberg_ and _Die deutschen
Kleinstädter_, which contain admirable genre pictures of German life.
These plays held the stage in Germany long after the once famous
_Menschenhass und Reue_ (known in England as _The Stranger_), _Graf
Benjowsky_, or ambitious exotic tragedies like _Die Sonnenjungfrau_ and
_Die Spanier in Peru_ (which Sheridan adapted as _Pizarro_) were
forgotten.
Two collections of Kotzebue's dramas were published during his
lifetime: _Schauspiele_ (5 vols., 1797); _Neue Schauspiele_ (23 vols.,
1798-1820). His _Sämtliche dramatische Werke_ appeared in 44 vols., in
1827-1829, and again, under the title _Theater_, in 40 vols., in
1840-1841. A selection of his plays in 10 vols, appeared at Leipzig in
1867-1868. Cp. H. Döring, _A. von Kotzebues Leben_ (1830); W. von
Kotzebue, _A. von Kotzebue_ (1881); Ch. Rabany, _Kotzebue, sa vie et
son temps_ (1893); W. Sellier, _Kotzebue in England_ (1901).
KOTZEBUE, OTTO VON (1787-1846), Russian navigator, second son of the
foregoing, was born at Reval on the 30th of December 1787. After being
educated at the St Petersburg school of cadets, he accompanied
Krusenstern on his voyage of 1803-1806. After his promotion to
lieutenant Kotzebue was placed in command of an expedition, fitted out
at the expense of the imperial chancellor, Count Rumantsoff, in the brig
"Rurick." In this vessel, with only twenty-seven men, Kotzebue set out
on the 30th of July 1815 to find a passage across the Arctic Ocean and
explore the less-known parts of Oceania. Proceeding by Cape Horn, he
discovered the Romanzov, Rurik and Krusenstern Islands, then made for
Kamchatka, and in the middle of July proceeded northward, coasting along
the north-west coast of America, and discovering and naming Kotzebue
Gulf or Sound and Krusenstern Cape. Returning by the coast of Asia, he
again sailed to the south, sojourned for three weeks at the Sandwich
Islands, and on the 1st of January 1817 discovered New Year Island.
After some further cruising in the Pacific he again proceeded north, but
a severe attack of illness compelling him to return to Europe, he
reached the Neva on the 3rd of August 1818, bringing home a large
collection of previously unknown plants and much new ethnological
information. In 1823 Kotzebue, now a captain, was entrusted with the
command of an expedition in two ships of war, the main object of which
was to take reinforcements to Kamchatka. There was, however, a staff of
scientists on board, who collected much valuable information and
material in geography, ethnography and natural history. The expedition,
proceeding by Cape Horn, visited the Radak and Society Islands, and
reached Petropavlovsk in July 1824. Many positions along the coast were
rectified, the Navigator islands visited, and several discoveries made.
The expedition returned by the Marianna, Philippine, New Caledonia and
Hawaiian Islands, reaching Kronstadt on the 10th of July 1826. There are
English translations of both Kotzebue's narratives: _A Voyage of
Discovery into the South Sea and Beering's Straits for the Purpose of
exploring a North-East Passage, undertaken in the Years 1815-1818_ (3
vols. 1821), and _A New Voyage Round the World in the Years 1823-1826_
(1830). Three years after his return from his second voyage, Kotzebue
died at Reval on the 15th of February 1846.
KOUMISS, milk-wine, or milk brandy, a fermented alcoholic beverage
prepared from milk. It is of very ancient origin, and according to
Herodotus was known to the Scythians. The name is said to be derived
from an ancient Asiatic tribe, the Kumanes or Komans. It is one of the
staple articles of diet of the Siberian and Caucasian races, but of late
years it has also been manufactured on a considerable scale in western
Europe, on account of its valuable medicinal properties. It is generally
made from mares' or camels' milk by a process of fermentation set up by
the addition to the fresh milk of a small quantity of the finished
article. This fermentation, which appears to be of a symbiotic nature,
being dependent on the action of two distinct types of organisms, the
one a fission fungus, the other a true yeast, eventuates in the
conversion of a part of the milk sugar into lactic acid and alcohol.
Koumiss generally contains 1 to 2% of alcohol, 0.5 to 1.5% of lactic
acid, 2 to 4% of milk sugar and 1 to 2% of fat. _Kefir_ is similar to
koumiss, but is usually prepared from cows' milk, and the fermentation
is brought about by the so-called Kefir Grains (derived from a plant).
KOUMOUNDOUROS, ALEXANDROS (1814-1883), Greek statesman, whose name is
commonly spelt Coumoundouros, was born in 1814. His studies at the
university of Athens were repeatedly interrupted for lack of means, and
he began to earn his living as a clerk. He took part in the Cretan
insurrection of 1841, and in the demonstration of 1843, by which the
Greek constitution was obtained from King Otto, he was secretary to
General Theodoraki Grivas. He then settled down to the bar at Kalamata
in Messenia, where he married a lady belonging to the Mavromichalis
family. He was elected to the chamber in 1851, and four years later his
eloquence and ability had secured the president's chair for him. He
became minister of finance in 1856, and again in 1857 and 1859. He
adhered to the moderate wing of the Liberal party until the revolution
of 1862 and the dethronement of King Otto, when he was minister of
justice in the provincial government. He was twice minister of the
interior under Kanaris, in 1864 and in 1865. In March 1865 he became
prime minister, and he formed several subsequent administrations in the
intervals of the ascendancy of Tricoupi. During the Cretan insurrection
of 1866-68 he made active warlike preparations against Turkey, but was
dismissed by King George, who recognized that Greece could not act
without the support of the Powers. He was again premier at the time of
the outbreak of the insurrection in Thessaly in January 1878, and
supported by Delyanni as minister of foreign affairs he sent an army of
10,000 men to help the insurgents against Turkey. The troops were
recalled on the understanding that Greece should be represented at the
Congress of Berlin. In October 1880 the fall of the Tricoupi ministry
restored him to power, when he resumed his warlike policy, but repeated
appeals to the courts of Europe yielded little practical result, and
Koumoundouros was obliged to reduce his territorial demands and to
accept the limited cessions in Thessaly and Epirus, which were carried
out in July 1881. His ministry was overturned in 1882 by the votes of
the new Thessalian deputies, who were dissatisfied with the
administrative arrangements of the new province, and he died at Athens
on the 9th of March 1883.
KOUSSO (KOSSO or CUSSO), a drug which consists of the panicles of the
pistillate flowers of _Brayera anthelmintica_, a handsome rosaceous tree
60 ft. high, growing throughout the table-land of Abyssinia, at an
elevation of 3000 to 8000 ft. above the sea-level. The drug as imported
is in the form of cylindrical rolls, about 18 in. in length and 2 in. in
diameter, and comprises the entire inflorescence or panicle kept in form
by a band wound transversely round it. The active principle is koussin
or kosin, C31H38O10, which is soluble in alcohol and alkalis, and may be
given in doses of thirty grains. Kousso is also used in the form of an
unstrained infusion of ¼ to ½ oz. of the coarsely powdered flowers,
which are swallowed with the liquid. It is considered to be an effectual
vermifuge for _Taenia solium_. In its anthelmintic action it is nearly
allied to male fern, but it is much inferior to that drug and is very
rarely used in Great Britain.
KOVALEVSKY, SOPHIE (1850-1891), Russian mathematician, daughter of
General Corvin-Krukovsky, was born at Moscow on the 15th of January
1850. As a young girl she was fired by the aspiration after intellectual
liberty that animated so many young Russian women at that period, and
drove them to study at foreign universities, since their own were closed
to them. This led her, in 1868, to contract one of those conventional
marriages in vogue at the time, with a young student, Waldemar
Kovalevsky, and the two went together to Germany to continue their
studies. In 1869 she went to Heidelberg, where she studied under H. von
Helmholtz, G. R. Kirchhoff, L. Königsberger and P. du Bois-Reymond, and
from 1871-1874 read privately with Karl Weierstrass at Berlin, as the
public lectures were not then open to women. In 1874 the university of
Göttingen granted her a degree _in absentia_, excusing her from the oral
examination on account of the remarkable excellence of the three
dissertations sent in, one of which, on the theory of partial
differential equations, is one of her most remarkable works. Another was
an elucidation of P. S. Laplace's mathematical theory of the form of
Saturn's rings. Soon after this she returned to Russia with her husband,
who was appointed professor of palaeontology at Moscow, where he died in
1883. At this time Madame Kovalevsky was at Stockholm, where Gustaf
Mittag Leffler, also a pupil of Weierstrass, who had been recently
appointed to the chair of mathematics at the newly founded university,
had procured for her a post as lecturer. She discharged her duties so
successfully that in 1884 she was appointed full professor. This post
she held till her death on the 10th of February 1891. In 1888 she
achieved the greatest of her successes, gaining the Prix Bordin offered
by the Paris Academy. The problem set was "to perfect in one important
point the theory of the movement of a solid body round an immovable
point," and her solution added a result of the highest interest to those
transmitted to us by Leonhard Euler and J. L. Lagrange. So remarkable
was this work that the value of the prize was doubled as a recognition
of unusual merit. Unfortunately Madame Kovalevsky did not live to reap
the full reward of her labours, for she died just as she had attained
the height of her fame and had won recognition even in her own country
by election to membership of the St Petersburg Academy of Science.
See E. de Kerbedz, "Sophie de Kowalevski," _Benidiconti del circolo
mathematico di Palermo_ (1891); the obituary notice by G. Mittag
Leffler in the _Acta mathematica_, vol. xvi.; and J. C. Poggendorff,
_Biographisch-literarisches Handwörterbuch_.
KOVNO (in Lithuanian _Kauna_), a government of north-western Russia,
bounded N. by the governments of Courland and Vitebsk, S.E. by that of
Vilna, and S. and S.W. by Suwalki and the province of East Prussia, a
narrow strip touching the Baltic near Memel. It has an area of 15,687
sq. m. The level uniformity of its surface is broken only by two low
ridges which nowhere rise above 800 ft. The geological character is
varied, the Silurian, Devonian, Jurassic and Tertiary systems being all
represented; the Devonian is that which occurs most frequently, and all
are covered with Quaternary boulder-clays. The soil is either a sandy
clay or a more fertile kind of black earth. The government is drained by
the Niemen, Windau, Courland Aa and Dvina, which have navigable
tributaries. In the flat depressions covered with boulder-clays there
are many lakes and marshes, while forests occupy about 25½% of the
surface. The climate is comparatively mild, the mean temperature at the
city of Kovno being 44°F. The population was 1,156,040 in 1870, and
1,553,244 in 1897. The estimated population in 1906 was 1,683,600. It is
varied, consisting of Lithuanians proper and Zhmuds (together 74%), Jews
(14%), Germans (2½%), Poles (9%), with Letts and Russians; 76.6% are
Roman Catholics, 13.7% Jews, 4.5% Protestants, and 5% belong to the
Greek Church. Of the total 788,102 were women in 1897 and 147,878 were
classed as urban. The principal occupation of the inhabitants is
agriculture, 63% of the surface being under crops; both grain (wheat,
rye, oats and barley) and potatoes are exported. Flax is cultivated and
the linseed exported. Dairying flourishes, and horse and cattle breeding
are attracting attention. Fishing is important, and the navigation on
the rivers is brisk. A variety of petty domestic industries are carried
on by the Jews, but only to a slight extent in the villages. As many as
18,000 to 24,000 men are compelled every year to migrate in search of
work. The factories consist principally of distilleries, tobacco and
steam flour-mills, and hardware manufactories. Trade, especially the
transit trade, is brisk, from the situation of the government on the
Prussian frontier, the custom-houses of Yerburg and Tauroggen being
amongst the most important in Russia. The chief towns of the seven
districts into which the government is divided, with their populations
in 1897, are Kovno (q.v.), Novo-Alexandrovsk (6370), Ponevyezh (13,044),
Rosieny (7455), Shavli (15,914), Telshi (6215) and Vilkemir (13,509).
The territory which now constitutes the government of Kovno was formerly
known as Samogitia and formed part of Lithuania. During the 13th, 14th
and 15th centuries the Livonian and Teutonic Knights continually invaded
and plundered it, especially the western part, which was peopled with
Zhmuds. In 1569 it was annexed, along with the rest of the principality
of Lithuania, to Poland; and it suffered very much from the wars of
Russia with Sweden and Poland, and from the invasion of Charles XII. in
1701. In 1795 the principality of Lithuania was annexed to Russia, and
until 1872, when the government of Kovno was constituted, the territory
now forming it was a part of the government of Vilna.
KOVNO, a town and fortress of Russia, capital of the government of the
same name, stands at the confluence of the Niemen with the Viliya, 550
m. S.W. of St Petersburg by rail, and 55 m. from the Prussian frontier.
Pop. (1863), 23,937; (1903), 73,743, nearly one-half being Jews. It
consists of a cramped Old Town and a New Town stretching up the side of
the Niemen. It is a first-class fortress, being surrounded at a mean
distance of 2½ m. by a girdle of forts, eleven in number. The town lies
for the most part in the fork and is guarded by three forts in the
direction of Vilna, one covers the Vilna bridge, while the southern
approaches are protected by seven. Kovno commands and bars the railway
Vilna-Eydtkuhnen. Its factories produce nails, wire-work and other metal
goods, mead and bone-meal. It is an important entrepôt for timber,
cereals, flax, flour, spirits, bone-meal, fish, coal and building-stone
passing from and to Prussia. The city possesses some 15th-century
churches. It was founded in the 11th century; and from 1384 to 1398
belonged to the Teutonic Knights. Tsar Alexis of Russia plundered and
burnt it in 1655. Here the Russians defeated the Poles on the 26th of
June 1831.
KOVROV, a town of Russia, in the government of Vladimir, 40 m. N.E. of
the city of Vladimir by the railway from Moscow to Nizhniy-Novgorod, and
on the Klyazma River. It has railway-carriage works, cotton mills, steam
flour mills, tallow works and quarries of limestone, and carries on an
active trade in the export of wooden wares and in the import of grain,
salt and fish, brought from the Volga governments. Pop. (1890), 6600;
(1900), 16,806.
KOWTOW, or KOTOU, the Chinese ceremonial act of prostration as a sign of
homage, submission, or worship. The word is formed from _ko_, knock, and
_tou_, head. To the emperor, the "kowtow" is performed by kneeling three
times, each act accompanied by touching the ground with the forehead.
KOZLOV, a town of Russia, in the government of Tambov, on the Lyesnoi
Voronezh River, 45 m. W.N.W. of the city of Tambov by rail. Pop. (1900),
41,555. Kozlov had its origin in a small monastery, founded in the
forest in 1627; nine years later, an earthwork was raised close by, for
the protection of the Russian frontier against the Tatars. Situated in a
very fertile country, on the highway to Astrakhan and at the head of
water communication with the Don, the town soon became a centre of
trade; as the junction of the railways leading to the Sea of Azov, to
Tsaritsyn on the lower Volga, to Saratov and to Orel, its importance has
recently been still further increased. Its export of cattle, grain,
meat, eggs (22,000,000), tallow, hides, &c., is steadily growing, and it
possesses factories, flour mills, tallow works, distilleries, tanneries
and glue works.
KRAAL, also spelt _craal_, _kraul_, &c. (South African Dutch, derived
possibly from a native African word, but probably from the Spanish
_corral_, Portuguese _curral_, an enclosure for horses, cattle and the
like), in South and Central Africa, a native village surrounded by a
palisade, mud wall or other fencing roughly circular in form; by
transference, the community living within the enclosure. Folds for
animals and enclosures made specially for defensive purposes are also
called kraals.
KRAFFT (or KRAFT), ADAM (c. 1455-1507), German sculptor, of the
Nuremberg school, was born, probably at Nuremberg, about the middle of
the 15th century, and died, some say in the hospital, at Schwabach,
about 1507. He seems to have emerged as sculptor about 1490, the date of
the seven reliefs of scenes from the life of Christ, which, like almost
every other specimen of his work, are at Nuremberg. The date of his last
work, an Entombment, with fifteen life-size figures, in the Holzschuher
chapel of the St John's cemetery, is 1507. Besides these, Krafft's chief
works are several monumental reliefs in the various churches of
Nuremberg; he produced the great Schreyer monument (1492) for St
Sebald's at Nuremberg, a skilful though mannered piece of sculpture
opposite the Rathaus, with realistic figures in the costume of the time,
carved in a way more suited to wood than stone, and too pictorial in
effect; Christ bearing the Cross, above the altar of the same church;
and various works made for public and private buildings, as the relief
over the door of the Wagehaus, a St George and the Dragon, several
Madonnas, and some purely decorative pieces, as coats of arms. His
masterpiece is perhaps the magnificent tabernacle, 62 ft. high, in the
church of St Laurence (1493-1500). He also made the great tabernacle for
the Host, 80 ft. high, covered with statuettes, in Ulm Cathedral, and
the very spirited "Stations of the Cross" on the road to the Nuremberg
cemetery.
See _Adam Krafft und seine Schule_, by Friedrich Wanderer (1869);
_Adam Krafft und die Künstler seiner Zeit_, by Berthold Daun (1897);
Albert Gümbel in _Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft_, Bd. xxv. Heft 5,
1902.
KRAGUYEVATS (also written KRAGUIEVATZ and KRAGUJEVAC), the capital of
the Kraguyevats department of Servia; situated 59 m. S.S.W. of Belgrade,
in a valley of the Shumadia, or "forest-land," and on the Lepenitsa, a
small stream flowing north-east to join the Morava. On the opposite bank
stands the picturesque hamlet of Obilichevo, with a large powder
factory. Kraguyevats itself is the main arsenal of Servia, and
possesses an iron-foundry and a steam flour-mill. It is the seat of the
district prefecture, of a tribunal, of a fine library, and of a large
garrison. It boasts the finest college building and the finest modern
cathedral (in Byzantine style) in Servia. In the first years of Servia's
autonomy under Prince Milosh, it was the residence of the prince and the
seat of government (1818-1839). Even later, between 1868 and 1880, the
national assembly (_Narodna Skupshtina_) usually met there. In 1885 it
was connected by a branch line (Kraguyevats-Lapovo) with the principal
railway (Belgrade-Nish), and thenceforward the prosperity of the town
steadily increased. Pop. (1900), 14,160.
KRAKATOA (KRAKATAO, KRAKATAU), a small volcanic island in Sunda Strait,
between the islands of Java and Sumatra, celebrated for its eruption in
1883, one of the most stupendous ever recorded. At some early period a
large volcano rose in the centre of the tract where the Sunda Strait now
runs. Long before any European had visited these waters an explosion
took place by which the mountain was so completely blown away that only
the outer portions of its base were left as a broken ring of islands.
Subsequent eruptions gradually built up a new series of small cones
within the great crater ring. Of these the most important rose to a
height of 2623 ft. above the sea and formed the peak of the volcanic
island of Krakatoa. But compared with the great neighbouring volcanoes
of Java and Sumatra, the islets of the Sunda Strait were comparatively
unknown. Krakatoa was uninhabited, and no satisfactory map or chart of
it had been made. In 1680 it appears to have been in eruption, when
great earthquakes took place and large quantities of pumice were
ejected. But the effects of this disturbance had been so concealed by
the subsequent spread of tropical vegetation that the very occurrence of
the eruption had sometimes been called in question. At last, about 1877,
earthquakes began to occur frequently in the Sunda Strait and continued
for the next few years. In 1883 the manifestations of subterranean
commotion became more decided, for in May Krakatoa broke out in
eruption. For some time the efforts of the volcano appear to have
consisted mainly in the discharge of pumice and dust, with the usual
accompaniment of detonations and earthquakes. But on the 26th of August
a succession of paroxysmal explosions began which lasted till the
morning of the 28th. The four most violent took place on the morning of
the 27th. The whole of the northern and lower portion of the island of
Krakatoa, lying within the original crater ring of prehistoric times,
was blown away; the northern part of the cone of Rakata almost entirely
disappeared, leaving a vertical cliff which laid bare the inner
structure of that volcano. Instead of the volcanic island which had
previously existed, and rose from 300 to 1400 ft. above the sea, there
was now left a submarine cavity, the bottom of which was here and there
more than 1000 ft. below the sea-level. This prodigious evisceration was
the result of successive violent explosions of the superheated vapour
absorbed in the molten magma within the crust of the earth. The vigour
and repetition of these explosions, it has been suggested, may have been
caused by sudden inrushes of the water of the ocean as the throat of the
volcano was cleared and the crater ring was lowered and ruptured. The
access of large bodies of cold water to the top of the column of molten
lava would probably give rise at once to some minor explosions, and then
to a chilling of the surface of the lava and a consequent temporary
diminution or even cessation of the volcanic eructations. But until the
pent-up water-vapour in the lava below had found relief it would only
gather strength until it was able to burst through the chilled crust and
overlying water, and to hurl a vast mass of cooled lava, pumice and dust
into the air.
The amount of material discharged during the two days of paroxysmal
energy was enormous, though there are no satisfactory data for even
approximately estimating it. A large cavity was formed where the island
had previously stood, and the sea-bottom around this crater was covered
with a wide and thick sheet of fragmentary materials. Some of the
surrounding islands received such a thick accumulation of ejected stones
and dust as to bury their forests and greatly to increase the area of
the land. So much was the sea filled up that a number of new islands
rose above its level. But a vast body of the fine dust was carried far
and wide by aerial currents, while the floating pumice was transported
for many hundreds of miles on the surface of the ocean. At Batavia, 100
m. from the centre of eruption, the sky was darkened by the quantity of
ashes borne across it, and lamps had to be used in the houses at midday.
The darkness even reached as far as Bandong, a distance of nearly 150
miles. It was computed that the column of stones, dust and ashes
projected from the volcano shot up into the air for a height of 17 m. or
more. The finer particles coming into the higher layers of the
atmosphere were diffused over a large part of the surface of the earth,
and showed their presence by the brilliant sunset glows to which they
gave rise. Within the tropics they were at first borne along by
air-currents at an estimated rate of about 73 m. an hour from east to
west, until within a period of six weeks they were diffused over nearly
the whole space between the latitudes 30° N. and 45° S. Eventually they
spread northwards and southwards and were carried over North and South
America, Europe, Asia, South Africa and Australasia. In the Old World
they spread from the north of Scandinavia to the Cape of Good Hope.
Another remarkable result of this eruption was the world-wide
disturbance of the atmosphere. The culminating paroxysm on the morning
of the 27th of August gave rise to an atmospheric wave or oscillation,
which, travelling outwards from the volcano as a centre, became a great
circle at 180° from its point of origin, whence it continued travelling
onwards and contracting till it reached a node at the antipodes to
Krakatoa. It was then reflected or reproduced, travelling backwards
again to the volcano, whence it once more returned in its original
direction. "In this manner its repetition was observed not fewer than
seven times at many of the stations, four passages having been those of
the wave travelling from Krakatoa, and three those of the wave
travelling from its antipodes, subsequently to which its traces were
lost" (Sir R. Strachey).
The actual sounds of the volcanic explosions were heard over a vast
area, especially towards the west. Thus they were noticed at Rodriguez,
nearly 3000 English miles away, at Bangkok (1413 m.), in the Philippine
Islands (about 1450 m.), in Ceylon (2058 m.) and in West and South
Australia (from 1300 to 2250 m.). On no other occasion have sound-waves
ever been perceived at anything like the extreme distances to which the
detonations of Krakatoa reached.
Not less manifest and far more serious were the effects of the
successive explosions of the volcano upon the waters of the ocean. A
succession of waves was generated which appear to have been of two
kinds, long waves with periods of more than an hour, and shorter but
higher waves, with irregular and much briefer intervals. The greatest
disturbance, probably resulting from a combination of both kinds of
waves, reached a height of about 50 ft. The destruction caused by the
rush of such a body of sea-water along the coasts and low islands was
enormous. All vessels lying in harbour or near the shore were stranded,
the towns, villages and settlements close to the sea were either at
once, or by successive inundations, entirely destroyed, and more than
36,000 human beings perished. The sea-waves travelled to vast distances
from the centre of propagation. The long wave reached Cape Horn (7818
geographical miles) and possibly the English Channel (11,040 m.). The
shorter waves reached Ceylon and perhaps Mauritius (2900 m.).
See R. D. M. Verbeek, _Krakatau_ (Batavia, 1886); "The Eruption of
Krakatoa and Subsequent Phenomena," _Report of the Krakatoa Committee
of the Royal Society_ (London, 1888).
KRAKEN, in Norwegian folk-lore, a sea-monster, believed to haunt the
coasts of Norway. It was described in 1752 by the Norwegian bishop
Pontoppidan as having a back about a mile and a half round and a body
which showed above the sea like an island, and its arms were long enough
to enclose the largest ship. The further assertion that the kraken
darkened the water around it by an excretion suggests that the myth was
based on the appearance of some gigantic cuttle-fish.
See J. Gibson, _Monsters of the Sea_ (1887); A. S. Packard, "Colossal
Cuttle-fishes," _American Naturalist_ (Salem, 1873), vol. vii.; A. E.
Verrill, "The Colossal Cephalopods of the Western Atlantic," in
_American Naturalist_ (Salem, 1875), vol. ix.; and "Gigantic Squids,"
in _Trans. of Connecticut Academy_ (1879), vol. v.
KRALYEVO (sometimes written KRALJEVO or KRALIEVO), a city of Servia, and
capital of a department bearing the same name. Kralyevo is built beside
the river Ibar, 4 m. W. of its confluence with the Servian Morava; and
in the midst of an upland valley, between the Kotlenik Mountains, on the
north, and the Stolovi Mountains, on the south. Formerly known as
Karanovats, Kralyevo received its present name, signifying "the King's
Town," from King Milan (1868-1889), who also made it a bishopric,
instead of Chachak, 22 m. W. by N. Kralyevo is a garrison town, with a
prefecture, court of first instance, and an agricultural school. But by
far its most interesting feature is the Coronation church belonging to
Jicha monastery. Here six or seven kings are said to have been crowned.
The church is Byzantine in style, and has been partially restored; but
the main tower dates from the year 1210, when it was founded by St Sava,
the patron saint of Servia. Pop. (1900), about 3600.
The famous monastery of Studenitsa, 24 m. S. by W. of Kralyevo, stands
high up among the south-western mountains, overlooking the Studenitsa, a
tributary of the Ibar. It consists of a group of old-fashioned timber
and plaster buildings, a tall belfry, and a diminutive church of white
marble, founded in 1190 by King Stephen Nemanya, who himself turned monk
and was canonized as St Simeon. The carvings round the north, south and
west doors have been partially defaced by the Turks. The inner walls are
decorated with Byzantine frescoes, among which only a painting of the
Last Supper, and the portraits of five saints, remain unrestored. The
dome and narthex are modern additions. Besides the silver shrine of St
Simeon, many gold and silver ornaments, church vessels and old
manuscripts, there are a set of vestments and a reliquary, believed by
the monks to have been the property of St Sava.
KRANTZ (or CRANTZ), ALBERT (c. 1450-1517), German historian, was a
native of Hamburg. He studied law, theology and history at Rostock and
Cologne, and after travelling through western and southern Europe was
appointed professor, first of philosophy and subsequently of theology,
in the university of Rostock, of which he was rector in 1482. In 1493 he
returned to Hamburg as theological lecturer, canon and prebendary in the
cathedral. By the senate of Hamburg he was employed on more than one
diplomatic mission abroad, and in 1500 he was chosen by the king of
Denmark and the duke of Holstein as arbiter in their dispute regarding
the province of Dithmarschen. As dean of the cathedral chapter, to which
office he was appointed in 1508, Krantz applied himself with zeal to the
reform of ecclesiastical abuses, but, though opposed to various
corruptions connected with church discipline, he had little sympathy
with the drastic measures of Wycliffe or Huss. With Luther's protest
against the abuse of Indulgences he was in general sympathy, but with
the reformer's later attitude he could not agree. When, on his
death-bed, he heard of the ninety-five theses, he is said, on good
authority, to have exclaimed: "Brother, Brother, go into thy cell and
say, God have mercy upon me!" Krantz died on the 7th of December 1517.
Krantz was the author of a number of historical works which for the
period when they were written are characterized by exceptional
impartiality and research. The principal of these are _Chronica
regnorum aquilonarium Daniae, Sueciae, et Norvagiae_ (Strassburg,
1546); _Vandalia, sive Historia de Vandalorum vera origine_, &c.
(Cologne, 1518); _Saxonia_ (1520); and _Metropolis, sive Historia de
ecclesiis sub Carolo Magno in Saxonia_ (Basel, 1548). See life by N.
Wilckens (Hamburg, 1722).
KRASNOVODSK, a seaport of Russian Transcaspia, on the N. shore of
Balkhan or Krasnovodsk Bay, on the S. side of the Caspian Sea, opposite
to Baku, and at 69 ft. below sea-level. Pop. (1897), 6359. It is
defended by a fort. Here begins the Transcaspian railway to Merv and
Bokhara. There is a fishing industry, and salt and sulphur are
obtained. Krasnovodsk, which is the capital of the Transcaspian
province, was founded in 1869.
KRASNOYARSK, a town of Eastern Siberia, capital of the government of
Yeniseisk, on the left bank of the Yenisei River, at its confluence with
the Kacha, and on the highway from Moscow to Irkutsk, 670 m. by rail
N.W. from the latter. Pop. (1900), 33,337. It has a municipal museum and
a railway technical school. It was founded by Cossacks in 1628, and
during the early years of its existence it was more than once besieged
by the Tatars and the Kirghiz. Its commercial importance depends
entirely upon the gold-washings of the Yeniseisk district. Brick-making,
soap-boiling, tanning and iron-founding are carried on. The climate is
very cold, but dry. The Yenisei River is frozen here for 160 days in the
year.
KRASZEWSKI, JOSEPH IGNATIUS (1812-1887), Polish novelist and
miscellaneous writer, was born at Warsaw on the 28th of July 1812, of an
aristocratic family. He showed a precocious talent for authorship,
beginning his literary career with a volume of sketches from society as
early as 1829, and for more than half a century scarcely ever
intermitting his literary production, except during a period of
imprisonment upon a charge of complicity in the insurrection of 1831. He
narrowly escaped being sent to Siberia, but, rescued by the intercession
of powerful friends, he settled upon his landed property near Grodno,
and devoted himself to literature with such industry that a mere
selection from his fiction alone, reprinted at Lemberg from 1871 to
1875, occupies 102 volumes. He was thus the most conspicuous literary
figure of his day in Poland. His extreme fertility was suggestive of
haste and carelessness, but he declared that the contrivance of his plot
gave him three times as much trouble as the composition of his novel.
Apart from his gifts as a story-teller, he did not possess extraordinary
mental powers; the "profound thoughts" culled from his writings by his
admiring biographer Bohdanowicz are for the most part mere truisms. His
copious invention is nevertheless combined with real truth to nature,
especially evinced in the beautiful little story of _Jermola the Potter_
(1857), from which George Eliot appears to have derived the idea of
_Silas Marner_, though she can only have known it at second hand.
Compared with the exquisite art of _Silas Marner_, _Jermola_ appears
rude and unskilful, but it is not on this account the less touching in
its fidelity to the tenderest elements of human nature. Kraszewski's
literary activity falls into two well-marked epochs, the earlier when,
residing upon his estate, he produced romances like _Jermola_, _Ulana_
(1843), _Kordecki_ (1852), devoid of any special tendency, and that
after 1863, when the suspicions of the Russian government compelled him
to settle in Dresden. To this period belong several political novels
published under the pseudonym of _Boleslawita_, historical fictions such
as _Countess Cosel_, and the "culture" romances _Morituri_ (1874-1875)
and _Resurrecturi_ (1876), by which he is perhaps best known out of his
own country. In 1884 he was accused of plotting against the German
government and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in a fortress, but
was released in 1886, and withdrew to Geneva, where he died on the 19th
of March 1887. His remains were brought to Poland and interred at
Cracow. Kraszewski was also a poet and dramatist; his most celebrated
poem is his epic _Anafielas_ (3 vols., 1840-1843) on the history of
Lithuania. He was indefatigable as literary critic, editor and
translator, wrote several historical works, and was conspicuous as a
restorer of the study of national archaeology in Poland. Among his most
valuable works were _Litwa_ (Warsaw, 2 vols., 1847-1850), a collection
of Lithuanian antiquities; and an aesthetic history of Poland (Posen, 3
vols., 1873-1875). (R. G.)
KRAUSE, KARL CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH (1781-1832), German philosopher, was
born at Eisenberg on the 4th of May 1781, and died at Munich on the 27th
of September 1832. Educated at first at Eisenberg, he proceeded to Jena,
where he studied philosophy under Hegel and Fichte and became
_privatdozent_ in 1802. In the same year, with characteristic
imprudence, he married a wife without dowry. Two years after, lack of
pupils compelled him to move to Rudolstadt and later to Dresden, where
he gave lessons in music. In 1805 his ideal of a universal world-society
led him to join the Freemasons, whose principles seemed to tend in the
direction he desired. He published two books on Freemasonry, _Die drei
ältesten Kunsturkunden der Freimaurerbrüderschaft_ and _Höhere
Vergeistigung der echt überlieferten Grundsymbole der Freimaurerei_, but
his opinions drew upon him the opposition of the Masons. He lived for a
time in Berlin and became a _privatdozent_, but was unable to obtain a
professorship. He therefore proceeded to Göttingen and afterwards to
Munich, where he died of apoplexy at the very moment when the influence
of Franz von Baader had at last obtained a position for him.
One of the so-called "Philosophers of Identity," Krause endeavoured to
reconcile the ideas of a God known by Faith or Conscience and the world
as known to sense. God, intuitively known by Conscience, is not a
personality (which implies limitations), but an all-inclusive essence
(_Wesen_), which contains the Universe within itself. This system he
called _Panentheism_, a combination of Theism and Pantheism. His theory
of the world and of humanity is universal and idealistic. The world
itself and mankind, its highest component, constitute an organism
(_Gliedbau_), and the universe is therefore a divine organism
(_Wesengliedbau_). The process of development is the formation of higher
unities, and the last stage is the identification of the world with God.
The form which this development takes, according to Krause, is Right or
the Perfect Law. Right is not the sum of the conditions of external
liberty but of absolute liberty, and embraces all the existence of
nature, reason and humanity. It is the mode, or rationale, of all
progress from the lower to the highest unity or identification. By its
operation the reality of nature and reason rises into the reality of
humanity. God is the reality which transcends and includes both nature
and humanity. Right is, therefore, at once the dynamic and the safeguard
of progress. Ideal society results from the widening of the organic
operation of this principle from the individual man to small groups of
men, and finally to mankind as a whole. The differences disappear as the
inherent identity of structure predominates in an ever-increasing
degree, and in the final unity Man is merged in God.
The comparatively small area of Krause's influence was due partly to the
overshadowing brilliance of Hegel, and partly to two intrinsic defects.
The spirit of his thought is mystical and by no means easy to follow,
and this difficulty is accentuated, even to German readers, by the use
of artificial terminology. He makes use of germanized foreign terms
which are unintelligible to the ordinary man. His principal works are
(beside those quoted above): _Entwurf des Systems der Philosophie_
(1804); _System der Sittenlehre_ (1810); _Das Urbild der Menschheit_
(1811); and _Vorlesungen über das System der Philosophie_ (1828). He
left behind him at his death a mass of unpublished notes, part of which
has been collected and published by his disciples, H. Ahrens
(1808-1874), Leonhardi, Tiberghien and others.
See H. S. Lindemann, _Uebersichtliche Darstellung des Lebens ...
Krauses_ (1839); P. Hohlfeld, _Die Krausesche Philosophie_ (1879); A.
Procksch, _Krause, ein Lebensbild nach seinen Briefen_ (1880); R.
Eucken, _Zur Erinnerung an Krause_ (1881); B. Martin, _Krauses Leben
und Bedeutung_ (1881), and Histories of Philosophy by Zeller,
Windelband and Höffding.
KRAWANG, a residency of the island of Java, Dutch East Indies, bounded
E. and S. by Charibon and the Preanger, W. by Batavia, and N. by the
Java Sea, and comprising a few insignificant islands. The natives are
Sundanese, but contain a large admixture of Middle Javanese and
Bantamers in the north, where they established colonies in the 17th
century. Like the residency of Batavia, the northern half of Krawang is
flat and occasionally marshy, while the southern half is mountainous and
volcanic. Warm and cold mineral, salt and sulphur springs occur in the
hills. Salt is extracted by the government, though in smaller quantities
now than formerly. The principal products are rice, coffee, sugar,
vanilla, indigo and nutmeg. Fishing is practised along the coast and
forest culture in the hills, while the industries also include the
manufacture of coarse linen, sacks and leather tanning. Gold and silver
were formerly thought to be hidden in the Parang mountain in the
Gandasoli district south-west of Purwakarta, and mining was begun by the
Dutch East India Company in 1722. The largest part of the residency
consists of private lands, and only the Purwakarta and Krawang divisions
forming the middle and north-west sections come directly under
government control. The remainder of the residency is divided between
the Pamanukan-Chiasem lands occupying the whole eastern half of the
residency and the Tegalwaru lands in the south-western corner. The
former is owned by a company and forms the largest estate in Java. The
Tegalwaru is chiefly owned by Chinese proprietors. Purwakarta is the
capital of the residency. Subang and Pamanukan both lie at the junction
of several roads near the borders of Cheribon and are the chief centres
of activity in the east of the residency.
KRAY VON KRAJOVA, PAUL, FREIHERR (1735-1804), Austrian soldier. Entering
the Austrian army at the age of nineteen, he arrived somewhat rapidly at
the grade of major, but it was many years before he had any opportunity
of distinguishing himself. In 1784 he suppressed a rising in
Transylvania, and in the Turkish wars he took an active part at Porczeny
and the Vulcan Pass. Made major-general in 1790, three years later he
commanded the advanced guard of the Allies operating in France. He
distinguished himself at Famars, Charleroi, Fleurus, Weissenberg, and
indeed at almost every encounter with the troops of the French Republic.
In the celebrated campaign of 1796 on the Rhine and Danube he did
conspicuous service as a corps commander. At Wetzlar he defeated Kléber,
and at Amberg and Würzburg he was largely responsible for the victory of
the archduke Charles. In the following year he was less successful,
being twice defeated on the Lahn and the Main. Kray commanded in Italy
in 1799, and reconquered from the French the plain of Lombardy. For his
victories of Verona, Mantua, Legnago and Magnano he was promoted
_Feldzeugmeister_, and he ended the campaign by further victories at
Novi and Fossano. Next year he commanded on the Rhine against Moreau.
(For the events of this memorable campaign see FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY
WARS.) As a consequence of the defeats he underwent at Biberach,
Messkirch, &c., Kray was driven into Ulm, but by a skilful march round
Moreau's flank succeeded in escaping to Bohemia. He was relieved of his
command by the Austrian government, and passed his remaining years in
retirement. He died in 1804. Kray was one of the best representatives of
the old Austrian army. Tied to an obsolete system and unable from habit
to realize the changed conditions of warfare, he failed, but his enemies
held him in the highest respect as a brave, skilful and chivalrous
opponent. It was he who at Altenkirchen cared for the dying Marceau, and
the white uniforms of Kray and his staff mingled with the blue of the
French in the funeral procession of the young general of the Republic.
KREMENCHUG, a town of south-west Russia, in the government of Poltava,
on the left bank of the Dnieper (which periodically overflows its
banks), 73 m. S.W. of the city of Poltava, on the Kharkov-Nikolayev
railway. Pop. (1887), 31,000; (1897, with Kryukov suburb), 58,648. The
most notable public buildings are the cathedral (built in 1808), the
arsenal and the town-hall. The town is supposed to have been founded in
1571. From its situation at the southern terminus of the navigable
course of the Dnieper, and on the highway from Moscow to Odessa, it
early acquired great commercial importance, and by 1655 it was a wealthy
town. From 1765 to 1789 it was the capital of "New Russia." It has a
suburb, Kryukov, on the right bank of the Dnieper, united with the town
by a railway bridge. Nearly all commercial transactions in salt with
White Russia are effected at Kremenchug. The town is also the centre of
the tallow trade with Warsaw; considerable quantities of timber are
floated down to this place. Nearly all the trade in the brandy
manufactured in the government of Kharkov, and destined for the
governments of Ekaterinoslav and Taurida, is concentrated here, as also
is the trade in linseed between the districts situated on the left
affluents of the Dnieper and the southern ports. Other articles of
commerce are rye, rye-flour, wheat, oats and buckwheat, which are sent
partly up the Dnieper to Pinsk, partly by land to Odessa and Berislav,
but principally to Ekaterinoslav, on light boats floated down during the
spring floods. The Dnieper is crossed at Kremenchug by a tubular bridge
1081 yds. long; there is also a bridge of boats. The manufactures
consist of carriages, agricultural machinery, tobacco, steam
flour-mills, steam saw-mills and forges.
KREMENETS (Polish, _Krzemieniec_), a town of south-west Russia, in the
government of Volhynia, 130 m. W. of Zhitomir, and 25 m. E. of Brody
railway station (Austrian Galicia). Pop. (1900), 16,534. It is situated
in a gorge of the Kremenets Hills. The Jews, who are numerous, carry on
a brisk trade in tobacco and grain exported to Galicia and Odessa. The
picturesque ruins of an old castle on a crag close by the town are
usually known as the castle of Queen Bona, i.e. Bona Sforza (wife of
Sigismund I. of Poland); it was built, however, in the 8th or 9th
century. The Mongols vainly besieged it in 1241 and 1255. From that time
Kremenets was under the dominion alternately of Lithuania and Poland,
till 1648, when it was taken by the Zaporogian Cossacks. From 1805 to
1832 its Polish lyceum was the centre of superior instruction for the
western provinces of Little Russia; but after the Polish insurrection of
1831 the lyceum was transferred to Kiev, and is now the university of
that town.
KREMS, a town of Austria, in lower Austria, 40 m. W.N.W. of Vienna by
rail. Pop. (1900), 12,657. It is situated at the confluence of the Krems
with the Danube. The manufactures comprise steel goods, mustard and
vinegar, and a special kind of white lead (_Kremser Weiss_) is prepared
from deposits in the neighbourhood. The trade is mainly in these
products and in wine and saffron. The Danube harbour of Krems is at the
adjoining town of Stein (pop., 4299).
KREMSIER, (Czech, _Kromeríz_), a town of Austria, in Moravia, 37 m. E.
by N. of Brünn by rail. Pop. (1900), 13,991, mostly Czech. It is
situated on the March, in the fertile region of the Hanna, and not far
from the confluence of these two rivers. It is the summer residence of
the bishop of Olmütz, whose palace, surrounded by a fine park and
gardens, and containing a picture gallery, library and various
collections, forms the chief object of interest. Its industries include
the manufacture of machinery and iron-founding, brewing and
corn-milling, and there is a considerable trade in corn, cattle, fruit
and manufactures. In 1131 Kremsier was the seat of a bishopric. It
suffered considerably during the Hussite war; and in 1643 it was taken
and burned by the Swedes. After the rising of 1848 the Austrian
parliament met in the palace at Kremsier from November 1848 till March
1849. In August 1885 a meeting took place here between the Austrian and
the Russian emperors.
KREUTZER, KONRADIN (1780-1849), German musical composer, was born on the
22nd of November 1780 in Messkirch in Baden, and died on the 14th of
December 1849 in Riga. He owes his fame almost exclusively to one opera,
_Das Nachtlager von Granada_ (1834), which kept the stage for half a
century in spite of the changes in musical taste. It was written in the
style of Weber, and is remarkable especially for its flow of genuine
melody and depth of feeling. The same qualities are found in Kreutzer's
part-songs for men's voices, which at one time were extremely popular in
Germany, and are still listened to with pleasure. Amongst these "Der Tag
des Herrn" ("The Lord's Day") may be named as the most excellent.
Kreutzer was a prolific composer, and wrote a number of operas for the
theatre at Vienna, which have disappeared from the stage and are not
likely to be revived. He was from 1812 to 1816 Kapellmeister to the king
of Württemberg, and in 1840 became conductor of the opera at Cologne.
His daughter, Cecilia Kreutzer, was a singer of some renown.
KREUTZER, RUDOLPH (1766-1831), French violinist, of German extraction,
was born at Versailles, his father being a musician in the royal chapel.
Rudolph gradually became famous as a violinist, playing with great
success at various continental capitals. It was to him that in 1803
Beethoven dedicated his famous violin sonata (_op._ 47) known as the
"Kreutzer." Apart, however, from his fame as a violinist, Kreutzer was
also a prolific composer; he wrote twenty-nine operas, many of which
were successfully produced, besides nineteen violin concertos and
chamber music. He died at Geneva in 1831.
KREUZBURG, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Silesia, on
the Stober, 24 m. N.N.E. of Oppeln. Pop. (1905), 10,919. It has an
Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, a gymnasium and a teacher's
seminary. Here are flour-mills, distilleries, iron-works, breweries, and
manufactories of sugar and of machinery. Kreuzburg, which became a town
in 1252, was the birthplace of the novelist Gustav Freytag.
KREUZNACH (_Creuznach_), a town and watering-place of Germany, in the
Prussian Rhine province, situated on the Nahe, a tributary of the Rhine,
9 m. by rail S. of Bingerbrück. Pop. (1900), 21,321. It consists of the
old town on the right bank of the river, the new town on the left, and
the Bade Insel (bath island), connected by a fine stone bridge. The town
has two Evangelical and three Roman Catholic churches, a gymnasium, a
commercial school and a hospital. There is a collection of Roman and
medieval antiquities, among which is preserved a fine Roman mosaic
discovered in 1893. On the Bade Insel is the Kurhaus (1872) and also the
chief spring, the Elisabethquelle, impregnated with iodine and bromine,
and prescribed for scrofulous, bronchial and rheumatic disorders. The
chief industries are marble-polishing and the manufacture of leather,
glass and tobacco. Vines are cultivated on the neighbouring hills, and
there is a trade in wine and corn.
The earliest mention of the springs of Kreuznach occurs in 1478, but it
was only in the early part of the 19th century that Dr Prieger, to whom
there is a statue in the town, brought them into prominence. Now the
annual number of visitors amounts to several thousands. Kreuznach was
evidently a Roman town, as the ruins of a Roman fortification, the
Heidenmauer, and various antiquities have been found in its immediate
neighbourhood. In the 9th century it was known as Cruciniacum, and it
had a palace of the Carolingian kings. In 1065 the emperor Henry IV.
presented it to the bishopric of Spires; in the 13th century it obtained
civic privileges and passed to the counts of Sponheim; in 1416 it became
part of the Palatinate. The town was ceded to Prussia in 1814. In 1689
the French reduced the strong castle of Kauzenberg to the ruin which now
stands on a hill above Kreuznach.
See Schneegans, _Historisch-topographische Beschreibung Kreuznachs und
seiner Umgebung_ (7th ed., 1904); Engelmann, _Kreuznach und seine
Heilquellen_ (8th ed., 1890); and Stabel, _Das Solbad Kreuznach für
Ärzte dargestellt_ (Kreuznach, 1887).
KRIEGSPIEL (KRIEGSSPIEL), the original German name, still used to some
extent in England, for the War Game (q.v.).
KRIEMHILD (_Grîmhild_), the heroine of the Nibelungenlied and wife of
the hero Siegfried. The name (from O. H. Ger. _grîma_, a mask or helm,
and _hiltja_ or _hilta_, war) means "the masked warrior woman," and has
been taken to prove her to have been originally a mythical, daemonic
figure, an impersonation of the powers of darkness and of death. In the
north, indeed, the name _Grimhildr_ continued to have a purely mythical
character and to be applied only to daemonic beings; but in Germany, the
original home of the Nibelungen myth, it certainly lost all trace of
this significance, and in the _Nibelungenlied_ Kriemhild is no more than
a beautiful princess, the daughter of King Dancrât and Queen Uote, and
sister of the Burgundian kings Gunther, Giselhêr and Gêrnôt, the masters
of the Nibelungen hoard. As she appears in the Nibelungen legend,
however, Kriemhild would seem to have an historical origin, as the wife
of Attila, king of the Huns, as well as sister of the Nibelung kings.
According to Jordanes (c. 49), who takes his information from the
contemporary and trustworthy account of Priscus, Attila died of a
violent hemorrhage at night, as he lay beside a girl named Ildico (i.e.
O. H. Ger. Hildikô). The story got abroad that he had perished by the
hand of a woman in revenge for her relations slain by him; according to
some (e.g. Saxo Poeta and the Quedlinburg chronicle) it was her father
whom she revenged; but when the treacherous overthrow of the Burgundians
by Attila had become a theme for epic poets, she figured as a Burgundian
princess, and her act as done in revenge for her brothers. Now the name
Hildikô is the diminutive of Hilda or Hild, which again--in accordance
with a custom common enough--may have been used as an abbreviation of
Grîmhild (cf. _Hildr_ for _Brynhildr_). It has been suggested (Symons,
_Heldensage_, p. 55) that when the legend of the overthrow of the
Burgundians, which took place in 437, became attached to that of the
death of Attila (453), Hild, the supposed sister of the Burgundian
kings, was identified with the daemonic Grîmhild, the sister of the
mythical Nibelung brothers, and thus helped the process by which the
Nibelung myth became fused with the historical story of the fall of the
Burgundian kingdom. The older story, according to which Grîmhild slays
her husband Attila in revenge for her brothers, is preserved in the
Norse tradition, though Grîmhild's part is played by Gudrun, a change
probably due to the fact, mentioned above, that the name Grîmhild still
retained in the north its sinister significance. The name of Grîmhild is
transferred to Gudrun's mother, the "wise wife," a semi-daemonic figure,
who brews the potion that makes Sigurd forget his love for Brunhild and
his plighted troth. In the _Nibelungenlied_, however, the primitive
supremacy of the blood-tie has given place to the more modern idea of
the supremacy of the passion of love, and Kriemhild marries Attila
(Etzel) in order to compass the death of her brothers, in revenge for
the murder of Siegfried. Theodor Abeling, who is disposed to reject or
minimize the mythical origins, further suggests a confusion of the story
of Attila's wife Ildico with that of the murder of Sigimund the
Burgundian by the sons of Chrothildis, wife of Clovis. (See
NIBELUNGENLIED.)
See B. Symons, _Germanische Heldensage_ (Strassburg, 1905); F. Zarnke,
_Das Nibelungenlied_, p. ii. (Leipzig, 1875); T. Abeling, _Einleitung
in das Nibelungenlied_ (Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1909). (W. A. P.)
KRILOFF (or KRUILOV), IVAN ANDREEVICH (1768-1844), the great national
fabulist of Russia, was born on the 14th of February 1768, at Moscow,
but his early years were spent at Orenburg and Tver. His father, a
distinguished military officer, died in 1779; and young Kriloff was left
with no richer patrimony than a chest of old books, to be brought up by
the exertions of a heroic mother. In the course of a few years his
mother removed to St Petersburg, in the hope of securing a government
pension; and there Kriloff obtained a post in the civil service, but he
gave it up immediately after his mother's death in 1788. Already in 1783
he had sold to a bookseller a comedy of his own composition, and by this
means had procured for himself the works of Molière, Racine, Boileau;
and now, probably under the influence of these writers, he produced
_Philomela_ and _Cleopatra_, which gave him access to the dramatic
circle of Knyazhin. Several attempts he made to start a literary
magazine met with little success; but, together with his plays, they
served to make the author known in society. For about four years
(1797-1801) Kriloff lived at the country seats of Prince Sergius
Galitzin, and when the prince was appointed military governor of Livonia
he accompanied him as official secretary. Of the years which follow his
resignation of this post little is known, the common opinion being that
he wandered from town to town under the influence of a passion for
card-playing. Before long he found his place as a fabulist, the first
collection of his _Fables_, 23 in number, appearing in 1809. From 1812
to 1841 he held a congenial appointment in the Imperial Public
Library--first as assistant, and then as head of the Russian books
department. He died on the 21st of November 1844. His statue in the
Summer Garden is one of the finest monuments in St Petersburg.
Honours were showered upon Kriloff while he yet lived: the Academy of
Sciences admitted him a member in 1811, and bestowed upon him its gold
medal; in 1838 a great festival was held under imperial sanction to
celebrate the jubilee of his first appearance as an author; and the
emperor assigned him a handsome pension. Before his death about 77,000
copies of his Fables had found sale in Russia; and his wisdom and humour
had become the common possession of the many. He was at once poet and
sage. His fables for the most part struck root in some actual event, and
they told at once by their grip and by their beauty. Though he began as
a translator and imitator he soon showed himself a master of invention,
who found abundant material in the life of his native land. To the
Russian ear his verse is of matchless quality; while word and phrase are
direct, simple and eminently idiomatic, colour and cadence vary with the
theme.
A collected edition of Kriloff's works appeared at St Petersburg,
1844. Of the numerous editions of his _Fables_, which have been often
translated, may be mentioned that illustrated by Trutovski, 1872. The
author's life has been written in Russian by Pletneff, by Lebanoff and
by Grot, _Liter, zhizn Kruilova_. "Materials" for his life are
published in vol. vi. of the _Sbornik Statei_ of the literary
department of the Academy of Sciences. W. R. S. Ralston prefixed an
excellent sketch to his English prose version of the _Fables_ (1868;
2nd ed. 1871). Another translation, by T. H. Harrison, appeared in
1883.
KRISHNA (the Dark One), an incarnation of Vishnu, or rather the form in
which Vishnu himself is the most popular object of worship throughout
northern India. In origin, Krishna, like Rama, was undoubtedly a deified
hero of the Kshatriya caste. In the older framework of the _Mahabharata_
he appears as a great chieftain and ally of the Pandava brothers; and it
is only in the interpolated episode of the _Bhagavad-gita_ that he is
identified with Vishnu and becomes the revealer of the doctrine of
_bhakti_ or religious devotion. Of still later date are the popular
developments of the modern cult of Krishna associated with Radha, as
found in the _Vishnu Purana_. Here he is represented as the son of a
king saved from a slaughter of the innocents, brought up by a cowherd,
sporting with the milkmaids, and performing miraculous feats in his
childhood. The scene is laid in the neighbourhood of Muttra, on the
right bank of the Jumna, where the whole country to the present day is
holy ground. Another place associated with incidents of his later life
is Dwarka, the westernmost point in the peninsula of Kathiawar. The two
most famous preachers of Krishna-worship and founders of sects in his
honour were Vallabha and Chaitanya, both born towards the close of the
15th century. The followers of the former are now found chiefly in
Rajputana and Gujarat. They are known as Vallabhacharyas, and their
_gosains_ or high priests as maharajas, to whom semi-divine honours are
paid. The licentious practices of this sect were exposed in a lawsuit
before the high court at Bombay in 1862. Chaitanya was the Vaishnav
reformer of Bengal, with his home at Nadiya. A third influential
Krishna-preacher of the 19th century was Swami Narayan, who was
encountered by Bishop Heber in Gujarat, where his followers at this day
are numerous and wealthy. Among the names of Krishna are _Gopal_, the
cowherd; _Gopinath_, the lord of the milkmaids; and _Mathuranath_, the
lord of Muttra. His legitimate consort was Rukmini, daughter of the king
of Berar; but Radha is always associated with him in his temples. (See
HINDUISM.)
KRISHNAGAR, a town of British India, headquarters of Nadia district in
Bengal, situated on the left bank of the river Jalangi and connected
with Ranaghat, on the Eastern Bengal railway, by a light railway. Pop.
(1901), 24,547. It is the residence of the raja of Nadia and contains a
government college. Coloured clay figures are manufactured.
KRISTIANSTAD (CHRISTIANSTAD), a port of Sweden, chief town of the
district (_län_) of Kristianstad, on a peninsula in Lake Sjövik, an
expansion of the river Helge, 10 m. from the Baltic. Pop. (1900),
10,318. Its harbour, custom-house, &c., are at Åhus at the mouth of the
river. It is among the first twelve manufacturing towns of Sweden as
regards value of output, having engineering works, flour-mills,
distilleries, weaving mills and sugar factories. Granite and wood-pulp
are exported, and coal and grain imported. The town is the seat of the
court of appeal for the provinces of Skane and Blekinge. It was founded
and fortified in 1614 by Christian IV. of Denmark, who built the fine
ornate church. The town was ceded to Sweden in 1658, retaken by
Christian V. in 1676, and again acquired by Sweden in 1678.
KRIVOY ROG, a town of south Russia, in the government of Kherson, on the
Ingulets River, near the station of the same name on the Ekaterinoslav
railway, 113 m. S.W. of the city of Ekaterinoslav. Pop. (1900), about
10,000. It is the centre of a district very rich in minerals, obtained
from a narrow stretch of crystalline schists underlying the Tertiary
deposits. Iron ores (60 to 70% of iron), copper ores, colours, brown
coal, graphite, slate, and lithographic stone are obtained--nearly
2,000,000 tons of iron ore annually.
KROCHMAL, NAHMAN (1785-1840), Jewish scholar, was born at Brody in
Galicia in 1785. He was one of the pioneers in the revival of Jewish
learning which followed on the age of Moses Mendelssohn. His chief work
was the _Moreh Nebuche hazeman_ ("Guide for the Perplexed of the Age"),
a title imitated from that of the 12th-century "Guide for the Perplexed"
of Maimonides (q.v.). This book was not published till after the
author's death, when it was edited by Zunz (1851). The book is a
philosophy of Jewish history, and has a double importance. On the one
side it was a critical examination of the Rabbinic literature and much
influenced subsequent investigators. On the other side, Krochmal, in the
words of N. Slouschz, "was the first Jewish scholar who views Judaism,
not as a distinct and independent entity, but as a part of the whole of
civilization." Krochmal, under Hegelian influences, regarded the
nationality of Israel as consisting in its religious genius, its
spiritual gifts. Thus Krochmal may be called the originator of the idea
of the mission of the Jewish people, "cultural Zionism" as it has more
recently been termed. He died at Tarnopol in 1840.
See S. Schechter, _Studies in Judaism_ (1896), pp. 56 seq.; N.
Slouschz, _Renascence of Hebrew Literature_ (1909), pp. 63 seq.
(I. A.)
KRONENBERG, a town of Germany in the Prussian Rhine Province, 6 m. S.W.
from Elberfeld, with which it is connected by railway and by an electric
tramway line. Pop. (1905), 11,340. It is a scattered community,
consisting of an agglomeration of seventy-three different hamlets. It
has a Roman Catholic and two Protestant churches, a handsome modern
town-hall and considerable industries, consisting mainly of steel and
iron manufactures.
KRONSTADT or CRONSTADT, a strongly fortified seaport town of Russia, the
chief naval station of the Russian fleet in the northern seas, and the
seat of the Russian admiralty. Pop. (1867), 45,115; (1897), 59,539. It
is situated on the island of Kotlin, near the head of the Gulf of
Finland, 20 m. W. of St Petersburg, of which it is the chief port, in
59° 59´ 30´´ N. and 29° 46´ 30´´ E. Kronstadt, always strong, has been
thoroughly refortified on modern principles. The old "three-decker"
forts, five in number, which formerly constituted the principal defences
of the place, and defied the Anglo-French fleets during the Crimean War,
are now of secondary importance. From the plans of Todleben a new fort,
Constantine, and four batteries were constructed (1856-1871) to defend
the principal approach, and seven batteries to cover the shallower
northern channel. All these modern fortifications are low and thickly
armoured earthworks, powerfully armed with heavy Krupp guns in turrets.
The town itself is surrounded with an _enceinte_. The island of Kotlin,
or Kettle (Finn., _Retusari_, or Rat Island) in general outline forms an
elongated triangle, 7½ m. in length by about 1 in breadth, with its base
towards St Petersburg. The eastern or broad end is occupied by the town
of Kronstadt, and shoals extend for a mile and a half from the western
point of the island to the rock on which the Tolbaaken lighthouse is
built. The island thus divides the seaward approach to St Petersburg
into two channels; that on the northern side is obstructed by shoals
which extend across it from Kotlin to Lisynos on the Finnish mainland,
and is only passable by vessels drawing less than 15 ft. of water; the
southern channel, the highway to the capital, is narrowed by a spit
which projects from opposite Oranienbaum on the Russian mainland, and,
lying close to Kronstadt, has been strongly guarded by batteries. The
approach to the capital has been greatly facilitated by the construction
in 1875-1885 of a canal, 23 ft. deep, through the shallows. The town of
Kronstadt is built on level ground, and is thus exposed to inundations,
from one of which it suffered in 1824. On the south side of the town
there are three harbours--the large western or merchant harbour, the
western flank of which is formed by a great mole joining the
fortifications which traverse the breadth of the island on this side;
the middle harbour, used chiefly for fitting out and repairing vessels;
and the eastern or war harbour for vessels of the Russian navy. The
Peter and Catherine canals, communicating with the merchant and middle
harbours, traverse the town. Between them stood the old Italian palace
of Prince Menshikov, the site of which is now occupied by the pilot
school. Among other public buildings are the naval hospital, the British
seaman's hospital (established in 1867), the civic hospital, admiralty
(founded 1785), arsenal, dockyards and foundries, school of marine
engineering, the cathedral of St Andrew, and the English church. The
port is ice-bound for 140 to 160 days in the year, from the beginning of
December till April. A very large proportion of the inhabitants are
sailors, and large numbers of artisans are employed in the dockyards.
Kronstadt was founded in 1710 by Peter the Great, who took the island of
Kotlin from the Swedes in 1703, when the first fortifications were
constructed. (P. A. K.; J. T. Be.)
KROONSTAD, a town of Orange River Colony, 127 m. by rail N.E. of
Bloemfontein and 130 m. S.W. of Johannesburg. Pop. (1904), 7191, of whom
3708 were whites. Kroonstad lies 4489 ft. above the sea and is built on
the banks of the Valsch River, a perennial tributary of the Vaal. It is
a busy town, being the centre of a rich agricultural district and of the
diamond and coal-mining industry of the north-western parts of the
colony. It is also a favourite residential place and resort of visitors
from Johannesburg. It enjoys a healthy climate, affords opportunities
for boating rare in South Africa, and boasts a golf-links. The principal
building is the Dutch Reformed church in the centre of the market
square.
On the capture of Bloemfontein by the British during the Anglo-Boer War
of 1899-1902 Kroonstad was chosen by the Orange Free State Boers as the
capital of the state, a dignity it held from the 13th of March to the
11th of May 1900. On the following day the town was occupied by Lord
Roberts. The linking of the town in 1906 with the Natal system made the
route via Kroonstad the shortest railway connexion between Cape Town and
Durban. Another line goes N.W. from Kroonstad to Klerksdorp, passing (17
miles) the Lace diamond mine and (45 miles) the coal mines at
Vierfontein.
KROPOTKIN, PETER ALEXEIVICH, PRINCE (1842- ), Russian geographer,
author and revolutionary, was born at Moscow in 1842. His father, Prince
Alexei Petrovich Kropotkin, belonged to the old Russian nobility; his
mother, the daughter of a general in the Russian army, had remarkable
literary and liberal tastes. At the age of fifteen Prince Peter
Kropotkin, who had been designed by his father for the army, entered the
Corps of Pages at St Petersburg (1857). Only a hundred and fifty
boys--mostly children of the nobility belonging to the court--were
educated in this privileged corps, which combined the character of a
military school endowed with special rights and of a Court institution
attached to the imperial household. Here he remained till 1862, reading
widely on his own account, and giving special attention to the works of
the French encyclopaedists and to modern French history. Before he left
Moscow Prince Kropotkin had developed an interest in the condition of
the Russian peasantry, and this interest increased as he grew older. The
years 1857-1861 witnessed a rich growth in the intellectual forces of
Russia, and Kropotkin came under the influence of the new
Liberal-revolutionary literature, which indeed largely expressed his own
aspirations. In 1862 he was promoted from the Corps of Pages to the
army. The members of the corps had the prescriptive right of choosing
the regiment to which they would be attached. Kropotkin had never
wished for a military career, but, as he had not the means to enter the
St Petersburg University, he elected to join a Siberian Cossack regiment
in the recently annexed Amur district, where there were prospects of
administrative work. For some time he was aide de camp to the governor
of Transbaikalia at Chita, subsequently being appointed attaché for
Cossack affairs to the governor-general of East Siberia at Irkutsk.
Opportunities for administrative work, however, were scanty, and in 1864
Kropotkin accepted charge of a geographical survey expedition, crossing
North Manchuria from Transbaikalia to the Amur, and shortly afterwards
was attached to another expedition which proceeded up the Sungari River
into the heart of Manchuria. Both these expeditions yielded most
valuable geographical results. The impossibility of obtaining any real
administrative reforms in Siberia now induced Kropotkin to devote
himself almost entirely to scientific exploration, in which he continued
to be highly successful. In 1867 he quitted the army and returned to St
Petersburg, where he entered the university, becoming at the same time
secretary to the physical geography section of the Russian Geographical
Society. In 1873 he published an important contribution to science, a
map and paper in which he proved that the existing maps of Asia entirely
misrepresented the physical formation of the country, the main
structural lines being in fact from south-west to north-east, not from
north to south, or from east to west as had been previously supposed. In
1871 he explored the glacial deposits of Finland and Sweden for the
Russian Geographical Society, and while engaged in this work was offered
the secretaryship of that society. But by this time he had determined
that it was his duty not to work at fresh discoveries but to aid in
diffusing existing knowledge among the people at large, and he
accordingly refused the offer, and returned to St Petersburg, where he
joined the revolutionary party. In 1872 he visited Switzerland, and
became a member of the International Workingmen's Association at Geneva.
The socialism of this body was not, however, advanced enough for his
views, and after studying the programme of the more violent Jura
Federation at Neuchâtel and spending some time in the company of the
leading members, he definitely adopted the creed of anarchism (q.v.)
and, on returning to Russia, took an active part in spreading the
nihilist propaganda. In 1874 he was arrested and imprisoned, but escaped
in 1876 and went to England, removing after a short stay to Switzerland,
where he joined the Jura Federation. In 1877 he went to Paris, where he
helped to start the socialist movement, returning to Switzerland in
1878, where he edited for the Jura Federation a revolutionary newspaper,
_Le Révolté_, subsequently also publishing various revolutionary
pamphlets. Shortly after the assassination of the tsar Alexander II.
(1881) Kropotkin was expelled from Switzerland by the Swiss government,
and after a short stay at Thonon (Savoy) went to London, where he
remained for nearly a year, returning to Thonon towards the end of 1882.
Shortly afterwards he was arrested by the French government, and, after
a trial at Lyons, sentenced by a police-court magistrate (under a
special law passed on the fall of the Commune) to five years'
imprisonment, on the ground that he had belonged to the International
Workingmen's Association (1883). In 1886 however, as the result of
repeated agitation on his behalf in the French Chamber, he was released,
and settled near London.
Prince Kropotkin's authority as a writer on Russia is universally
acknowledged, and he has contributed largely to the _Encyclopaedia
Britannica_. Among his other works may be named _Paroles d'un révolté_
(1884); _La Conquête du pain_ (1888); _L'Anarchie: sa philosophie, son
idéal_ (1896); _The State, its Part in History_ (1898); _Fields,
Factories and Workshops_ (1899); _Memoirs of a Revolutionist_ (1900);
_Mutual Aid, a Factor of Evolution_ (1902); _Modern Science and
Anarchism_ (Philadelphia, 1903); _The Desiccation of Asia_ (1904); The
Orography of Asia (1904); and _Russian Literature_ (1905).
KROTOSCHIN (in Polish, _Krotoszyn_), a town of Germany, in the Prussian
province of Posen, 32 m. S.E. of Posen. Pop. (1900), 12,373. It has
three churches, a synagogue, steam saw-mills, and a steam brewery, and
carries on trade in grain and seeds. The castle of Krotoschin is the
chief place of a mediatized principality which was formed in 1819 out of
the domains of the Prussian crown and was granted to the prince of Thurn
and Taxis in compensation for the relinquishment by him of the monopoly
of the Prussian postal system, formerly held by his family.
KRÜDENER, BARBARA JULIANA, BARONESS VON (1764-1824), Russian religious
mystic and author, was born at Riga in Livonia on the 11th of November
1764. Her father, Otto Hermann von Vietinghoff, who had fought as a
colonel in Catherine II.'s wars, was one of the two councillors for
Livonia and a man of immense wealth; her mother, _née_ Countess Anna
Ulrica von Münnich, was a grand-daughter of the celebrated field
marshal. Juliana, as she was usually called, was one of a numerous
family. Her education, according to her own account, consisted of
lessons in French spelling, deportment and sewing; and at the age of
eighteen (Sept. 29, 1782) she was married to Baron Burckhard Alexis
Constantin von Krüdener, a widower sixteen years her senior. The baron,
a diplomatist of distinction, was cold and reserved; the baroness was
frivolous, pleasure-loving, and possessed of an insatiable thirst for
attention and flattery; and the strained relations due to this
incompatibility of temper were embittered by her limitless extravagance,
which constantly involved herself and her husband in financial
difficulties. At first indeed all went well. On the 31st of January 1784
a son was born to them, named Paul after the grand-duke Paul (afterwards
emperor), who acted as god-father. The same year Baron Krüdener became
ambassador at Venice,[1] where he remained until transferred to
Copenhagen in 1786.
In 1787 the birth of a daughter (Juliette) aggravated the nervous
disorders from which the baroness had for some time been suffering, and
it was decided that she must go to the south for her health; she
accordingly left, with her infant daughter and her step-daughter Sophie.
In 1789 she was at Paris when the states general met; a year later, at
Montpellier, she met a young cavalry captain, Charles Louis de
Frégeville, and a passionate attachment sprang up between them. They
returned together to Copenhagen, where the baroness told her husband
that her heart could no longer be his. The baron was coldly kind; he
refused to hear of a divorce and attempted to arrange a _modus vivendi_,
which was facilitated by the departure of De Frégeville for the war. All
was useless; Juliana refused to remain at Copenhagen, and, setting out
on her travels, visited Riga, St Petersburg--where her father had become
a senator[2]--Berlin, Leipzig and Switzerland. In 1798 her husband
became ambassador at Berlin, and she joined him there. But the stiff
court society of Prussia was irksome to her; money difficulties
continued; and by way of climax, the murder of the tsar Paul, in whose
favour Baron Krüdener had stood high, made the position of the
ambassador extremely precarious. The baroness seized the occasion to
leave for the baths of Teplitz, whence she wrote to her husband that the
doctors had ordered her to winter in the south. He died on the 14th of
June 1802, without ever having seen her again.
Meanwhile the baroness had been revelling in the intellectual society of
Coppet and of Paris. She was now thirty-six; her charms were fading, but
her passion for admiration survived. She had tried the effect of the
shawl dance, in imitation of Emma, Lady Hamilton; she now sought fame in
literature, and in 1803, after consulting Châteaubriand and other
writers of distinction, published her _Valérie_, a sentimental romance,
of which under a thin veil of anonymity she herself was the heroine. In
January 1804 she returned to Livonia.
At Riga occurred her "conversion." A gentleman of her acquaintance when
about to salute her fell dying at her feet. The shock overset her not
too well balanced mind; she sought for consolation, and found it in the
ministrations of her shoemaker, an ardent disciple of the Moravian
Brethren. Though she had "found peace," however, the disorder of her
nerves continued, and she was ordered by her doctor to the baths of
Wiesbaden. At Königsberg she had an interview with Queen Louise, and,
more important still, with one Adam Müller, a rough peasant, to whom the
Lord had revealed a prophetic mission to King Frederick William III.
"Chiliasm" was in the air. Napoleon was evidently Antichrist; and the
"latter days" were about to be accomplished. Under the influence of the
pietistic movement the belief was widely spread, in royal courts, in
country parsonages, in peasants' hovels: a man would be raised up "from
the north ... from the rising of the sun" (Isa. xli. 25); Antichrist
would be overthrown, and Christ would come to reign a thousand years
upon the earth. The interview determined the direction of the baroness's
religious development. A short visit to the Moravians at Herrenhut
followed; then she went, via Dresden, to Karlsruhe, to sit at the feet
of Heinrich Jung-Stilling (q.v.), the high priest of occultist pietism,
whose influence was supreme at the court of Baden and infected those of
Stockholm and St Petersburg.[3] By him she was instructed in the
chiliastic faith and in the mysteries of the supernatural world. Then,
hearing that a certain pastor in the Vosges, Jean Frédéric Fontaines,
was prophesying and working miracles, she determined to go to him. On
the 5th of June 1801, accordingly, she arrived at the Protestant
parsonage of Sainte Marie-aux-Mines, accompanied by her daughter
Juliette, her step-daughter Sophie and a Russian valet.
This remained for two years her headquarters. Fontaines, half-charlatan,
half-dupe, had introduced into his household a prophetess named Marie
Gottliebin Kummer,[4] whose visions, carefully calculated for her own
purposes, became the oracle of the divine mysteries for the baroness.
Under this influence she believed more firmly than ever in the
approaching millennium and her own mission to proclaim it. Her rank, her
reckless charities, and her exuberant eloquence produced a great effect
on the simple country folk; and when, in 1809, it was decided to found a
colony of the "elect" in order to wait for "the coming of the Lord,"
many wretched peasants sold or distributed all they possessed and
followed the baroness and Fontaines into Württemberg, where the
settlement was established at Catharinenplaisir and the château of
Bönnigheim, only to be dispersed (May 1) by an unsympathetic
government.[5] Further wanderings followed: to Lichtenthal near Baden;
to Karlsruhe and the congenial society of pietistic princesses; to Riga,
where she was present at the death-bed of her mother (Jan. 24, 1811);
then back to Karlsruhe. The influence of Fontaines, to whom she had been
"spiritually married" (Madame Fontaines being content with the part of
Martha in the household, so long as the baroness's funds lasted), had
now waned, and she had fallen under that of Johann Kaspar Wegelin
(1766-1833), a pious linen-draper of Strassburg, who taught her the
sweetness of "complete annihilation of the will and mystic death." Her
preaching and her indiscriminate charities now began to attract curious
crowds from afar; and her appearance everywhere was accompanied by an
epidemic of visions and prophesyings, which culminated in the appearance
in 1811 of the comet, a sure sign of the approaching end. In 1812 she
was at Strassburg, whence she paid more than one visit to J. F. Oberlin
(q.v.), the famous pastor of Waldbach in Steinthal (Ban de la Roche),
and where she had the glory of converting her host, Adrien de
Lazay-Marnesia, the prefect. In 1813 she was at Geneva, where she
established the faith of a band of young pietists in revolt against the
Calvinist Church authorities--notably Henri Louis Empeytaz, afterwards
destined to be the companion of her crowning evangelistic triumph. In
September 1814 she was again at Waldbach, where Empeytaz had preceded
her; and at Strassburg, where the party was joined by Franz Karl von
Berckheim, who afterwards married Juliette.[6] At the end of the year
she returned with her daughters and Empeytaz to Baden, a fateful
migration.
The empress Elizabeth of Russia was now at Karlsruhe; and she and the
pietist ladies of her entourage hoped that the emperor Alexander might
find at the hands of Madame de Krüdener the peace which an interview
with Jung-Stilling had failed to bring him. The baroness herself wrote
urgent letters to Roxane de Stourdza, sister of the tsar's Rumanian
secretary, begging her to procure an interview. There seemed to be no
result; but the correspondence paved the way for the opportunity which a
strange chance was to give her of realizing her ambition. In the spring
of 1815 the baroness was settled at Schlüchtern, a piece of Baden
territory _enclavé_ in Württemberg, busy persuading the peasants to sell
all and fly from the wrath to come. Near this, at Heilbronn, the emperor
Alexander established his headquarters on the 4th of June. That very
night the baroness sought and obtained an interview. To the tsar, who
had been brooding alone over an open Bible, her sudden arrival seemed an
answer to his prayers; for three hours the prophetess preached her
strange gospel, while the most powerful man in Europe sat, his face
buried in his hands, sobbing like a child; until at last he declared
that he had "found peace." At the tsar's request she followed him to
Heidelberg and later to Paris, where she was lodged at the Hôtel
Montchenu, next door to the imperial headquarters in the Elysée Palace.
A private door connected the establishments, and every evening the
emperor went to take part in the prayer-meetings conducted by the
baroness and Empeytaz. Chiliasm seemed to have found an entrance into
the high councils of Europe, and the baroness von Krüdener had become a
political force to be reckoned with. Admission to her religious
gatherings was sought by a crowd of people celebrated in the
intellectual and social world; Châteaubriand came, and Benjamin
Constant, Madame Récamier, the duchesse de Bourbon, and Madame de Duras.
The fame of the wonderful conversion, moreover, attracted other members
of the chiliastic fraternity, among them Fontaines, who brought with him
the prophetess Marie Kummer.
In this religious forcing-house the idea of the Holy Alliance germinated
and grew to rapid maturity. On the 26th of September the portentous
proclamation, which was to herald the opening of a new age of peace and
goodwill on earth, was signed by the sovereigns of Russia, Austria and
Prussia (see HOLY ALLIANCE; and EUROPE: _History_). Its authorship has
ever been a matter of dispute. Madame de Krüdener herself claimed that
she had suggested the idea, and that Alexander had submitted the draft
for her approval. This is probably correct, though the tsar later, when
he had recovered his mental equilibrium, reproved her for her
indiscretion in talking of the matter. His eyes, indeed, had begun to be
opened before he left Paris, and Marie Kummer was the unintentional
cause. At the very first séance the prophetess, whose revelations had
been praised by the baroness in extravagant terms, had the evil
inspiration to announce in her trance to the emperor that it was God's
will that he should endow the religious colony to which she belonged!
Alexander merely remarked that he had received too many such revelations
before to be impressed. The baroness's influence was shaken but not
destroyed, and before he left Paris Alexander gave her a passport to
Russia. She was not, however, destined to see him again.
She left Paris on the 22nd of October 1815, intending to travel to St
Petersburg by way of Switzerland. The tsar, however, offended by her
indiscretions and sensible of the ridicule which his relations with her
had brought upon him, showed little disposition to hurry her arrival.
She remained in Switzerland, where she presently fell under the
influence of an unscrupulous adventurer named J. G. Kellner. For months
Empeytaz, an honest enthusiast, struggled to save her from this man's
clutches, but in vain. Kellner too well knew how to flatter the
baroness's inordinate vanity: the author of the Holy Alliance could be
none other than the "woman clothed with the sun" of Rev. xii. 1. She
wandered with Kellner from place to place, proclaiming her mission,
working miracles, persuading her converts to sell all and follow her.
Crowds of beggars and rapscallions of every description gathered
wherever she went, supported by the charities squandered from the common
fund. She became a nuisance to the authorities and a menace to the
peace; Württemberg had expelled her, and the example was followed by
every Swiss canton she entered in turn. At last, in August 1817, she set
out for her estate in Livonia, accompanied by Kellner and a remnant of
the elect.
The emperor Alexander having opened the Crimea to German and Swiss
chiliasts in search of a land of promise, the baroness's son-in-law
Berckheim and his wife now proceeded thither to help establish the new
colonies. In November 1820 the baroness at last went herself to St
Petersburg, where Berckheim was lying ill. She was there when the news
arrived of Ypsilanti's invasion of the Danubian principalities, which
opened the war of Greek independence. She at once proclaimed the divine
mission of the tsar to take up arms on behalf of Christendom. Alexander,
however, had long since exchanged her influence for that of Metternich,
and he was far from anxious to be forced into even a holy war. To the
baroness's overtures he replied in a long and polite letter, the gist of
which was that she must leave St Petersburg at once. In 1823 the death
of Kellner, whom to the last she regarded as a saint, was a severe blow
to her. Her health was failing, but she allowed herself to be persuaded
by Princess Galitzin to accompany her to the Crimea, where she had
established a Swiss colony. Here, at Karasu Bazar, she died on the 25th
of December 1824.
Sainte-Beuve said of Madame de Krüdener: "Elle avait un immense besoin
que le monde s'occupât d'elle...; l'amour propre, toujours l'amour
propre...!" A kindlier epitaph might, perhaps, be written in her own
words, uttered after the revelation of the misery of the Crimean
colonists had at last opened her eyes: "The good that I have done will
endure; the evil that I have done (for how often have I not mistaken for
the voice of God that which was no more than the result of my
imagination and my pride) the mercy of God will blot out."
Much information about Madame de Krüdener, coloured by the author's
views, is to be found in H. L. Empeytaz's _Notice sur Alexandre,
empereur de Russie_ (2nd ed., Paris, 1840). The _Vie de Madame de
Krudener_ (2 vols., Paris, 1849), by the Swiss banker and Philhellene
J. G. Eynard, was long the standard life and contains much material,
but is far from authoritative. In English appeared the _Life and
Letters of Madame de Krüdener_, by Clarence Ford (London, 1893). The
most authoritative study, based on a wealth of original research, is
E. Muhlenbeck's _Étude sur les origines de la Sainte-Alliance_ (Paris,
1909), in which numerous references are given. (W. A. P.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A portrait of Madame de Krüdener and her son as "Venus disarming
Cupid," by Angelica Kauffmann, of this period, is in the Louvre.
[2] He died while she was there in 1792.
[3] The consorts of Alexander I. of Russia and of Gustavus Adolphus
IV. of Sweden were princesses of Baden.
[4] She had been condemned some years previously in Württemberg to
the pillory and three years' imprisonment as a "swindler"
(_Betrügerin_), on her own confession. Her curious history is given
in detail by M. Muhlenbeck.
[5] In 1809 it was obviously inconvenient to have people proclaiming
Napoleon as "the Beast."
[6] Berckheim had been French commissioner of police in Mainz and had
abandoned his post in 1813.
KRUG, WILHELM TRAUGOTT (1770-1842), German philosopher and author, was
born at Radis in Prussia on the 22nd of June 1770, and died at Leipzig
on the 12th of January 1842. He studied at Wittenberg under Reinhard and
Jehnichen, at Jena under Reinhold, and at Göttingen. From 1801 to 1804
he was professor of philosophy at Frankfort-on-the-Oder, after which he
succeeded Kant in the chair of logic and metaphysics at the university
of Königsberg. From 1809 till his death he was professor of philosophy
at Leipzig. He was a prolific writer on a great variety of subjects, in
all of which he excelled as a popularizer rather than as an original
thinker. In philosophy his method was psychological; he attempted to
explain the Ego by examining the nature of its reflection upon the facts
of consciousness. Being is known to us only through its presentation in
consciousness; consciousness only in its relation to Being. Both Being
and Consciousness, however, are immediately known to us, as also the
relation existing between them. By this Transcendental Synthesis he
proposed to reconcile Realism and Idealism, and to destroy the
traditional difficulty between transcendental, or pure, thought and
"things in themselves." Apart from the intrinsic value of his work, it
is admitted that it had the effect of promoting the study of philosophy
and of stimulating freedom of thought in religion and politics. His
principal works are: _Briefe über den neuesten Idealismus_ (1801);
_Versuch über die Principien der philosophischen Erkenntniss_ (1801);
_Fundamentalphilosophie_ (1803); _System der theoretischen Philosophie_
(1806-1810), _System der praktischen Philosophie_ (1817-1819); _Handbuch
der Philosophie_ (1820; 3rd ed., 1828); _Logik oder Denklehre_ (1827);
_Geschichte der Philos. alter Zeit_ (1815; 2nd ed., 1825); _Allgemeines
Handwörterbuch der philosophischen Wissenschaften_ (1827-1834; 2nd ed.,
1832-1838); _Universal-philosophische Vorlesungen für Gebildete
beiderlei Geschlechts_. His work _Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philos.
des XIX. Jahrh._ (1835-1837) contains interesting criticisms of Hegel
and Schelling.
See also his autobiography, _Meine Lebensreise_ (Leipzig, 2nd ed.,
1840).
KRUGER, STEPHANUS JOHANNES PAULUS (1825-1904), president of the
Transvaal Republic, was born in Colesberg, Cape Colony, on the 10th of
October 1825. His father was Caspar Jan Hendrick Kruger, who was born in
1796, and whose wife bore the name of Steyn. In his ancestry on both
sides occur Huguenot names. The founder of the Kruger family appears to
have been a German named Jacob Kruger, who in 1713 was sent with others
by the Dutch East India Company to the Cape. At the age of ten Paul
Kruger--as he afterwards came to be known--accompanied his parents in
the migration, known as the Great Trek, from the Cape Colony to the
territories north of the Orange in the years 1835-1840. From boyhood his
life was one of adventure. Brought up on the borderland between
civilization and barbarism, constantly trekking, fighting and hunting,
his education was necessarily of the most primitive character. He learnt
to read and to write, and was taught the narrowest form of Dutch
Presbyterianism. His literature was almost confined to the Bible, and
the Old Testament was preferred to the New. It is related of Kruger, as
indeed it has been said of Piet Retief and others of the early Boer
leaders, that he believed himself the object of special Divine guidance.
At about the age of twenty-five he is said to have disappeared into the
veldt, where he remained alone for several days, under the influence of
deep religious fervour. During this sojourn in the wilderness Kruger
stated that he had been especially favoured by God, who had communed
with and inspired him. Throughout his life he professed this faith in
God's will and guidance, and much of his influence over his followers is
attributable to their belief in his sincerity and in his enjoyment of
Divine favour. The Dutch Reformed Church in the Transvaal, pervaded by a
spirit and faith not unlike those which distinguished the Covenanters,
was divided in the early days into three sects. Of these the narrowest,
most puritanical, and most bigoted was the Dopper sect, to which Kruger
belonged. His Dopper following was always unswerving in its support, and
at all critical times in the internal quarrels of the state rallied
round him. The charge of hypocrisy, frequently made against Kruger--if
by this charge is meant the mere juggling with religion for purely
political ends--does not appear entirely just. The subordination of
reason to a sense of superstitious fanaticism is the keynote of his
character, and largely the explanation of his life. Where faith is so
profound as to believe the Divine guidance _all_, and the individual
intelligence _nil_, a man is able to persuade himself that any course he
chooses to take is the one he is directed to take. Where bigotry is so
blind, reason is but dust in the balance. At the same time there were
incidents in Kruger's life which but ill conform to any Biblical
standard he might choose to adopt or feel imposed upon him. Even van
Oordt, his eloquent historian and apologist, is cognisant of this fact.
When the lad, who had already taken part in fights with the Matabele and
the Zulus, was fourteen his family settled north of the Vaal and were
among the founders of the Transvaal state. At the age of seventeen Paul
found himself an assistant field cornet, at twenty he was field cornet,
and at twenty-seven held a command in an expedition against the Bechuana
chief Sechele--the expedition in which David Livingstone's mission-house
was destroyed.
In 1853 he took part in another expedition against Montsioa. When not
fighting natives in those early days Kruger was engaged in distant
hunting excursions which took him as far north as the Zambezi. In 1852
the Transvaal secured the recognition of its independence from Great
Britain in the Sand River convention. For many years after this date the
condition of the country was one bordering upon anarchy, and into the
faction strife which was continually going on Kruger freely entered. In
1856-1857 he joined M. W. Pretorius in his attempt to abolish the
district governments in the Transvaal and to overthrow the Orange Free
State government and compel a federation between the two countries. The
raid into the Free State failed; the blackest incident in connexion with
it was the attempt of the Pretorius and Kruger party to induce the
Basuto to harass the Free State forces behind, while they were attacking
them in front.
From this time forward Kruger's life is so intimately bound up with the
history of his country, and even in later years of South Africa, that a
study of that history is essential to an understanding of it (see
TRANSVAAL and SOUTH AFRICA). In 1864, when the faction fighting ended
and Pretorius was president, Kruger was elected commandant-general of
the forces of the Transvaal. In 1870 a boundary dispute arose with the
British government, which was settled by the Keate award (1871). The
decision caused so much discontent in the Transvaal that it brought
about the downfall of President Pretorius and his party; and Thomas
François Burgers, an educated Dutch minister, resident in Cape Colony,
was elected to succeed him. During the term of Burgers' presidency
Kruger appeared to great disadvantage. Instead of loyally supporting the
president in the difficult task of building up a stable state, he did
everything in his power to undermine his authority, going so far as to
urge the Boers to pay no taxes while Burgers was in office. The faction
of which he was a prominent member was chiefly responsible for bringing
about that _impasse_ in the government of the country which drew such
bitter protest from Burgers and terminated in the annexation by the
British in April 1877. At this period of Transvaal history it is
impossible to trace any true patriotism in the action of the majority of
the inhabitants. The one idea of Kruger and his faction was to oust
Burgers from office on any pretext, and, if possible, to put Kruger in
his place. When the downfall of Burgers was assured and annexation
offered itself as the alternative resulting from his downfall, it is
true that Kruger opposed it. But matters had gone too far. Annexation
became an accomplished fact, and Kruger accepted paid office under the
British government. He continued, however, so openly to agitate for the
retrocession of the country, being a member of two deputations which
went to England endeavouring to get the annexation annulled, that in
1878 Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the British administrator, dismissed him
from his service. In 1880 the Boer rebellion occurred, and Kruger was
one of the famous triumvirate, of which General Piet Joubert and
Pretorius were the other members, who, after Majuba, negotiated the
terms of peace on which the Pretoria convention of August 1881 was
drafted. In 1883 he was elected president of the Transvaal, receiving
3431 votes as against 1171 recorded for Joubert.
In November 1883 President Kruger again visited England, this time for
the purpose of getting another convention. The visit was successful, the
London convention, which for years was a subject of controversy, being
granted by Lord Derby in 1884 on behalf of the British government. The
government of the Transvaal being once more in the hands of the Boers,
the country rapidly drifted towards that state of national bankruptcy
from which it had only been saved by annexation in 1877. In 1886, the
year in which the Rand mines were discovered, President Kruger was by no
means a popular man even among his own followers; as an administrator of
internal affairs he had shown himself grossly incompetent, and it was
only the specious success of his negotiations with the British
government which had retained him any measure of support. In 1888 he was
elected president for a second term of office. In 1889 Dr. Leyds, a
young Hollander, was appointed state secretary, and the system of state
monopolies around which so much corruption grew up was soon in full
course of development. The principle of government monopoly in trade
being thus established, President Kruger now turned his attention to the
further securing of Boer political monopoly. The Uitlanders were
increasing in numbers, as well as providing the state with a revenue. In
1890, 1891, 1892, and 1894 the franchise laws (which at the time of the
convention were on a liberal basis) were so modified that all Uitlanders
were practically excluded altogether. In 1893 Kruger had to face a third
presidential election, and on this occasion the opposition he had raised
among the burgers, largely by the favouritism he displayed to the
Hollander party, was so strong that it was fully anticipated that his
more liberal opponent, General Joubert, would be elected. Before the
election was decided Kruger took care to conciliate the volksraad
members, as well as to see that at all the volksraad elections, which
occurred shortly before the presidential election, his supporters were
returned, or, if not returned, that his opponents were objected to on
some trivial pretext, and by this means prevented from actually sitting
in the volksraad until the presidential election was over. The Hollander
and _concessionnaire_ influence, which had become a strong power in the
state, was all in favour of President Kruger. In spite of these facts
Kruger's position was insecure. "General Joubert was, without any doubt
whatever, elected by a very considerable majority."[1] But the figures
as announced gave Kruger a majority of about 700 votes. General Joubert
accused the government of tampering with the returns, and appealed to
the volksraad. The appeal, however, was fruitless, and Kruger retained
office. The action taken by President Kruger at this election, and his
previous actions in ousting President Burgers and in absolutely
excluding the Uitlanders from the franchise, all show that at any cost,
in his opinion, the government must remain a close corporation, and that
while he lived he must remain at the head of it.
From 1877 onward Kruger's external policy was consistently anti-British,
and on every side--in Bechuanaland, in Rhodesia, in Zululand--he
attempted to enlarge the frontiers of the Transvaal at the expense of
Great Britain. In these disputes he usually gained something, and it was
not until 1895 that he was definitely defeated in his endeavours to
obtain a seaport. His internal policy was blind, reckless and
unscrupulous, and inevitably led to disaster. It may be summed up in his
own words when replying to a deputation of Uitlanders, who desired to
obtain the legalization of the use of the English language in the
Transvaal. "This," said Kruger, "is my country; these are my laws. Those
who do not like to obey my laws can leave my country." This rejection of
the advances of the Uitlanders--by whose aid he could have built up a
free and stable republic--led to his downfall, though the failure of the
Jameson Raid in the first days of 1896 gave him a signal opportunity to
secure the safety of his country by the grant of real reforms. But the
Raid taught him no lesson of this kind, and despite the intervention of
the British government the Uitlanders' grievances were not remedied.
In 1898 Kruger was elected president of the Transvaal for the fourth and
last time. In 1899 relations between the Transvaal and Great Britain had
become so strained, by reason of the oppression of the foreign
population, that a conference was arranged at Bloemfontein between Sir
Alfred (afterwards Lord) Milner, the high commissioner, and President
Kruger. Kruger was true to his principles. At every juncture in his life
his object had been to gain for himself and his own narrow policy
everything that he could, while conceding nothing in return. It was for
this reason that he invariably failed to come to any arrangement with
Sir John Brand while the latter was president of the Free State. In
1889, the very year following President Brand's death, he was able to
make a treaty with President Reitz, his successor, which bound each of
the Boer republics to assist the other in case its independence was
menaced, unless the quarrel could be shown to be an unjust one on the
part of the state so menaced. In effect it bound the Free State to share
all the hazardous risk of the reckless anti-British Transvaal policy,
without the Free State itself receiving anything in return. Kruger thus
achieved one of the objects of his life. With such a history of apparent
success, it is not to be wondered at that the Transvaal president came
to Bloemfontein to meet Sir Alfred Milner in no mood for concession. It
is true that he made an ostensible offer on the franchise question, but
that proposal was made dependent on so many conditions that it was a
palpable sham. Every proposition which Sir Alfred Milner made was met by
the objection that it threatened the independence of the Transvaal. This
retort was President Kruger's rallying cry whenever he found himself in
the least degree pressed, either from within or without the state. To
admit Uitlanders to the franchise, to no matter how moderate a degree,
would destroy the independence of the state. In October 1899, after a
long and fruitless correspondence with the British government, war with
Great Britain was ushered in by an ultimatum from the Transvaal.
Immediately after the ultimatum Natal and the Cape Colony were invaded
by the Boers both of the Transvaal and the Free State. Yet one of the
most memorable utterances made by Kruger at the Bloemfontein conference
was couched in the following terms: "We follow out what God says,
'Accursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark.' As long as your
Excellency lives you will see that we shall never be the attacking party
on another man's land." The course of the war that followed is described
under TRANSVAAL. In 1900, Bloemfontein and Pretoria having been occupied
by British troops, Kruger, too old to go on commando, with the consent
of his executive proceeded to Europe, where he endeavoured to induce the
European powers to intervene on his behalf, but without success.
From this time he ceased to have any political influence. He took up his
residence at Utrecht, where he dictated a record of his career,
published in 1902 under the title of _The Memoirs of Paul Kruger_. He
died on the 14th of July 1904 at Clarens, near Vevey, on the shores of
the Lake of Geneva, whither he had gone for the sake of his health. He
was buried at Pretoria on the following 16th of December, Dingaan's Day,
the anniversary of the day in 1838 when the Boers crushed the Zulu king
Dingaan--a fight in which Kruger, then a lad of thirteen, had taken
part. Kruger was thrice married, and had a large family. His second wife
died in 1891. When he went to Europe he left his third wife in Lord
Roberts's custody at Pretoria, but she gradually failed, and died there
(July 1901). It was in her grave that the body of her husband was laid.
It is recorded that when a statue to President Kruger at Pretoria was
erected, it was by Mrs. Kruger's wish that the hat was left open at the
top, in order that the rain-water might collect there for the birds to
drink.
See J. F. van Oordt, _P. Kruger en de opkomst d. Zuid-Afrikaansche
Republiek_ (Amsterdam, 1898); the _Memoirs_ already mentioned; F. R.
Statham, _Paul Kruger and his Times_ (1898); and, among works with a
wider scope, G. M. Theal, _History of South Africa_ (for events down
to 1872 only); Sir J. P. Fitzpatrick, _The Transvaal from Within_
(1899); _The Times History of the War in South Africa_ (1900-9); and
A. P. Hillier, _South African Studies_ (1900).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, in _The Transvaal from Within_, ch. iii.
KRUGERSDORP, a town of the Transvaal, 21 m. N.W. of Johannesburg by
rail. Pop. (1904), 20,073, of whom 6946 were whites. It is built on the
Witwatersrand at an elevation of 5709 ft. above the sea, and is a mining
centre of some importance. It is also the starting-point of a railway to
Zeerust and Mafeking. Krugersdorp was founded in 1887 at the time of the
discovery of gold on the Rand and is named after President Kruger.
Within the municipal area is the Paardekraal monument erected to
commemorate the victory gained by the Boers under Andries Pretorius in
1838 over the Zulu king Dingaan, and on the 16th of December each year,
kept as a public holiday, large numbers of Boers assemble at the
monument to celebrate the event. Here in December 1880 a great meeting
of Boers resolved again to proclaim the independence of the Transvaal.
The formal proclamation was made on Dingaan's Day, and after the defeat
of the British at Majuba Hill in 1881 that victory was also commemorated
at Paardekraal on the 16th of December. The monument, which was damaged
during the war of 1899-1902, was restored by the British authorities.
It was at Doornkop, near Krugersdorp, that Dr L. S. Jameson and his
"raiders" surrendered to Commandant Piet Cronje on the 2nd of January
1896 (see TRANSVAAL: _History_). At Sterkfontein, 8 m. N.W. of
Krugersdorp, are limestone caves containing beautiful stalactites.
KRUMAU (in Czech, _Krumlov_), is a town in Bohemia situated on the banks
of the Moldau (Vitava). It has about 8000 inhabitants, partly of Czech,
partly of German nationality. Krumau is principally celebrated because
its ancient castle was long the stronghold of the Rosenberg family,
known also as _pani z ruze_, the lords of the rose. Henry II. of
Rosenberg (d. 1310) was the first member of the family to reside at
Krumau. His son Peter I. (d. 1349) raised the place to the rank of a
city. The last two members of the family were two brothers, William,
created prince of Ursini-Rosenberg in 1556 (d. 1592), and Peter Vok, who
played a very large part in Bohemian history. Their librarian was
Wenceslas Brezan, who has left a valuable work on the annals of the
Rosenberg family. Peter Vok of Rosenberg, a strong adherent of the
Utraquist party, sold Krumau shortly before his death (1611), because
the Jesuits had established themselves in the neighbourhood.
The lordship, one of the most extensive in the monarchy, was bought by
the emperor Rudolph II. for his natural son, Julius of Austria. In 1622
the emperor Ferdinand II. presented the lordship to his minister, Hans
Ulrich von Eggenberg, and in 1625 raised it to the rank of an hereditary
duchy in his favour. From the Eggenberg family Krumau passed in 1719 to
Prince Adam Franz Karl of Schwarzenberg, who was created duke of Krumau
in 1723. The head of the Schwarzenberg family bears the title of duke of
Krumau. The castle, one of the largest and finest in Bohemia, preserves
much of its ancient character.
See W. Brezan, _Zivot Vilema z Rosenberka_ (Life of William of
Rosenberg), 1847; also _Zivot Petra Voka z Rosenberka_ (Life of Peter
Vok of Rosenberg), 1880.
KRUMBACHER, CARL (1856-1909), German Byzantine scholar, was born at
Kürnach in Bavaria on the 23rd of September 1856. He was educated at the
universities of Munich and Leipzig, and held the professorship of the
middle age and modern Greek language and literature in the former from
1897 to his death. His greatest work is his _Geschichte der
byzantinischen Litteratur_ (from Justinian to the fall of the Eastern
Empire, 1453), a second edition of which was published in 1897, with the
collaboration of A. Ehrhard (section on theology) and H. Gelzer (general
sketch of Byzantine history, A.D. 395-1453). The value of the work is
greatly enhanced by the elaborate bibliographies contained in the body
of the work and in a special supplement. Krumbacher also founded the
_Byzantinische Zeitschrift_ (1892) and the _Byzantinisches Archiv_
(1898). He travelled extensively and the results of a journey to Greece
appeared in his _Griechische Reise_ (1886). Other works by him are:
_Casia_ (1897), a treatise on a 9th-century Byzantine poetess, with the
fragments; _Michael Glykas_ (1894); "Die griechische Litteratur des
Mittelalters" in P. Hinneberg's _Die Kultur der Gegenwart_, i. 8 (1905);
_Das Problem der neugriechischen Schriftsprache_ (1902), in which he
strongly opposed the efforts of the purists to introduce the classical
style into modern Greek literature, and _Populäre Aufsätze_ (1909).
KRUMEN (KROOMEN, KROOBOYS, KRUS, or CROOS), a negro people of the West
Coast of Africa. They dwell in villages scattered along the coast of
Liberia from below Monrovia nearly to Cape Palmas. The name has been
wrongly derived from the English word "crew," with reference to the fact
that Krumen were the first West African people to take service in
European vessels. It is probably from Kraoh, the primitive name of one
of their tribes. Under Krumen are now grouped many kindred tribes, the
Grebo, Basa, Nifu, &c., who collectively number some 40,000. The Krus
proper live in the narrow strip of coast between the Sino river and Cape
Palmas, where are their five chief villages, Kruber, Little Kru, Settra
Kru, Nana Kru and King William's Town. They are traditionally from the
interior, but have long been noted as skilful seamen and daring
fishermen. They are a stout, muscular, broad-chested race, probably the
most robust of African peoples. They have true negro features--skin of a
blue-black hue and woolly and abundant hair. The women are of a lighter
shade than negro women generally, and in several respects come much
nearer to a European standard. Morally as well as physically the Krumen
are one of the most remarkable races in Africa. They are honest, brave,
proud, so passionately fond of freedom that they will starve or drown
themselves to escape capture, and have never trafficked in slaves.
Politically the Krus are divided into small commonwealths, each with an
hereditary chief whose duty is simply to represent the people in their
dealings with strangers. The real government is vested in the elders,
who wear as insignia iron rings on their legs. Their president, the head
fetish-man, guards the national symbols, and his house is sanctuary for
offenders till their guilt is proved. Personal property is held in
common by each family. Land also is communal, but the rights of the
actual cultivator cease only when he fails to farm it.
At 14 or 15 the Kru "boys" eagerly contract themselves for voyages of
twelve or eighteen months. Generally they prefer work near at home, and
are to be found on almost every ship trading on the Guinea coast. As
soon as they have saved enough to buy a wife they return home and settle
down. Krumen ornament their faces with tribal marks--black or blue lines
on the forehead and from ear to ear. They tattoo their arms and mutilate
the incisor teeth. As a race they are singularly intelligent, and
exhibit their enterprise in numerous settlements along the coast. Sierra
Leone, Grand Bassa and Monrovia all have their Kru towns. Dr Bleek
classifies the Kru language with the Mandingo family, and in this he is
followed by Dr R. G. Latham; Dr Kölle, who published a Kru grammar
(1854), considers it as distinct.
See A. de Quatrefages and E. T. Hamy, _Crania ethnica_, ix. 363
(1878-1879); Schlagintweit-Sakunlunski, in the _Sitzungsberichte_ of
the academy at Munich (1875); Nicholas, in _Bull. de la Soc.
d'Anthrop._ (Paris, 1872); J. Büttikofer, _Reisebilder aus Liberia_
(Leiden, 1890); Sir H. H. Johnston, _Liberia_ (London, 1906).
KRUMMACHER, FRIEDRICH ADOLF (1767-1845), German theologian, was born on
the 13th of July 1767 at Tecklenburg, Westphalia. Having studied
theology at Lingen and Halle, he became successively rector of the
grammar school at Mörs (1793), professor of theology at Duisburg (1800),
preacher at Crefeld, and afterwards at Kettwig, _Consistorialrath_ and
superintendent in Bernburg, and, after declining an invitation to the
university of Bonn, pastor of the Ansgariuskirche in Bremen (1824). He
died at Bremen on the 14th of April 1845. He was the author of many
religious works, but is best known by his _Parabeln_ (1805; 9th ed.
1876; Eng. trans. 1844).
A. W. Möller published his life and letters in 1849.
His brother GOTTFRIED DANIEL KRUMMACHER (1774-1837), who studied
theology at Duisburg and became pastor successively in Bärl (1798),
Wülfrath (1801) and Elberfeld (1816), was the leader of the "pietists"
of Wupperthal, and published several volumes of sermons, including one
entitled _Die Wanderungen Israels durch d. Wüste nach Kanaan_ (1834).
FRIEDRICH WILHELM KRUMMACHER (1796-1868), son of Friedrich Adolf,
studied theology at Halle and Jena, and became pastor successively at
Frankfort (1819), Ruhrort (1823), Gemarke, near Barmen in the Wupperthal
(1825), and Elberfeld (1834). In 1847 he received an appointment to the
Trinity Church in Berlin, and in 1853 he became court chaplain at
Potsdam. He was an influential promoter of the Evangelical Alliance. His
best-known works are _Elias der Thisbiter_ (1828-1833; 6th ed. 1874;
Eng. trans. 1838); _Elisa_ (1837) and _Das Passionsbuch, der leidende
Christus_ (1854, in _English The Suffering Saviour_, 1870). His
_Autobiography_ was published in 1869 (Eng. trans. 1871).
EMIL WILHELM KRUMMACHER (1798-1886), another son, was born at Mörs in
1798. In 1841 he became pastor in Duisburg. He wrote, amongst other
works, _Herzensmanna aus Luthers Werken_ (1852). His son Hermann
(1828-1890), who was appointed _Consistorialrath_ in Stettin in 1877,
was the author of _Deutsches Leben in Nordamerika_ (1874).
KRUPP, ALFRED (1812-1887), German metallurgist, was born at Essen on the
26th of April 1812. His father, Friedrich Krupp (1787-1826), had
purchased a small forge in that town about 1810, and devoted himself to
the problem of manufacturing cast steel; but though that product was put
on the market by him in 1815, it commanded but little sale, and the firm
was far from prosperous. After his death the works were carried on by
his widow, and Alfred, as the eldest son, found himself obliged, a boy
of fourteen, to leave school and undertake their direction. For many
years his efforts met with little success, and the concern, which in
1845 employed only 122 workmen, did scarcely more than pay its way. But
in 1847 Krupp made a 3 pdr. muzzle-loading gun of cast steel, and at the
Great Exhibition of London in 1851 he exhibited a solid flawless ingot
of cast steel weighing 2 tons. This exhibit caused a sensation in the
industrial world, and the Essen works sprang into fame. Another
successful invention, the manufacture of weldless steel tires for
railway vehicles, was introduced soon afterwards. The profits derived
from these and other steel manufactures were devoted to the expansion of
the works and to the development of the artillery with which the name of
Krupp is especially associated (see ORDNANCE). The model settlement,
which is one of the best-known features of the Krupp works, was started
in the 'sixties, when difficulty began to be found in housing the
increasing number of workmen; and now there are various "colonies,"
practically separate villages, dotted about to the south and south-west
of the town, with schools, libraries, recreation grounds, clubs, stores,
&c. The policy also was adopted of acquiring iron and coal mines, so
that the firm might have command of supplies of the raw material
required for its operations. Alfred Krupp, who was known as the "Cannon
King," died at Essen on the 14th of July 1887, and was succeeded by his
only son, Friedrich Alfred Krupp (1854-1902), who was born at Essen on
the 17th of February 1854. The latter devoted himself to the financial
rather than to the technical side of the business, and under him it
again underwent enormous expansion. Among other things he in 1896 leased
the "Germania" ship-building yard at Kiel, and in 1902 it passed into
the complete ownership of the firm. In the latter year, which was also
the year of his death, on the 22nd of November, the total number of men
employed at Essen and its associated works was over 40,000. His elder
daughter Bertha, who succeeded him, was married in October 1906 to Dr
Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach, who on that occasion received the right
to bear the name Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach. The enormous increase in
the German navy involved further expansion in the operations of the
Krupp firm as manufacturers of the armour plates and guns required for
the new ships, and in 1908 its capital, then standing at £9,000,000, was
augmented by £2,500,000.
KRUSENSTERN, ADAM IVAN (1770-1846), Russian navigator, hydrographer and
admiral, was born at Haggud in Esthonia on the 19th of November 1770. In
1785 he entered the corps of naval cadets, after leaving which, in 1788,
with the grade of midshipman, he served in the war against Sweden.
Having been appointed to serve in the British fleet for several years
(1793-1799), he visited America, India and China. After publishing a
paper pointing out the advantages of direct communication between Russia
and China by Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, he was appointed by
the emperor Alexander I. to make a voyage to the east coast of Asia to
endeavour to carry out the project. Two English ships were bought, in
which the expedition left Kronstadt in August 1803 and proceeded by Cape
Horn and the Sandwich Islands to Kamchatka, and thence to Japan.
Returning to Europe by the Cape of Good Hope, after an extended series
of explorations, Krusenstern reached Kronstadt in August 1806, his being
the first Russian expedition to circumnavigate the world. The emperor
conferred several honours upon him, and he ultimately became admiral. As
director of the Russian naval school Krusenstern did much useful work.
He was also a member of the scientific committee of the marine
department, and his contrivance for counteracting the influence of the
iron in vessels on the compass was adopted in the navy. He died at Reval
on the 24th of August 1846.
Krusenstern's _Voyage Round the World in 1803-1806_ was published at
St Petersburg in 1810-1814, in 3 vols., with folio atlas of 104 plates
and maps (Eng. ed., 2 vols. 1813; French ed., 2 vols., and atlas of 30
plates, 1820). His narrative contains a good many important
discoveries and rectifications, especially in the region of Japan, and
the contributions made by the various savants were of much scientific
importance. A valuable work is his _Atlas de l'Océan Pacifique_, with
its accompanying _Recueil des mémoires hydrographiques_ (St
Petersburg, 1824-1827). See _Memoir_ by his daughter, Madame Charlotte
Bernhardi, translated by Sir John Ross (1856).
KRUSHEVATS (or KRUSEVAC), a town of Servia, lying in a fertile region of
hills and dales near the right bank of the Servian Morava. Pop. (1900),
about 10,000. Krushevats is the capital of a department bearing the same
name, and has an active trade in tobacco, hemp, flax, grain and
livestock, for the sale of which it possesses about a dozen markets. It
was in Krushevats that the last Servian tsar, Lazar, assembled his army
to march against the Turks, and lose his empire, at Kosovo, in 1389. The
site of his palace is marked by a ruined enclosure containing a fragment
of the tower of Queen Militsa, whither, according to legend, tidings of
the defeat were brought her by crows from the battlefield. Within the
enclosure stands a church, dating from the reign of Stephen Dushan
(1336-1356), with beautiful rose windows and with imperial peacocks,
dragons and eagles sculptured on the walls. Several old Turkish houses
were left at the beginning of the 20th century, besides an ancient
Turkish fountain and bath.
KSHATTRIYA, one of the four original Indian castes, the other three
being the Brahman, the Vaisya and the Sudra. The Kshattriya was the
warrior caste, and their function was to protect the people and abstain
from sensual pleasures. On the rise of Brahmin ascendancy the
Kshattriyas were repressed, and their consequent revolt gave rise to
Buddhism and Jainism, the founders of both these religions belonging to
the Kshattriya caste. Though, according to tradition, the Kshattriyas
were all exterminated by Parasurama, the rank is now conceded to the
modern Rajputs, and also to the ruling families of native states. (See
CASTE.)
KUBAN, a river of southern Russia, rising on the W. slope of the Elbruz,
in the Caucasus, at an altitude of 13,930 ft., races down the N. face of
the Caucasus as a mountain-torrent, but upon getting down to the
lower-lying steppe country S. of Stavropol it turns, at 1075 ft.
altitude, towards the N.W., and eventually, assuming a westerly course,
enters the Gulf of Kyzyl-tash, on the Black Sea, in the vicinity of the
Straits of Kerch. Its lower course lies for some distance through
marshes, where in times of overflow its breadth increases from the
normal 700 ft. to over half a mile. Its total length is 500 m., the area
of its basin 21,480 sq. m. It is navigable for steamers for 73 m., as
far as the confluence of its tributary, the Laba (200 m. long). This,
like its other affluents, the Byelaya (155 m.), Urup, and Great and
Little Zelenchuk, joins it from the left. The Kuban is the ancient
Hypanis and Vardanes and the Pshishche of the Circassians.
KUBAÑ, a province of Russian Caucasia, having the Sea of Azov on the W.,
the territory of Don Cossacks on the N., the government of Stavropol and
the province of Terek on the E., and the government of Kutais and the
Black Sea district on the S. and S.W. It thus contains the low and
marshy lowlands on the Sea of Azov, the western portion of the fertile
steppes of northern Caucasia, and the northern slopes of the Caucasus
range from its north-west extremity to the Elbruz. The area is 36,370
sq. m. On the south the province includes the parallel ranges of the
Black Mountains (Kara-dagh), 3000 to 6000 ft. high, which are
intersected by gorges that grow deeper and wider as the main range is
approached. Owing to a relatively wet climate and numerous streams,
these mountains are densely clothed with woods, under the shadow of
which a thick undergrowth of rhododendrons, "Caucasian palms" (_Buxus
sempervirens_), ivy, clematis, &c., develops, so as to render the
forests almost impassable. These cover altogether nearly 20% of the
aggregate area. Wide, treeless plains, from 1000 to 2000 ft. high,
stretch north of the Kubañ, and are profusely watered by that river and
its many tributaries--the Little and Great Zelenchuk, Urup, Laba,
Byelaya, Pshish--mountain torrents that rush through narrow gorges from
the Caucasus range. In its lower course the Kubañ forms a wide, low
delta, covered with rushes, haunted by wild boar, and very unhealthy.
The same characteristics mark the low plains on the east of the Sea of
Azov, dotted over with numerous semi-stagnant lakes. Malaria is the
enemy of these regions, and is especially deadly on the Tamañ Peninsula,
as also along the left bank of the lower and middle Kubañ.
There is considerable mineral wealth. Coal is found on the Kubañ and its
tributaries, but its extraction is still insignificant (less than 10,000
tons per annum). Petroleum wells exist in the district of Maikop, but
the best are in the Tamañ Peninsula, where they range over 570 sq. m.
Iron ores, silver and zinc are found; alabaster is extracted, as also
some salt, soda and Epsom salts. The best mineral waters are at Psekup
and Tamañ, where there are also numbers of mud volcanoes, ranging from
small hillocks to hills 365 ft. high and more. The soil is very fertile
in the plains, parts of which consist of black earth and are being
rapidly populated.
The population reached 1,928,419 in 1897, of whom 1,788,622 were
Russians, 13,926 Armenians, 20,137 Greeks and 20,778 Germans. There were
at the same date 945,873 women, and only 156,486 people lived in towns.
The estimated population in 1906 was 2,275,400. The aborigines were
represented by 100,000 Circassians, 5000 Nogai Tatars and some Ossetes.
The Circassians or Adyghe, who formerly occupied the mountain valleys,
were compelled, after the Russian conquest in 1861, either to settle on
the flat land or to emigrate; those who refused to move voluntarily were
driven across the mountains to the Black Sea coast. Most of them (nearly
200,000) emigrated to Turkey, where they formed the Bashi-bazouks.
Peasants from the interior provinces of Russia occupied the plains of
the Kubañ, and they now number over 1,000,000, while the Kubañ Cossacks
in 1897 numbered 804,372 (405,428 women). In point of religion 90% of
the population were in 1897 members of the Orthodox Greek Church, 4%
Raskolniks and other Christians and 5.4% Mahommedans, the rest being
Jews.
Wheat is by far the chief crop (nearly three-quarters of the total area
under crops are under wheat); rye, oats, barley, millet, Indian corn,
some flax and potatoes, as also tobacco, are grown. Agricultural
machinery is largely employed, and the province is a reserve granary for
Russia. Livestock, especially sheep, is kept in large numbers on the
steppes. Bee-keeping is general, and gardening and vine-growing are
spreading rapidly. Fishing in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, as also in
the Kubañ, is important.
Two main lines of railway intersect the province, one running N.W. to
S.E., from Rostov to Vladikavkaz, and another starting from the former
south-westwards to Novorossiysk on the north coast of the Black Sea. The
province is divided into seven districts, the chief towns of which, with
their populations in 1897, are Ekaterinodar, capital of the province
(65,697), Anapa (6676), Labinsk (6388), Batalpashinsk (8100), Maikop
(34,191), Temryuk (14,476) and Yeisk (35,446).
The history of the original settlements of the various native tribes,
and their language and worship before the introduction of Mahommedanism,
remain a blank page in the legends of the Caucasus. The peninsula of
Tamañ, a land teeming with relics of ancient Greek colonists, has been
occupied successively by the Cimmerians, Sarmatians, Khazars, Mongols
and other nations. The Genoese, who established an extensive trade in
the 13th century, were expelled by the Turks in 1484, and in 1784 Russia
obtained by treaty the entire peninsula and the territory on the right
bank of the Kubañ, the latter being granted by Catherine II. in 1792 to
the Cossacks of the Dnieper. Then commenced the bloody struggle with
the Circassians, which continued for more than half a century. Not only
domestic, but even field work, is conducted mostly by the women, who are
remarkable for their physical strength and endurance. The native
mountaineers, known under the general name of Circassians, but locally
distinguished as the Karachai, Abadsikh, Khakuchy, Shapsugh, have
greatly altered their mode of life since the pacification of the
Caucasus, still, however, maintaining Mahommedanism, speaking their
vernacular, and strictly observing the customs of their ancestors.
Exports include wheat, tobacco, leather, wool, petroleum, timber, fish,
salt and live cattle; imports, dry goods, grocery and hardware. Local
industry is limited to a few tanneries, petroleum refineries and spirit
distilleries. (P. A. K.; J. T. Be.)
KUBELIK, JAN (1880- ), Bohemian violinist, was born near Prague, of
humble parentage. He learnt the violin from childhood, and appeared in
public at Prague in 1888, subsequently being trained at the
Conservatorium by the famous teacher Ottakar Sevcik. From him he learnt
an extraordinary technique, and from 1898 onwards his genius was
acclaimed at concerts throughout Europe. He first appeared in London in
1900, and in America in 1901, creating a _furore_ everywhere. In 1903 he
married the Countess Czaky Szell.
KUBERA (or KUVERA), in Hindu mythology, the god of wealth. Originally he
appears as king of the powers of evil, a kind of Pluto. His home is
Alaka in Mount Kailasa, and his garden, the world's treasure-house, is
Chaitraratha, on Mount Mandara. Kubera is half-brother to the demon
Ravana, and was driven from Ceylon by the latter.
KUBLAI KHAN (or KAAN, as the supreme ruler descended from Jenghiz was
usually distinctively termed in the 13th century) (1216-1294), the most
eminent of the successors of Jenghiz (Chinghiz), and the founder of the
Mongol dynasty in China. He was the second son of Tule, youngest of the
four sons of Jenghiz by his favourite wife. Jenghiz was succeeded in the
khanship by his third son Okkodai, or Ogdai (1229), he by his son Kuyuk
(1246), and Kuyuk by Mangu, eldest son of Tule (1252). Kublai was born
in 1216, and, young as he was, took part with his younger brother Hulagu
(afterwards conqueror of the caliph and founder of the Mongol dynasty in
Persia) in the last campaign of Jenghiz (1226-27). The Mongol poetical
chronicler, Sanang Setzen, records a tradition that Jenghiz himself on
his death-bed discerned young Kublai's promise and predicted his
distinction.
Northern China, Cathay as it was called, had been partially conquered by
Jenghiz himself, and the conquest had been followed up till the Kin or
"golden" dynasty of Tatars, reigning at K'ai-feng Fu on the Yellow
River, were completely subjugated (1234). But China south of the
Yangtsze-kiang remained many years later subject to the native dynasty
of Sung, reigning at the great city of Lingan, or Kinsai (_King-sz'_,
"capital"), now known as Hang-chow Fu. Operations to subdue this region
had commenced in 1235, but languished till Mangu's accession. Kublai was
then named his brother's lieutenant in Cathay, and operations were
resumed. By what seems a vast and risky strategy, of which the motives
are not quite clear, the first campaign of Kublai was directed to the
subjugation of the remote western province of Yunnan. After the capture
of Tali Fu (well known in recent years as the capital of a Mahommedan
insurgent sultan), Kublai returned north, leaving the war in Yunnan to a
trusted general. Some years later (1257) the khan Mangu himself entered
on a campaign in west China, and died there, before Ho-chow in
Sze-ch'uen (1259).
Kublai assumed the succession, but it was disputed by his brother
Arikbugha and by his cousin Kaidu, and wars with these retarded the
prosecution of the southern conquest. Doubtless, however, this was
constantly before Kublai as a great task to be accomplished, and its
fulfilment was in his mind when he selected as the future capital of his
empire the Chinese city that we now know as Peking. Here, in 1264, to
the north-east of the old city, which under the name of Yenking had been
an occasional residence of the Kin sovereigns, he founded his new
capital, a great rectangular plot of 18 m. in circuit. The (so-called)
"Tatar city" of modern Peking is the city of Kublai, with about
one-third at the north cut off, but Kublai's walls are also on this
retrenched portion still traceable.
The new city, officially termed T'ai-tu ("great court"), but known among
the Mongols and western people as Kaan-baligh ("city of the khan") was
finished in 1267. The next year war against the Sung Empire was resumed,
but was long retarded by the strenuous defence of the twin cities of
Siang-yang and Fan-cheng, on opposite sides of the river Han, and
commanding two great lines of approach to the basin of the
Yangtsze-kiang. The siege occupied nearly five years. After this Bayan,
Kublai's best lieutenant, a man of high military genius and noble
character, took command. It was not, however, till 1276 that the Sung
capital surrendered, and Bayan rode into the city (then probably the
greatest in the world) as its conqueror. The young emperor, with his
mother, was sent prisoner to Kaan-baligh; but two younger princes had
been despatched to the south before the fall of the city, and these
successively were proclaimed emperor by the adherents of the native
throne. An attempt to maintain their cause was made in Fu-kien, and
afterwards in the province of Kwang-tung; but in 1279 these efforts were
finally extinguished, and the faithful minister who had inspired them
terminated the struggle by jumping with his young lord into the sea.
Even under the degenerate Sung dynasty the conquest of southern China
had occupied the Mongols during half a century of intermittent
campaigns. But at last Kublai was ruler of all China, and probably the
sovereign (at least nominally) of a greater population than had ever
acknowledged one man's supremacy. For, though his rule was disputed by
the princes of his house in Turkestan, it was acknowledged by those on
the Volga, whose rule reached to the frontier of Poland, and by the
family of his brother Hulagu, whose dominion extended from the Oxus to
the Arabian desert. For the first time in history the name and character
of an emperor of China were familiar as far west as the Black Sea and
not unknown in Europe. The Chinese seals which Kublai conferred on his
kinsmen reigning at Tabriz are stamped upon their letters to the kings
of France, and survive in the archives of Paris. Adventurers from
Turkestan, Persia, Armenia, Byzantium, even from Venice, served him as
ministers, generals, governors, envoys, astronomers or physicians;
soldiers from all Asia to the Caucasus fought his battles in the south
of China. Once in his old age (1287) Kublai was compelled to take the
field in person against a serious revolt, raised by Nayan, a prince of
his family, who held a vast domain on the borders of Manchuria. Nayan
was taken and executed. The revolt had been stirred up by Kaidu, who
survived his imperial rival, and died in 1301. Kublai himself died in
1294, at the age of seventy-eight.
Though a great figure in Asiatic history, and far from deserving a niche
in the long gallery of Asiatic tyrants, Kublai misses a record in the
short list of the good rulers. His historical locus was a happy one,
for, whilst he was the first of his race to rise above the innate
barbarism of the Mongols, he retained the force and warlike character of
his ancestors, which vanished utterly in the effeminacy of those who
came after him. He had great intelligence and a keen desire for
knowledge, with apparently a good deal of natural benevolence and
magnanimity. But his love of splendour, and his fruitless expeditions
beyond sea, created enormous demands for money, and he shut his eyes to
the character and methods of those whom he employed to raise it. A
remarkable narrative of the oppressions of one of these, Ahmed of
Fenaket, and of the revolt which they provoked, is given by Marco Polo,
in substantial accordance with the Chinese annals.
Kublai patronized Chinese literature and culture generally. The great
astronomical instruments which he caused to be made were long preserved
at Peking, but were carried off to Berlin in 1900. Though he put hardly
any Chinese into the first ranks of his administration, he attached many
to his confidence, and was personally popular among them. Had his
endeavour to procure European priests for the instruction of his
people, of which we know through Marco Polo, prospered, the Roman
Catholic church, which gained some ground under his successors, might
have taken stronger root in China. Failing this momentary effort, Kublai
probably saw in the organized force of Tibetan Buddhism the readiest
instrument in the civilization of his countrymen, and that system
received his special countenance. An early act of his reign had been to
constitute a young lama of intelligence and learning the head of the
Lamaite Church, and eventually also prince of Tibet, an act which may be
regarded as a precursory form of the rule of the "grand lamas" of Lassa.
The same ecclesiastic, Mati Dhwaja, was employed by Kublai to devise a
special alphabet for use with the Mongol language. It was chiefly based
on Tibetan forms of Nagari; some coins and inscriptions in it are
extant; but it had no great vogue, and soon perished. Of the splendour
of his court and entertainments, of his palaces, summer and winter, of
his great hunting expeditions, of his revenues and extraordinary paper
currency, of his elaborate system of posts and much else, an account is
given in the book of Marco Polo, who passed many years in Kublai's
service.
We have alluded to his foreign expeditions, which were almost all
disastrous. Nearly all arose out of a hankering for the nominal
extension of his empire by claiming submission and tribute. Expeditions
against Japan were several times repeated; the last, in 1281, on an
immense scale, met with huge discomfiture. Kublai's preparations to
avenge it were abandoned owing to the intense discontent which they
created. In 1278 he made a claim of submission upon Champa, an ancient
state representing what we now call Cochin China. This eventually led to
an attempt to invade the country through Tongking, and to a war with the
latter state, in which the Mongols had much the worst of it. War with
Burma (or Mien, as the Chinese called it) was provoked in very similar
fashion, but the result was more favourable to Kublai's arms. The
country was overrun as far as the Irrawaddy delta, the ancient capital,
Pagan, with its magnificent temples, destroyed, and the old royal
dynasty overthrown. The last attempt of the kind was against Java, and
occurred in the last year of the old khan's reign. The envoy whom he had
commissioned to claim homage was sent back with ignominy. A great
armament was equipped in the ports of Fu-kien to avenge this insult; but
after some temporary success the force was compelled to re-embark with a
loss of 3000 men. The death of Kublai prevented further action.
Some other expeditions, in which force was not used, gratified the
khan's vanity by bringing back professions of homage, with presents, and
with the curious reports of foreign countries in which Kublai delighted.
Such expeditions extended to the states of southern India, to eastern
Africa, and even to Madagascar.
Of Kublai's twelve legitimate sons, Chingkim, the favourite and
designated successor, died in 1284/5; and Timur, the son of Chingkim,
took his place. No great king arose in the dynasty after Kublai. He had
in all nine successors of his house on the throne of Kaan-baligh, but
the long and imbecile reign of the ninth, Toghon Timur, ended (1368) in
disgrace and expulsion and the native dynasty of Ming reigned in their
stead. (H. Y.)
KUBUS, a tribe inhabiting the central parts of Sumatra. They are nomadic
savages living entirely in the forests in shelters of branches and
leaves built on platforms. It has been suggested that they represent a
Sumatran aboriginal race; but Dr J. G. Garson, reporting on Kubu skulls
and skeletons submitted to him by Mr. H. O. Forbes, declared them
decidedly Malay, though the frizzle in the hair might indicate a certain
mixture of negrito blood (_Jour. Anthrop. Instit._, April 1884). They
are of a rich olive-brown tint, their hair jet black and inclined to
curl, and, though not dwarfs, are below the average height.
KUCHAN, a fertile and populous district of the province Khorasan in
Persia, bounded N. by the Russian Transcaspian territory, W. by Bujnurd,
S. by Isfaraïn, and extending in the E. to near Radkan. Its area is
about 3000 sq. m. and its population, principally composed of Zafaranlu
Kurds, descendants of tribes settled there by Shah Abbas I. in the 17th
century, is estimated at 100,000. About 3000 families are nomads and
live in tents. The district produces much grain, 25,000 to 30,000 tons
yearly, and contains two towns, Kuchan and Shirvan (pop. 6000), and many
villages.
KUCHAN, the capital of the district, has suffered much from the effects
of earthquakes, notably in 1875, 1894 and 1895. The last earthquake laid
the whole town in ruins and caused considerable loss of life. About 8000
of the survivors removed to a site 7½ m. E. and there built a new town
named Nasseriyeh after Nasr-ud-din Shah, but known better as Kuchan i
jadid, i.e. New Kuchan, and about 1000 remained in the ruined city in
order to be near their vineyards and gardens. The geographical position
of the old town is 37° 8´ N., 58° 25´ E., elevation 4100 ft. The new
town has been regularly laid out with broad streets and spacious
bazaars, and, situated as it is half-way between Meshed and Askabad on
the cart-road connecting those two places, has much trade. Its
population is estimated at 10,000. There are telegraph and post offices.
KUCH BEHAR, or COOCH BEHAR, a native state of India, in Bengal,
consisting of a submontane tract, not far from Darjeeling, entirely
surrounded by British territory. Area, 1307 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 566,974;
estimated revenue, £140,000. The state forms a level plain of triangular
shape, intersected by numerous rivers. The greater portion is fertile
and well cultivated, but tracts of jungle are to be seen in the
north-east corner, which abuts upon Assam. The soil is uniform in
character throughout, consisting of a light, friable loam, varying in
depth from 6 in. to 3 ft., superimposed upon a deep bed of sand. The
whole is detritus, washed down by torrents from the neighbouring
Himalayas. The rivers all pass through the state from north to south, to
join the main stream of the Brahmaputra. Some half-dozen are navigable
for small trading boats throughout the year, and are nowhere fordable;
and there are about twenty minor streams which become navigable only
during the rainy season. The streams have a tendency to cut new channels
for themselves after every annual flood, and they communicate with one
another by cross-country watercourses. Rice is grown on three-fourths of
the cultivated area. Jute and tobacco are also largely grown for export.
The only special industries are the weaving of a strong silk obtained
from worms fed on the castor-oil plant, and of a coarse jute cloth used
for screens and bedding. The external trade is chiefly in the hands of
Marwari immigrants from Rajputana. Among other improvements a railway
has been constructed, with the assistance of a loan from the British
government. The earthquake of the 12th of June 1897 caused damage to
public buildings, roads, &c., in the state to the estimated amount of
£100,000.
The Koch or Rajbansi, from which the name of the state is derived, are a
widely spread tribe, evidently of aboriginal descent, found throughout
all northern Bengal, from Purnea district to the Assam valley. They are
akin to the Indo-Chinese races of the north-east frontier; but they have
now become largely hinduized, especially in their own home, where the
appellation "Koch" has come to be used as a term of reproach. Their
total number in all India was returned in 1901 as nearly 2½ millions.
As in the case of many other small native states, the royal family of
Kuch Behar lays claim to a divine origin in order to conceal an impure
aboriginal descent. The greatest monarch of the dynasty was Nar Narayan,
the son of Visu Singh, who began to reign about 1550. He conquered the
whole of Kamrup, built temples in Assam, of which ruins still exist
bearing inscriptions with his name, and extended his power southwards
over what is now part of the British districts of Rangpur and Purnea.
His son, Lakshmi Narayan, who succeeded him in Kuch Behar, became
tributary to the Mogul Empire. In 1772 a competitor for the throne,
having been driven out of the country by his rivals, applied for
assistance to Warren Hastings. A detachment of sepoys was accordingly
marched into the state; the Bhutias, whose interference had led to this
intervention, were expelled, and forced to sue for peace through the
mediation of the lama of Tibet. By the treaty made on this occasion,
April 1773, the raja acknowledged subjection to the Company, and made
over to it one-half of his annual revenues. In 1863, on the death of the
raja, leaving a son and heir only ten months old, a British commissioner
was appointed to undertake the direct management of affairs during the
minority of the prince, and many important reforms were successfully
introduced. The maharaja Sir Nripendra Narayan, G.C.I.E., born in 1862,
was educated under British guardianship at Patna and Calcutta, and
became hon. lieutenant-colonel of the 6th Bengal Cavalry. In 1897-98 he
served in the Tirah campaign on the staff of General Yeatman-Biggs, and
received the distinction of a C.B. He was present at the Jubilee in
1887, the Diamond Jubilee of 1897, and King Edward's Coronation in 1902,
and became a well-known figure in London society. In 1878 he married a
daughter of Keshub Chunder Sen, the Brahmo leader. His eldest son was
educated in England.
The town of Kuch Behar is situated on the river Tursa, and has a railway
station. Pop. (1901), 10,458. It contains a college affiliated to the
Calcutta University.
KUDU (_koodoo_), the native name for a large species of African antelope
(q.v.), with large corkscrew-like horns in the male, and the body marked
with narrow vertical white lines in both sexes. The female is hornless.
_Strepsiceros capensis_ (or _S. strepsiceros_) is the scientific name of
the true kudu, which ranges from the Cape to Somaliland; but there is
also a much smaller species (_S. imberbis_) in East and North-East
Africa.
[Illustration: Male Kudu.]
KUENEN, ABRAHAM (1828-1891), Dutch Protestant theologian, the son of an
apothecary, was born on the 16th of September 1828, at Haarlem, North
Holland. On his father's death it became necessary for him to leave
school and take a humble place in the business. By the generosity of
friends he was educated at the gymnasium at Haarlem and afterwards at the
university of Leiden. He studied theology, and won his doctor's degree by
an edition of thirty-four chapters of Genesis from the Arabic version of
the Samaritan Pentateuch. In 1853 he became professor extraordinarius of
theology at Leiden, and in 1855 full professor. He married a daughter of
W. Muurling, one of the founders of the Gröningen school, which made the
first pronounced breach with Calvinistic theology in the Reformed Church
of Holland. Kuenen himself soon became one of the main supports of the
modern theology, of which J. N. Scholten (1811-1885) and Karel Willem
Opzoomer (b. 1821) were the chief founders, and of which Leiden became
the headquarters. His first great work, an historico-critical
introduction to the Old Testament, _Historisch-kritisch onderzoek naar
het onstaan en de verzameling van de boeken des Ouden Verbonds_ (3 vols.,
1861-1865; 2nd ed., 1885-1893; German by T. Weber and C. T. Müller,
1885-1894), followed the lines of the dominant school of Heinrich Ewald.
But before long he came under the influence of J. W. Colenso, and learned
to regard the prophetic narrative of Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers as
older than what was by the Germans denominated _Grundschrift_ ("Book of
Origins"). In 1869-1870 he published his book on the religion of Israel,
_De godsdienst van Israël tot den ondergang van der Joodschen Staat_
(Eng. trans., 1874-1875). This was followed in 1875 by a study of Hebrew
prophecy, _De profeten en de profetie onder Israel_ (Eng. trans., 1877),
largely polemical in its scope, and specially directed against those who
rest theological dogmas on the fulfilment of prophecy. In 1882 Kuenen
went to England to deliver a course of Hibbert lectures, _National
Religions and Universal Religion_; in the following year he presided at
the congress of Orientalists held at Leiden. In 1886 his volume on the
Hexateuch was published in England. He died at Leiden on the 10th of
December 1891.
Kuenen was also the author of many articles, papers and reviews; a
series on the Hexateuch, which appeared in the _Theologisch
Tijdschrift_, of which in 1866 he became joint editor, is one of the
finest products of modern criticism. His collected works were
translated into German and published by K. Budde in 1894. Several of
his works have been translated into English by Philip Wicksteed. See
the article in Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopädie_.
KUEN-LUN, or KWEN-LUN, a term used to designate generally the mountain
ranges which run along the northern edge of the great Tibetan plateau in
Central Asia. In a wider application it means the succession of ranges
which extend from the Pamirs on the W. to 113° E., until it strikes
against or merges in the steep escarpments of the S.E. flank of the
Mongolian plateau. In the narrower acceptation it applies only to those
ranges which part the desert of Takla-makan on the N. from the Tibetan
plateau on the S. between the Pamirs and the transverse glen of the
Kara-muren, that is, nearly to the longitude of the town of Cherchen
(about 85½° E.). Although the use of the name is thus restricted in
geographical usage, the mountain system so designated does, as a fact,
extend eastwards as far as the great depression of Tsaidam (say 95° E.),
though it is uncertain whether its direct orographical continuation
eastwards is to be identified with the Astin-tagh, or, as F. Grenard and
K. Bogdanovich believe--and with them Sven Hedin is inclined to
agree--with the parallel ranges of Kalta-alaghan and Arka-tagh, which
lie S. of the Astin-tagh. At any rate the Astin-tagh, whether it is the
principal continuation of the Kuen-lun or only a subsidiary flanking
system, is itself the westward continuation of the Nan-shan or Southern
Mountains, which reach down far into China (to 113° E.).
Taken in its widest meaning, the Kuen-lun Mountains thus stretch in a
wavy line for nearly 2500 m. from E. to W., and while in the W. their
constituent ranges are folded and squeezed by lateral compression into a
breadth of some 150-200 m., their summits being forced up to
correspondingly higher altitudes, in the E. they spread out to a breadth
of some 600 m., the ranges being in that quarter less folded, and
consequently both flatter and lower. In the tectonic structure of Asia
the Kuen-lun forms, as it were, the backbone of the continent. In point
of age it is very much older than either the Himalayas to the S. or the
Tian-shan to the N. But although the crests of its component ranges
reach altitudes of 21,500 to 22,000 ft., they are not as a rule
overtopped by individual peaks of commanding and towering elevation, as
the Himalayas are, but run on the whole tolerably uniform and relatively
at little greater altitude than the lofty valleys which separate them
one from another. It is a strikingly marked characteristic of the
northern edge of the Tibetan plateau that its outermost border-range
(e.g. Western Kuen-lun and Astin-tagh) is throughout double; and this
"twinning" of the mountain-ranges, as also of the intermont lake-basins
among the Kuen-lun ranges, is a peculiar feature of the Tibetan plateau.
The supreme orographic importance of this great Central Asian mountain
system was recognized in a fashion even by the geographers of ancient
Greece. They used to suppose that an immense range of mountains
crossed Asia from west to east on the parallel of the island of
Rhodes, extending through Asia Minor, the Kurdish highlands, the N. of
Persia, the N. of Bactria (Afghanistan), the Hindu-kush, and so on
into China. This long range they supposed to separate the waters which
flow N. to the Arctic from those which flow S. to the Indian Ocean. K.
Ritter (_Asien_, ii.) was the first of modern geographers to recognize
the true character of the Kuen-lun as a border range of the Tibetan
plateau; and Baron von Richthofen (_China_, i. 1876) still further
defined and accentuated the conception of the system by representing
it as a complex arrangement of several parallel ranges, running in
wavy lines from the Pamirs (76° E.) eastwards to 118° E. But though
von Richthofen's general conception of the Kuen-lun system was broadly
sound and in accordance with facts, the details both of his
description and of that of his pupil Wegener[1] require now very
considerable revision, and need even to be in part recast, as a
consequence of explorations and investigations made since they wrote
by, amongst others, the Russian explorers N. M. Przhevalsky, M. V.
Pyevtsov, V. I. Roboroysky, P. K. Kozlov, K. Bogdanovich, V. A.
Obruchev, and (?) Skassi; by the Englishmen A. D. Carey, A. Dalgleish,
St G. R. Littledale, H. Bower, H. H. P. Deasy and M. S. Wellby; by the
American W. W. Rockhill; the Frenchmen J. L. Dutreuil de Rhins, F.
Grenard, P. G. Bonvalot and Prince Henri d'Orléans; by the Hungarians
L. von Loczy and Count Szechényi; and above all by the Swede Sven
Hedin.
_Western Kuen-lun._--On the east the Pamir highlands are fenced off
from the East Turkestan lowlands by the double border-ridge of
Sarik-kol (the Sarik-kol range and the Muztagh or Kashgar range),
which has its eastern foot down in the Tarim basin (4000-4500 ft.) and
its western up on the Pamirs at 10,500 to 13,000 ft. above sea-level,
while its own summits, e.g. the Muztagh-ata (25,780 ft.), shoot up far
above the limits of perpetual snow. This double border-ridge is
continued east of the meridian of Yarkand or Yarkent (77° E.) by a
succession of twin ranges, all running, though under different names,
from the W.N.W. to the E.S.E. According to the investigations of F.
Stoliczka and K. Bogdanovich, the same fossils occur in both sets of
border ranges, in the Sarik-kol and in their eastward continuations,
e.g. corals, _Stromatophorae_, _Bryozoa_, _Atrypa reticularis_, _A.
latilinguis_ and _A. aspera_, _Spirifer verneuili_, &c., and these the
latter geologist assigns to the Devonian epoch. These eastward
continuations of the double border-range of the Pamirs are the
constituent ranges of the Kuen-lun proper. The names given to them are
the Kilian or Kiliang, the Khotan and the Keriya Mountains in the more
northerly range and the Raskem or Raskan, the Sughet and the
Ullugh-tagh Mountains in the more southerly range. Although they all
decrease in altitude from west to east, they nevertheless reach
elevations of 19,000 ft., with individual peaks ascending some
2000-2500 ft. higher. From the East Turkestan lowlands on the north
the ascent is very steep, and the passes across both sets of ranges
lie at great altitudes; for example, the pass of Sanju-davan in the
lower range is 16,325 ft. above sea-level, and the Kyzyl-davan,
farther east, is 16,900 ft., while the Sughet-davan in the higher
range is 17,825 ft. The latter range is separated from the Karakorum
Mountains by the deeply trenched gorge of the Raskem or Yarkand-darya,
while the deep glen of the Kara-kash or Khotan-darya intervenes
between the upper (Sughet Mountains) and the lower (Kilian Mountains)
border-ranges. Altogether this western extremity of the Kuen-lun
system is a very rugged mountainous region, a consequence partly of
the intricacy of the flanking ranges and spurs, partly of the powerful
lateral compression to which they have been subjected, and partly of
the great and abrupt differences in vertical elevation between the
crests of the ranges and the bottoms of the deep, narrow, rugged glens
between them. In the broad orographical disposition of the ranges
there is considerable similarity between north Tibet and west Persia,
in that in both cases the ranges are crowded together in the west, but
spread out wider as they advance towards the east. To the two
principal ranges in this part of the system F. Grenard, who
accompanied J. L. Dutreuil de Rhins on his journey in 1890-1895, gives
the names the Altyn-tagh and Ustun-tagh, though he names no less than
six parallel ranges altogether. Now as Altyn-tagh[2] is an accepted,
though in point of fact erroneous, name for Astin-tagh, it is clear
that Grenard considers the main Kuen-lun ranges to be continued
directly by the Astin-tagh.
From the transverse breach of the Keriya-darya (about 81½° E.) to that
of the Kara-muren in the longitude of Cherchen (about 85½° E.) the
parallel border-ranges of the Tibetan plateau trend to the E.N.E., and
here occur in the lower or outer range the passes of Dalai-kurghan-art
(14,290 ft.), Choka-davan, i.e. Littledale's Chokur Pass (9530 ft.)
and others at altitudes ranging from 8600 to 11,500 ft., while in the
upper range are the At-to-davan (16,600 ft.), Yapkak-lik-davan (15,550
ft.), Sarshu-davan (15,680 ft.) and others not named at 16,590 and
17,300 ft.
_Middle Kuen-lun._--Between the upper transverse glens of the
Kara-muren (or Mitt River) and the Cherchen-darya stretches the short
range of Tokuz-davan. From it, on the east side of the Cherchen-daryt,
in about 86° E., the component ranges of the middle Kuen-lun begin to
diverge and radiate outwards (i.e. to north and to south) like the
fingers of the outspread human hand. And here at least four principal
ranges or groups of ranges admit of being discriminated, namely the
Astin-tagh, the Chimen-tagh, the Kalta-alaghan and the Arka-tagh, all
belonging to the mountainous country which borders on the north the
actual plateau region of Tibet. Although these several ranges, or
systems of ranges, differ considerably in their orographical
characteristics, the following description will apply generally to the
entire region from the Astin-tagh southwards to the Arka-tagh. The
broad features of the surface configuration are a series of nearly
parallel mountain-ranges, running from W.S.W. E.N.E. to W.N.W. E.S.E.,
and separated by high intermont valleys, which are choked with
disintegrated material and divided into a chequered pattern of
self-contained, shallow lacustrine basins. As a rule the crests of the
ranges are worn down by aerial denudation and have the general
appearance of rounded domes. Hard rock (mostly granite and crystalline
schists, with red sandstone in places) appears only in the transverse
glens, which are often choked with their débris in the form either of
gravel-and-shingle or loose blocks of stone or both. The flanks of the
mountains are so deeply buried in disintegrated material that the
difference in vertical altitude between the floors of the valleys and
the summits of the ranges is comparatively small. But as each
successive range, proceeding south, represents a higher step in the
terraced ascent from the desert of Gobi to the plateau of Tibet, the
ranges when viewed from the north frequently appear like veritable
upstanding mountain ranges, and this appearance is accentuated by the
general steepness of the ascent; whereas, when viewed on the other
hand from the south, these several ranges, owing to their long and
gentle slope in that direction, have the appearance of comparatively
gentle swellings of the earth's surface rather than of well-defined
mountain ranges. As a rule, the streams flow alternately east and west
down the intermont latitudinal valleys, until they break through some
transverse glen in the range on the northern side of the valley. In
the western parts of the system they mostly go to feed the Kara-muren
or the Cherchen-darya, while farther east they flow down into some
larger self-contained basin of internal drainage, such as the
Achik-kol, the two lakes Kara-kol, or the Ghaz-kol, and even yet
farther east make their way, some of them into the lakes of the
Tsaidam depression or become lost in its sands or in those of the
Kum-tagh desert on the north, or go to feed the headstreams of the
great rivers, the Hwang-ho (Yellow River) and the Yangtsze-kiang (Blue
River) in the south. It appears to be a rule that the rivers which
eventually terminate in the deserts of Gobi and Takla-makan grow
increasingly larger in magnitude from east to west. Another law
appears to distinguish the hydrography of at any rate the great
latitudinal valleys of the Arka-tagh and the Chimen valley (north of
the Chimen-tagh): the streams flow close under the foot of the range
that shuts in each individual valley on the north. But in respect of
precipitation there is a very marked difference between the valleys of
the north and those of the south. Whereas both the mountains and
valleys of the Astin-tagh and of the Akato-tagh (the next large range
to the Astin-tagh on the south) are arid and desolate in the extreme,
smitten as it were with the desiccating breath of the desert, those of
the Arka-tagh and beyond are supersaturated with moisture, so that, at
any rate in summer, the surface is in many parts little better than a
quaking quagmire. Throughout vegetation is scanty and faunal life poor
in species, though in some respects certain of the species, e.g. wild
yaks, wild asses (_kulans_), antelopes (_orongo_ and others), marmots,
hares and partridges exist locally in large numbers. The wild camel
approaches the north outliers of the Astin-tagh, but rarely, if ever,
ventures to enter their fastnesses. Bears, wolves, foxes, goats
(_kökmet_), wild sheep (_arkharis_), lizards, earth-rats, and a small
rodent (_teshikan_), with ravens, eagles, wild ducks and wild geese
are the other varieties principally encountered. The vegetation
consists almost entirely of scrubby bushes of several varieties,
including tamarisks and wild briers, of reeds (_kamish_), and of grass
on the _yaylaks_ (pasture-grounds) of the middle ranges. On the
Arka-tagh even the moss, the last surviving representative of the
flora, disappears entirely. In the eastern Astin-tagh a variety of
wild tea (_chay_, mountain tea) is used by the Mongols. Gold is
obtained in very small quantities in a few places in the Astin-tagh
and the Kalta-alaghan. The nomenclature of the numerous ranges in this
part of the Kuen-lun is extremely confusing, owing to different
travellers having applied the same name to different ranges and to
different travellers have applied different names to what is probably
often identically the same range. In this article the nomenclature
adopted is that employed by the latest, and probably the most
thorough, explorer of this part of Central Asia, namely, Sven Hedin.
Nevertheless, owing to the fact that nearly all the longer and more
important crossings of Tibet and its northern montane region have been
made from north to south, or vice versa, that is, transversely across
the ranges, and comparatively few from east to west along the
intermont latitudinal valleys, the identifications between ranges in
the east and ranges in the west are in more than one instance more or
less doubtful.
The _Astin-tagh_, although it occupies a similar position to the twin
ranges of the Western Kuen-lun, in that it forms the outermost
escarpment or border-ridge on the north of the Tibetan plateau, would
appear in the opinion of the most competent judges (e.g. Grenard,
Bogdanovich, Sven Hedin, Przhevalsky), to be only a branch or
subsidiary range of the main range of the Kuen-lun. It is not however
a single, long, continuous chain, as it is shown, for example, on the
map of the Russian general staff, but consists of two parallel main
ranges, and in the east of three, and even to the N.E. of Tsaidam of
four, parallel main ranges, flanked throughout by several subsidiary
chains, spurs and offshoots. Beyond that it swells out into the vast
_massif_ of Anambaruin-ula, which is traversed by at least three minor
parallel chains. But on the east of the Anambaruin-ula it once more
contracts to two main ranges, the more southerly being that which
Przhevalsky called the Humboldt Range (crossed by a pass at 13,200
ft.). This branch is probably continued in the range which overhangs
the Koko-nor on the south, namely, the south Koko-nor Range. The
northern branch merges eastwards into the Nan-shan or Southern
Mountains.[3] The passes in the Lower Astin-tagh range from altitudes
of 10,150 to 10,700 ft., and in the Upper Astin-tagh at 11,770 to
15,680 ft. (Tash-davan), though one pass beside the Charkhlik-su is
only 9660 ft. high. And as the relative altitudes of crest and pass
remain approximately the same as in the Western Kuen-lun, it is
evident how greatly the general elevation of the twin border ridge
decreases towards the east. But there exists a striking difference
between the crests of the Astin-tagh and those of the ranges which
give rise to the gigantic ridge and furrow arrangement on the Tibetan
plateau. "Here in the Astin-tagh the mountains, like those in the
Kuruk-tagh,[4] are indeed severely weathered, but they always consist,
from base to summit, of hard rock, bare and barren, most frequently
piled up in eccentric, rugged masses, denticulated, pinnacled crests
and peaks. On the Tibetan plateau, on the other hand, most of the
ranges are distinguished by their rounded outlines and soft
consistency, and their striking poverty in hard rock, which in the
best cases only crops out near the summits. There too disintegration
has been to a remarkable extent operative. This gives rise to the
great morphological difference, that in the former regions, the
Astin-tagh and the Kuruk-tagh, the products of disintegration are
almost always carried away by the wind, and so disappear; no matter
how powerful or how active the disintegration may be, none of the
loosened material ever succeeds either in gathering amongst the
mountains or in accumulating at their foot. The climate is so arid,
and precipitation so extremely rare, that the fine powdery material
falls a helpless prey to the winds. On the other hand, the
precipitation on the Tibetan plateau is so copious, and so uniformly
distributed, that it is able to retain the loosened material _in
situ_, and causes it to heap itself up in rounded masses on the flanks
of the mountains that are its primitive source of origin, these
projecting in great part like skeletons from the midst of their own
ruins."[5] The twin ranges of the Astin-tagh are fairly equivalent in
point of magnitude and regularity; but while the Lower Range, on the
north, sensibly decreases in altitude towards the east, the Upper
Range, on the south, maintains its general altitude in a remarkable
way, and is gapped by steep, wild, deeply incised transverse glens
directed towards the north, and generally fenced in by dark
precipitous walls of rock. The great valley between the two is "cut up
into a series of self-contained basins, each serving as the gathering
ground of the brooks that run down off the adjacent mountains. Outside
the lower end of each large transverse glen there is a scree of
sedimentary matter. These screes are however very flat and their lower
edges generally reach all the way down to the central part of the
basin, which is occupied by an expanse of yellow clay, perfectly flat
and fairly hard, as well as dry and barren, often cracked into
polygonal cakes and drawn out in the direction of the long axis of the
valley.... But though the great morphological features of this
latitudinal valley forcibly recall the latitudinal valleys of Tibet,
the climatic differences give rise to differences between the basins
corresponding to the differences between the mountain-ranges
themselves. For while the self-contained basins of Tibet generally
possess a salt lake in the middle, into which brooks and streams of
greater or less magnitude gather, often from very considerable
distances, these self-contained basins of the Astin-tagh are very
small in area, and it is extremely seldom that their central parts
receive any water at all, only in fact after copious rain. These
terminal lakes, or more accurately sedimentary plains, are therefore
almost always dry."[6]
The next parallel range on the south, the _Akato-tagh_, and the valley
which separates it from the Astin-tagh, are equally arid and
waterless. The valley, known by the general name of Kakir, meaning a
"hard, dry, sterile expanse of clay," is chequered with shallow
self-contained basins of the usual type and has remarkably gentle
slopes up to the mountains on both north and south. Its surface
slopes from altitudes of 10,100 to 10,600 ft. in the west, where is
the lake of Uzunshor (9650 ft.) to 9400 ft. in the east, in which
direction it continues as far as the Anambaruin-ula (see below) and
the plain or flat basin of Särtäng, a north extension of Tsaidam. This
range of Akato-tagh, the Altun Range of Carey, is the same as that
which on the map of the Russian general staff bears the name
Chimen-tagh. Like the Astin-tagh it stretches towards the E.N.E., and,
like it, appears to be built up of granite and schists, but its crest
is greatly denuded, so that it is a mere crumbling skeleton protruding
above the deep mantle of disintegrated material which masks its
flanks. The slopes on both north and south are extremely gentle, but
that on the south is eight to ten times as long as that on the north.
In the east the range is mostly narrow, and dies away on the edge of
the Tsaidam depression; but in the west it swells out into the lofty
and imposing mass of the Ilve-chimen or Shia-manglay, which is capped
with perpetual snow. This part of the range is crossed by the pass of
Chopur-alik at an altitude of 16,160 ft., but farther east the passes
lie at altitudes of 13,380 to 10,520 ft. The latitudinal valley that
intervenes between the Akato-tagh and the next great range on the
south, the Chimen-tagh, slopes for the most part eastwards, from
12,500 ft. down to the shallow salt lake of Ghaz-kol or Chimen-koli
(9305 ft.). In the western part of this valley occurs the very
important transverse water-divide of Gulcha-davan (14,150 ft.), which
separates the basin of the Cherchen-darya that goes down into the
Tarim basin from the area that drains down to the Ghaz-kol, which
belongs to the Tsaidam depression. This, the Chimen valley, contains
in places a good deal of drift-sand, which however is stationary in
the mass and heaped up along the northern foot of the Chimen-tagh.
Nevertheless the Akato-tagh is only of secondary importance in the
general Kuen-lun system, being nothing more than a central ridge
running along the broad Kakir valley that separates the Astin-tagh
from the Chimen-tagh.
The latter range, the _Chimen-tagh_, is identical in its western parts
with the Piazlik-tagh and in the east must be equated with the Tsaidam
chain of Przhevalsky; and it is probably continued westwards by the
range which the Russian explorers call the Moscow Range or the
Achik-tagh, running north of the Achik-kol and, according to
Przhevalsky, connecting on the west with the Tokuz-davan. The
Chimen-tagh rises into imposing summits, some rounded, some pyramidal
in outline, which are capped with snow, though the snow melts in
summer. This range acts as a "breakwater" to the clouds, arresting and
condensing the moisture which is carried northwards by the south
winds. Hence its slopes are not so arid as those of the Akato-tagh and
the Astin-tagh. Snow falls all the year round on the Chimen-tagh, even
in July, and water is abundant everywhere. The southern slope of the
range is gentle but short, the northern slope long and steep. Grass is
able to grow, and animal life is more abundant. The range is crossed
by passes at 13,970, 13,230 and 13,760 ft., and the Piazlik-tagh by a
pass at an altitude of 13,640 ft.
The next important range, still going south, is the _Kalta-alaghan_,
Carey's Chimen-tagh Range, Przhevalsky's Columbus Range and the range
which is variously designated (e.g. by Pyevtsov) as the Ambal-ashkan,
Kalga-lagan and Ara-tagh. This last is, however, properly the name of
a short secondary range which rises along the middle (_ara_ = middle)
of the valley between the Chimen-tagh and the Kalta-alaghan. Not only
is it of lower elevation than them both, but it dies away towards the
west, the valleys on each side of it meeting round its extremity to
form one broad, open valley, with an altitude of 11,790 to 13,725 ft.
The Ara-tagh is crossed by a pass at an altitude of 14,345 ft. In the
Kalta-alaghan, which is the culminating range of this part of the
Kuen-lun, and is overtopped by towering, snow-clad peaks, the passes
climb to considerably higher altitudes, namely, 14,560, 14,470, 14,430
and 14,190 ft., while the pass of Avraz-davan ascends to 15,700 ft.
This range appears to be linked on to the Tokuz-davan by the
Muzluk-tagh, in which there are passes at 16,870 and 15,450 ft. It is
possible however that the Muzluk-tagh belongs more intimately to the
Chimen-tagh system, that is, to the Moscow or Achik-kol ranges, Indeed
Bogdanovich considers that the Tokuz-davan, the Muzluk-tagh, the
Moscow Range and the Chimen-tagh form one single closely connected
chain, in which he also places Przhevalsky's isolated peak of Mount
Kreml (15,055 ft.). Sven Hedin, whilst agreeing that this may possibly
be the true conception, inclines to the view that the Achik-kol Range
dies away towards the E., and that the Chimen-tagh and the
Kalta-alaghan merge westwards into the border-ranges that lie north of
the Muzluk-tagh and the Tokuz-davan. Unlike most of the other parallel
ranges of N. Tibet, the Kalta-alaghan does not decrease, but it
increases in elevation towards the east, where, like the Chimen-tagh,
it abuts upon and merges in the ranges that border Tsaidam on the
south.
Immediately south of the Kalta-alaghan comes a relatively deep
depression, the _Kum-kol valley_, forming a very well-marked feature
in the physical conformation of this region. It is crossed
transversely by a water-divide which separates the basin of the
twin-lakes of Kum-kol (12,700 ft.) from the basin of Tsaidam, some
3500 ft. lower. The floor of the valley consequently slopes away in
both directions, like the Chimen valley between the Akato-tagh and the
Chimen-tagh; and in so far as it slopes westwards towards the Kum-kol
lakes it differs from nearly all the other great latitudinal valleys
that run parallel with it, because they slope generally towards the
east. Not far from the Kum-kol lakes there is a drift-sand area,
though the dunes are stationary. The upper lake of Kum-kol
(Chon-kum-kol) (12,730 ft.), which contains fresh water, is of small
area (8 sq. m.) and in depth nowhere exceeds 13 ft.; but the lower
lake (Ayak-kum-kol) (12,685 ft.), which is salt, is much bigger (283
sq. m.) and goes down to depths of 64 and 79 ft. Farther west, lying
between the Muzluk-tagh and the Arka-tagh, is the lake of Achik-kol
(13,940 ft.), 16½ m. broad and 50 m. in circuit.
The next great parallel range is the lofty and imposing _Arka-tagh_,
the Przhevalsky Range of the Russian geographers, which has its
eastward continuations in the Marco Polo Range (general altitude
15,750-16,250 ft.) and Gurbu-naiji Mountains of Przhevalsky. The
Arka-tagh[7] is the true backbone of the Kuen-lun system, and in
Central Asia is exceeded in elevation only by the Tang-la, a long way
farther south, this last being probably an eastern wing of the
Karakorum Mountains of the Pamirs region. At the same time the
Arka-tagh is the actual border-range of the Tibetan plateau properly
so-called; to the south of it none of the long succession of lofty
parallel ranges which ridge the Tibetan highlands seems to have any
connexion with the Kuen-lun system. Of great length, the Arka-tagh,
which is a mountain-system rather than a range, varies greatly in
configuration in different parts, sometimes exhibiting a sharply
defined main crest, with several lower flanking ranges, and sometimes
consisting of numerous parallel crests of nearly uniform altitude.
Amongst these it is possible to distinguish in the middle of the
system four predominant ranges, of which the second from the north is
probably the principal range, though the fourth is the highest. The
passes across the first range (north) lie at altitudes of 15,675,
16,420, 17,320 and 18,300 ft.; across the second at 16,830, 17,020,
17,070 and 17,220 ft.; across the third at 16,800, 16,660, 17,065,
17,830 and 17,880 ft.; and across the fourth at 16,540, 16,765,
16,780, 18,100 and 18,110 ft. The crests of the ranges lie
comparatively little higher than the valleys which separate them, the
altitudes in the latter running at 14,940 to 16,700 ft., if not
higher, and being only 500 to 1000 ft. lower than the crests of the
accompanying ranges. The Arka-tagh ranges do not culminate in lofty
jagged, pinnacled peaks, but in broad rounded, flattened domes, a
characteristic feature of the system throughout. These Arka-tagh
mountains are built up, at all events superficially, of sand and
powdery, finely sifted disintegrated material. Where the hard rock
does crop out on the surface, it is so excessively weathered as to be
with difficulty recognized as rock at all. The culminating summits of
the ranges generally present the appearance of a flat, rounded
swelling, and when they are crowned with glaciers, as many of them
are, these shape themselves into what may be described as a mantle, a
breast-plate, or a flat cap, from which lappets and fringes project at
intervals; nowhere do there exist any of the long, narrow, winding
glacier tongues which are so characteristic of the Alps of Europe. But
not the slightest indication has been discovered that these mountains
were ever panoplied with ice. The process of disintegration and
levelling down has reached such an advanced stage that, if ever there
did exist evidences of former glaciation, they have now become
entirely obliterated, even to the complete pulverization of the
erratic blocks, supposing there were any. The view that meets the eye
southwards from the heights of the Kalta-alaghan is the picture of a
chaos of mountain chains, ridges, crests, peaks, spurs, detached
masses, in fact, montane conformations of every possible description
and in every possible arrangement. Immediately north of the Arka-tagh
the country is studded with three or four exceptionally conspicuous
and imposing detached mountain masses, all capped with snow and some
of them carrying small glaciers. Amongst them are Shapka Monomakha or
the Monk's Cap; the Chulak-akkan, which may however be only Shapka
Monomakha seen from a different point of view; Tömürlik-tagh[8] (i.e.
the Iron Mountain); and farther west, Ullugh-muz-tagh, which,
according to Grenard, reaches an altitude of 24,140 ft. But the
relations in which these detached mountain-masses stand to one another
and to the Arka-tagh behind them have not yet been elucidated. In the
vicinity of the Ullugh-muz-tagh there exist numerous indications of
former volcanic activity, the eminences and summits frequently being
capped with tuff, and smaller fragments of tuff are scattered over
other parts of the Arka-tagh ranges.
The next succeeding parallel range, the _Koko-shili_, which is
continued eastwards by the Bayan-khara-ula, between the upper
headstreams of the Hwang-ho or Yellow River and the Yangtsze-kiang,
belongs orographically to the plateau of Tibet.
The succession of ranges which follow one another from the deserts of
Takla-makan and Gobi up to the plateau proper of Tibet rise in steps
or terraces, each range being higher than the range to the north of it
and lower than the range to the south of it. The difference in
altitude between the lowest, most northerly range, the Lower
Astin-tagh, and the most southerly of the Arka-tagh ranges amounts to
nearly 7500 ft. With one exception, namely the climb out of the
Kum-kol valley to the Arka-tagh, the first three steps are
individually the biggest; whereas the Upper Astin-tagh exceeds the
Lower Astin-tagh by an altitude of some 1350 ft., it is itself
exceeded by the Akato-tagh to the extent of 1760 ft. There is also a
considerable rise of 880 ft. from the Akato-tagh to the Chimen-tagh.
But between the Chimen-tagh, the Ara-tagh and the Kalta-alaghan there
is comparatively little difference in point of elevation, namely, 730
ft. in all. The biggest ascent is that from the Kalta-alaghan to the
Arka-tagh, namely, nearly 1850 ft. The ranges of the Arka-tagh, again,
run at pretty nearly the same absolute general altitudes, namely,
16,470 to 17,260 ft. When the altitudes of the intermont latitudinal
valleys are compared, the significance orographically of the Chimen
valley and of the Kum-kol valley is strikingly emphasized. Both are
much more deeply excavated than all the other latitudinal valleys that
run parallel to them, the Chimen valley being 875 ft. above the valley
to the north of it, but no less than 2235 ft. below the valley to the
south of it. The case of the Kum-kol valley is altogether exceptional,
for it lies not higher, but 680 ft. lower, than the valley to the
north of it, and consequently the climb up out of it to the first (on
north) of the Arka-tagh valleys amounts to no less than 2900 ft. Hence
these ten parallel ranges of the middle Kuen-lun system may be grouped
in three divisions--(1) the more strictly border ranges of the Upper
and Lower Astin-tagh and the Akato-tagh; (2) the three ranges of
Chimen-tagh, Ara-tagh and Kalta-alaghan, which may be considered as
forming a transitional system between the foregoing and the third
division; (3) the Arka-tagh, which constitute the elevated rampart of
the Tibetan plateau proper. (J. T. Be.)
The _Nan-shan Highlands_ overlook Tsaidam on the N.E. They embrace a
region 380 m. long and 260 m. wide, entirely occupied with parallel
mountain ranges all running from the N.W. to the S.E. Broad, flat,
longitudinal valleys, at altitudes of 12,000 to 14,000 ft. (9000 to
10,000 at the south-western border) and dotted with lakes (Koko-nor,
9970 ft.; Khara-nor, 13,285 ft.), fill up the space between these
mountain ranges. In the S.E. the Nan-shan highlands abut upon the
highlands of the Chinese province of Kan-suh, and near the great
northward bend of the Hwang-ho they meet the escarpments by which the
Great Khingan and the In-shan ranges are continued, and by which the
Mongolian plateau steps down to the lowlands of China. On the N.E. the
Nan-shan highlands have their foot on the Mongolian plateau (average
altitude, 4000 ft.), i.e. in the Ala-shan. On the N.W. they are
fringed by a border range, the Da-sue-shan, a continuation of the
Astin-tagh, which rises to 12,200-13,000 ft. in its passes, and is
pierced by several rivers flowing west to Lake Khala-chi or Khara-nor.
This border-range, which continues on to the 97th meridian, separates
the Nan-shan range from the Pe-shan range.
On the S.W. the Nan-shan mountains consist of short irregular chains,
separated by broad plains, dotted with lakes, which differ but
slightly in altitude from Tsaidam (8800-9000 ft.). Next a succession
of narrow ranges intervene between this lower border terrace and the
higher terrace (12,000-13,500 ft.). The first mountain range on this
higher terrace is Ritter's range, covered in part with extensive
snow-fields. The passes at both ends of this snow-clad _massif_ lie at
altitudes of 15,990 ft. and 14,680 ft. The next range is Humboldt or
Ama-surgu range, which runs N.W. to S.E. from the Astin-tagh to about
38° N., and is perhaps continued by the southern Kuku (Koko)-nor
range, which strikes the Hwang-ho with an elevation of 7440 ft. It
includes, in fact, several other parallel ranges--e.g. the Mushketov,
Semenov, Suess, Alexander III., Bain-sarlyk--the mutual relations of
which are, however, not yet definitely settled.
Small lateral chains of mountains, rising some 2000 ft. above the
general level of that plateau, connect the central Nan-shan with the
next parallel ranges, namely, those of the eastern Nan-shan. The
mutual relations of the latter, as well as the names of the several
constituent chains, are equally unsettled. Thus, one of them is named
indiscriminately Nan-shan, Richthofen Range and Momo-shan. In fact,
the region is dominated by three ranges of nearly equal altitude, all
lifting many of their peaks above the snow-line. Finally, there is a
range of mountains, about 10,000 ft. high, named Lung-shan by
Obruchev, which borders the Kan-chow and Lian-chow valley on the N.E.,
and belongs to the Nan-shan system. But the string of oases in Kan-suh
province, which stretches between the towns named, lies on the lower
level of the Mongolian plateau (4000 to 5000 ft.), so that the
Lung-shan ought possibly to be regarded as a continuation of the
Pe-shan mountains of the Gobi.
Generally speaking, the Nan-shan highlands are a region raised 12,000
to 14,000 ft. above the sea, and intersected by wild, stony and partly
snow-clad mountains, towering another 4000 to 7000 ft. above its
surface, and arranged in narrow parallel chains all running N.W. to
S.E. The chains of mountains are severally from 8 to 17 m. wide,
seldom as much as 35, while the broad, flat valleys between them
attain widths of 20 to 27 m. As a rule the passes are at an altitude
of 12,000 to 14,000 ft., and the peaks reach 18,000 to 20,000 ft. in
the western portion of the highlands, while in the eastern portion
they may be about 2000 ft. lower. The glaciers also attain a greater
development in the western portion of the Nan-shan, but the valleys
are dry, and the slopes of both the mountains and the valleys,
furrowed by deep ravines, are devoid of vegetation. Good pasture
grounds are only found near the streams. The soil is dry gravel and
clay, upon which bushes of _Ephedra_, _Nitraria_ and _Salsolaceae_
grow sparsely. In the north-eastern Nan-shan, on the contrary, a
stream runs through each gorge, and both the mountain slopes and the
bottoms of the valleys are covered with vegetation. Forests of
conifers (_Picea obovata_) and deciduous trees--Przhevalsky's poplar,
birch, mountain ash, &c., and a variety of bushes--are common
everywhere. Higher up, in the picturesque gorges, grow rhododendrons,
willows, _Potentilla fruticosa_, _Spriaeae_, _Lonicereae_, &c., and
the rains must evidently be more copious and better distributed. In
the central Nan-shan it is only the north-eastern slopes that bear
forests. In the south, where the Nan-shan enters Kan-suh province,
extensive accumulations of loess make their appearance, and it is only
the northern slopes of the hills that are clothed with trees.
(P. A. K.)
AUTHORITIES.--An enumeration of the works published before 1890, and a
map of itineraries, will be found in Wegener's _Versuch einer
Orographie des Kuen-lun_ (Marburg, 1891), but his map is only
approximately correct. Of the books published since 1890 the most
important are Sven Hedin's _Scientific Results of a Journey in Central
Asia_, 1899-1902 (Stockholm, 1905-1907, 6 vols.), with an elaborate
atlas and a general map of Tibet on the scale of 1 : 1,000,000; H. H.
P. Deasy's _In Tibet and Chinese Turkestan_ (London, 1901), with a
good map; F. Grenard's vol. (iii.) of J. L. Dutreuil de Rhins's
_Mission scientifique dans la haute Asie, 1890-1895_ (n.p., 1897),
also with a very useful map; W. W. Rockhill's _Diary of a Journey
through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892_ (Washington, 1894); M. S.
Wellby's _Through Unknown Tibet_ (London, 1898); P. G. Bonvalot's _De
Paris au Tonkin à travers le Tibet inconnu_ (Paris, 1892); St G. R.
Littledale's "A Journey across Tibet," in _Geog. Journal_ (May 1896);
H. Bower's _Diary of a Journey across Tibet_ (London, 1894); the
_Izvestia_ of the Russian Geog. Soc. and _Geog. Journal_, both
_passim_.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In "Orographie des Kwen-lun," in _Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft
für Erdkunde zu Berlin_ (1891).
[2] It is used, for instance, on the map of "Inner-Asien" (No. 62) of
_Stieler's Hand-atlas_ (ed. 1905) and in the _Atlas_ of the Russian
General Staff. Etymologically the correct form is Astin-tagh or
Astun-tagh, meaning the Lower or Nearer Mountains. Ustun-tagh, which
appears on Stieler's map as an _alternative_ name for Altyn-tagh,
means Higher or Farther Mountains, and though not used locally of any
specific range, would be appropriately employed to designate the
higher and more southerly of the twin border-ranges of the Tibetan
plateau.
[3] The Northern Mountains are the Pe-shan in the desert of Gobi (see
GOBI).
[4] On the opposite or north side of the desert of Lop (desert of
Gobi).
[5] Sven Hedin, _Scientific Results_, iii. 308.
[6] _Ibid._ 310-311.
[7] This is the correct form, Arka-tagh meaning the Farther or
Remoter Mountains. The form Akka-tagh is incorrect.
[8] The form Tumenlik-tagh is erroneous.
KUFA, a Moslem city, situated on the shore of the Hindieh canal, about 4
m. E. by N. of Nejef (32° 4´ N., 44° 20´ E.), was founded by the Arabs
after the battle of Kadesiya in A.D. 638 as one of the two capitals of
the new territory of Irak, the whole country being divided into the
_sawads_, or districts, of Basra and Kufa. The caliph 'Ali made it his
residence and the capital of his caliphate. After the removal of the
capital to Bagdad, in the middle of the following century, Kufa lost its
importance and began to fall into decay. At the beginning of the 19th
century, travellers reported extensive and important ruins as marking
the ancient site. Since that time the ruins have served as quarries for
bricks for the building of Nejef, and at the present time little remains
but holes in the ground, representing excavations for bricks, with
broken fragments of brick and glass strewn over a considerable area. A
mosque still stands on the spot where 'Ali is reputed to have
worshipped. (For history see CALIPHATE.)
KUHN, FRANZ FELIX ADALBERT (1812-1881), German philologist and
folklorist, was born at Königsberg in Neumark on the 19th of November
1812. From 1841 he was connected with the Köllnisches Gymnasium at
Berlin, of which he was appointed director in 1870. He died at Berlin on
the 5th of May 1881. Kuhn was the founder of a new school of comparative
mythology, based upon comparative philology. Inspired by Grimm's
_Deutsche Mythologie_, he first devoted himself to German stories and
legends, and published _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (1842),
_Norddeutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche_ (1848), and _Sagen,
Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_ (1859). But it is on his researches
into the language and history of the Indo-Germanic peoples as a whole
that his reputation is founded. His chief works in this connexion are:
_Zur ältesten Geschichte der Indogermanischen Völker_ (1845), in which
he endeavoured to give an account of the earliest civilization of the
Indo-Germanic peoples before their separation into different families,
by comparing and analysing the original meaning of the words and stems
common to the different languages; _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des
Göttertranks_ (1859; new ed. by E. Kuhn, under title of _Mythologische
Studien_, 1886); and _Über Entwicklungsstufen der Mythenbildung_ (1873),
in which he maintained that the origin of myths was to be looked for in
the domain of language, and that their most essential factors were
polyonymy and homonymy. The _Zeitschrift für vergleichende
Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der Indogermanischen Sprachen_, with
which he was intimately connected, is the standard periodical on the
subject.
See obituary notice by C. Bruchmann in Bursian's _Biographisches
Jahrbuch_ (1881) and J. Schmidt in the above _Zeitschrift_, xxvi. n.s.
6.
KÜHNE, WILLY (1837-1900), German physiologist, was born at Hamburg on
the 28th of March 1837. After attending the gymnasium at Lüneburg, he
went to Göttingen, where his master in chemistry was F. Wöhler and in
physiology R. Wagner. Having graduated in 1856, he studied under various
famous physiologists, including E. Du Bois-Reymond at Berlin, Claude
Bernard in Paris, and K. F. W. Ludwig and E. W. Brücke in Vienna. At the
end of 1863 he was put in charge of the chemical department of the
pathological laboratory at Berlin, under R. von Virchow; in 1868 he was
appointed professor of physiology at Amsterdam; and in 1871 he was
chosen to succeed H. von Helmholtz in the same capacity at Heidelberg,
where he died on the 10th of June 1900. His original work falls into two
main groups--the physiology of muscle and nerve, which occupied the
earlier years of his life, and the chemistry of digestion, which he
began to investigate while at Berlin with Virchow. He was also known for
his researches on vision and the chemical changes occurring in the
retina under the influence of light. The visual purple, described by
Franz Boll in 1876, he attempted to make the basis of a photochemical
theory of vision, but though he was able to establish its importance in
connexion with vision in light of low intensity, its absence from the
retinal area of most distinct vision detracted from the completeness of
the theory and precluded its general acceptance.
KUKA, or KUKAWA, a town of Bornu, a Mahommedan state of the central
Sudan, incorporated in the British protectorate of Nigeria (see Bornu).
Kuka is situated in 12° 55´ N. and 13° 34´ E., 4½ m. from the western
shores of Lake Chad, in the midst of an extensive plain. It is the
headquarters of the British administration in Bornu, and was formerly
the residence of the native sovereign, who in Bornu bears the title of
shehu.
The modern town of Kuka was founded c. 1810 by Sheikh Mahommed al Amin
al Kanemi, the deliverer of Bornu from the Fula invaders. It is supposed
to have received its name from the _kuka_ or monkey bread tree
(_Adansonia digitata_), of which there are extensive plantations in the
neighbourhood. Kuka or Kaoukaou was a common name in the Sudan in the
middle ages. The number of towns of this name gave occasion for much
geographical confusion, but Idrisi writing in the 12th century, and Ibn
Khaldun in the 14th century, both mention two important towns called
Kaou Kaou, of which one would seem to have occupied a position very near
to that of the modern Kuka. Ibn Khaldun speaks of it as the capital of
Bornu and as situated on the meridian of Tripoli. In 1840 the present
town was laid waste by Mahommed Sherif, the sultan of Wadai; and when it
was restored by Sheikh Omar he built two towns separated by more than
half a mile of open country, each town being surrounded by walls of
white clay. It was probably owing to there being two towns that the
plural _Kukawa_ became the ordinary designation of the town in Kano and
throughout the Sudan, though the inhabitants used the singular _Kuka_.
The town became wealthy and populous (containing some 60,000
inhabitants), being a centre for caravans to Tripoli and a
stopping-place of pilgrims from the Hausa countries going across Africa
to Mecca. The chief building was the great palace of the sheikh. Between
1823 and 1872 Kuka was visited by several English and German travellers.
In 1893 Bornu was seized by the ex-slave Rabah (q.v.), an adventurer
from the Bahr-el-Ghazal, who chose a new capital, Dikwa, Kuka falling
into complete decay. The town was found in ruins in 1902 by the British
expedition which replaced on the throne of Bornu a descendant of the
ancient rulers. In the same year the rebuilding of Kuka was begun and
the town speedily regained part of its former importance. It is now one
of the principal British stations of eastern Bornu. Owing, however, to
the increasing importance of Maidugari, a town 80 m. S.S.W. of Kuka, the
court of the shehu was removed thither in 1908.
For an account of Kuka before its destruction by Rabah, see the
_Travels_ of Heinrich Barth (new ed., London, 1890); and _Sahara und
Sudan_, by Gustav Nachtigal (Berlin, 1879), i. 581-748.
KU KLUX KLAN, the name of an American secret association of Southern
whites united for self-protection and to oppose the Reconstruction
measures of the United States Congress, 1865-1876. The name is generally
applied not only to the order of Ku Klux Klan, but to other similar
societies that existed at the same time, such as the Knights of the
White Camelia, a larger order than the Klan; the White Brotherhood; the
White League; Pale Faces; Constitutional Union Guards; Black Cavalry;
White Rose; The '76 Association; and hundreds of smaller societies that
sprang up in the South after the Civil War. The object was to protect
the whites during the disorders that followed the Civil War, and to
oppose the policy of the North towards the South, and the result of the
whole movement was a more or less successful revolution against the
Reconstruction and an overthrow of the governments based on negro
suffrage. It may be compared in some degree to such European societies
as the Carbonara, Young Italy, the Tugendbund, the Confréries of France,
the Freemasons in Catholic countries, and the Vehmgericht.
The most important orders were the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the
White Camelia. The former began in 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee, as a
social club of young men. It had an absurd ritual and a strange uniform.
The members accidentally discovered that the fear of it had a great
influence over the lawless but superstitious blacks, and soon the club
expanded into a great federation of regulators, absorbing numerous local
bodies that had been formed in the absence of civil law and partaking of
the nature of the old English neighbourhood police and the ante-bellum
slave patrol. The White Camelia was formed in 1867 in Louisiana and
rapidly spread over the states of the late Confederacy. The period of
organization and development of the Ku Klux movement was from 1865 to
1868; the period of greatest activity was from 1868 to 1870, after which
came the decline.
The various causes assigned for the origin and development of this
movement were: the absence of stable government in the South for several
years after the Civil War; the corrupt and tyrannical rule of the alien,
renegade and negro, and the belief that it was supported by the Federal
troops which controlled elections and legislative bodies; the
disfranchisement of whites; the spread of ideas of social and political
equality among the negroes; fear of negro insurrections; the arming of
negro militia and the disarming of the whites; outrages upon white women
by black men; the influence of Northern adventurers in the Freedmen's
Bureau (q.v.) and the Union League (q.v.) in alienating the races; the
humiliation of Confederate soldiers after they had been paroled--in
general, the insecurity felt by Southern whites during the decade after
the collapse of the Confederacy.
In organization the Klan was modelled after the Federal Union. Its
Prescript or constitution, adopted in 1867, and revised in 1868,
provided for the following organization: The entire South was the
Invisible Empire under a Grand Wizard, General N. B. Forrest; each state
was a Realm under a Grand Dragon; several counties formed a Dominion
under a Grand Titan; each county was a Province under a Grand Giant; the
smallest division being a Den under a Grand Cyclops. The staff officers
bore similar titles, relics of the time when the order existed only for
amusement: Genii, Hydras, Furies, Goblins, Night Hawks, Magi, Monks and
Turks. The private members were called Ghouls. The Klan was twice
reorganized, in 1867 and in 1868, each time being more centralized; in
1869 the central organization was disbanded and the order then gradually
declined. The White Camelia with a similar history had a similar
organization, without the queer titles. Its members were called Brothers
and Knights, and its officials Commanders.
The constitutions and rituals of these secret orders have declarations
of principles, of which the following are characteristic: to protect and
succour the weak and unfortunate, especially the widows and orphans of
Confederate soldiers; to protect members of the white race in life,
honour and property from the encroachments of the blacks; to oppose the
Radical Republican party and the Union League; to defend constitutional
liberty, to prevent usurpation, emancipate the whites, maintain peace
and order, the laws of God, the principles of 1776, and the political
and social supremacy of the white race--in short, to oppose African
influence in government and society, and to prevent any intermingling of
the races.
During the Reconstruction the people of the South were divided thus:
nearly all native whites (the most prominent of whom were disfranchised)
on one side irrespective of former political faith, and on the other
side the ex-slaves organized and led by a few native and Northern whites
called respectively scalawags and carpet-baggers, who were supported by
the United States government and who controlled the Southern state
governments. The Ku Klux movement in its wider aspects was the effort of
the first class to destroy the control of the second class. To control
the negro the Klan played upon his superstitious fears by having night
patrols, parades and drills of silent horsemen covered with white
sheets, carrying skulls with coals of fire for eyes, sacks of bones to
rattle, and wearing hideous masks. In calling upon dangerous blacks at
night they pretended to be the spirits of dead Confederates, "just from
Hell," and to quench their thirst would pretend to drink gallons of
water which was poured into rubber sacks concealed under their robes.
Mysterious signs and warnings were sent to disorderly negro politicians.
The whites who were responsible for the conduct of the blacks were
warned or driven away by social and business ostracism or by violence.
Nearly all southern whites (except "scalawags"), whether members of the
secret societies or not, in some way took part in the Ku Klux movement.
As the work of the societies succeeded, they gradually passed out of
existence. In some communities they fell into the control of violent men
and became simply bands of outlaws, dangerous even to the former
members; and the anarchical aspects of the movement excited the North to
vigorous condemnation.[1] The United States Congress in 1871-1872
enacted a series of "Force Laws" intended to break up the secret
societies and to control the Southern elections. Several hundred arrests
were made, and a few convictions were secured. The elections were
controlled for a few years, and violence was checked, but the Ku Klux
movement went on until it accomplished its object by giving protection
to the whites, reducing the blacks to order, replacing the whites in
control of society and state, expelling the worst of the carpet-baggers
and scalawags, and nullifying those laws of Congress which had resulted
in placing the Southern whites under the control of a party composed
principally of ex-slaves.
AUTHORITIES.--J. C. Lester and D. L. Wilson, _Ku Klux Klan_ (New York,
1905); W. L. Fleming, _Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama_ (New
York, 1905), and _Documentary History of Reconstruction_ (Cleveland,
1906); J. W. Garner, _Reconstruction in Mississippi_ (New York, 1901);
W. G. Brown, _Lower South in American History_ (New York, 1901); J. M.
Beard, _Ku Klux Sketches_ (Philadelphia, 1876); J. W. Burgess,
_Reconstruction and the Constitution_ (New York, 1901). (W. L. F.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The judgment of the historian William Garrott Brown, himself a
Southerner, is worth quoting: "That violence was often used cannot be
denied. Negroes were often whipped, and so were carpet-baggers. The
incidents related in such stories as Tourgée's _A Fool's Errand_ all
have their counterparts in the testimony before congressional
committees and courts of law. In some cases, after repeated warnings,
men were dragged from their beds and slain by persons in disguise,
and the courts were unable to find or to convict the murderers.
Survivors of the orders affirm that such work was done in most cases
by persons not connected with them or acting under their authority.
It is impossible to prove or disprove their statements. When such
outrages were committed, not on worthless adventurers, who had no
station in the Northern communities from which they came, but on
cultivated persons who had gone South from genuinely philanthropic
motives--no matter how unwisely or tactlessly they went about their
work--the natural effect was to horrify and enrage the North."
KUKU KHOTO (Chinese _Kwei-hwa_), a city of the Chinese province of
Shan-si, situated to the north of the Great Wall, in 40° 50´ N. and 111°
45´ E., about 160 m. W. of Kalgan. It lies in the valley of a small
river which joins the Hwang-ho 50 m. to the south. There are two
distinct walled towns in Kuku Khoto, at an interval of a mile and a
half; the one is the seat of the civil governor and is surrounded by the
trading town, and the other is the seat of the military governor, and
stands in the open country. In the first or old town more especially
there are strong traces of western Asiatic influence; the houses are not
in the Chinese style, being built all round with brick or stone and
having flat roofs, while a large number of the people are still
Mahommedans and, there is little doubt, descended from western settlers.
The town at the same time is a great seat of Buddhism--the lamaseries
containing, it is said, no less than 20,000 persons devoted to a
religious life. As the southern terminus of the routes across the desert
of Gobi from Ulyasutai and the Tian Shan, Kuku Khoto is a great mart for
the exchange of flour, millet and manufactured goods for the raw
products of Mongolia. A Catholic and a Protestant mission are maintained
in the town. Lieut. Watts-Jones, R.E., was murdered at Kwei-hwa during
the Boxer outbreak in 1900.
Early notices of Kuku Khoto will be found in Gerbillon (1688-1698, in
Du Halde (vol. ii., Eng. ed.), and in Astley's _Collection_ (vol. iv.)
KULJA (Chinese, _Ili-ho_), a territory in north-west China; bounded,
according to the treaty of St Petersburg of 1881, on the W. by the
Semiryechensk province of Russian Turkestan, on the N. by the Boro-khoro
Mountains, and on the S. by the mountains Khan-tengri, Muz-art, Terskei,
Eshik-bashi and Narat. It comprises the valleys of the Tekez (middle and
lower portion), Kunghez, the Ili as far as the Russian frontier and its
tributary, the Kash, with the slopes of the mountains turned towards
these rivers. Its area occupies about 19,000 sq. m. (Grum-Grzimailo).
The valley of the Kash is about 160 m. long, and is cultivated in its
lower parts, while the Boro-khoro Mountains are snow-clad in their
eastern portion, and fall with very steep slopes to the valley. The
Avral Mountains, which separate the Kash from the Kunghez, are lower,
but rocky, naked and difficult of access. The valley of the Kunghez is
about 120 m. long; the river flows first in a gorge, then amidst
thickets of rushes, and very small portions of its valley are fit for
cultivation. The Narat Mountains in the south are also very wild, but
are covered with forests of deciduous trees (apple tree, apricot tree,
birch, poplar, &c.) and pine trees. The Tekez flows in the mountains,
and pierces narrow gorges. The mountains which separate it from the
Kunghez are also snow-clad, while those to the south of it reach 24,000
ft. of altitude in Khan-tengri, and are covered with snow and
glaciers--the only pass through them being the Muzart. Forests and
alpine meadows cover their northern slopes. Agriculture was formerly
developed on the Tekez, as is testified by old irrigation canals. The
Ili is formed by the junction of the Kunghez with the Tekez, and for 120
m. it flows through Kulja, its valley reaching a width of 50 m. at
Horgos-koljat. This valley is famed for its fertility, and is admirably
irrigated by canals, part of which, however, fell into decay after
55,000 of the inhabitants migrated to Russian territory in 1881. The
climate of this part of the valley is, of course, continental--frosts of
-22° F. and heats of 170° F. being experienced--but snow lasts only for
one and a half months, and the summer heat is tempered by the proximity
of the high mountains. Apricots, peaches, pears and some vines are
grown, as also some cotton-trees near the town of Kulja, where the
average yearly temperature is 48°.5 F. (January 15°, July 77°). Barley
is grown up to an altitude of 6500 ft.
The population may number about 125,000, of whom 75,000 are settled and
about 50,000 nomads (Grum-Grzimailo). The Taranchis from East Turkestan
represent about 40% of the population; about 40,000 of them left Kulja
when the Russian troops evacuated the territory, and the Chinese
government sent some 8000 families from different towns of Kashgaria to
take their place. There are, besides, about 20,000 Sibos and Solons,
3500 Kara-kidans, a few Dungans, and more than 10,000 Chinese. The
nomads are represented by about 18,000 Kalmucks, and the remainder by
Kirghiz. Agriculture is insufficient to satisfy the needs of the
population, and food is imported from Semiryechensk. Excellent beds of
coal are found in different places, especially about Kulja, but the
fairly rich copper ores and silver ores have ceased to be worked.
The chief towns are Suidun, capital of the province, and Kulja. The
latter (Old Kulja) is on the Ili river. It is one of the chief cities of
the region, owing to the importance of its bazaars, and is the seat of
the Russian consul and a telegraph station. The walled town is nearly
square, each side being about a mile in length; and the walls are not
only 30 ft. high but broad enough on the top to serve as a carriage
drive. Two broad streets cut the enclosed area into four nearly equal
sections. Since 1870 a Russian suburb has been laid out on a wide scale.
The houses of Kulja are almost all clay-built and flat-roofed, and
except in the special Chinese quarter in the eastern end of the town
only a few public buildings show the influence of Chinese architecture.
Of these the most noteworthy are the Taranchi and Dungan mosques, both
with turned-up roofs, and the latter with a pagoda-looking minaret. The
population is mainly Mahommedan, and there are only two Buddhist
pagodas. A small Chinese Roman Catholic church has maintained its
existence through all the vicissitudes of modern times. Paper and
vermicelli are manufactured with rude appliances in the town. The
outskirts are richly cultivated with wheat, barley, lucerne and poppies.
Schuyler estimated the population, which includes Taranchis, Dungans,
Sarts, Chinese, Kalmucks and Russians, at 10,000 in 1873; it has since
increased.
New Kulja, Manchu Kulja, or Ili, which lies lower down the valley on the
same side of the stream, has been a pile of ruins since the terrible
massacre of all its inhabitants by the insurgent Dungans in 1868. It was
previously the seat of the Chinese government for the province, with a
large penal establishment and strong garrison; its population was about
70,000.
_History._--Two centuries B.C. the region was occupied by the fair and
blue-eyed Ussuns, who were driven away in the 6th century of our era by
the northern Huns. Later the Kulja territory became a dependency of
Dzungaria. The Uighurs, and in the 12th century the Kara-Khitai, took
possession of it in turn. Jenghiz Khan conquered Kulja in the 13th
century, and the Mongol Khans resided in the valley of the Ili. It is
supposed (Grum-Grzimailo) that the Oirads conquered it at the end of the
16th or the beginning of the 17th century; they kept it till 1755, when
the Chinese annexed it. During the insurrection of 1864 the Dungans and
the Taranchis formed here the Taranchi sultanate, and this led to the
occupation of Kulja by the Russians in 1871. Ten years later the
territory was restored to China.
KULM (CULM). (1) A town of Germany, in the province of West Prussia, 33
m. by rail N.W. of Thorn, on an elevation above the plain, and 1 m. E.
of the Vistula. Pop. (1905), 11,665. It is surrounded by old walls,
dating from the 13th century, and contains some interesting buildings,
notably its churches, of which two are Roman Catholic and two
Protestant, and its medieval town-hall. The cadet school, founded here
in 1776 by Frederick the Great, was removed to Köslin in 1890. There are
large oil mills, also iron foundries and machine shops, as well as an
important trade in agricultural produce, including fruit and vegetables.
Kulm gives name to the oldest bishopric in Prussia, although the bishop
resides at Pelplin. It was presented about 1220 by Duke Conrad of
Masovia to the bishop of Prussia. Frederick II. pledged it in 1226 to
the Teutonic order, to whom it owes its early development. By the second
peace of Thorn in 1466 it passed to Poland, and it was annexed to
Prussia in 1772. It joined the Hanseatic League, and used to carry on
very extensive manufactures of cloth.
(2) A village of Bohemia about 3 m. N.E. of Teplitz, at the foot of the
Erzgebirge, celebrated as the scene of a battle in which the French were
defeated by the Austrians, Prussians and Russians on the 29th and 30th
of August 1813 (see NAPOLEONIC CAMPAIGNS).
KULMBACH, or CULMBACH, a town of Germany, in the Bavarian province of
Upper Franconia, picturesquely situated on the Weisser Main, and the
Munich-Bamberg-Hof railway, 11 m. N.W. from Bayreuth. Pop. (1900), 9428.
It contains a Roman Catholic and three Protestant churches, a museum and
several schools. The town has several linen manufactories and a large
cotton spinnery, but is chiefly famed for its many extensive breweries,
which mainly produce a black beer, not unlike English porter, which is
largely exported. Connected with these are malting and bottling works.
On a rocky eminence, 1300 ft. in height, to the south-east of the town
stands the former fortress of Plassenburg, during the 14th and 15th
centuries the residence of the margraves of Bayreuth, called also
margraves of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. It was dismantled in 1807, and is now
used as a prison. Kulmbach and Plassenburg belonged to the dukes of
Meran, and then to the counts of Orlamunde, from whom they passed in the
14th century to the Hohenzollerns, burgraves of Nuremberg, and thus to
the margraves of Bayreuth.
See F. Stein, _Kulmbach und die Plassenburg in alter und neuer Zeit_
(Kulmbach, 1903); Huther, _Kulmbach und Umgebung_ (Kulmbach, 1886);
and C. Meyer, _Quellen zur Geschichte der Stadt Kulmbach_ (Munich,
1895).
KULMSEE, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of West Prussia, on
a lake, 14 m. by rail N. of Thorn and at the junction of railways to
Bromberg and Marienburg. Pop. (1900), 8987. It has a fine Roman Catholic
cathedral, which was built in the 13th, and restored in the 15th
century, and an Evangelical church. Until 1823 the town was the seat of
the bishops of Kulm.
KULP, a town of Russian Transcaucasia, in the government of Erivan, 60
m. W.S.W. from the town of Erivan and 2 m. S. of the Aras river. Pop.
(1897), 3074. Close by is the Kulp salt mountain, about 1000 ft. high,
consisting of beds of clay intermingled with thick deposits of rock
salt, which has been worked from time immemorial. Regular galleries are
cut in the transparent, horizontal salt layers, from which cubes of
about 70 lb. weight are extracted, to the amount of 27,500 tons every
year.
KULU, a subdivision of Kangra district, Punjab, British India, which
nominally includes the two Himalayan cantons or _waziris_ of Lahul and
Spiti. The _tahsil_ of Kulu has an area of 1054 sq. m., of which only 60
sq. m. are cultivated; pop. (1901), 68,954. The Sainj, which joins the
Beas at Largi, divides the tract into two portions, Kulu proper and
Soraj. Kulu proper, north of the Sainj, together with inner Soraj, forms
a great basin or depression in the midst of the Himalayan system, having
the narrow gorge of the Beas at Largi as the only outlet for its waters.
North and east the Bara Bangahal and mid-Himalayan ranges rise to a mean
elevation of 18,000 ft., while southward the Jalori and Dhaoladhar
ridges attain a height of 11,000 ft. The higher villages stand 9000 ft.
above the sea; and even the cultivated tracts have probably an average
elevation of 5000 ft. The houses consist of four-storeyed châlets in
little groups, huddled closely together on the ledges or slopes of the
valleys, picturesquely built with projecting eaves and carved wooden
verandas. The Beas, which, with its tributaries, drains the entire
basin, rises at the crest of the Rohtang pass, 13,326 ft. above the sea,
and has an average fall of 125 ft. per mile. Its course presents a
succession of magnificent scenery, including cataracts, gorges,
precipitous cliffs, and mountains clad with forests of deodar, towering
above the tiers of pine on the lower rocky ledges. It is crossed by
several suspension bridges. Great mineral wealth exists, but the
difficulty of transport and labour prevents its development. Hot springs
occur at three localities, much resorted to as places of pilgrimage. The
character of the hillmen resembles that of most other mountaineers in
its mixture of simplicity, independence and superstition. Tibetan
polyandry still prevails in Soraj, but has almost died out elsewhere.
The temples are dedicated rather to local deities than to the greater
gods of the Hindu pantheon. Kulu is an ancient Rajput principality,
which was conquered by Ranjit Singh about 1812. Its hereditary ruler,
with the title of rai, is now recognized by the British government as
_jagirdar_ of Rupi.
KUM, a small province in Persia, between Teheran on the N. and Kashan on
the S. It is divided into seven _buluk_ (districts): (1) Humeh, with
town; (2) Kumrud; (3) Vazkerud; (4) Kinar Rud Khaneh; (5) Kuhistan; (6)
Jasb; (7) Ardahal; has a population of 45,000 to 50,000, and pays a
yearly revenue of about £8000. The province produces much grain and a
fine quality of cotton with a very long staple.
KUM, the capital, in 34° 39´ N. and 50° 55´ E., on the Anarbar river,
which rises near Khunsar, has an elevation of 3100 ft. It owes much of
its importance to the fact that it contains the tomb of Imam Reza's
sister Fatmeh, who died there A.D. 816, and large numbers of pilgrims
visit the city during six or seven months of the year. The fixed
population is between 25,000 and 30,000. A carriage road 92 m. in
length, constructed in 1890-1893, connects the city with Teheran. It has
post and telegraph offices.
See _Eastern Persian Irak_, R. G. S. suppl. (London, 1896).
KUMAIT IBN ZAID (679-743), Arabian poet, was born in the reign of the
first Omayyad caliph and lived in the reigns of nine others. He was,
however, a strong supporter of the house of Hashim and an enemy of the
South Arabians. He was imprisoned by the caliph Hisham for his verse in
praise of the Hashimites, but escaped by the help of his wife and was
pardoned by the intercession of the caliph's son Maslama. Taking part in
a rebellion, he was killed by the troops of Khalid ul-Qasri.
His poems, the _Hashimiyyat_, have been edited by J. Horovitz (Leiden,
1904). An account of him is contained in the _Kitab ul-Aghani_, xv.
113-130. (G. W. T.)
KUMAON, or KUMAUN, an administrative division of British India, in the
United Provinces, with headquarters at Naini Tal. It consists of a large
Himalayan tract, together with two submontane strips called the Tarai
and the Bhabhar; area 13,725 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 1,207,030, showing an
increase of less than 2% in the decade. The submontane strips were up to
1850 an almost impenetrable forest, given up to wild animals; but since
then the numerous clearings have attracted a large population from the
hills, who cultivate the rich soil during the hot and cold seasons,
returning to the hills in the rains. The rest of Kumaon is a maze of
mountains, some of which are among the loftiest known. In a tract not
more than 140 m. in length and 40 m. in breadth there are over thirty
peaks rising to elevations exceeding 18,000 ft. (see HIMALAYA). The
rivers rise chiefly in the southern slope of the Tibetan watershed north
of the loftiest peaks, amongst which they make their way down valleys of
rapid declivity and extraordinary depth. The principal are the Sarda
(Kali), the Pindar and Kailganga, whose waters join the Alaknanda. The
valuable timber of the yet uncleared forest tracts is now under official
supervision. The chief trees are the chir, or three-leaved Himalayan
pine, the cypress, fir, alder, sal or iron-wood, and _saindan_.
Limestone, sandstone, slate, gneiss and granite constitute the principal
geological formations. Mines of iron, copper, gypsum, lead and asbestos
exist; but they are not thoroughly worked. Except in the submontane
strips and deep valleys the climate is mild. The rainfall of the outer
Himalayan range, which is first struck by the monsoon, is double that of
the central hills, in the average proportion of 80 in. to 40. No winter
passes without snow on the higher ridges, and in some years it is
universal throughout the mountain tract. Frosts, especially in the
valleys, are often severe. Kumaon is occasionally visited by epidemic
cholera. Leprosy is most prevalent in the east of the district. Goitre
and cretinism afflict a small proportion of the inhabitants. The hill
fevers at times exhibit the rapid and malignant features of plague.
In 1891 the division was composed of the three districts of Kumaon,
Garhwal and the Tarai; but the two districts of Kumaon and the Tarai
were subsequently redistributed and renamed after their headquarters,
Naini Tal and Almora. Kumaon proper constituted an old Rajput
principality, which became extinct at the beginning of the 19th century.
The country was annexed after the Gurkha war of 1815, and was governed
for seventy years on the non-regulation system by three most successful
administrators--Mr Traill, Mr J. H. Batten and Sir Henry Ramsay.
KUMASI, or COOMASSIE, the capital of Ashanti, British West Africa, in 6°
34´ 50´´ N., 2° 12´ W., 168 m. by rail N. of Sekondi and 120 m. by road
N.N.W. of Cape Coast. Pop. (1906), 6280; including suburbs, over 12,000.
Kumasi is situated on a low rocky eminence, from which it extends across
a valley to the hill opposite. It lies in a clearing of the dense forest
which covers the greater part of Ashanti, and occupies an area about 1½
m. in length and over 3 m. in circumference. The land immediately around
the town, once marshy, has been drained. On the north-west is the small
river Dah, one of the headstreams of the Prah. The name Kum-asi, more
correctly Kum-ase (under the okum tree) was given to the town because of
the number of those trees in its streets. The most imposing building in
Kumasi is the fort, built in 1896. It is the residence of the chief
commissioner and is capable of holding a garrison of several hundred
men. There are also officers' quarters and cantonments outside the fort,
European and native hospitals, and stations of the Basel and Wesleyan
missions. The native houses are built with red clay in the style
universal throughout Ashanti. They are somewhat richly ornamented, and
those of the better class are enclosed in compounds within which are
several separate buildings. Near the railway station are the leading
mercantile houses. The principal Ashanti chiefs own large houses, built
in European style, and these are leased to strangers.
Before its destruction by the British in 1874 the city presented a
handsome appearance and bore many marks of a comparatively high state of
culture. The king's palace, built of red sandstone, had been modelled,
it is believed, on Dutch buildings at Elmina. It was blown up by Sir
Garnet (subsequently Viscount) Wolseley's forces on the 6th of February
1874, and but scanty vestiges of it remain. The town was only partially
rebuilt on the withdrawal of the British troops, and it is difficult
from the meagre accounts of early travellers to obtain an adequate idea
of the capital of the Ashanti kingdom when at the height of its
prosperity (middle of the 18th to middle of the 19th century). The
streets were numerous, broad and regular; the main avenue was 70 yds.
wide. A large market-place existed on the south-east, and behind it in a
grove of trees was the Spirit House. This was the place of execution. Of
its population before the British occupation there is no trustworthy
information. It appears not to have exceeded 20,000 in the first quarter
of the 19th century. This is owing partly to the fact that the
commercial capital of Ashanti, and the meeting-place of several caravan
routes from the north and east, was Kintampo, a town farther north. The
decline of Kumasi after 1874 was marked. A new royal palace was built,
but it was of clay, not brick, and within the limits of the former town
were wide stretches of grass-grown country. In 1896 the town again
suffered at the hands of the British, when several of the largest and
most ancient houses in the royal and priestly suburb of Bantama were
destroyed by fire. In the revolt of 1900 Kumasi was once more injured.
The railway from the coast, which passes through the Tarkwa and Obuassi
gold-fields, reached Kumasi in September 1903. Many merchants at the
Gold Coast ports thereupon opened branches in Kumasi. A marked revival
in trade followed, leading to the rapid expansion of the town. By 1906
Kumasi had supplanted the coast towns and had become the distributing
centre for the whole of Ashanti.
KUMISHAH, a district and town in the province of Isfahan, Persia. The
district, which has a length of 50 and a breadth of 16 m., and contains
about 40 villages, produces much grain. The town is situated on the high
road from Isfahan to Shiraz, 52 m. S. of the former. It was a
flourishing city several miles in circuit when it was destroyed by the
Afghans in 1722, but is now a decayed place, with crumbled walls and
mouldering towers and a population of barely 15,000. It has post and
telegraph offices. South of the city and extending to the village
Maksudbeggi, 16 m. away, is a level plain, which in 1835 (February 28)
was the scene of a battle in which the army (2000 men, 16 guns) of
Mahommed Shah, commanded by Sir H. Lindsay-Bethune, routed the much
superior combined forces (6000 men) of the shah's two rebellious uncles,
Firman-Firma and Shuja es Saltana.
KUMQUAT (_Citrus japonica_), a much-branched shrub from 8 to 12 ft.
high, the branches sometimes bearing small thorns, with dark green
glossy leaves and pure white orange-like flowers standing singly or
clustered in the leaf-axils. The bright orange-yellow fruit is round or
ellipsoidal, about 1 in. in diameter, with a thick minutely tuberculate
rind, the inner lining of which is sweet, and a watery acidulous pulp.
It has long been cultivated in China and Japan, and was introduced to
Europe in 1846 by Mr Fortune, collector for the London Horticultural
Society, and shortly after into North America. It is much hardier than
most plants of the orange tribe, and succeeds well when grafted on the
wild species, _Citrus trifoliata_. It is largely used by the Chinese as
a sweetmeat preserved in sugar.
KUMTA, or COOMPTA, a sea-coast town of British India, in the North
Kanara district of Bombay, 40 m. S. of Karwar. Pop. (1901), 10,818. It
has an open roadstead, with a considerable trade. Carving in sandal-wood
is a speciality. The commercial importance of Kumta has declined since
the opening of the Southern Mahratta railway system.
KUMYKS, a people of Turkish stock in Caucasia, occupying the Kumyk
plateau in north Daghestan and south Terek, and the lands bordering the
Caspian. It is supposed that Ptolemy knew them under the name of Kami
and Kamaks. Various explorers see in them descendants of the Khazars. A.
Vambéry supposes that they settled in their present quarters during the
flourishing period of the Khazar kingdom in the 8th century. It is
certain that some Kabardians also settled later. The Russians built
forts in their territory in 1559 and under Peter I. Having long been
more civilized than the surrounding Caucasian mountaineers, the Kumyks
have always enjoyed some respect among them. The upper terraces of the
Kumyk plateau, which the Kumyks occupy, leaving its lower parts to the
Nogai Tatars, are very fertile.
KUNAR, a river and valley of Afghanistan, on the north-west frontier of
British India. The Kunar valley (Khoaspes in the classics) is the
southern section of that great river system which reaches from the Hindu
Kush to the Kabul river near Jalalabad, and which, under the names of
Yarkhun, Chitral, Kashkar, &c., is more extensive than the Kabul basin
itself. The lower reaches of the Kunar are wide and comparatively
shallow, the river meandering in a multitude of channels through a broad
and fairly open valley, well cultivated and fertile, with large
flourishing villages and a mixed population of Mohmand and other tribes
of Afghan origin. Here the hills to the eastward are comparatively low,
though they shut in the valley closely. Beyond them are the Bajour
uplands. To the west are the great mountains of Kafiristan, called
Kashmund, snow-capped, and running to 14,000 ft. of altitude. Amongst
them are many wild but beautiful valleys occupied by Kafirs, who are
rapidly submitting to Afghan rule. From 20 to 30 miles up the river on
its left bank, under the Bajour hills, are thick clusters of villages,
amongst which are the ancient towns of Kunar and Pashat. The chief
tributary from the Kafiristan hills is the Pechdara, which joins the
river close to Chagan Sarai. It is a fine, broad, swift-flowing stream,
with an excellent bridge over it (part of Abdur Rahman's military road
developments), and has been largely utilized for irrigation. The
Pechdara finds its sources in the Kafir hills, amongst forests of pine
and deodar and thick tangles of wild vine and ivy, wild figs,
pomegranates, olives and oaks, and dense masses of sweet-scented shrubs.
Above Chagan Sarai, as far as Arnawai, where the Afghan boundary crosses
the river, and above which the valley belongs to Chitral, the river
narrows to a swift mountain stream obstructed by boulders and hedged in
with steep cliffs and difficult "parris" or slopes of rocky hill-side.
Wild almond here sheds its blossoms into the stream, and in the dawn of
summer much of the floral beauty of Kashmir is to be found. At Asmar
there is a slight widening of the valley, and the opportunity for a
large Afghan military encampment, spreading to both sides of the river
and connected by a very creditable bridge built on the cantilever
system. There are no apparent relics of Buddhism in the Kunar, such as
are common about Jalalabad or Chitral, or throughout Swat and Dir. This
is probably due to the late occupation of the valley by Kafirs, who
spread eastwards into Bajour within comparatively recent historical
times, and who still adhere to their fastnesses in the Kashmund hills.
The Kunar valley route to Chitral and to Kafiristan is being developed
by Afghan engineering. It may possibly extend ultimately unto Badakshan,
in which case it will form the most direct connexion between the Oxus
and India, and become an important feature in the strategical geography
of Asia. (T. H. H.*)
KUNBIS, the great agricultural caste of Western India, corresponding to
the Kurmis in the north and the Kapus in the Telugu country. Ethnically
they cannot be distinguished from the Mahrattas, though the latter name
is sometimes confined to the class who claim higher rank as representing
the descendants of Sivaji's soldiers. In some districts of the Deccan
they form an actual majority of the population, which is not the case
with any other Indian caste. In 1901 the total number of both Kunbis and
Mahrattas in all India was returned at nearly 8¾ millions.
KUNDT, AUGUST ADOLPH EDUARD EBERHARD (1839-1894), German physicist, was
born at Schwerin in Mecklenburg on the 18th of November 1839. He began
his scientific studies at Leipzig, but afterwards went to Berlin. At
first he devoted himself to astronomy, but coming under the influence of
H. G. Magnus, he turned his attention to physics, and graduated in 1864
with a thesis on the depolarization of light. In 1867 he became
_privatdozent_ in Berlin University, and in the following year was
chosen professor of physics at the Zürich Polytechnic; then, after a
year or two at Würzburg, he was called in 1872 to Strassburg, where he
took a great part in the organization of the new university, and was
largely concerned in the erection of the Physical Institute. Finally in
1888 he went to Berlin as successor to H. von Helmholtz in the chair of
experimental physics and directorship of the Berlin Physical Institute.
He died after a protracted illness at Israelsdorf, near Lübeck, on the
21st of May 1894. As an original worker Kundt was especially successful
in the domains of sound and light. In the former he developed a valuable
method for the investigation of aerial waves within pipes, based on the
fact that a finely divided powder--lycopodium, for example--when dusted
over the interior of a tube in which is established a vibrating column
of air, tends to collect in heaps at the nodes, the distance between
which can thus be ascertained. An extension of the method renders
possible the determination of the velocity of sound in different gases.
In light Kundt's name is widely known for his inquiries in anomalous
dispersion, not only in liquids and vapours, but even in metals, which
he obtained in very thin films by means of a laborious process of
electrolytic deposition upon platinized glass. He also carried out many
experiments in magneto-optics, and succeeded in showing, what Faraday
had failed to detect, the rotation under the influence of magnetic force
of the plane of polarization in certain gases and vapours.
KUNDUZ, a khanate and town of Afghan Turkestan. The khanate is bounded
on the E. by Badakshan, on the W. by Tashkurghan, on the N. by the Oxus
and on the S. by the Hindu Kush. It is inhabited mainly by Uzbegs. Very
little is known about the town, which is the trade centre of a
considerable district, including Kataghan, where the best horses in
Afghanistan are bred.
KUNENE, formerly known also as Nourse, a river of South-West Africa,
with a length of over 700 m., mainly within Portuguese territory, but in
its lower course forming the boundary between Angola and German
South-West Africa. The upper basin of the river lies on the inner
versant of the high plateau region which runs southwards from Bihe
parallel to the coast, forming in places ranges of mountains which give
rise to many streams running south to swell the Kunene. The main stream
rises in 12° 30´ S. and about 160 m. in a direct line from the sea at
Benguella, runs generally from north to south through four degrees of
latitude, but finally flows west to the sea through a break in the outer
highlands. A little south of 16° S. it receives the Kulonga from the
east, and in about 16° 50´ the Kakulovar from the west. The Kakulovar
has its sources in the Serra da Chella and other ranges of the Humpata
district behind Mossamedes, but, though the longest tributary of the
Kunene, is but a small river in its lower course, which traverses the
arid region comprised within the lower basin of the Kunene. Between the
mouths of the Kulonga and Kakulovar the Kunene traverses a swampy plain,
inundated during high water, and containing several small lakes at other
parts of the year. From this swampy region divergent branches run S.E.
They are mainly intermittent, but the Kwamatuo, which leaves the main
stream in about 15° 8´ E., 17° 15´ S., flows into a large marsh or lake
called Etosha, which occupies a depression in the inner table-land about
3400 ft. above sea-level. From the S.E. end of the Etosha lake streams
issue in the direction of the Okavango, to which in times of great flood
they contribute some water. From the existence of this divergent system
it is conjectured that at one time the Kunene formed part of the
Okavango, and thus of the Zambezi basin. (See NGAMI.)
On leaving the swampy region the Kunene turns decidedly to the west, and
descends to the coast plain by a number of cataracts, of which the chief
(in 17° 25´ S., 14° 20´ E.) has a fall of 330 ft. The river becomes
smaller in volume as it passes through an almost desert region with
little or no vegetation. The stream is sometimes shallow and fordable,
at others confined to a narrow rocky channel. Near the sea the Kunene
traverses a region of sand-hills, its mouth being completely blocked at
low water. The river enters the Atlantic in 17° 18´ S., 11° 40´ E. There
are indications that a former branch of the river once entered a bay to
the south.
KUNERSDORF, a village of Prussia, 4 m. E. of Frankfurt-on-Oder, the
scene of a great battle, fought on the 12th of August 1759, between the
Prussian army commanded by Frederick the Great and the allied Russians
under Soltykov and Austrians under Loudon, in which Frederick was
defeated with enormous losses and his army temporarily ruined. (See
SEVEN YEARS' WAR.)
KUNGRAD, a trading town of Asiatic Russia, in the province of Syr-darya,
in the delta of the Amu-darya, 50 m. S. of Lake Aral; altitude 260 ft.
It is the centre of caravan routes leading to the Caspian Sea and the
Uralsk province.
KUNGUR, a town of eastern Russia, in the government of Perm, on the
highway to Siberia, 58 m. S.S.E. of the city of Perm. Pop. (1892),
12,400; (1897), 14,324. Tanneries and the manufacture of boots, gloves,
leather, overcoats, iron castings and machinery are the chief
industries. It has trade in boots, iron wares, cereals, tallow and
linseed exported, and in tea imported direct from China.
KUNKEL (or KUNCKEL) VON LOWENSTJERN, JOHANN (1630-1703), German chemist,
was born in 1630 (or 1638), near Rendsburg, his father being alchemist
to the court of Holstein. He became chemist and apothecary to the dukes
of Lauenburg, and then to the elector of Saxony, Johann Georg II., who
put him in charge of the royal laboratory at Dresden. Intrigues
engineered against him caused him to resign this position in 1677, and
for a time he lectured on chemistry at Annaberg and Wittenberg. Invited
to Berlin by Frederick William, in 1679 he became director of the
laboratory and glass works of Brandenburg, and in 1688 Charles XI.
brought him to Stockholm, giving him the title of Baron von Lowenstjern
in 1693 and making him a member of the council of mines. He died on the
20th of March 1703 (others say 1702) at Dreissighufen, his country house
near Pernau. Kunkel shares with Boyle the honour of having discovered
the secret of the process by which Brand of Hamburg had prepared
phosphorus in 1669, and he found how to make artificial ruby (red glass)
by the incorporation of purple of Cassius. His work also included
observations on putrefaction and fermentation, which he spoke of as
sisters, on the nature of salts, and on the preparation of pure metals.
Though he lived in an atmosphere of alchemy, he derided the notion of
the alkahest or universal solvent, and denounced the deceptions of the
adepts who pretended to effect the transmutation of metals; but he
believed mercury to be a constituent of all metals and heavy minerals,
though he held there was no proof of the presence of "sulphur
comburens."
His chief works were _Oeffentliche Zuschrift von dem Phosphor Mirabil_
(1678); _Ars vitriaria experimentalis_ (1689) and _Laboratorium
chymicum_ (1716).
KUNLONG, the name of a district and ferry on the Salween, in the
northern Shan States of Burma. Both are insignificant, but the place has
gained notoriety from being the nominal terminus in British territory of
the railway across the northern Shan States to the borders of Yunnan,
with its present terminus at Lashio. In point of fact, however, this
terminus will be 7 m. below the ferry and outside of Kunlong circle. At
present Kunlong ferry is little used, and the village was burnt by
Kachins in 1893. It is served by dug-outs, three in number in 1899, and
capable of carrying about fifteen men on a trip. Formerly the trade was
very considerable, and the Burmese had a customs station on the island,
from which the place takes its name; but the rebellion in the great
state of Theinni, and the southward movement of the Kachins, as well as
the Mahommedan rebellion in Yunnan, diverted the caravans to the
northern route to Bhamo, which is still chiefly followed. The Wa, who
inhabit the hills immediately overlooking the Nam Ting valley, now make
the route dangerous for traders. The great majority of these Wa live in
unadministered British territory.
KUNZITE, a transparent lilac-coloured variety of spodumene, used as a
gem-stone. It was discovered in 1902 near Pala, in San Diego county,
California, not far from the locality which yields the fine specimens of
rubellite and lepidolite, well known to mineralogists. The mineral was
named by Dr C. Baskerville after Dr George F. Kunz, the gem expert of
New York, who first described it. Analysis by R. O. E. Davis showed it
to be a spodumene. Kunzite occurs in large crystals, some weighing as
much as 1000 grams each, and presents delicate hues from rosy lilac to
deep pink. It is strongly dichroic. Near the surface it may lose colour
by exposure. Kunzite becomes strongly phosphorescent under the Röntgen
rays, or by the action of radium or on exposure to ultra-violet rays.
(See SPODUMENE.)
KUOPIO, a province of Finland, which includes northern Karelia, bounded
on the N.W. and N. by Uleåborg, on the E. by Olonets, on the S.E. by
Viborg, on the S. by St Michel and on the W. by Vasa. Its area covers
16,500 sq. m., and the population (1900) was 313,951, of whom 312,875
were Finnish-speaking. The surface is hilly, reaching from 600 to 800
ft. of altitude in the north (Suomenselkä hills), and from 300 to 400
ft. in the south. It is built up of gneisso-granites, which are covered,
especially in the middle and east, with younger granites, and partly of
gneisses, quartzite, and talc schists and augitic rocks. The whole is
covered with glacial and later lacustrine deposits. The soil is of
moderate fertility, but often full of boulders. Large lakes cover 16% of
surface, marshes and peat bogs over 29% of the area, and forests occupy
2,672,240 hectares. Steamers ply along the lakes as far as Joensuu. The
climate is severe, the average temperature being for the year 36° F.,
for January 13° and for July 63°. Only 2.3% of the whole surface is
under cultivation. Rye, barley, oats and potatoes are the chief crops,
and in good years these meet the needs of the population. Dairy farming
and cattle breeding are of rapidly increasing importance. Nearly 38,800
tons of iron ore are extracted every year, and nearly 12,000 tons of pig
iron and 6420 tons of iron and steel are obtained in ten iron-works.
Engineering and chemical works, tanneries, saw-mills, paper-mills and
distilleries are the chief industrial establishments. The preparation of
carts, sledges and other wooden goods is an important domestic industry.
Timber, iron, butter, furs and game are exported. The chief towns of the
government are Kuopio (13,519), Joensuu (3954) and Iisalmi (1871).
KUOPIO, capital of the Finnish province of that name, situated on Lake
Kalla-vesi, 180 m. by rail from the Kuivola junction of the St
Petersburg-Helsingfors main line. Pop. (1904), 13,519. It is
picturesquely situated, is the seat of a bishop, and has a cathedral,
two lyceums and two gymnasia (both for boys and girls), a commercial and
several professional schools. There is an agricultural school at Leväis,
close by. Kuopio, in consequence of its steamer communication with
middle Finland and the sea (via Saima Canal), is a trading centre of
considerable importance.
KUPRILI, spelt also KÖPRILI, KOEPRULU, KEUPRULU, &c., the name of a
family of Turkish statesmen.
1. MAHOMMED KUPRILI (c. 1586-1661) was the grandson of an Albanian who
had settled at Kupri in Asia Minor. He began life as a scullion in the
imperial kitchen, became cook, then purse-bearer to Khosrev Pasha, and
so, by wit and favour, rose to be master of the horse, "pasha of two
tails," and governor of a series of important cities and sanjaks. In
1656 he was appointed governor of Tripoli; but before he had set out to
his new post he was nominated to the grand vizierate at the instance of
powerful friends. He accepted office only on condition of being allowed
a free hand. He signalized his accession to power by suppressing an
_émeute_ of orthodox Mussulman fanatics in Constantinople (Sept. 22),
and by putting to death certain favourites of the powerful Valide
Sultana, by whose corruption and intrigues the administration had been
confused. A little later (January 1657) he suppressed with ruthless
severity a rising of the spahis; a certain Sheik Salim, leader of the
fanatical mob of the capital, was drowned in the Bosporus; and the Greek
Patriarch, who had written to the voivode of Wallachia to announce the
approaching downfall of Islam, was hanged. This impartial severity was a
foretaste of Kuprili's rule, which was characterized throughout by a
vigour which belied the expectations based upon his advanced years, and
by a ruthlessness which in time grew to be almost blood-lust. His
justification was the new life which he breathed into the decaying bones
of the Ottoman empire.
Having cowed the disaffected elements in the state, he turned his
attention to foreign enemies. The victory of the Venetians off Chios
(May 2, 1657) was a severe blow to the Turkish sea-power, which Kuprili
set himself energetically to repair. A second battle, fought in the
Dardanelles (July 17-19), ended by a lucky shot blowing up the Venetian
flag-ship; the losses of the Ottoman fleet were repaired, and in the
middle of August Kuprili appeared off Tenedos, which was captured on the
31st and reincorporated permanently in the Turkish empire. Thus the
Ottoman prestige was restored at sea, while Kuprili's ruthless
enforcement of discipline in the army and suppression of revolts,
whether in Europe or Asia, restored it also on land. It was, however,
due to his haughty and violent temper that the traditional friendly
relations between Turkey and France were broken. The French ambassador,
de la Haye, had delayed bringing him the customary gifts, with the idea
that he would, like his predecessors, speedily give place to a new grand
vizier; Kuprili was bitterly offended, and, on pretext of an abuse of
the immunities of diplomatic correspondence, bastinadoed the
ambassador's son and cast him and the ambassador himself into prison. A
special envoy, sent by Louis XIV., to make inquiries and demand
reparation, was treated with studied insult; and the result was that
Mazarin abandoned the Turkish alliance and threw the power of France on
to the side of Venice, openly assisting the Venetians in the defence of
Crete.
Kuprili's restless energy continued to the last, exhibiting itself on
one side in wholesale executions, on the other in vast building
operations. By his orders castles were built at the mouth of the Don and
on the bank of the Dnieper, outworks against the ever-aggressive Tatars,
as well as on either shore of the Dardanelles. His last activity as a
statesman was to spur the sultan on to press the war against Hungary. He
died on the 31st of October 1661. The advice which, on his death-bed, he
is said to have given to the sultan is characteristic of his
Machiavellian statecraft. This was: never to pay attention to the advice
of women, to allow nobody to grow too rich, to keep his treasury well
filled, and himself and his troops constantly occupied. Had he so
desired, Kuprili might have taken advantage of the revolts of the
Janissaries to place himself on the throne; instead, he recommended the
sultan to appoint his son as his successor, and so founded a dynasty of
able statesmen who occupied the grand vizierate almost without
interruption for half a century.
2. FAZIL AHMED KUPRILI (1635-1676), son of the preceding, succeeded his
father as grand vizier in 1661 (this being the first instance of a son
succeeding his father in that office since the time of the Chenderélis).
He began life in the clerical career, which he left, at the age of
twenty-three, when he had attained the rank of _muderris_. Usually
humane and generous, he sought to relieve the people of the excessive
taxation and to secure them against unlawful exactions. Three years
after his accession to office Turkey suffered a crushing defeat at the
battle of St Gothard and was obliged to make peace with the Empire. But
Kuprili's influence with the sultan remained unshaken, and five years
later Crete fell to his arms (1669). The next war in which he was called
upon to take part was with Poland, in defence of the Cossacks, who had
appealed to Turkey for protection. At first successful, Kuprili was
defeated by the Poles under John Sobieski at Khotin and Lemberg; the
Turks, however, continued to hold their own, and finally in October 1676
consented to honourable terms of peace by the treaty of Zurawno (October
16, 1676), retaining Kaminiec, Podolia and the greater part of the
Ukraine. Three days later Ahmed Kuprili died. His military capacity was
far inferior to his administrative qualities. He was a liberal protector
of art and literature, and the kindliness of his disposition formed a
marked contrast to the cruelty of his father; but he was given to
intemperance, and the cause of his death was dropsy brought on by
alcoholic abuse.
3. ZADE MUSTAFA KUPRILI (1637-1691), surnamed Fazil, son of Mahommed
Kuprili, became grand vizier to Suleiman II. in 1689. Called to office
after disaster had driven Turkey's forces from Hungary and Poland and
her fleets from the Mediterranean, he began by ordering strict economy
and reform in the taxation; himself setting the example, which was
widely followed, of voluntary contributions for the army, which with the
navy he reorganized as quickly as he could. His wisdom is shown by the
prudent measures which he took by enacting the _Nizam-i-jedid_, or new
regulations for the improvement of the condition of the Christian rayas,
and for affording them security for life and property; a conciliatory
attitude which at once bore fruit in Greece, where the people abandoned
the Venetian cause and returned to their allegiance to the Porte. He met
his death at the battle of Salankamen in 1691, when the total defeat of
the Turks by the Austrians under Prince Louis of Baden led to their
expulsion from Hungary.
4. HUSSEIN KUPRILI (surnamed AMUJA-ZADE) was the son of Hassan, a
younger brother of Mahommed Kuprili. After occupying various important
posts he became grand vizier in 1697, and owing to his ability and
energy the Turks were able to drive the Austrians back over the Save,
and Turkish fleets were sent into the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
The efforts of European diplomacy succeeded in inducing Austria and
Turkey to come to terms by the treaty of Carlowitz, whereby Turkey was
shorn of her chief conquests (1699). After this event Hussein Kuprili,
surnamed "the Wise," devoted himself to the suppression of the revolts
which had broken out in Arabia, Egypt and the Crimea, to the reduction
of the Janissaries, and to the institution of administrative and
financial reform. Unfortunately the intrigues against him drove him from
office in 1702, and soon afterwards he died.
5. NUMAN KUPRILI, son of Mustafa Fazil, became grand vizier in 1710. The
expectations formed of him were not fulfilled, as although he was
tolerant, wise and just like his father, he injudiciously sought to take
upon himself all the details of administration, a task which proved to
be beyond his powers. He failed to introduce order into the
administration and was dismissed from office in less than fourteen
months after his appointment.
6. ABDULLAH KUPRILI, a son of Mustafa Fazil Kuprili, was appointed
Kaimmakam or _locum tenens_ of the grand vizier in 1703. He commanded
the Persian expedition in 1723 and captured Tabriz in 1725, resigning
his office in 1726. In 1735 he again commanded against the Persians, but
fell at the disastrous battle of Bagaverd, thus emulating his father's
heroic death at Selankamen.
KURAKIN, BORIS IVANOVICH, PRINCE (1676-1727), Russian diplomatist, was
the brother-in-law of Peter the Great, their wives being sisters. He was
one of the earliest of Peter's pupils. In 1697 he was sent to Italy to
learn navigation. His long and honourable diplomatic career began in
1707, when he was sent to Rome to induce the pope not to recognize
Charles XII.'s candidate, Stanislaus Leszczynski, as king of Poland.
From 1708 to 1712 he represented Russia at London, Hanover, and the
Hague successively, and, in 1713, was the principal Russian
plenipotentiary at the peace congress of Utrecht. From 1716 to 1722 he
held the post of ambassador at Paris, and when, in 1724, Peter set forth
on his Persian campaign, Kurakin was appointed the supervisor of all the
Russian ambassadors accredited to the various European courts. "The
father of Russian diplomacy," as he has justly been called, was
remarkable throughout his career for infinite tact and insight, and a
wonderfully correct appreciation of men and events. He was most useful
to Russia perhaps when the Great Northern war (see SWEDEN, _History_)
was drawing to a close. Notably he prevented Great Britain from
declaring war against Peter's close ally, Denmark, at the crisis of the
struggle. Kurakin was one of the best-educated Russians of his day, and
his autobiography, carried down to 1709, is an historical document of
the first importance. He intended to write a history of his own times
with Peter the Great as the central figure, but got no further than the
summary, entitled _History of Tsar Peter Aleksievich and the People
Nearest to Him_ (1682-1694) (Rus.).
See _Archives of Prince A. Th. Kurakin_ (Rus.) (St Petersburg, 1890);
A. Brückner, _A Russian Tourist in Western Europe in the beginning of
the XVIIIth Century_ (Rus.) (St Petersburg, 1892). (R. N. B.)
KURBASH, or KOURBASH (from the Arabic _qurbash_, a whip; Turkish
_qirbach_; and French _courbache_), a whip or strap about a yard in
length, made of the hide of the hippopotamus or rhinoceros. It is an
instrument of punishment and torture used in various Mahommedan
countries, especially in the Turkish empire. "Government by kurbash"
denotes the oppression of a people by the constant abuse of the kurbash
to maintain authority, to collect taxes, or to pervert justice. The use
of the kurbash for such purposes, once common in Egypt, has been
abolished by the British authorities.
KURDISTAN, in its wider sense, the "country of the Kurds" (Koords),
including that part of Mount Taurus which buttresses the Armenian
table-land (see ARMENIA), and is intersected by the Batman Su, the
Bohtan Su, and other tributaries of the Tigris; and the wild mountain
district, watered by the Great and Little Zab, which marks the western
termination of the great Iranian plateau.
_Population._--The total Kurd population probably exceeds two and a half
millions, namely, Turkish Kurds 1,650,000, Persian 800,000, Russian
50,000, but there are no trustworthy statistics. The great mass of the
population has its home in Kurdistan. But Kurds are scattered
irregularly over the country from the river Sakaria on the west to Lake
Urmia on the east, and from Kars on the north to Jebel Sinjar on the
south. There is also an isolated settlement in Khorasan. The tribes,
_ashiret_, into which the Kurds are divided, resemble in some respects
the Highland clans of Scotland. Very few of them number more than 10,000
souls, and the average is about 3000. The sedentary and pastoral Kurds,
_Yerli_, who live in villages in winter and encamp on their own
pasture-grounds in summer, form an increasing majority of the
population. The nomad Kurds, _Kocher_, who always dwell in tents, are
the wealthiest and most independent. They spend the summer on the
mountains and high plateaus, which they enter in May and leave in
October; and pass the winter on the banks of the Tigris and on the great
plain north of Jebel Sinjar, where they purchase right of pasturage
from the Shammar Arabs. Each tribe has its own pasture-grounds, and
trespass by other tribes is a fertile source of quarrel. During the
periodical migrations Moslem and Christian alike suffer from the
predatory instincts of the Kurd, and disturbances are frequent in the
districts traversed. In Turkey the sedentary Kurds pay taxes; but the
nomads only pay the sheep tax, which is collected as they cross the
Tigris on their way to their summer pastures.
_Character._--The Kurd delights in the bracing air and unrestricted
liberty of the mountains. He is rarely a muleteer or camel-man, and does
not take kindly to handicrafts. The Kurds generally bear a very
indifferent reputation, a worse reputation perhaps, than they really
deserve. Being aliens to the Turks in language and to the Persians in
religion, they are everywhere treated with mistrust, and live as it were
in a state of chronic warfare with the powers that be. Such a condition
is not of course favourable to the development of the better qualities
of human nature. The Kurds are thus wild and lawless; they are much
given to brigandage; they oppress and frequently maltreat the Christian
populations with whom they are brought in contact,--these populations
being the Armenians in Diarbekr, Erzerum and Van, the Jacobites and
Syrians in the Jebel-Tur, and the Nestorians and Chaldaeans in the
Hakkari country.
Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of the Kurdish chief is
pride of ancestry. This feeling is in many cases exaggerated, for in
reality the present tribal organization does not date from any great
antiquity. In the list indeed of eighteen principal tribes of the nation
which was drawn up by the Arabian historian Masudi, in the 10th century,
only two or three names are to be recognized at the present day. A
14th-century list, however, translated by Quatremère,[1] presents a
great number of identical names, and there seems no reason to doubt that
certain Kurdish families can trace their descent from the Omayyad
caliphs, while only in recent years the Baban chief of Suleimania,
representing the old Sohrans, and the Ardelan chief of Sinna,[2]
representing an elder branch of the Gurans, each claimed an ancestry of
at least five hundred years. There was up to a recent period no more
picturesque or interesting scene to be witnessed in the east than the
court of one of these great Kurdish chiefs, where, like another Saladin,
the bey ruled in patriarchal state, surrounded by an hereditary
nobility, regarded by his clansmen with reverence and affection, and
attended by a bodyguard of young Kurdish warriors, clad in chain armour,
with flaunting silken scarfs, and bearing javelin, lance and sword as in
the time of the crusades.
Though ignorant and unsophisticated the Kurd is not wanting in natural
intelligence. In recent years educated Kurds have held high office under
the sultan, including that of grand vizier, have assisted in translating
the Bible into Turkish, and in editing a newspaper. The men are lithe,
active and strong, but rarely of unusual stature. The women do not veil,
and are allowed great freedom. The Kurds as a race are proud, faithful
and hospitable, and have rude but strict feelings of honour. They are,
however, much under the influence of dervishes, and when their
fanaticism is aroused their habitual lawlessness is apt to degenerate
into savage barbarity. They are not deficient in martial spirit, but
have an innate dislike to the restraints of military service. The
country is rich in traditions and legends, and in lyric and in epic
poems, which have been handed down from earlier times and are recited in
a weird melancholy tone.
_Antiquities._--Kurdistan abounds in antiquities of the most varied and
interesting character. But it has been very little opened up to modern
research. A series of rock-cut cuneiform inscriptions extend from
Malatia on the west to Miandoab (in Persia) on the east, and from the
banks of the Aras on the north to Rowanduz on the south, which record
the glories of a Turanian dynasty, who ruled the country of Nairi during
the 8th and 7th centuries, B.C., contemporaneously with the lower
Assyrian empire. Intermingled with these are a few genuine Assyrian
inscriptions of an earlier date; and in one instance, at Van, a later
tablet of Xerxes brings the record down to the period of Grecian
history. The most ancient monuments of this class, however, are to be
found at Holwan and in the neighbourhood, where the sculptures and
inscriptions belong probably to the Guti and Luli tribes, and date from
the early Babylonian period.
In the northern Kurdish districts which represent the Arzanene,
Intilene, Anzitene, Zabdicene, and Moxuene of the ancients, there are
many interesting remains of Roman cities, e.g. at Arzen, Miyafarikin
(anc. _Martyropolis_), Sisauronon, and the ruins of Dunisir near Dara,
which Sachau identified with the Armenian capital of Tigranocerta. Of
the Macedonian and Parthian periods there are remains both sculptured
and inscribed at several points in Kurdistan; at Bisitun or Behistun
(q.v.), in a cave at Amadia, at the Mithraic temple of Kereftu, on the
rocks at Sir Pul-o-Zohab near the ruins of Holwan, and probably in some
other localities, such as the Balik country between Lahijan and
Koi-Sanjak; but the most interesting site in all Kurdistan, perhaps in
all western Asia, is the ruined fire temple of Pai Kuli on the southern
frontier of Suleimania. Among the débris of this temple, which is
scattered over a bare hillside, are to be found above one hundred slabs,
inscribed with Parthian and Pahlavi characters, the fragments of a wall
which formerly supported the eastern face of the edifice, and bore a
bilingual legend of great length, dating from the Sassanian period.
There are also remarkable Sassanian remains in other parts of
Kurdistan--at Salmus to the north, and at Kermanshah and Kasr-i-Shirin
on the Turkish frontier to the south.
_Language._--The Kurdish language, Kermanji, is an old Persian patois,
intermixed to the north with Chaldaean words and to the south with a
certain Turanian element which may not improbably have come down from
Babylonian times. Several peculiar dialects are spoken in secluded
districts in the mountains, but the only varieties which, from their
extensive use, require to be specified are the Zaza and the Guran. The
Zaza is spoken throughout the western portion of the Dersim country,
and is said to be unintelligible to the Kermanji-speaking Kurds. It is
largely intermingled with Armenian, and may contain some trace of the
old Cappadocian, but is no doubt of the same Aryan stock as the
standard Kurdish. The Guran dialect again, which is spoken throughout
Ardelan and Kermanshah[3] chiefly differs from the northern Kurdish in
being entirely free from any Semitic intermixture. It is thus somewhat
nearer to the Persian than the Kermanji dialect, but is essentially
the same language. It is a mistake to suppose that there is no
Kurdish literature. Many of the popular Persian poets have been
translated into Kurdish, and there are also books relating to the
religious mysteries of the Ali-Illahis in the hands of the Dersimlis
to the north and of the Gurans of Kermanshah to the south. The New
Testament in Kurdish was printed at Constantinople in 1857. The Rev.
Samuel Rhea published a grammar and vocabulary of the Hakkari dialect
in 1872. In 1879 there appeared, under the auspices of the imperial
academy of St Petersburg a French-Kurdish dictionary compiled
originally by Mons. Jaba, many years Russian consul at Erzerum, but
completed by Ferdinand Justi by the help of a rich assortment of
Kurdish tales and ballads, collected by Socin and Prym in Assyria.
_Religion._--The great body of the nation, in Persia as well as in
Turkey, are Sunnis of the Shafi'ite sect, but in the recesses of the
Dersim to the north and of Zagros to the south there are large
half-pagan communities, who are called indifferently Ali-Illahi and
Kizjil-bash, and who hold tenets of some obscurity, but of
considerable interest. Outwardly professing to be Shi'ites or
"followers of Ali," they observe secret ceremonies and hold esoteric
doctrines which have probably descended to them from very early ages,
and of which the essential condition is that there must always be upon
the earth a visible manifestation of the Deity. While paying reverence
to the supposed incarnations of ancient days, to Moses, David, Christ,
Ali and his tutor Salman-ul-Farisi, and several of the Shi'ite imams
and saints, they have thus usually some recent local celebrity at
whose shrine they worship and make vows; and there is, moreover, in
every community of Ali-Illahis some living personage, not necessarily
ascetic, to whom, as representing the godhead, the superstitious
tribesmen pay almost idolatrous honours. Among the Gurans of the south
the shrine of Baba Yadgar, in a gorge of the hills above the old city
of Holwan, is thus regarded with a supreme veneration. Similar
institutions are also found in other parts of the mountains, which may
be compared with the tenets of the Druses and Nosairis in Syria and
the Ismailites in Persia.
_History._--With regard to the origin of the Kurds, it was formerly
considered sufficient to describe them as the descendants of the
Carduchi, who opposed the retreat of the Ten Thousand through the
mountains, but modern research traces them far beyond the period of the
Greeks. At the dawn of history the mountains overhanging Assyria were
held by a people named _Gutu_, a title which signified "a warrior," and
which was rendered in Assyrian by the synonym of _Gardu_ or _Kardu_, the
precise term quoted by Strabo to explain the name of the Cardaces
([Greek: Kardakes]). These _Gutu_ were a Turanian tribe of such power as
to be placed in the early cuneiform records on an equality with the
other nations of western Asia, that is, with the Syrians and Hittites,
the Susians, Elamites, and Akkadians of Babylonia; and during the whole
period of the Assyrian empire they seem to have preserved a more or less
independent political position. After the fall of Nineveh they coalesced
with the Medes, and, in common with all the nations inhabiting the high
plateaus of Asia Minor, Armenia and Persia, became gradually Aryanized,
owing to the immigration at this period of history of tribes in
overwhelming numbers which, from whatever quarter they may have sprung,
belonged certainly to the Aryan family.
The _Gutu_ or Kurdu were reduced to subjection by Cyrus before he
descended upon Babylon, and furnished a contingent of fighting men to
his successors, being thus mentioned under the names of Saspirians and
Alarodians in the muster roll of the army of Xerxes which was preserved
by Herodotus.
In later times they passed successively under the sway of the
Macedonians, the Parthians, and Sassanians, being especially befriended,
if we may judge from tradition as well as from the remains still
existing in the country, by the Arsacian monarchs, who were probably of
a cognate race. Gotarzes indeed, whose name may perhaps be translated
"chief of the _Gutu_," was traditionally believed to be the founder of
the Gurans, the principal tribe of southern Kurdistan,[4] and his name
and titles are still preserved in a Greek inscription at Behistun near
the Kurdish capital of Kermanshah. Under the caliphs of Bagdad the Kurds
were always giving trouble in one quarter or another. In A.D. 838, and
again in 905, there were formidable insurrections in northern Kurdistan;
the amir, Adod-addaula, was obliged to lead the forces of the caliphate
against the southern Kurds, capturing the famous fortress of Sermaj, of
which the ruins are to be seen at the present day near Behistun, and
reducing the province of Shahrizor with its capital city now marked by
the great mound of Yassin Teppeh. The most flourishing period of Kurdish
power was probably during the 12th century of our era, when the great
Saladin, who belonged to the Rawendi branch of the Hadabani tribe,
founded the Ayyubite dynasty of Syria, and Kurdish chiefships were
established, not only to the east and west of the Kurdistan mountains,
but as far as Khorasan upon one side and Egypt and Yemen on the other.
During the Mongol and Tatar domination of western Asia the Kurds in the
mountains remained for the most part passive, yielding a reluctant
obedience to the provincial governors of the plains.
When Sultan Selim I., after defeating Shah Ismail, 1514, annexed Armenia
and Kurdistan, he entrusted the organization of the conquered
territories to Idris, the historian, who was a Kurd of Bitlis. Idris
found Kurdistan bristling with castles, held by hereditary tribal chiefs
of Kurd, Arab, and Armenian descent, who were practically independent,
and passed their time in tribal warfare or in raiding the agricultural
population. He divided the territory into sanjaks or districts, and,
making no attempt to interfere with the principle of heredity, installed
the local chiefs as governors. He also resettled the rich pastoral
country between Erzerum and Erivan, which had lain waste since the
passage of Timur, with Kurds from the Hakkiari and Bohtan districts. The
system of administration introduced by Idris remained unchanged until
the close of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-29. But the Kurds, owing to
the remoteness of their country from the capital and the decline of
Turkey, had greatly increased in influence and power, and had spread
westwards over the country as far as Angora. After the war the Kurds
attempted to free themselves from Turkish control, and in 1834 it became
necessary to reduce them to subjection. This was done by Reshid Pasha.
The principal towns were strongly garrisoned, and many of the Kurd beys
were replaced by Turkish governors. A rising under Bedr Khan Bey in 1843
was firmly repressed, and after the Crimean War the Turks strengthened
their hold on the country. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 was followed
by the attempt of Sheikh Obaidullah, 1880-81, to found an independent
Kurd principality under the protection of Turkey. The attempt, at first
encouraged by the Porte, as a reply to the projected creation of an
Armenian state under the suzerainty of Russia (see ARMENIA), collapsed
after Obaidullah's raid into Persia, when various circumstances led the
central government to reassert its supreme authority. Until the
Russo-Turkish War of 1828-29 there had been little hostile feeling
between the Kurds and the Armenians, and as late as 1877-1878 the
mountaineers of both races had got on fairly well together. Both
suffered from Turkey, both dreaded Russia. But the national movement
amongst the Armenians, and its encouragement by Russia after the last
war, gradually aroused race hatred and fanaticism. In 1891 the activity
of the Armenian Committees induced the Porte to strengthen the position
of the Kurds by raising a body of Kurdish irregular cavalry, which was
well armed and called Hamidieh after the Sultan. The opportunities thus
offered for plunder and the gratification of race hatred brought out the
worst qualities of the Kurds. Minor disturbances constantly occurred,
and were soon followed by the massacre of Armenians at Sasun and other
places, 1894-96, in which the Kurds took an active part.
AUTHORITIES.--Rich, _Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan_ (1836);
Wagner, _Reise nach Persien und dem Lande der Kurden_ (Leipzig, 1852);
Consul Taylor in _R. G. S. Journal_ (1865); Millingen, _Wild Life
among the Koords_ (1870); Von Luschan, "Die Wandervolker Kleinasiens,"
in _V^n. d. G. für Anthropologie_ (Berlin, 1886); Clayton, "The
Mountains of Kurdistan," in _Alpine Journal_ (1887); Binder, _Au
Kurdistan_ (Paris, 1887); Naumann, _Vom Goldnen Horn zu den Quellen
des Euphrat_ (Munich, 1893); Murray, _Handbook to Asia Minor, &c._
(1895); Lerch, _Forschungen über die Kurden_ (St Petersburg, 1857-58);
Jaba, _Dict. Kurde-Français_ (St Petersburg, 1879); Justi, _Kurdische
Grammatik_ (1880); Prym and Socin, _Kurdische Sammlungen_ (1890);
Makas, _Kurdische Studien_ (1901); Earl Percy, _Highlands of Asiatic
Turkey_ (1901); Lynch, _Armenia_ (1901); A. V. Williams Jackson,
_Persia, Past and Present_ (1906). (C. W. W.; H. C. R.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See _Notices et Extraits des MSS._, xiii. 305. Of the tribes
enumerated in this work of the 14th century who still retain a
leading place among the Kurds, the following names may be quoted:
_Guranieh_ of Dartang, modern Gurans; _Zengeneh_, in Hamadan hills,
now in Kermanshah; _Hasnani_ of Kerkuk and Arbil, now in the Dersim
mountains, having originally come from Khorasan according to
tradition; _Sohrieh_ of Shekelabad and Tel-Haftun, modern Sohran,
from whom descend the Baban of Suleimanieh; _Zerzari_ of Hinjarin
mountains, modern Zerzas of Ushnu (cuneiform pillars of Kel-i-shin
and Sidek noticed by author); _Julamerkieh_, modern Julamerik, said
to be descended from the caliph Merwan-ibn-Hakam; _Hakkarieh_,
Hakkari inhabiting _Zuzan_ of Arab geography; _Bokhtieh_, modern
Bohtan. The _Rowadi_, to whom Saladin belonged, are probably modern
Rawendi, as they held the fortress of Arbil (Arbela). Some twenty
other names are mentioned, but the orthography is so doubtful that it
is useless to try to identify them.
[2] The _Sheref-nama_, a history of the Kurds dating from the 16th
century, tells us that "towards the close of the reign of the
Jenghizians, a man named Baba Ardilan, a descendant of the governors
of Diarbekr, and related to the famous Ahmed-ibn-Merwan, after
remaining for some time among the Gurans, gained possession of the
country of Shahrizor" and the Ardelan family history, with the
gradual extension of their power over Persian Kurdistan, is then
traced down to the Saffavid period.
[3] The Guran are mentioned in the _Mesalik-el-Absar_ as the dominant
tribe in southern Kurdistan in the 14th century, occupying very much
the same seats as at present, from the Hamadan frontier to Shahrizor.
Their name probably signifies merely "the mountaineers," being
derived from _gur_ or _giri_, "a mountain," which is also found in
Zagros, i.e. _za-giri_, "beyond the mountain," or _Pusht-i-koh_, as
the name is translated in Persian. They are a fine, active and hardy
race, individually brave, and make excellent soldiers, though in
appearance very inferior to the tribal Kurds of the northern
districts. These latter indeed delight in gay colours, while the
Gurans dress in the most homely costume, wearing coarse blue cotton
vests, with felt caps and coats. In a great part of Kurdistan the
name Guran has become synonymous with an agricultural peasantry, as
opposed to the migratory shepherds.
[4] "The Kalhur tribe are traditionally descended from
Gudarz-ibn-Gio, whose son Roham was sent by Bahman Keiani to destroy
Jerusalem and bring the Jews into captivity. This Roham is the
individual usually called Bokht-i-nasser (Nebuchadrezzar) and he
ultimately succeeded to the throne. The neighbouring country has ever
since remained in the hands of his descendants, who are called
Gurans" (_Sheref-Nama_, Persian MS.). The same popular tradition
still exists in the country, and [Greek: GÔTARZÊO GEOPOTHROS] is
found on the rock at Behistun, showing that Gudarz-ibn-Gio was really
an historic personage. See _Journ. Roy. Geog. Soc._ ix. 114.
KURDISTAN, in the narrower sense, a province of Persia, situated in the
hilly districts between Azerbaijan and Kermanshah, and extending to the
Turkish frontier on the W., and bounded on the E. by Gerrus and Hamadan.
In proportion to its size and population it pays a very small yearly
revenue--only about £14,000--due to the fact that a great part of the
population consists of wild and disorderly nomad Kurds. Some of these
nomads pass their winters in Turkish territory, and have their summer
pasture-grounds in the highlands of Kurdistan. This adds much to the
difficulty of collecting taxation. The province is divided into sixteen
districts, and its eastern part, in which the capital is situated, is
known as Ardelan. The capital is Senendij, usually known as Sinna (not
Sihna, or Sahna, as some writers have it), situated 60 m. N.W. of
Hamadan, in 35° 15´ N., 47° 18´ E., at an elevation of 5300 ft. The city
has a population of about 35,000 and manufactures great quantities of
carpets and felts for the supply of the province and for export. Some of
the carpets are very fine and expensive, rugs 2 yards by 1½ costing £15
to £20. Post and telegraph offices have been established since 1879.
KURGAN, a town (founded 1553) of West Siberia, in the government of
Tobolsk, on the Siberian railway, 160 m. E. of Chelyabinsk, and on the
left bank of the Tobol, in a wealthy agricultural district. Pop. (1897),
10,579. Owing to its position at the terminus of steam navigation up the
river Tobol, it has become second only to Tyumen as a commercial centre.
It has a public library and a botanic garden. There is a large trade in
cattle with Petropavlovsk, and considerable export of grain, tallow,
meat, hides, butter, game and fish, there being three large fairs in the
year. In the vicinity are a great number of prehistoric kurgans or
burial-mounds.
KURIA MURIA ISLANDS, a group of five islands in the Arabian Sea, close
under the coast of Arabia, belonging to Britain and forming a dependency
of Aden. They are lofty and rocky, and have a total area of 28 sq. m.,
that of the largest, Hallania, being 22 sq. m. They are identified with
the ancient _Insulae Zenobii_, and were ceded by the sultan of Muscat to
Britain in 1854 for the purposes of a cable station. They are inhabited
by a few families of Arabs, who however speak a dialect differing
considerably from the ordinary Arabic. The islands yield some guano.
KURILES (Jap. _Chishima_, "thousand islands"), a chain of small islands
belonging to Japan, stretching in a north-easterly direction from Nemuro
Bay, on the extreme east of the island of Yezo, to Chishima-kaikyo
(Kuriles Strait), which separates them from the southernmost point of
Kamchatka. They extend from 44° 45´ to 50° 56´ N. and from 145° 25´ to
156° 32´ E. Their coasts measure 1496 m.; their area is 6159 sq. m.;
their total number is 32, and the names of the eight principal islands,
counting from the south, are Kunashiri, Shikotan, Etorofu (generally
called Etorop, and known formerly to Europe as Staten Island), Urup,
Simusir, Onnekotan, Paramoshiri (Paramusir) and Shumshiri. From
Noshapzaki (Notsu-no-sake or Notsu Cape), the most easterly point of
Nemuro province, to Tomari, the most westerly point in Kunashiri, the
distance is 7(1/3) m., and the Kuriles Strait separating Shumshiri from
Kamchatka is about the same width. The name "Kurile" is derived from the
Russian _kurit_ (to smoke), in allusion to the active volcanic character
of the group. The dense fogs that envelop these islands, and the
violence of the currents in their vicinity, have greatly hindered
exploration, so that little is known of their physiography. They lie
entangled in a vast net of sea-weed; are the resort of innumerable
birds, and used to be largely frequented by seals and sea-otters, which,
however, have been almost completely driven away by unregulated
hunting. Near the south-eastern coast of Kunashiri stands a mountain
called Rausunobori (3005 ft. high), round whose base sulphur bubbles up
in large quantities, and hot springs as well as a hot stream are found.
On the west coast of the same island is a boiling lake, called Ponto,
which deposits on its bed and round its shores black sand, consisting
almost entirely of pure sulphur. This island has several lofty peaks;
Ponnobori-yama near the east coast, and Chachanobori and Rurindake in
the north. Chachanobori (about 7382 ft.) is described by Messrs
Chamberlain and Mason as "a cone within a cone, the inner and higher of
the two being--so the natives say--surrounded by a lake." The island has
extensive forests of conifers with an undergrowth of ferns and flowering
plants, and bears are numerous. The chief port of Kunashiri is Tomari,
on the south coast. The island of Shikotan is remarkable for the growth
of a species of bamboo (called Shikotan-chiku), having dark brown spots
on the cane. Etorofu has a coast-line broken by deep bays, of which the
principal are Naibo-wan, Rubetsu-wan and Bettobuwan on the northern
shore and Shitokap-wan on the southern. It is covered almost completely
with dense forest, and has a number of streams abounding with salmon.
Shana, the chief port, is in Rubetsu Bay. This island, the principal of
the group, is divided into four provinces for administrative purposes,
namely, Etorofu, Furubetsu, Shana and Shibetoro. Its mountains are
Atosha-nobori (4035 ft.) in Etorofu; Chiripnupari (5009 ft.) in Shana;
and Mokoro-nobori (3930 ft.) and Atuiyadake (3932 ft.) in Shibetoro.
Among the other islands three only call for notice on account of their
altitudes, namely, Ketoi-jima, Rashua-jima and Matua-jima, which rise to
heights of 3944, 3304 and 5240 ft. respectively.
_Population._--Not much is known about the aborigines. By some
authorities Ainu colonists are supposed to have been the first settlers,
and to have arrived there via Yezo; by others, the earliest comers are
believed to have been a hyperborean tribe travelling southwards by way
of Kamchatka. The islands themselves have not been sufficiently explored
to determine whether they furnish any ethnological evidences. The
present population aggregates about 4400, or 0.7 per sq. m., of whom
about 600 are Ainu (q.v.). There is little disposition to emigrate
thither from Japan proper, the number of settlers being less than 100
annually.
_History._--The Kurile Islands were discovered in 1634 by the Dutch
navigator Martin de Vries. The three southern islands, Kunashiri,
Etorofu, and Shikotan, are believed to have belonged to Japan from a
remote date, but at the beginning of the 18th century the Russians,
having conquered Kamchatka, found their way to the northern part of the
Kuriles in pursuit of fur-bearing animals, with which the islands then
abounded. Gradually these encroachments were pushed farther south,
simultaneously with aggressions imperilling the Japanese settlements in
the southern half of Sakhalin. Japan's occupation was far from effective
in either region, and in 1875 she was not unwilling to conclude a
convention by which she agreed to withdraw altogether from Sakhalin
provided that Russia withdrew from the Kuriles.
An officer of the Japanese navy, Lieut. Gunji, left Tokyo with about
forty comrades in 1892, his intention being to form a settlement on
Shumshiri, the most northerly of the Kurile Islands. They embarked in
open boats, and for that reason, as well as because they were going to
constitute themselves their country's extreme outpost, the enterprise
attracted public enthusiasm. After a long struggle the immigrants became
fairly prosperous.
See Capt. H. J. Snow, _Notes on the Kurile Islands_ (London, 1896).
KURISCHES HAFF, a lagoon of Germany, on the Baltic coast of East
Prussia, stretching from Labiau to Memel, a distance of 60 m., has an
area of nearly 680 sq. m. It is mostly shallow and only close to Memel
attains a depth of 23 ft. It is thus unnavigable except for small
coasting and fishing boats, and sea-going vessels proceed through the
Memeler Tief (Memel Deep), which connects the Baltic with Memel and has
a depth of 19 ft. and a breadth of 800 to 1900 ft. The Kurisches Haff is
separated from the Baltic by a long spit, or tongue of land, the
so-called Kurische Nehrung, 72 m. in length and with a breadth of 1 to 2
miles. The latter is fringed throughout its whole length by a chain of
dunes, which rise in places to a height of nearly 200 ft. and threaten,
unless checked, to be pressed farther inland and silt up the whole Haff.
See Berendt, _Geologie des Kurischen Haffs_ (Königsberg, 1869);
Sommer, _Das Kurische Haff_ (Danzig, 1889); A. Bezzenberger, _Die
Kurische Nehrung und ihre Bewohner_ (Stuttgart, 1889); and Lindner,
_Die Preussische Wüste einst und jetzt, Bilder von der Kurischen
Nehrung_ (Osterwieck, 1898).
KURNOOL, or KARNUL, a town and district of British India, in the Madras
presidency. The town is built on a rocky soil at the junction of the
Hindri and Tungabhadra rivers 33 m. from a railway station. The old
Hindu fort was levelled in 1865, with the exception of one of the gates,
which was preserved as a specimen of ancient architecture. Cotton cloth
and carpets are manufactured. Pop. (1901), 25,376, of whom half are
Mussulmans.
The DISTRICT OF KURNOOL has an area of 7578 sq. m., pop. (1901),
872,055, showing an increase of 6% in the decade. Two long mountain
ranges, the Nallamalais and the Yellamalais, extend in parallel lines,
north and south, through its centre. The principal heights of the
Nallamalai range are Biranikonda (3149 ft.), Gundlabrahmeswaram (3055
ft.), and Durugapukonda (3086 ft.). The Yellamalai is a low range,
generally flat-topped with scarped sides; the highest point is about
2000 ft. Several low ridges run parallel to the Nallamalais, broken here
and there by gorges, through which mountain streams take their course.
Several of these gaps were dammed across under native rule, to form
tanks for purposes of irrigation. The principal rivers are the
Tungabhadra and Kistna, which bound the district on the north. When in
flood, the Tungabhadra averages 900 yards broad and 15 ft. deep. The
Kistna here flows chiefly through uninhabited jungles, sometimes in long
smooth reaches, with intervening shingly rapids. The Bhavanasi rises on
the Nallamalais, and falls into the Kistna at Sungameswaram, a place of
pilgrimage. During the 18th century Kurnool formed the _jagir_ of a
semi-independent Pathan Nawab, whose descendant was dispossessed by the
British government for treason in 1838. The principal crops are millets,
cotton, oil-seeds, and rice, with a little indigo and tobacco. Kurnool
suffered very severely from the famine of 1876-1877, and to a slight
extent in 1896-1897. It is the chief scene of the operations of the
Madras Irrigation Company taken over by government in 1882. The canal,
which starts from the Tungabhadra river near Kurnool town, was
constructed at a total cost of two millions sterling, but has not been a
financial success. A more successful work is the Cumbum tank, formed
under native rule by damming a gorge of the Gundlakamma river. Apart
from the weaving of coarse cotton cloth, the chief industrial
establishments are cotton presses, indigo vats, and saltpetre
refineries. The district is served by the Southern Mahratta railway.
KUROKI, ITEI, COUNT (1844- ), Japanese general, was born in Satsuma. He
distinguished himself in the Chino-Japanese War of 1894-95. He commanded
the I. Army in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5), when he won the opening
battle of the war at the Yalu river, and afterwards advanced through the
mountains and took part with the other armies in the battles of
Liao-Yang, Shaho and Mukden (see RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR). He was created
baron for his services in the former war, and count for his services in
the latter.
KUROPATKIN, ALEXEI NIKOLAIEVICH (1848- ), Russian general, was born in
1848 and entered the army in 1864. From 1872 to 1874 he studied at the
Nicholas staff college, after which he spent a short time with the
French troops in Algiers. In 1875 he was employed in diplomatic work in
Kashgaria and in 1876 he took part in military operations in Turkistan,
Kokan and Samerkand. In the war of 1877-78 against Turkey he earned a
great reputation as chief of staff to the younger Skobelev, and after
the war he wrote a detailed and critical history of the operations which
is still regarded as the classical work on the subject and is available
for other nations in the German translation by Major Krahmer. After the
war he served again on the south-eastern borders in command of the
Turkestan Rifle Brigade, and in 1881 he won further fame by a march of
500 miles from Tashkent to Geok-Tepe, taking part in the storming of the
latter place. In 1882 he was promoted major-general, at the early age of
34, and he henceforth was regarded by the army as the natural successor
of Skobelev. In 1890 he was promoted lieutenant-general, and thirteen
years later, having acquired in peace and war the reputation of being
one of the foremost soldiers in Europe, he quitted the post of minister
of war which he then held and took command of the Russian army then
gathering in Manchuria for the contest with Japan. His ill-success in
the great war of 1904-5, astonishing as it seemed at the time, was
largely attributable to his subjection to the superior command of
Admiral Alexeiev, the tsar's viceroy in the Far East, and to internal
friction amongst the generals, though in his history of the war (Eng.
trans., 1909) he frankly admitted his own mistakes and paid the highest
tribute to the gallantry of the troops who had been committed to battle
under conditions unfavourable to success. After the defeat of Mukden and
the retirement of the whole army to Tieling he resigned the command to
General Linievich, taking the latter officer's place at the head of one
of the three armies in Manchuria. (See RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR.)
KURO SIWO, or KURO SHIO (literally blue salt), a stream current in the
Pacific Ocean, easily distinguishable by the warm temperature and blue
colour of its waters, flowing north-eastwards along the east coast of
Japan, and separated from it by a strip of cold water. The current
persists as a stream to about 40 N., between the meridians of 150° E.
and 160° E., when it merges in the general easterly drift of the North
Pacific. The Kuro Siwo is the analogue of the Gulf Stream in the
Atlantic.
KURRAM, a river and district on the Kohat border of the North-West
Frontier province of India. The Kurram river drains the southern flanks
of the Safed Koh, enters the plains a few miles above Bannu, and joins
the Indus near Isa-Khel after a course of more than 200 miles. The
district has an area of 1278 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 54,257. It lies
between the Miranzai Valley and the Afghan border, and is inhabited by
the Turis, a tribe of Turki origin who are supposed to have subjugated
the Bangash Pathans five hundred years ago. It is highly irrigated, well
peopled, and crowded with small fortified villages, orchards and groves,
to which a fine background is afforded by the dark pine forests and
alpine snows of the Safed Koh. The beauty and climate of the valley
attracted some of the Mogul emperors of Delhi, and the remains exist of
a garden planted by Shah Jahan. Formerly the Kurram valley was under the
government of Kabul, and every five or six years a military expedition
was sent to collect the revenue, the soldiers living meanwhile at free
quarters on the people. It was not until about 1848 that the Turis were
brought directly under the control of Kabul, when a governor was
appointed, who established himself in Kurram. The Turis, being Shiah
Mahommedans, never liked the Afghan rule. During the second Afghan War,
when Sir Frederick Roberts advanced by way of the Kurram valley and the
Peiwar Kotal to Kabul, the Turis lent him every assistance in their
power, and in consequence their independence was granted them in 1880.
The administration of the Kurram valley was finally undertaken by the
British government, at the request of the Turis themselves, in 1890.
Technically it ranks, not as a British district, but as an agency or
administered area. Two expeditions in the Kurram valley also require
mention: (1) The Kurram expedition of 1856 under Brigadier Chamberlain.
The Turis on the first annexation of the Kohat district by the British
had given much trouble. They had repeatedly leagued with other tribes to
harry the Miranzai valley, harbouring fugitives, encouraging resistance,
and frequently attacking Bangash and Khattak villages in the Kohat
district. Accordingly in 1856 a British force of 4896 troops traversed
their country, and the tribe entered into engagements for future good
conduct. (2) The Kohat-Kurram expedition of 1897 under Colonel W. Hill.
During the frontier risings of 1897 the inhabitants of the Kurram
valley, chiefly the Massozai section of the Orakzais, were infected by
the general excitement, and attacked the British camp at Sadda and other
posts. A force of 14,230 British troops traversed the country, and the
tribesmen were severely punished. In Lord Curzon's reorganization of the
frontier in 1900-1901, the British troops were withdrawn from the forts
in the Kurram valley, and were replaced by the Kurram militia,
reorganized in two battalions, and chiefly drawn from the Turi tribe.
KURSEONG, or KARSIANG, a sanatorium of northern India, in the Darjeeling
district of Bengal, 20 m. S. of Darjeeling and 4860 ft. above sea-level;
pop. (1901), 4469. It has a station on the mountain railway, and is a
centre of the tea trade. It also contains boys' and girls' schools for
Europeans and Eurasians.
KURSK, a government of middle Russia, bounded N. by the government of
Orel, E. by that of Voronezh, S. by Kharkov and W. by Chernigov. Area,
17,932 sq. m. It belongs to the central plateau of middle Russia, of
which it mostly occupies the southern slope, the highest parts being in
Orel and Kaluga, to the north of Kursk. Its surface is 700 to 1100 ft.
high, deeply trenched by ravines, and consequently assumes a hilly
aspect when viewed from the river valleys. Cretaceous and Eocene rocks
prevail, and chalk, iron-stone, potters' clay and phosphates are among
the economic minerals. No fewer than four hundred streams are counted
within its borders, but none of them is of any service as waterways. A
layer of fertile loess covers the whole surface, and Kursk belongs
almost entirely to the black-earth region. The flora is distinct from
that of the governments to the north, not only on account of the
black-earth flora which enters into its composition, but also of the
plants of south-western Russia which belong to it, a characteristic
which is accentuated in the southern portion of the government. The
climate is milder than that of middle Russia generally, and winds from
the south-east and the south-west prevail in winter. The average
temperatures are--for the year 42° F., for January 14° F. and for July
67° F. The very interesting magnetic phenomenon, known as the Byelgorod
anomaly, covering an oval area 20 m. long and 12 m. wide, has been
studied near the town of this name. The population, 1,893,597 in 1862,
was 2,391,091 in 1897, of whom 1,208,488 were women and 199,676 lived in
towns. The estimated pop. in 1906 was 2,797,000. It is thoroughly
Russian (76% Great Russians and 24% Little Russians), and 94% are
peasants who own over 59% of the land, and live mostly in large
villages. Owing to the rapid increase of the peasantry and the small
size of the allotments given at the emancipation of the serfs in 1861,
emigration, chiefly to Siberia, is on the increase, while 80,000 to
100,000 men leave home every summer to work in the neighbouring
governments. Three-quarters of the available land is under crops,
chiefly rye, other crops being wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, millet,
potatoes, sugar-beets, hemp, flax, sunflowers and fruits. Grain is
exported in considerable quantities. Bees are commonly kept, as also are
large numbers of livestock. Factories (steam flour-mills,
sugar-factories, distilleries, wool-washing, tobacco factories) give
occupation to about 23,000 workers. Domestic and petty trades are on the
increase in the villages, and new ones are being introduced, the chief
products being boots, ikons (sacred images) and shrines, toys, caps,
vehicles, baskets, and pottery. About 17 m. from the chief town is held
the Korennaya fair, formerly the greatest in South Russia, and still
with an annual trade valued at £900,000. The Kursk district contains
more than sixty old town sites; and barrows or burial mounds (_kurgans_)
are extremely abundant. Notwithstanding the active efforts of the local
councils (_zemstvos_), less than 10% of the population read and write.
The government is crossed from north to south and from west to south by
two main lines of railway. The trade in grain, hemp, hemp-seed oil,
sheepskins, hides, tallow, felt goods, wax, honey and leather goods is
very brisk. There are fifteen districts, the chief towns of which, with
their populations in 1897, are Kursk (q.v.) Byelgorod (21,850), Dmitriev
(7315), Fatezh (4959), Graivoron (7669), Korocha (14,405), Lgov (5376),
Novyi Oskol (2762), Oboyañ (11872), Putivl (8965), Rylsk (11,415),
Staryi Oskol (16,662), Shchigry (3329), Suja (12,856) and Tim (7380).
There are more than twenty villages which have from 5000 to 12,000
inhabitants each. (P. A K.; J. T. Be.)
KURSK, a town of Russia, capital of the government of the same name, at
the junction of the railways from Moscow, Kiev and Kharkov, 330 m.
S.S.W. from Moscow. Pop. (1897), 52,896. It is built on two hills (750
ft.), the slopes of which are planted with orchards. The environs all
round are well wooded and the woods are famous for their nightingales.
Among the public buildings the more noticeable are a monastery with an
image of the Virgin, greatly venerated since 1295; the Orthodox Greek
cathedral (18th century); and the episcopal palace, Kursk being a
bishopric of the national church. It is essentially a provincial town,
and is revered as the birthplace of Theodosius, one of the most
venerated of Russian saints. It has a public garden, and has become the
seat of several societies (medical, musical, educational and for sport).
Its factories include steam flour-mills, distilleries, tobacco-works,
hemp-crushing mills, tanneries, soap-works and iron-works. It has a
great yearly fair (_Korennaya_), and an active trade in cereals, linen,
leather, fruit, horses, cattle, hides, sheepskins, furs, down, bristles,
wax, tallow and manufactured goods.
Kursk was in existence in 1032. It was completely destroyed by the
Mongols in 1240. The defence of the town against an incursion of the
Turkish Polovtsi (or Comans or Cumani) is celebrated in _The Triumph of
Igor_, an epic which forms one of the most valuable relics of early
Russian literature. From 1586 to the close of the 18th century the
citadel was a place of considerable strength; the remains are now
comparatively few.
KURTZ, JOHANN HEINRICH (1809-1890), German Lutheran theologian, was born
at Montjoie near Aix la Chapelle on the 13th of December 1809, and was
educated at Halle and Bonn. Abandoning the idea of a commercial career,
he gave himself to the study of theology and became religious instructor
at the gymnasium of Mitau in 1835, and ordinary professor of theology
(church history, 1850; exegesis, 1859) at Dorpat. He resigned his chair
in 1870 and went to live at Marburg, where he died on the 26th of April
1890. Kurtz was a prolific writer, and many of his books, especially the
_Lehrbuch der heiligen Geschichte_ (1843), became very popular. In the
field of biblical criticism he wrote a _Geschichte des Alten Bundes_
(1848-1855), _Zur Theologie der Psalmen_ (1865) and _Erklärung des
Briefs an die Hebräer_ (1869). His chief work was done in church
history, among his productions being _Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte für
Studierende_ (1849), _Abriss der Kirchengeschichte_ (1852) and _Handbuch
der allgemeinen Kirchengeschichte_ (1853-1856). Several of his books
have been translated into English.
KURUMAN, a town in the Bechuanaland division of Cape Colony, 120 m. N.W.
of Kimberley and 85 m. S.W. of Vryburg. It is a station of the London
Missionary Society, founded in 1818, and from 1821 to 1870 was the scene
of the labours of Robert Moffat (q.v.) who here translated the Bible
into the Bechuana tongue. In the middle period of the 19th century
Kuruman was the rendezvous of all travellers going north or south. Of
these the best known is David Livingstone. The trunk railway line
passing considerably to the east of the town, Kuruman is no longer a
place of much importance. It is pleasantly situated on the upper course
of the Kuruman river, being beautified by gardens and orchards, and
presents a striking contrast to the desert conditions of the surrounding
country. Its name is that of the son and heir of Mosilikatze, the
founder of the Matabele nation. Kuruman disappeared during his father's
lifetime and the succession passed to Lobengula (see RHODESIA:
_History_). In November 1899 the town was besieged by a Boer force. The
garrison, less than a hundred strong, held out for six weeks against
over 1000 of the enemy, but was forced to surrender on the 1st of
January 1900. In June following it was reoccupied by the British.
KURUMBAS and KURUBAS, aboriginal tribes of southern India, by some
thought to be of distinct races. There are two types of Kurumbas, those
who live on the Nilgiri plateau, speak the Kurumba dialect and are mere
savages; and those who live in the plains, speak Kanarese and are
civilized. The former are a small people, with wild matted hair and
scanty beard, sickly-looking, pot-bellied, large-mouthed, with
projecting jaws, prominent teeth and thick lips. Their villages are
called _mottas_, groups of four or five huts, built in mountain glens or
forests. At the 1901 census the numbers were returned at 4083.
See James W. Breeks, _An Account of Primitive Tribes of the Nilgiris_
(1873); Dr John Shortt, _Hill Ranges of Southern India_, pt. i. 47-53;
Rev. F. Metz, _Tribes Inhabiting the Neilgherry Hills_ (Mangalore,
1864).
KURUNEGALA, the chief town in the north-western province of Ceylon. Pop.
of the town, 6483; of the district, 249,429. It was the residence of the
kings of Ceylon from A.D. 1319 to 1347, and is romantically situated
under the shade of Adagalla (the rock of the Tusked Elephant), which is
600 ft. high. It was in 1902 the terminus of the Northern railway (59 m.
from Colombo), which has since been extended 200 m. farther, to the
northernmost coast of the Jaffna Peninsula. Kurunegala is the centre of
rice, coco-nut, tea, coffee and cocoa cultivation.
KURUNTWAD, or KURANDVAD, a native state of India, in the Deccan division
of Bombay, forming part of the Southern Mahratta jagirs. Originally
created in 1772 by a grant from the peshwa, the state was divided in
1811 into two parts, one of which, called Shedbal, lapsed to the British
government in 1857. In 1855 Kuruntwad was further divided between a
senior and a junior branch. The territory of both is widely scattered
among other native states and British districts. Area of the senior
branch, 185 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 42,474; revenue, £13,000. Area of
junior branch, 114 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 34,003; revenue, £9000. The
joint tribute is £640. The chiefs are Brahmans by caste, of the
Patwardhan family. The town of Kuruntwad, in which both branches have
their residence, is on the right bank of the Panchganga river near its
junction with the Kistna. Pop. (1901), 10,451.
KURZ, HERMANN (1813-1873), German poet and novelist, was born at
Reutlingen on the 30th of November 1813. Having studied at the
theological seminary at Maulbronn and at the university of Tübingen, he
was for a time assistant pastor at Ehningen. He then entered upon a
literary career, and in 1863 was appointed university librarian at
Tübingen, where he died on the 10th of October 1873. Kurz is less known
to fame by his poems, _Gedichte_ (1836) and _Dichtungen_ (1839), than by
his historical novels, _Schillers Heimatjahre_ (1843, 3rd ed., 1899) and
_Der Sonnenwirt_ (1854, 2nd ed., 1862), and his excellent translations
from English, Italian and Spanish. He also published a successful modern
German version of Gottfried von Strassburg's _Tristan und Isolde_
(1844). His collected works were published in ten volumes (Stuttgart,
1874), also in twelve volumes (Leipzig, 1904).
His daughter, ISOLDE KURZ, born on the 21st of December 1853 at
Stuttgart, takes a high place among contemporary lyric poets in Germany
with her _Gedichte_ (Stuttgart, 1888, 3rd ed. 1898) and _Neue Gedichte_
(1903). Her short stories, _Florentiner Novellen_ (1890, 2nd ed. 1893),
_Phantasien und Märchen_ (1890), _Italienische Erzählungen_ (1895) and
_Von Dazumal_ (1900) are distinguished by a fine sense of form and
clear-cut style.
KUSAN ("lake" or "inland bay"), a small group of North American Indian
tribes, formerly living on the Coos river and the coast of Oregon. They
call themselves Anasitch, and other names given them have been Ka-us or
KWO-KWOOS, Kowes and Cook-koo-oose. They appear to be in no way related
to their neighbours. The few survivors, mostly of mixed blood, are on
the Siletz reservation, Oregon.
KUSHALGARH, a village in the Kohat district of the North-West Frontier
province of India. It is only notable as the point at which the Indus is
bridged to permit of the extension of the strategic frontier railway
from Rawalpindi to the Miranzai and Kurram valleys.
KUSHK, a river of Afghanistan, which also gives its name to the chief
town in the Afghan province of Badghis, and to a military post on the
border of Russian Turkestan. The river Kushk, during a portion of its
course, forms the boundary between Afghan and Russian territory; but the
town is some 20 m. from the border. Kushk, or Kushkinski Post, is now a
fourth-class Russian fortress, on a Russian branch railway from Merv,
the terminus of which is 12 m. to the south, at Chahil Dukteran. It is
served by both the Transcaspian and the Orenburg-Tashkent railways. The
terminus is only 66 m. from Herat, and in the event of war would become
an important base for a Russian advance. Some confusion has arisen
through the popular application of the name of Kushk to this terminus,
though it is situated neither at the Russian post nor at the old town.
(T. H. H.*)
KUSTANAISK, a town of Asiatic Russia, in the province of Turgai, on the
Tobol river, 410 m. E.N.E. of Orenburg, in a very fertile part of the
steppes. Pop. (1897), 14,065. The first buildings were erected in 1871,
and it has since grown with American-like rapidity. The immigrants from
Russia built a large village, which became the centre of the district
administration in 1884, and a town in 1893, under the name of
Nicolaevsk, changed later into Kustanaisk. It is an educational centre,
and a cathedral has been built. There are tanneries, tallow works,
potteries, and a fair for cattle, while its trade makes it a rival to
Orenburg and Troitsk.
KÜSTENLAND (coast-land or littoral), a common name for the three
crown-lands of Austria, Görz and Gradisca, Istria and Trieste. Their
combined area is 3084 sq. m., and their population in 1900 was 755,183.
They are united for certain administrative purposes under the governor
of Trieste, the legal and financial authorities of which also exercise
jurisdiction over the entire littoral.
KUTAIAH, KUTAYA, or KIUTAHIA, the chief town of a sanjak in the vilayet
of Brusa (Khudavendikiar), Asia Minor, is situated on the Pursaksu, an
affluent of the Sakaria (anc. _Sangarius_). The town lies at an
important point of the great road across Asia Minor from Constantinople
to Aleppo, and is connected by a branch line with the main line from
Eski-shehr to Afium Kara-Hissar, of the Anatolian railway. It has a busy
trade; pop. estimated at 22,000. Kutaiah has been identified with the
ancient Cotiaeum.
See V. Cuinet, _Turquie d'Asie_, vol. iv. (Paris, 1894).
KUTAIS, a government of Russian Transcaucasia, situated between the
Caucasus range on the N. and the Black Sea on the W., the government of
Tiflis on the E. and the province of Kars on the S. Area, 14,313 sq. m.
The government includes the districts of Guria, Mingrelia, Imeretia,
Abkhasia and Svanetia, and consists of four distinct parts: (1) the
lowlands, drained by the Rion, and continued N.W. along the shore of the
Black Sea; (2) the southern slopes of the main Caucasus range; (3) the
western slopes of the Suram mountains, which separate Kutais from
Tiflis; and (4) the slopes of the Armenian highlands, as well as a
portion of the highlands themselves, drained by the Chorokh and its
tributary, the Ajaris-tskhali, which formerly constituted the Batum
province. Generally speaking, the government is mountainous in the north
and south. Many secondary ridges and spurs shoot off the main range,
forming high, narrow valleys (see CAUCASUS). The district of Batum and
Artvin in the S.W., which in 1903 were in part separated for
administration as the semi-military district of Batum, are filled up by
spurs of the Pontic range, 9000 to 11,240 ft. high, the Arzyan ridge
separating them from the plateau of Kars. Deep gorges, through which
tributaries of the Chorokh force their passage to the main river,
intersect these highlands, forming most picturesque gorges. The lowlands
occupy over 2400 sq. m. They are mostly barren in the littoral region,
but extremely fertile higher up the Rion.
The climate is very moist and warm. The winters are often without frost
at all in the lowlands, while the lowest temperatures observed are 18°
F. at Batum and 9° at Poti. The mountains condense the moisture brought
by the west winds, and the yearly amount of rain varies from 50 to 120
in. The chief rivers are the Rion, which enters the Black Sea at Poti;
the Chorokh, which enters the same sea at Batum; and the Ingur, the
Kodor and the Bzyb, also flowing into the Black Sea in Abkhasia. The
vegetation is extremely rich, its character suggesting the sub-tropic
regions of Japan (see CAUCASIA). The population belongs almost entirely
to the Kartvelian or Georgian group, and is distributed as follows:
Imeretians, 41.2%; Mingrelians and Lazes, 22.5%; Gurians, 7.3%; Ajars,
5.8%; Svanetians, 1.3%; of other nationalities there are 6% of
Abkhasians, 2.6% of Turks, 2.3% of Armenians, besides Russians, Jews,
Greeks, Persians, Kurds, Ossetes and Germans. By religion 87% of the
population are Greek Orthodox and only 10% Mussulmans. The total
population was 933,773 in 1897, of whom 508,468 were women and 77,702
lived in towns. The estimated population in 1906 was 924,800. The land
is excessively subdivided, and, owing to excellent cultivation, fetches
very high prices. The chief crops are maize, wheat, barley, beans, rye,
hemp, potatoes and tobacco. Maize, wine and timber are largely exported.
Some cotton-trees have been planted. The vine, olive, mulberry and all
sorts of fruit trees are cultivated, as also many exotic plants
(eucalyptus, cork-oak, camellia, and even tea). Manganese ore is the
chief mineral, and is extracted for export to the extent of 160,000 to
180,000 tons annually, besides coal, lead and silver ores, copper,
naphtha, some gold, lithographic stone and marble. Factories are still
in infancy, but silk is spun. A railway runs from the Caspian Sea, via
Tiflis and the Suram tunnel, to Kutais, and thence to Poti and Batum,
and from Kutais to the Tkvibuli coal and manganese mines. The export of
both local produce and goods shipped by rail from other ports of
Transcaucasia is considerable, Batum and Poti being the two chief ports
of Caucasia. Kutais is divided into seven districts, of which the chief
towns, with their populations in 1897, are Kutais, capital of the
province (q.v.); Lailashi (834), chief town of Lechgum, of which
Svanetia makes a separate administrative unit; Ozurgeti (4694); Oni,
chief town of Racha; Senaki (101); Kvirili, of Sharopan district;
Zugdidi; and two semi-military districts--Batum (28,512) with Artvin
(7000) and Sukhum-kaleh (7809). (P. A. K.--J. T. Be.)
KUTAIS, a town of Russian Caucasia, capital of the government of the
same name, 60 m. by rail E. of Poti and 5 m. from the Rion station of
the railway between Poti and Tiflis. Pop. (1897), 32,492. It is one of
the oldest towns of Caucasia, having been the ancient capital (Aea or
Kutaea) of Colchis, and later the capital of Imeretia (from 792);
Procopius mentions it under the name of Kotatision. Persians, Mongols,
Turks and Russians have again and again destroyed the town and its
fortress. In 1810 it became Russian. It is situated on both banks of the
Rion river, which is spanned by three bridges. Its most remarkable
building is the ruined cathedral, erected in the 11th century by the
Bagratids, the ruling dynasty of Georgia, and destroyed by the Turks in
1692; it is the most important representative extant of Georgian
architecture. The fort, mentioned by Procopius, is now a heap of ruins,
destroyed by the Russians in 1770. The inhabitants make hats and silks,
and trade in agricultural produce and wine. On the right bank of the
Rion is a government model garden, with a model farm.
KUT-EL-AMARA, a small town in Turkish Asia, on the east bank of the
Tigris (32° 29´ 19´´ N., 44° 45´ 37´´ E.) at the point where the
Shatt-el-Haï leaves that stream. It is a coaling station of the steamers
plying between Basra and Bagdad, and an important Turkish post for the
control of the lower Tigris.
KUTENAI (Kutonaga), a group of North-American Indian tribes forming the
distinct stock of Kitunahan. Their former range was British Columbia,
along the Kootenay lake and river. They were always friendly to the
whites and noted for their honesty. In 1904 there were some 550 in
British Columbia; and in 1908 there were 606 on the Flathead Agency,
Montana.
KUTTALAM, or COURTALLUM, a sanatorium of southern India, in the
Tinnevelly district of Madras; pop. (1901), 1197. Though situated only
450 ft. above sea-level, it possesses the climate of a much higher
elevation, owing to the breezes that reach it through a gap in the
Ghats. It has long been a favourite resort for European visitors, the
season lasting from July to September; and it has recently been made
more accessible by the opening of the railway from Tinnevelly into
Travancore. The scenery is most picturesque, including a famous
waterfall.
KUTTENBERG (Czech, _Kutná Hora_), a town of Bohemia, Austria, 45 m. E.
by S. of Prague. Pop. (1900), 14,799, mostly Czech. Amongst its
buildings are the Gothic five-naved church of St Barbara, begun in 1368,
the Gothic church of St Jacob (14th century) and the Late Gothic Trinity
church (end of 15th century). The Wälscher Hof, formerly a royal
residence and mint, was built at the end of the 13th century, and the
Gothic Steinerne Haus, which since 1849 serves as town-hall, contains
one of the richest archives in Bohemia. The industry includes
sugar-refining, brewing, the manufacture of cotton and woollen stuffs,
leather goods and agricultural implements.
The town of Kuttenberg owes its origin to the silver mines, the
existence of which can be traced back to the first part of the 13th
century. The city developed with great rapidity, and at the outbreak of
the Hussite troubles, early in the 14th century, was next to Prague the
most important in Bohemia, having become the favourite residence of
several of the Bohemian kings. It was here that, on the 18th of January
1410, Wenceslaus IV. signed the famous decree of Kuttenberg, by which
the Bohemian nation was given three votes in the elections to the
faculty of Prague University as against one for the three other
"nations." In the autumn of the same year Kuttenberg was the scene of
horrible atrocities. The fierce mining population of the town was mainly
German, and fanatically Catholic, in contrast with Prague, which was
Czech and utraquist. By way of reprisals for the Hussite outrages in
Prague, the miners of Kuttenberg seized on any Hussites they could find,
and burned, beheaded or threw them alive into the shafts of disused
mines. In this way 1600 people are said to have perished, including the
magistrates and clergy of the town of Kaurim, which the Kuttenbergers
had taken. In 1420 the emperor Sigismund made the city the base for his
unsuccessful attack on the Taborites; Kuttenberg was taken by Zizka, and
after a temporary reconciliation of the warring parties was burned by
the imperial troops in 1422, to prevent its falling again into the hands
of the Taborites. Zizka none the less took the place, and under Bohemian
auspices it awoke to a new period of prosperity. In 1541 the richest
mine was hopelessly flooded; in the insurrection of Bohemia against
Ferdinand I. the city lost all its privileges; repeated visitations of
the plague and the horrors of the Thirty Years' War completed its ruin.
Half-hearted attempts after the peace to repair the ruined mines failed;
the town became impoverished, and in 1770 was devastated by fire. The
mines were abandoned at the end of the 18th century; one mine was again
opened by the government in 1874, but the work was discontinued in 1903.
KUTUSOV [GOLENISHCHEV-KUTUZOV], MIKHAIL LARIONOVICH, PRINCE OF SMOLENSK
(1745-1813), Russian field marshal, was born on the 16th of September
1745 at St Petersburg, and entered the Russian army in 1759 or 1760. He
saw active service in Poland, 1764-69, and against the Turks, 1770-74;
lost an eye in action in the latter year; and after that travelled for
some years in central and western Europe. In 1784 he became
major-general, in 1787 governor-general of the Crimea; and under
Suvorov, whose constant companion he became, he won considerable
distinction in the Turkish War of 1788-91, at the taking of Ochakov,
Odessa, Benda and Ismail, and the battles of Rimnik and Mashin. He was
now (1791) a lieutenant-general, and successively occupied the positions
of ambassador at Constantinople, governor-general of Finland, commandant
of the corps of cadets at St Petersburg, ambassador at Berlin, and
governor-general of St Petersburg. In 1805 he commanded the Russian
corps which opposed Napoleon's advance on Vienna (see NAPOLEONIC
CAMPAIGNS), and won the hard-fought action of Dürrenstein on the
18th-19th of November.
On the eve of Austerlitz (q.v.) he tried to prevent the Allied generals
from fighting a battle, and when he was overruled took so little
interest in the event that he fell asleep during the reading of the
orders. He was, however, present at the battle itself, and was wounded.
From 1806 to 1811 Kutusov was governor-general of Lithuania and Kiev,
and in 1811, being then commander-in-chief in the war against the Turks,
he was made a prince. Shortly after this he was called by the unanimous
voice of the army and the people to command the army that was retreating
before Napoleon's advance. He gave battle at Borodino (q.v.), and was
defeated, but not decisively, and after retreating to the south-west of
Moscow, he forced Napoleon to begin the celebrated retreat. The old
general's cautious pursuit evoked much criticism, but at any rate he
allowed only a remnant of the Grand Army to regain Prussian soil. He was
now field marshal and prince of Smolensk--this title having been given
him for a victory over part of the French army at that place in November
1812. Early in the following year he carried the war into Germany, took
command of the allied Russians and Prussians, and prepared to raise all
central Europe in arms against Napoleon's domination, but before the
opening of the campaign he fell ill and died on the 25th of March 1813
at Bunzlau. Memorials have been erected to him at that place and at St
Petersburg.
Mikhailovsky-Danilevski's life of Kutusov (St Petersburg, 1850) was
translated into French by A. Fizelier (Paris, 1850).
KUWET (KUWEIT, KOWEIT), a port in Arabia at the north-western angle of
the Persian Gulf in 29° 20' N. and 48° E., about 80 m. due S. of Basra
and 60 m. S.W. of the mouth of the Shat el Arab. The name Kuwet is the
diminutive form of Kut, a common term in Irak for a walled village; it
is also shown in some maps as Grane or Grain, a corruption of Kuren, the
diminutive of Karn, a horn. It lies on the south side of a bay 20 m.
long and 5 m. wide, the mouth of which is protected by two islands,
forming a fine natural harbour, with good anchorage in from 4 to 9
fathoms of water. The town has 15,000 inhabitants and is clean and well
built; the country around being practically desert, it depends entirely
on the sea and its trade, and its sailors have a high reputation as the
most skilful and trustworthy on the Persian Gulf; while its position as
the nearest port to Upper Nejd gives it great importance as the port of
entry for rice, piece goods, &c., and of export for horses, sheep, wool
and other products of the interior. Kuwet was recommended in 1850 by
General F. R. Chesney as the terminus of his proposed Euphrates Valley
railway, and since 1898, when the extension of the Anatolian railway to
Bagdad and the Gulf has been under discussion, attention has again been
directed to it. An alternative site for the terminus has been suggested
in Um Khasa, at the head of the Khor `Abdallah, where a branch of the
Shat el Arab formerly entered the sea; it lies some 20 m. N.E. of Kuwet
and separated from it by the island of Bubian, which has for some time
been in Turkish occupation. An attempt by Turkey to occupy Kuwet in 1898
was met by a formal protest from Great Britain against any infringement
of the _status quo_, and in 1899 Sheikh Mubarak of Kuwet placed his
interests under British protection.
The total trade passing through Kuwet in 1904-1905 was valued at
£160,000. The imports include arms and ammunition, piece goods, rice,
coffee, sugar, &c.; and the exports, horses, pearls, dates, wool, &c.
The steamers of the British India Steamship Company call fortnightly.
(R. A. W.)
KUZNETSK, two towns of Russia. (1) A town in the government of Saratov,
74 m. by rail east of Penza. It has grown rapidly since the development
of the railway system in the Volga basin. It has manufactures of
agricultural machinery and hardware, in a number of small factories and
workshops, besides tanneries, rope-works, boot and shoe making in
houses, and there is considerable trade in sheepskins, grain, salt and
wooden goods exported to the treeless regions of south-east Russia. Pop.
(1897), 21,740. (2) A town in West Siberia, in the government of Tomsk,
150 m. E.N.E. of Barnaul, on the Upper Tom river, at the head of
navigation. It has trade in grain, cattle, furs, cedarwood, nuts, wax,
honey and tallow, and is the centre of a coal-mining district. Pop.
(1897), 3141.
KVASS, or KWASS (a Russian word for "leaven"), one of the national
alcoholic drinks of Russia, and popular also in eastern Europe. It is
made, by a simultaneous acid and alcoholic fermentation, of wheat, rye,
barley and buckwheat meal or of rye-bread, with the addition of sugar or
fruit. It has been a universal drink in Russia since the 16th century.
Though in the large towns it is made commercially, elsewhere it is
frequently an article of domestic production. Kvass is of very low
alcoholic content (0.7 to 2.2%). There are, beside the ordinary kind,
superior forms of the drink, such as apple or raspberry kvass.
KWAKIUTL, a tribe of North-American Indians of Wakashan stock. They
number about 2000. Formerly the term was used of the one tribe in the
north-east of Vancouver, but now it is the collective name for a group
of Wakashan peoples. The Kwakiutl Indians are remarkable for their
conservatism in all matters and specially their adherence to the custom
of Potlatch, which it is sometimes suggested originated with them.
Tribal government is in the hands of secret societies. There are three
social ranks, hereditary chiefs, middle and third estates, most of the
latter being slaves or their descendants. Entry to the societies is
forbidden the latter, and can only be obtained by the former after
torture and fasting. The _hamatsa_ or cannibal society is only open to
those who have been members of a lower society for eight years.
KWANGCHOW BAY (KWANGCHOW WAN), a coaling station on the south coast of
China, acquired, along with other concessions, by the French government
in April 1898. It is situated on the east side of the peninsula of
Lienchow, in the province of Kwang-tung, and directly north of the
island of Hainan. It is held on lease for 99 years on similar terms to
those by which Kiaochow is held by Germany, Port Arthur by Japan and
Wei-hai-wei by Great Britain. The cession includes the islands lying in
the bay; these enclose a roadstead 18 m. long by 6 m. wide, with
admirable natural defences and a depth at no part of less than 33 ft.
The bay forms the estuary of the Ma-Ts'e river, navigable by the largest
men-of-war for 12 m. from the coast. The limits of the concession inland
were fixed in November 1899. On the left bank of the Ma-Ts'e France
gained from Kow Chow Fu a strip of territory 11 m. by 6 m., and on the
right bank a strip 15 m. by 11 m. from Lei Chow Fu. The country is well
populated; the capital and chief town is Lei Chow. The cession carries
with it full territorial jurisdiction during the continuance of the
lease. In January 1900 it was placed under the authority of the
governor-general of Indo-China, who in the same month appointed a civil
administrator over the country, which was divided into three districts.
The population of the territory is about 189,000. A mixed tribunal has
been instituted, but the local organization is maintained for purposes
of administration. In addition to the territory acquired, the right has
been given to connect the bay by railway with the city and harbour of
Ompon, situated on the west side of the peninsula, and in consequence of
difficulties which were offered by the provincial government on the
occasion of taking possession, and which compelled the French to have
recourse to arms, the latter demanded and obtained exclusive mining
rights in the three adjoining prefectures. Two lines of French
steamships call at the bay. By reason of the great strategical
importance of the bay, and the presence of large coal-beds in the near
neighbourhood, much importance is attached by the French to the
acquirement of Kwangchow Wan.
KWANG-SI, a southern province of China, bounded N. by Kwei-chow and
Hu-nan, E. and S. by Kwang-tung, S.W. and W. by French Indo-Chino and
Yun-nan. It covers an area of 80,000 sq. m. It is the least populous
province of China, its inhabitants numbering (1908) little over
5,000,000. The Skias, an aboriginal race, form two-thirds of the
population. The provincial capital is Kwei-lin Fu, or City of the Forest
of Cinnamon Trees, and there are besides ten prefectural cities. The
province is largely mountainous. The principal rivers are the Si-kiang
and the Kwei-kiang, or Cinnamon River, which takes its rise in the
district of Hing-gan, in the north of the province, and in the
neighbourhood of that of the Siang river, which flows northward through
Hu-nan to the Tung-t'ing Lake. The Kwei-kiang, on the other hand, takes
a southerly course, and passes the cities of Kwei-lin, Yang-so Hien,
P'ing-le Fu, Chao-p'ing Hien, and so finds its way to Wu-chow Fu, where
it joins the waters of the Si-kiang. Another considerable river is the
Liu-kiang, or Willow River, which rises in the mountains inhabited by
the Miao-tsze, in Kwei-chow. Leaving its source it takes a
south-easterly direction, and enters Kwang-si, in the district of
Hwai-yuen. After encircling the city of that name, it flows south as
far as Liu-ch'eng Hien, where it forms a junction with the Lung-kiang,
or Dragon River. Adopting the trend of this last-named stream, which has
its head-waters in Kwei-chow, the mingled flow passes eastward, and
farther on in a south-easterly direction, by Lai-chow Fu, Wu-suan Hien,
and Sin-chow Fu, where it receives the waters of the Si-kiang, and
thenceforth changes its name for that of its affluent. The treaty ports
in Kwang-si are Wu-chow Fu, Lung-chow and Nanning Fu.
KWANG-TUNG, a southern province of China, bounded N. by Hu-nan, Kiang-si
and Fu-kien, S. and E. by the sea, and W. by Kwang-si. It contains an
area, including the island of Hainan, of 75,500 sq. m., and is divided
into nine prefectures; and the population is estimated at about
30,000,000. Its name, which signifies "east of Kwang," is derived,
according to Chinese writers, from the fact of its being to the east of
the old province of Hu-kwang, in the same way that Kwang-si derives its
name from its position to the west of Hu-kwang. Kwang-tung extends for
more than 600 m. from east to west, and for about 420 from north to
south. It may be described as a hilly region, forming part as it does of
the Nan Shan ranges. These mountains, speaking generally, trend in a
north-east and south-westerly direction, and are divided by valleys of
great fertility. The principal rivers of the province are the Si-kiang,
the Pei-kiang, or North River, which rises in the mountains to the north
of the province, and after a southerly course joins the Si-kiang at
San-shui Hien; the Tung-kiang, or East River, which, after flowing in a
south-westerly direction from its source in the north-east of the
province, empties itself into the estuary which separates the city of
Canton from the sea; and the Han River, which runs a north and south
course across the eastern portion of the province, taking its rise in
the mountains on the western frontier of Fu-kien and emptying itself
into the China Sea in the neighbourhood of Swatow. Kwang-tung is one of
the most productive provinces of the empire. Its mineral wealth is very
considerable, and the soil of the valleys and plains is extremely
fertile. The principal article of export is silk, which is produced in
the district forming the river delta, extending from Canton to Macao and
having its apex at San-shui Hien. Three large coal-fields exist in the
province, namely, the Shao-chow Fu field in the north; the Hwa Hien
field, distant about 30 m. from Canton; and the west coast field, in the
south-west. The last is by far the largest of the three and extends over
the districts of Wu-ch'uen, Tien-pai, Yang-kiang, Yang-ch'un, Gan-p'ing,
K'ai-p'ing, Sin-hing, Ho-shan, Sin-hwang, and Sin-ning. The coal from
the two first-named fields is of an inferior quality, but that in the
west coast field is of a more valuable kind. Iron ore is found in about
twenty different districts, notably in Ts'ing-yuen, Ts'ung-hwa,
Lung-men, and Lu-feng. None, however, is exported in its raw state, as
all which is produced is manufactured in the province, and principally
at Fat-shan, which has been called the Birmingham of China. The
Kwang-tung coast abounds with islands, the largest of which is Hainan,
which forms part of the prefecture of K'iung-chow Fu. This island
extends for about 100 m. from north to south and the same distance from
east to west. The southern and eastern portions of Hainan are
mountainous, but on the north there is a plain of some extent. Gold is
found in the central part; and sugar, coco-nuts, betel-nuts, birds'
nests, and agar agar, or sea vegetable, are among the other products of
the island. Canton, Swatow, K'iung-chow (in Hainan), Pakhoi, San-shui
are among the treaty ports. Three ports in the province have been ceded
or leased to foreign powers--Macao to Portugal, Hong-Kong (with Kowloon)
to Great Britain, and Kwangchow to France.
KWANZA (COANZA or QUANZA), a river of West Africa, with a course of
about 700 m. entirely within the Portuguese territory of Angola. The
source lies in about 13° 40´ S., 17° 30´ E. on the Bihe plateau, at an
altitude of over 5000 ft. It runs first N.E. and soon attains fairly
large dimensions. Just north of 12° it is about 60 yds. wide and 13 to
16 ft. deep. From this point to 10° it flows N.W., receiving many
tributaries, especially the Luando from the east. In about 10°, and at
intervals during its westerly passage through the outer plateau
escarpments, its course is broken by rapids, the river flowing in a
well-defined valley flanked by higher ground. The lowest fall is that of
Kambamba, or Livingstone, with a drop of 70 ft. Thence to the sea, a
distance of some 160 m., it is navigable by small steamers, though very
shallow in the dry season. The river enters the sea in 9° 15´ S., 13°
20´ E., 40 m. S. of Loanda. There is a shifting bar at its mouth,
difficult to cross, but the river as a waterway has become of less
importance since the fertile district in its middle basin has been
served by the railway from Loanda to Ambaca (see ANGOLA).
KWEI-CHOW, a south-western province of China, bounded N. by Sze-ch'uen,
E. by Hu-nan, S. by Kwang-si, and W. by Yun-nan. It contains 67,000 sq.
m., and has a population of about 8,000,000. Kwei-yang Fu is the
provincial capital, and besides this there are eleven prefectural cities
in the province. With the exception of plains in the neighbourhood of
Kwei-yang Fu, Ta-ting Fu, and Tsun-i Fu, in the central and northern
regions, the province may be described as mountainous. The mountain
ranges in the south are largely inhabited by Miao-tsze, who are the
original owners of the soil and have been constantly goaded into a state
of rebellion by the oppression to which they have been subjected by the
Chinese officials. To this disturbing cause was added another in 1861 by
the spread of the Mahommedan rebellion in Yun-nan into some of the
south-western districts of the province. The devastating effects of
these civil wars were most disastrous to the trade and the prosperity of
Kwei-chow. The climate is by nature unhealthy, the supply of running
water being small, and that of stagnant water, from which arises a fatal
malaria, being considerable. The agricultural products of the province
are very limited, and its chief wealth lies in its minerals. Copper,
silver, lead, and zinc are found in considerable quantities, and as
regards quicksilver, Kwei-chow is probably the richest country in the
world. This has been from of old the chief product of the province, and
the belt in which it occurs extends through the whole district from
south-west to north-east. One of the principal mining districts is K'ai
Chow, in the prefecture of Kwei-yang Fu, and this district has the
advantage of being situated near Hwang-p'ing Chow, from which place the
products can be conveniently and cheaply shipped to Hankow. Cinnabar,
realgar, orpiment and coal form the rest of the mineral products of
Kwei-chow. Wild silk is another valuable article of export. It is
chiefly manufactured in the prefecture of Tsun-i Fu.
KYAUKPYU, a district in the Arakan division of Lower Burma, on the
eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal. It consists of, first, a strip of
mainland along the Bay of Bengal, extending from the An pass, across the
main range, to the Ma-i River, and, secondly, the large islands of
Ramree and Cheduba, with many others to the south, lying off the coast
of Sandoway. The mainland in the north and east is highly mountainous
and forest-clad, and the lower portion is cut up into numerous islands
by a network of tidal creeks. Between the mainland and Ramree lies a
group of islands separated by deep, narrow, salt-water inlets, forming
the north-eastern shore of Kyaukpyu harbour, which extends for nearly 30
m. along Ramree in a south-easterly direction, and has an average
breadth of 3 m. The principal mountains are the Arakan Yomas, which send
out spurs and sub-spurs almost to the sea-coast. The An pass, an
important trade route, rises to a height of 4664 ft. above sea-level.
The Dha-let and the An rivers are navigable by large boats for 25 and 45
m. respectively. Above these distances they are mere mountain torrents.
Large forests of valuable timber cover an area of about 650 sq. m.
Kyaukpyu contains numerous "mud volcanoes," from which marsh gas is
frequently discharged, with occasional issue of flame. The largest of
these is situated in the centre of Cheduba island. Earth-oil wells exist
in several places in the district. The oil when brought to the surface
has the appearance of a whitish-blue water, which gives out brilliant
straw-coloured rays, and emits a strong pungent odour. Limestone, iron
and coal are also found. Area 4387 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 168,827,
showing an increase in the decade of 2.3%.
The chief town, Kyaukpyu, had a population in 1901 of 3145. It has a
municipal committee of twelve members, three _ex officio_ and nine
appointed by the local government, and there is a third-class district
gaol. Kyaukpyu is a port under the Indian Ports Act (X. of 1889), and
the steamers of the British India Navigation Company call there once a
week going and coming between Rangoon and Calcutta.
KYAUKSE, a district in the Meiktila division of Upper Burma, with an
area of 1274 sq. m., and a population in 1901 of 141,253. It is also
known as the _Ko-kayaing_, so called from the original nine canals of
the district. It consists of a generally level strip running north and
south at the foot of the Shan Hills, and of a hilly region rising up
these hills to the east, and including the Yeyaman tract, which lies
between 21° 30' and 21° 40' N. and 96° 15' and 96° 45' E., with peaks
rising to between 4500 and 5000 ft. This tract is rugged and scored by
ravines, and is very sparsely inhabited. The Panlaung and Zawgyi rivers
from the Shan States flow through the district and are utilized for the
numerous irrigation canals. Notwithstanding this, much timber is floated
down, and the Panlaung is navigable for small boats all the year round.
Rain is very scarce, but the canals supply ample water for cultivation
and all other purposes. They are said to have been dug by King Nawrahta
in 1092. He is alleged to have completed the system of nine canals and
weirs in three years' time. Others have been constructed since the
annexation of Upper Burma. At that time many were in serious disrepair,
but most of them have been greatly improved by the construction of
proper regulators and sluices. Two-thirds of the population are
dependent entirely on cultivation for their support, and this is mainly
rice on irrigated land. In the Yeyaman tract the chief crop is rice. The
great majority of the population is pure Burmese, but in the hills there
are a good many Danus, a cross between Shans and Burmese. The railway
runs through the centre of the rice-producing area, and feeder roads
open up the country as far as the Shan foot-hills. The greater part of
the district consists of state land, the cultivators being tenants of
government, but there is a certain amount of hereditary freehold.
KYAUKSE town is situated on the Zawgyi River and on the Rangoon-Mandalay
railway line, and is well laid out in regular streets, covering an area
of about a square mile. It has a population (1901) of 5420, mostly
Burmese, with a colony of Indian traders. Above it are some bare rocky
hillocks, picturesquely studded with pagodas.
KYD, THOMAS (1558-1594), one of the most important of the English
Elizabethan dramatists who preceded Shakespeare. Kyd remained until the
last decade of the 19th century in what appeared likely to be
impenetrable obscurity. Even his name was forgotten until Thomas Hawkins
about 1773 discovered it in connexion with _The Spanish Tragedy_ in
Thomas Heywood's _Apologie for Actors_. But by the industry of English
and German scholars a great deal of light has since been thrown on his
life and writings. He was the son of Francis Kyd, citizen and scrivener
of London, and was baptized in the church of St Mary Woolnoth, Lombard
Street, on the 6th of November 1558. His mother, who survived her son,
was named Agnes, or Anna. In October 1565 Kyd entered the newly founded
Merchant Taylors' School, where Edmund Spenser and perhaps Thomas Lodge
were at different times his school-fellows. It is thought that Kyd did
not proceed to either of the universities; he apparently followed, soon
after leaving school, his father's business as a scrivener. But Nashe
describes him as a "shifting companion that ran through every art and
throve by none." He showed a fairly wide range of reading in Latin. The
author on whom he draws most freely is Seneca, but there are many
reminiscences, and occasionally mistranslations of other authors. Nashe
contemptuously said that "English Seneca read by candlelight yeeldes
many good sentences," no doubt exaggerating his indebtedness to Thomas
Newton's translation. John Lyly had a more marked influence on his
manner than any of his contemporaries. It is believed that he produced
his famous play, _The Spanish Tragedy_, between 1584 and 1589; the
quarto in the British Museum (which is probably earlier than the
Göttingen and Ellesmere quartos, dated 1594 and 1599) is undated, and
the play was licensed for the press in 1592. The full title runs, _The
Spanish Tragedie containing the Lamentable End of Don Horatio and
Bel-imperia; with the Pitiful Death of Old Hieronimo_, and the play is
commonly referred to by Henslowe and other contemporaries as
_Hieronimo_. This drama enjoyed all through the age of Elizabeth and
even of James I. and Charles I. so unflagging a success that it has been
styled the most popular of all old English plays. Certain expressions in
Nashe's preface to the 1589 edition of Robert Greene's _Menaphon_ may be
said to have started a whole world of speculation with regard to Kyd's
activity. Much of this is still very puzzling; nor is it really
understood why Ben Jonson called him "sporting Kyd." In 1592 there was
added a sort of prologue to _The Spanish Tragedy_, called _The First
Part of Jeronimo, or The Warres of Portugal_, not printed till 1605.
Professor Boas concludes that Kyd had nothing to do with this
melodramatic production, which gives a different version of the story
and presents Jeronimo as little more than a buffoon. On the other hand,
it becomes more and more certain that what German criticism calls the
_Ur-Hamlet_, the original draft of the tragedy of the prince of Denmark,
was a lost work by Kyd, probably composed by him in 1587. This theory
has been very elaborately worked out by Professor Sarrazin, and
confirmed by Professor Boas; these scholars are doubtless right in
holding that traces of Kyd's play survive in the first two acts of the
1603 first quarto of _Hamlet_, but they probably go too far in
attributing much of the actual language of the last three acts to Kyd.
Kyd's next work was in all probability the tragedy of _Soliman and
Perseda_, written perhaps in 1588 and licensed for the press in 1592,
which, although anonymous, is assigned to him on strong internal
evidence by Mr Boas. No copy of the first edition has come down to us;
but it was reprinted, after Kyd's death, in 1599. In the summer or
autumn of 1590 Kyd seems to have given up writing for the stage, and to
have entered the service of an unnamed lord, who employed a troop of
"players." Kyd was probably the private secretary of this nobleman, in
whom Professor Boas sees Robert Radcliffe, afterwards fifth earl of
Sussex. To the wife of the earl (Bridget Morison of Cassiobury) Kyd
dedicated in the last year of his life his translation of Garnier's
_Cornelia_ (1594), to the dedication of which he attached his initials.
Two prose works of the dramatist have survived, a treatise on domestic
economy, _The Householder's Philosophy_, translated from the Italian of
Tasso (1588); and a sensational account of _The Most Wicked and Secret
Murdering of John Brewer, Goldsmith_ (1592). His name is written on the
title-page of the unique copy of the last-named pamphlet at Lambeth, but
probably not by his hand. That many of Kyd's plays and poems have been
lost is proved by the fact that fragments exist, attributed to him,
which are found in no surviving context. Towards the close of his life
Kyd was brought into relations with Marlowe. It would seem that in 1590,
soon after he entered the service of this nobleman, Kyd formed his
acquaintance. If he is to be believed, he shrank at once from Marlowe as
a man "intemperate and of a cruel heart" and "irreligious." This,
however, was said by Kyd with the rope round his neck, and is scarcely
consistent with a good deal of apparent intimacy between him and
Marlowe. When, in May 1593, the "lewd libels" and "blasphemies" of
Marlowe came before the notice of the Star Chamber, Kyd was immediately
arrested, papers of his having been found "shuffled" with some of
Marlowe's, who was imprisoned a week later. A visitation on Kyd's papers
was made in consequence of his having attached a seditious libel to the
wall of the Dutch churchyard in Austin Friars. Of this he was innocent,
but there was found in his chamber a paper of "vile heretical conceits
denying the deity of Jesus Christ." Kyd was arrested and put to the
torture in Bridewell. He asserted that he knew nothing of this document
and tried to shift the responsibility of it upon Marlowe, but he was
kept in prison until after the death of that poet (June 1, 1593). When
he was at length dismissed, his patron refused to take him back into his
service. He fell into utter destitution, and sank under the weight of
"bitter times and privy broken passions." He must have died late in
1594, and on the 30th of December of that year his parents renounced
their administration of the goods of their deceased son, in a document
of great importance discovered by Professor Schick.
The importance of Kyd, as the pioneer in the wonderful movement of
secular drama in England, gives great interest to his works, and we are
now able at last to assert what many critics have long conjectured, that
he takes in that movement the position of a leader and almost of an
inventor. Regarded from this point of view, _The Spanish Tragedy_ is a
work of extraordinary value, since it is the earliest specimen of
effective stage poetry existing in English literature. It had been
preceded only by the pageant-poems of Peele and Lyly, in which all that
constitutes in the modern sense theatrical technique and effective
construction was entirely absent. These gifts, in which the whole power
of the theatre as a place of general entertainment was to consist, were
supplied earliest among English playwrights to Kyd, and were first
exercised by him, so far as we can see, in 1586. This, then, is a more
or less definite starting date for Elizabethan drama, and of peculiar
value to its historians. Curiously enough, _The Spanish Tragedy_, which
was the earliest stage-play of the great period, was also the most
popular, and held its own right through the careers of Shakespeare, Ben
Jonson, and Fletcher. It was not any shortcoming in its harrowing and
exciting plot, but the tameness of its archaic versification, which
probably led in 1602 to its receiving "additions," which have been a
great stumbling-block to the critics. It is known that Ben Jonson was
paid for these additional scenes, but they are extremely unlike all
other known writings of his, and several scholars have independently
conjectured that John Webster wrote them. Of Kyd himself it seems
needful to point out that neither the Germans nor even Professor Boas
seems to realize how little definite merit his poetry has. He is
important, not in himself, but as a pioneer. The influence of Kyd is
marked on all the immediate predecessors of Shakespeare, and the bold
way in which scenes of violent crime were treated on the Elizabethan
stage appears to be directly owing to the example of Kyd's innovating
genius. His relation to _Hamlet_ has already been noted, and _Titus
Andronicus_ presents and exaggerates so many of his characteristics that
Mr Sidney Lee and others have supposed that tragedy to be a work of
Kyd's touched up by Shakespeare. Professor Boas, however, brings cogent
objections against this theory, founding them on what he considers the
imitative inferiority of _Titus Andronicus_ to _The Spanish Tragedy_.
The German critics have pushed too far their attempt to find indications
of Kyd's influence on later plays of Shakespeare. The extraordinary
interest felt for Kyd in Germany is explained by the fact that _The
Spanish Tragedy_ was long the best known of all Elizabethan plays
abroad. It was acted at Frankfort in 1601, and published soon afterwards
at Nuremberg. It continued to be a stock piece in Germany until the
beginning of the 18th century; it was equally popular in Holland, and
potent in its effect upon Dutch dramatic literature.
Kyd's works were first collected and his life written by Professor F.
S. Boas in 1901. Of modern editions of _The Spanish Tragedy_ may be
mentioned that by Professor J. M. Manly in _Specimens of the
Pre-Shakespearean Drama_, vol. ii. (Boston, 1897), and by J. Schick in
the _Temple Dramatists_ (1898). See also _Cornelia_ (ed. H. Gassner,
1894); C. Markscheffel, _T. Kyd's Tragödien_ (1885); Gregor Sarrazin,
Thomas Kyd und sein Kreis (1892); G. O. Fleischer, "Bemerkungen über
Thomas Kyd's Spanish Tragedy" (_Jahresbericht der Drei-Königschule zu
Dresden-Neustadt_ (1896); J. Schick, "T. Kyd's Spanish Tragedy"
(_Literarhistorische Forschungen_, vol. 19, 1901); and R. Koppel, in
Prölss, _Altengl. Theater_ (vol. i., 1904). (E. G.)
KYFFHÄUSER, a double line of hills in Thuringia, Germany. The northern
part looks steeply down upon the valley of the Goldene Aue, and is
crowned by two ruined castles, Rothenburg (1440 ft.) on the west, and
Kyffhausen (1542 ft.) on the east. The latter, built probably in the
10th century, was frequently the residence of the Hohenstaufen emperors,
and was finally destroyed in the 16th century. The existing ruins are
those of the Oberburg with its tower, and of the Unterburg with its
chapel. The hill is surmounted by an imposing monument to the emperor
William I., the equestrian statue of the emperor being 31 ft. high and
the height of the whole 210 ft. This was erected in 1896. According to
an old and popular legend, the emperor Frederick Barbarossa sits asleep
beside a marble table in the interior of the mountain, surrounded by his
knights, awaiting the destined day when he shall awaken and lead the
united peoples of Germany against her enemies, and so inaugurate an era
of unexampled glory. But G. Vogt has advanced cogent reasons (see _Hist.
Zeitschrift_, xxvi. 131-187) for believing that the real hero of the
legend is the other great Hohenstaufen emperor, Frederick II., not
Frederick I. Around him gradually crystallized the hopes of the German
peoples, and to him they looked for help in the hour of their sorest
need. But this is not the only legend of a slumbering future deliverer
which lives on in Germany. Similar hopes cling to the memory of
Charlemagne, sleeping in a hill near Paderborn; to that of the Saxon
hero Widukind, in a hill in Westphalia; to Siegfried, in the hill of
Geroldseck; and to Henry I., in a hill near Goslar.
See Richter, _Das deutsche Kyffhäusergebirge_ (Eisleben, 1876);
Lemcke, _Der deutsche Kaisertraum und der Kyffhäuser_ (Magdeburg,
1887); and _Führer durch das Kyffhäusergebirge_ (Sangerhausen, 1891);
Baltzer, _Das Kyffhäusergebirge_ (Rudolstadt, 1882); A. Fulda, _Die
Kyffhäusersage_ (Sangerhausen, 1889); and Anemüller, _Kyffhäuser und
Rothenburg_ (Detmold, 1892).
KYNASTON, EDWARD (c. 1640-1706), English actor, was born in London and
first appeared in Rhodes's company, having been, like Betterton, a clerk
in Rhodes's book-shop before he set up a company in the Cockpit in Drury
Lane. Kynaston was probably the last and certainly the best of the male
actors of female parts, for which his personal beauty admirably fitted
him. His last female part was Evadne in _The Maid's Tragedy_ in 1661
with Killigrew's company. In 1665 he was playing important male parts at
Covent Garden. He joined Betterton at Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1695,
after which he received less important rôles, retiring in 1699. He died
in 1706, and was buried on the 18th of January.
KYNETON, a town of Dalhousie county, Victoria, Australia, on the river
Campaspe, 56 m. by rail N.N.W. of Melbourne. Pop. (1901), 3274. It is
the centre of a prosperous agricultural and pastoral district. Important
stock sales and an annual exhibition of stock are held. There are,
moreover, some rich gold quartz reefs in the neighbourhood. Kyneton lies
at an elevation of 1687 ft., and the scenery of the district, which
includes some beautiful waterfalls, attracts visitors in summer.
KYOSAI, SHO-FU (1831-1889), Japanese painter, was born at Koga in the
province of Shimotsuke, Japan, in 1831. After working for a short time,
as a boy, with Kuniyoshi, he received his artistic training in the
studio of Kano Dohaku, but soon abandoned the formal traditions of his
master for the greater freedom of the popular school. During the
political ferment which produced and followed the revolution of 1867,
Kyosai attained a considerable reputation as a caricaturist. He was
three times arrested and imprisoned by the authorities of the shogunate.
Soon after the assumption of effective power by the mikado, a great
congress of painters and men of letters was held, at which Kyosai was
present. He again expressed his opinion of the new movement in a
caricature, which had a great popular success, but also brought him into
the hands of the police--this time of the opposite party. Kyosai must be
considered the greatest successor of Hokusai (of whom, however, he was
not a pupil), and as the first political caricaturist of Japan. His
work--like his life--is somewhat wild and undisciplined, and
"occasionally smacks of the _sake_ cup." But if he did not possess
Hokusai's dignity, power and reticence, he substituted an exuberant
fancy, which always lends interest to draughtsmanship of very great
technical excellence. In addition to his caricatures, Kyosai painted a
large number of pictures and sketches, often choosing subjects from the
folk-lore of his country. A fine collection of these works is preserved
in the British Museum; and there are also good examples in the National
Art Library at South Kensington, and the Musée Guimet at Paris. Among
his illustrated books may be mentioned _Yehon Taka-kagami_,
Illustrations of Hawks (5 vols., 1870, &c.); _Kyosai Gwafu_ (1880);
_Kyosai Dongwa_; _Kyosai Raku-gwa_; _Kyosai Riaku-gwa_; _Kyosai Mangwa_
(1881); _Kyosai Suigwa_ (1882); and _Kyosai Gwaden_ (1887). The latter
is illustrated by him under the name of Kawanabe Toyoku, and two of its
four volumes are devoted to an account of his own art and life. He died
in 1889.
See Guimet (É.) and Regamey (F.), _Promenades japonaises_ (Paris,
1880); Anderson (W.), _Catalogue of Japanese Painting in the British
Museum_ (London, 1886); Mortimer Menpes, "A Personal View of Japanese
Art: A Lesson from Kyosai," _Magazine of Art_ (1888). (E. F. S.)
KYRIE (in full _kyrie eleison_, or _eleeson_, Gr. [Greek: kyrie
eleêson]; cf. Ps. cxxii. 3, Matt. XV. 22, &c., meaning "Lord, have
mercy"), the words of petition used at the beginning of the Mass and in
other offices of the Eastern and Roman Churches. In the Anglican Book of
Common Prayer the Kyrie is introduced into the orders for Morning and
Evening Prayer, and also, with an additional petition, as a response
made by the congregation after the reading of each of the Ten
Commandments at the opening of the Communion Service. These responses
are usually sung, and the name Kyrie is thus also applied to their
musical setting. In the Lutheran Church the Kyrie is still said or sung
in the original Greek. "Kyrielle," a shortened form of _Kyrie eleison_,
is applied to eight-syllabled four-line verses, the last line in each
verse being repeated as a refrain.
KYRLE, JOHN (1637-1724), "the Man of Ross," English philanthropist, was
born in the parish of Dymock, Gloucestershire, on the 22nd of May 1637.
His father was a barrister and M.P., and the family had lived at Ross,
in Herefordshire, for many generations. He was educated at Balliol
College, Oxford, and having succeeded to the property at Ross took up
his abode there. In everything that concerned the welfare of the little
town in which he lived he took a lively interest--in the education of
the children, the distribution of alms, in improving and embellishing
the town. He delighted in mediating between those who had quarrelled and
in preventing lawsuits. He was generous to the poor and spent all he had
in good works. He lived a great deal in the open air working with the
labourers on his farm. He died on the 7th of November 1724, and was
buried in the chancel of Ross Church. His memory is preserved by the
Kyrie Society, founded in 1877, to better the lot of working people, by
laying out parks, encouraging house decoration, window gardening and
flower growing. Ross was eulogized by Pope in the third _Moral Epistle_
(1732), and by Coleridge in an early poem (1794).
KYSHTYM, a town of Russia, in the government of Perm, 56 m. by rail N.N.W.
of Chelyabinsk, on a river of the same name which connects two lakes. Pop.
(1897), 12,331. The official name is Verkhne-Kyshtymskiy-Zavod, or Upper
Kyshtym Works, to distinguish it from the Lower (Nizhne) Kyshtym Works,
situated two miles lower down the same river.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 8 - "Kite-Flying" to "Kyshtym"" ***
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