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Title: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 2 - "Lamennais, Robert de" to "Latini, Brunetto"
Author: Various
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 2 - "Lamennais, Robert de" to "Latini, Brunetto"" ***
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 LAMPETER: "Lampeter was first incorporated under Edward
II., but the earliest known charter dates from the reign of Henry
VI., whereby the principal officer of the town, a portreeve, was to
be appointed annually at the court-leet of the manor."
'incorporated' amended from 'imcorporated'.
ARTICLE LANCASHIRE: "None of the summits of the range within
Lancashire attains an elevation of 2000 ft., the highest being
Blackstone Edge (1523 ft.), Pendle Hill (1831 ft.) and Boulsworth
Hill (1700 ft.)." '1523' amended from '1323'.
ARTICLE LANCELOT: "... Die verschiedenen Redaktionen des
Graal-Lancelot Cyklus; J. L. Weston, The Legend of Sir Lancelot du
Lac ..." 'Cyklus' amended from 'Cycklus'.
ARTICLE LANDLORD AND TENANT: "Powers of granting building and other
leases have been conferred by modern legislation on municipal
corporations and other local authorities." 'authorities' amended
from 'authorites'.
ARTICLE LAND REGISTRATION: "... Cherry and Marigold, The Land
Transfer Acts (1898); ..." 'Transfer' amended from 'Tranfer'.
ARTICLE LANFRANC: "But in 1042 he embraced the monastic profession
in the newly founded house of Bec. Until 1045 he lived at Bec in
absolute seclusion." '1042' amended from '1142' and '1045' amended
from '1145'.
ARTICLE LA NOUE, FRANÇOIS DE: "... Brantôme's Vies des Capitaines
français; C. Vincens' Les Héros de la Réforme. Fr. de La Noue
(1875); and Hauser, François de La Noue (Paris, 1892)." "Vincens'"
amended from "Vincen's".
ARTICLE LAON: "Of the six towers flanking the façades, only four
are complete to the height of the base of the spires, two at the
west front with huge figures of oxen beneath the arcades of their
upper portion, and one at each end of the transept." 'huge' amended
from 'hugh'.
ARTICLE LAPLAND: "Meantime the Karelians were pressing on the
eastern Lapps, and in the course of the 11th century the rulers of
Novgorod began to treat them as the Norsemen had treated their
western brethren." 'Meantime' amended from 'Meantine'.
ARTICLE LA ROCHELLE: "Of these old houses the most interesting is
one built in the middle of the 16th century and wrongly known as
that of Henry II. The parade-ground, which forms the principal
public square, occupies the site of the castle demolished in 1590."
'middle' amended from 'midddle'.
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE
AND GENERAL INFORMATION
ELEVENTH EDITION
VOLUME XVI, SLICE II
Lamennais, Robert de to Latini, Brunetto
ARTICLES IN THIS SLICE:
LAMENNAIS, HUGUES ROBERT DE LANTARA, SIMON MATHURIN
LAMENTATIONS LANTERN
LAMETH, ALEXANDRE VICTOR LANTERN-FLY
LAMETTRIE, JULIEN OFFRAY DE LANTERNS OF THE DEAD
LAMIA LANTHANUM
LAMMAS LANUVIUM
LÄMMERGEYER LANZA, DOMENICO GIUSEPPE MARIA
LAMOIGNON LANZAROTE
LAMONT, JOHANN VON LANZI, LUIGI
LAMORICIÈRE, JUCHAULT DE LAOAG
LA MOTHE LE VAYER, FRANÇOIS DE LAOCOON
LA MOTTE, ANTOINE HOUDAR DE LAODICEA
LAMOUREUX, CHARLES LAODICEA, SYNOD OF
LAMP LAOMEDON
LAMP-BLACK LAON
LAMPEDUSA LAOS (territory)
LAMPERTHEIM LAOS (Thai race)
LAMPETER LÂO-TSZE
LAMPOON LA PAZ (department of Bolivia)
LAMPREY LA PAZ (capital of Bolivia)
LAMPROPHYRES LA PÉROUSE, JEAN-FRANÇOIS DE GALAUP
LAMPSACUS LAPIDARY, and GEM CUTTING
LAMPSTAND LAPILLI
LANARK LAPIS LAZULI
LANARKSHIRE LAPITHAE
LANCASHIRE LA PLACE, JOSUÉ DE
LANCASTER, HOUSE OF LAPLACE, PIERRE SIMON
LANCASTER, HENRY LAPLAND
LANCASTER, SIR JAMES LA PLATA
LANCASTER, JOHN OF GAUNT LAPORTE, ROLAND
LANCASTER, JOSEPH LA PORTE
LANCASTER, THOMAS LAPPA
LANCASTER (England) LAPPARENT, ALBERT COCHON DE
LANCASTER (Ohio, U.S.A.) LAPPENBERG, JOHANN MARTIN
LANCASTER (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) LAPRADE, PIERRE MARTIN RICHARD DE
LANCE LAPSE
LANCELOT LAPWING
LANCET LAPWORTH, CHARLES
LANCEWOOD LAR
LAN-CHOW-FU LARA
LANCIANO LARAISH
LANCRET, NICOLAS LARAMIE
LAND LARBERT
LANDAU LARCENY
LANDECK LARCH
LANDEN, JOHN LARCHER, PIERRE HENRI
LANDEN (Belgium) LARCIUS, TITUS
LANDER, RICHARD LEMON and JOHN LARD
LANDES (department in France) LARDNER, DIONYSIUS
LANDES (region of France) LARDNER, NATHANIEL
LANDESHUT LAREDO
LANDGRAVE LA RÉOLE
LANDLORD AND TENANT LARES
LANDON, CHARLES PAUL LA RÉVELLIÈRE-LÉPEAUX, MARIE DE
LANDON, LETITIA ELIZABETH LARGENTIÈRE
LANDOR, WALTER SAVAGE LARGILLIÈRE, NICOLAS
LANDOUR LARGS
LAND REGISTRATION LARGUS, SCRIBONIUS
LANDSBERG AM LECH LARINO
LANDSBERG-AN-DER-WARTHE LARISSA
LANDSBERG BEI HALLE LARISTAN
LANDSEER, SIR EDWIN HENRY LARIVEY, PIERRE
LAND'S END LARK
LANDSHUT LARKHALL
LANDSKNECHT LARKHANA
LANDSKRONA LARKSPUR
LANDSTURM LARNACA
LANDWEHR LA ROCHE
LANE, EDWARD WILLIAM LA ROCHEFOUCAULD
LANE, GEORGE MARTIN LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, FRANÇOIS DE
LANE, JAMES HENRY LA ROCHEFOUCAULD-LIANCOURT, FRÉDÉRIC
LANESSAN, JEAN MARIE ANTOINE DE LA ROCHEJACQUELEIN, DE
LANFRANC LA ROCHELLE
LANFREY, PIERRE LA ROCHE-SUR-YON
LANG, ANDREW LAROMIGUIÈRE, PIERRE
LANG, KARL HEINRICH LARRA, MARIANO JOSÉ DE
LANGDELL, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS LARSA
LANGDON, JOHN LARTET, EDOUARD
LANGE, ANNE FRANÇOISE ELIZABETH LARVAL FORMS
LANGE, ERNST PHILIPP KARL LARYNGITIS
LANGE, FRIEDRICH ALBERT LA SABLIÈRE, MARGUERITE DE
LANGE, JOHANN PETER LA SALE, ANTOINE DE
LANGEAIS LASALLE, ANTOINE CHEVALIER COLLINET
LANGEN, JOSEPH LA SALLE, RENÉ ROBERT CAVELIER
LANGENBECK, BERNHARD KONRAD VON LA SALLE, ST JEAN BAPTISTE DE
LANGENSALZA LA SALLE (Illinois, U.S.A.)
LANGHAM, SIMON LASAULX, ARNOLD CONSTANTIN FRANZ VON
LANGHOLM LASCAR
LANGHORNE, JOHN LASCARIS, CONSTANTINE
LANGIEWICZ, MARYAN LASCARIS, JOANNES
LANGLAND, WILLIAM LAS CASAS, BARTOLOMÉ DE
LANGLEY, SAMUEL PIERPONT LAS CASES, EMMANUEL AUGUSTIN JOSEPH
LANGLOIS, HIPPOLYTE LASHIO
LANGPORT LASKER, EDUARD
LANGREO LASKI
LANGRES LAS PALMAS
LANGTOFT, PETER LASSALLE, FERDINAND
LANGTON, JOHN LASSEN, CHRISTIAN
LANGTON, STEPHEN LASSEN, EDUARD
LANGTON, WALTER LASSO, ORLANDO
LANGTRY, LILLIE LASSO
LANGUAGE LAST
LANGUEDOC LASUS
LANGUET, HUBERT LAS VEGAS
LANGUR LASWARI
LANG VON WELLENBURG, MATTHÄUS LATACUNGA
LANIER, SIDNEY LA TAILLE, JEAN DE
LANJUINAIS, JEAN DENIS LATAKIA
LANMAN, CHARLES ROCKWELL LATEEN
LANNES, JEAN LA TÈNE
LANNION LATERAN COUNCILS
LANNOY, GUILLEBERT DE LATERITE
LANOLIN LATH
LA NOUE, FRANÇOIS DE LATHE
LANSDOWNE, WILLIAM FITZMAURICE LATHROP, FRANCIS
LANSDOWNE LATIMER, HUGH
LANSING LATINA, VIA
LANSING MAN LATINI, BRUNETTO
LANSQUENET
LAMENNAIS, HUGUES FÉLICITÉ ROBERT DE (1782-1854), French priest, and
philosophical and political writer, was born at Saint Malo, in Brittany,
on the 19th of June 1782. He was the son of a shipowner of Saint Malo
ennobled by Louis XVI. for public services, and was intended by his
father to follow mercantile pursuits. He spent long hours in the library
of an uncle, devouring the writings of Rousseau, Pascal and others. He
thereby acquired a vast and varied, though superficial, erudition, which
determined his subsequent career. Of a sickly and sensitive nature, and
impressed by the horrors of the French Revolution, his mind was early
seized with a morbid view of life, and this temper characterized him
throughout all his changes of opinion and circumstance. He was at first
inclined towards rationalistic views, but partly through the influence
of his brother Jean Marie (1775-1861), partly as a result of his
philosophical and historical studies, he felt belief to be indispensable
to action and saw in religion the most powerful leaven of the community.
He gave utterance to these convictions in the _Réflexions sur l'état de
l'église en France pendant le 18^(ième) siècle et sur sa situation
actuelle_, published anonymously in Paris in 1808. Napoleon's police
seized the book as dangerously ideological, with its eager
recommendation of religious revival and active clerical organization,
but it awoke the ultramontane spirit which has since played so great a
part in the politics of churches and of states.
As a rest from political strife, Lamennais devoted most of the following
year to a translation, in exquisite French, of the _Speculum Monachorum_
of Ludovicus Blosius (Louis de Blois) which he entitled _Le Guide
spirituel_ (1809). In 1811 he received the tonsure and shortly
afterwards became professor of mathematics in an ecclesiastical college
founded by his brother at Saint Malo. Soon after Napoleon had concluded
the Concordat with Pius VII. he published, in conjunction with his
brother, _De la tradition de l'église sur l'institution des évêques_
(1814), a writing occasioned by the emperor's nomination of Cardinal
Maury to the archbishopric of Paris, in which he strongly condemned the
Gallican principle which allowed bishops to be created irrespective of
the pope's sanction. He was in Paris at the first Bourbon restoration in
1814, which he hailed with satisfaction, less as a monarchist than as a
strenuous apostle of religious regeneration. Dreading the _Cent Jours_,
he escaped to London, where he obtained a meagre livelihood by giving
French lessons in a school founded by the abbé Jules Carron for French
émigrés; he also became tutor at the house of Lady Jerningham, whose
first impression of him as an imbecile changed into friendship. On the
final overthrow of Napoleon in 1815 he returned to Paris, and in the
following year, with many misgivings as to his calling, he yielded to
his brother's and Carron's advice, and was ordained priest by the bishop
of Rennes.
The first volume of his great work, _Essai sur l'indifférence en matière
de religion_, appeared in 1817 (Eng. trans. by Lord Stanley of Alderley,
London, 1898), and affected Europe like a spell, investing, in the words
of Lacordaire, a humble priest with all the authority once enjoyed by
Bossuet. Lamennais denounced toleration, and advocated a Catholic
restoration to belief. The right of private judgment, introduced by
Descartes and Leibnitz into philosophy and science, by Luther into
religion and by Rousseau and the Encyclopaedists into politics and
society, had, he contended, terminated in practical atheism and
spiritual death. Ecclesiastical authority, founded on the absolute
revelation delivered to the Jewish people, but supported by the
universal tradition of all nations, he proclaimed to be the sole hope of
regenerating the European communities. Three more volumes (Paris,
1818-1824) followed, and met with a mixed reception from the Gallican
bishops and monarchists, but with the enthusiastic adhesion of the
younger clergy. The work was examined by three Roman theologians, and
received the formal approval of Leo XII. Lamennais visited Rome at the
pope's request, and was offered a place in the Sacred College, which he
refused. On his return to France he took a prominent part in political
work, and together with Chateaubriand, the vicomte de Villèle, was a
regular contributor to the _Conservateur_, but when Villèle became the
chief of the supporters of absolute monarchy, Lamennais withdrew his
support and started two rival organs, _Le Drapeau blanc_ and _Le
Mémorial catholique_. Various other minor works, together with _De la
religion considérée dans ses rapports avec l'ordre civil et politique_
(2 vols., 1825-1826), kept his name before the public.
He retired to La Chênaie and gathered round him a host of brilliant
disciples, including C. de Montalembert, Lacordaire and Maurice de
Guérin, his object being to form an organized body of opinion to
persuade the French clergy and laity to throw off the yoke of the state
connexion. With Rome at his back, as he thought, he adopted a frank and
bold attitude in denouncing the liberties of the Gallican church. His
health broke down and he went to the Pyrenees to recruit. On his return
to La Chênaie in 1827 he had another dangerous illness, which powerfully
impressed him with the thought that he had only been dragged back to
life to be the instrument of Providence. _Les Progrès de la révolution
et de la guerre contre l'église_ (1828) marked Lamennais's complete
renunciation of royalist principles, and henceforward he dreamt of the
advent of a theocratic democracy. To give effect to these views he
founded _L'Avenir_, the first number of which appeared on the 16th of
October 1830, with the motto "God and Liberty." From the first the paper
was aggressively democratic; it demanded rights of local administration,
an enlarged suffrage, universal freedom of conscience, freedom of
instruction, of meeting, and of the press. Methods of worship were to be
criticized, improved or abolished in absolute submission to the
spiritual, not to the temporal authority. With the help of Montalembert,
he founded the _Agence générale pour la défense de la liberté
religieuse_, which became a far-reaching organization, it had agents all
over the land who noted any violations of religious freedom and reported
them to headquarters. As a result, _L'Avenir's_ career was stormy, and
the opposition of the Conservative bishops checked its circulation;
Lamennais, Montalembert and Lacordaire resolved to suspend it for a
while, and they set out to Rome in November 1831 to obtain the approval
of Gregory XVI. The "pilgrims of liberty" were, after much opposition,
received in audience by the pope, but only on the condition that the
object which brought them to Rome should not be mentioned. This was a
bitter disappointment to such earnest ultramontanes, who received, a few
days after the audience, a letter from Cardinal Pacca, advising their
departure from Rome and suggesting that the Holy See, whilst admitting
the justice of their intentions, would like the matter left open for the
present. Lacordaire and Montalembert obeyed; Lamennais, however,
remained in Rome, but his last hope vanished with the issue of Gregory's
letter to the Polish bishops, in which the Polish patriots were reproved
and the tsar was affirmed to be their lawful sovereign. He then "shook
the dust of Rome from off his feet." At Munich, in 1832, he received the
encyclical _Mirari vos_, condemning his policy; as a result _L'Avenir_
ceased and the _Agence_ was dissolved.
Lamennais, with his two lieutenants, submitted, and deeply wounded,
retired to La Chênaie. His genius and prophetic insight had turned the
entire Catholic church against him, and those for whom he had fought so
long were the fiercest of his opponents. The famous _Paroles d'un
croyant_, published in 1834 through the intermediary of Sainte-Beuve,
marks Lamennais's severance from the church. "A book, small in size, but
immense in its perversity," was Gregory's criticism in a new encyclical
letter. A tractate of aphorisms, it has the vigour of a Hebrew prophecy
and contains the choicest gems of poetic feeling lost in a whirlwind of
exaggerations and distorted views of kings and rulers. The work had an
extraordinary circulation and was translated into many European
languages. It is now forgotten as a whole, but the beautiful appeals to
love and human brotherhood are still reprinted in every hand-book of
French literature.
Henceforth Lamennais was the apostle of the people alone. _Les Affaires
de Rome, des maux de l'église et de la société_ (1837) came from old
habit of religious discussions rather than from his real mind of 1837,
or at most it was but a last word. _Le Livre du peuple_ (1837), _De
l'esclavage moderne_ (1839), _Politique à l'usage du peuple_ (1839),
three volumes of articles from the journal of the extreme democracy, _Le
Monde_, are titles of works which show that he had arrived among the
missionaries of liberty, equality and fraternity, and he soon got a
share of their martyrdom. _Le Pays et le gouvernement_ (1840) caused him
a year's imprisonment. He struggled through difficulties of lost
friendships, limited means and personal illnesses, faithful to the last
to his hardly won dogma of the sovereignty of the people, and, to judge
by his contribution to Louis Blanc's _Revue du progrès_ was ready for
something like communism. He was named president of the "Société de la
solidarité républicaine," which counted half a million adherents in
fifteen days. The Revolution of 1848 had his sympathies, and he started
_Le Peuple constituant_; however, he was compelled to stop it on the
10th of July, complaining that silence was for the poor, but again he
was at the head of _La Révolution démocratique et sociale_, which also
succumbed. In the constituent assembly he sat on the left till the
_coupe d'état_ of Napoleon III. in 1851 put an end to all hopes of
popular freedom. While deputy he drew up a constitution, but it was
rejected as too radical. Thereafter a translation of Dante chiefly
occupied him till his death, which took place in Paris on the 27th of
February 1854. He refused to be reconciled to the church, and was buried
according to his own directions at Père La Chaise without funeral rites,
being mourned by a countless concourse of democratic and literary
admirers.
During the most difficult time of his republican period he found solace
for his intellect in the composition of _Une voix de prison_, written
during his imprisonment in a similar strain to _Les paroles d'un
croyant_. This is an interesting contribution to the literature of
captivity; it was published in Paris in 1846. He also wrote _Esquisse de
philosophie_ (1840). Of the four volumes of this work the third, which
is an exposition of art as a development from the aspirations and
necessities of the temple, stands pre-eminent, and remains the best
evidence of his thinking power and brilliant style.
There are two so-called _Oeuvres complètes de Lamennais_, the first in
10 volumes (Paris, 1836-1837), and the other in 10 volumes (Paris,
1844); both these are very incomplete and only contain the works
mentioned above. The most noteworthy of his writings subsequently
published are: _Amschaspands et Darvands_ (1843), _Le Deuil de la
Pologne_ (1846), _Mélanges philosophiques et politiques_ (1856), _Les
Évangiles_ (1846) and _La Divine Comédie_, these latter being
translations of the Gospels and of Dante.
Part of his voluminous correspondence has also appeared. The most
interesting volumes are the following: _Correspondance de F. de
Lamennais_, edited by E. D. Forgues (2 vols., 1855-1858); _Oeuvres
inédites de F. Lamennais_, edited by Ange Blaize (2 vols., 1866);
_Correspondance inédite entre Lamennais et le baron de Vitrolles_,
edited by E. D. Forgues (1819-1853); _Confidences de Lamennais,
lettres inédites de 1821 à 1848_, edited by A. du Bois de la
Villerabel (1886); _Lamennais d'après des documents inédits_, by
Alfred Roussel (Rennes, 2 vols., 1892); _Lamennais intime, d'après une
correspondance inédite_, by A. Roussel (Rennes, 1897); _Un Lamennais
inconnu_, edited by A. Laveille (1898); _Lettres de Lamennais à
Montalembert_, edited by E. D. Forgues (1898); and many other letters
published in the _Revue bleue_, _Revue britannique_, &c.
A list of lives or studies on Lamennais would fill several columns.
The following may be mentioned. A Blaize, _Essai biographique sur M.
de Lamennais_ (1858); E. D. Forgues, _Notes et souvenirs_ (1859); F.
Brunetière, _Nouveaux essais sur la littérature contemporaine_ (1893);
E. Faguet, _Politiques et moralistes_, ii. (1898); P. Janet, _La
Philosophie de Lamennais_ (1890); P. Mercier, S.J., _Lamennais d'après
sa correspondance et les travaux les plus récents_ (1893); A. Mollien
et F. Duine, _Lamennais, sa vie et ses idées_; _Pages choisies_
(Lyons, 1898); The Hon. W. Gibson, _The Abbé de Lammenais and the
Liberal Catholic Movement in France_ (London, 1896); E. Renan _Essais
de morale et de critique_ (1857); E. Schérer, _Mélanges de critique
religieuse_ (1859); G. E. Spuller, _Lamennais, étude d'histoire et de
politique religieuse_ (1892); Mgr. Ricard, _L'école menaisienne_
(1882), and Sainte-Beuve, _Portraits contemporains_, tome i. (1832),
and _Nouveaux Lundis_, tome i. p. 22; tome xi. p. 347.
LAMENTATIONS (_Lamentations of Jeremiah_), a book of the Old Testament.
In Hebrew MSS. and editions this little collection of liturgical poems
is entitled [Hebrew: eiha] _Ah how!_, the first word of ch. i. (and chs.
ii., iv.); cf. the books of the Pentateuch, and the Babylonian Epic of
Creation (a far older example). In the Septuagint it is called [Greek:
Thrênoi], "Funeral-songs" or "Dirges," the usual rendering of Heb.
[Hebrew: kinot] (Am. v. 1; Jer. vii. 29; 2 Sam. i. 17), which is, in
fact, the name in the Talmud (_Baba Bathra_ 15a) and other Jewish
writings; and it was known as such to the Fathers (Jerome, _Cinoth_).
The Septuagint (B) introduces the book thus: "And it came to pass, after
Israel was taken captive and Jerusalem laid waste, Jeremiah sat weeping,
and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said...," a
notice which may have related originally to the first poem only. Some
Septuagint MSS., and the Syriac and other versions, have the fuller
title _Lamentations of Jeremiah_. In the Hebrew Bible Lamentations is
placed among the _Cetubim_ or Hagiographa, usually as the middle book of
the five _Megilloth_ or Ferial Rolls (Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations,
Ecclesiastes, Esther) according to the order of the days on which they
are read in the Synagogue, Lamentations being read on the 9th of Ab (6th
of August), when the destruction of the Temple is commemorated (_Mass.
Sopherim_ 18). But the Septuagint appends the book to Jeremiah (_Baruch_
intervening), just as it adds Ruth to Judges; thus making the number of
the books of the Hebrew Canon the same as that of the letters of the
Hebrew alphabet, viz. twenty-two (so Jos. c. Ap. i. 8), instead of the
Synagogal twenty-four (see _Baba Bathra_ 14b).
_External features and poetical structure._--These poems exhibit a
peculiar metre, the so-called "limping verse," of which Am. v. 2 is a
good instance:
"She is fállen, to ríse no móre--
Maid Israël!
Left lórn upón her lánd--
none raísing hér!"
A longer line, with three accented syllables, is followed by a shorter
with two. Chs. i.-iii. consist of stanzas of three such couplets each;
chs. iv. and v. of two like Am. v. 2. This metre came in time to be
distinctive of elegy. The text of Lamentations, however, so often
deviates from it, that we can only affirm the _tendency_ of the poet to
cast his couplets into this type (Driver). Some anomalies, both of metre
and of sense, may be removed by judicious emendation; and many lines
become smooth enough, if we assume a crasis of open vowels of the same
class, or a diphthongal pronunciation of others, or contraction or
silence of certain suffixes as in Syriac. The oldest elegiac utterances
are not couched in this metre; e.g. David's (2 Sam. iii. 33 f. Abner;
ib. i. 19-27 Saul and Jonathan). Yet the refrain of the latter, '_Eik
náf 'lu gíbborím_, "Ah how are heroes fallen!" agrees with our longer
line. The remote ancestor of this Hebrew metre may be recognized in the
Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, written at least a thousand years
earlier:--
_Ea-báni íbri kutáni_ | _Nímru sha çéri_
"Eabani, my friend, my little brother! | Leopard of the Wild!"
and again:--
_Kíki lúskut_ | _Kíki luqúl-ma_
Íbri shá arámmu_ | _Itémi tittish_
"How shall I be dumb? | How shall I bewail?
The friend whom I love | Is turned to clay!"
Like a few of the Psalms, Lamentations i.-iv. are alphabetical
acrostics. Each poem contains twenty-two stanzas, corresponding to the
twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet; and each stanza begins with
its proper letter. (In ch. iii. each of the three couplets in a stanza
begins with the same letter, so that the alphabet is repeated thrice:
cf. Psalm cxix. for an eight-fold repetition.) The alphabet of
Lamentations ii. iii. iv. varies from the usual order of the letters by
placing _Pe_ before _Ain_. The same was doubtless the case in ch. i.
also until some scribe altered it. He went no further, because the sense
forbade it in the other instances. The variation may have been one of
local use, either in Judea or in Babylonia; or the author may have had
some fanciful reason for the transposition, such as, for example, that
_Pe_ following _Samech_ ([Hebrew: sp]) might suggest the word [Hebrew:
sifdu], "Wail ye!" (2 Sam. iii. 31). Although the oldest Hebrew elegies
are not alphabetic acrostics, it is a curious fact that the word
[Hebrew: aidach], "Was he a coward?" (Sc. [Hebrew: libo]; Is. vii. 4),
is formed by the initial letters of the four lines on Abner (om.
[Hebrew: ve], line 3); and the initials of the verses of David's great
elegy are [Hebrew: ha amshech eze], which may be read as a sentence
meaning, perhaps, "Lo, I the Avenger" (cf. Deut. xxxii. 41, 43) "will go
forth!"; or the first two letters ([Hebrew: he'alef']) may stand for
[Hebrew: hoi ahi], "Alas, my brother!" (Jer. xxii. 18; cf. xxxiv. 5). In
cryptic fashion the poet thus registers a vow of vengeance on the
Philistines. Both kinds of acrostic occur side by side in the Psalms.
Psalm cx., an acrostic of the same kind as David's elegy, is followed by
Psalms cxi. cxii., which are alphabetical acrostics, like the
Lamentations. Such artifices are not in themselves greater clogs on
poetic expression than the excessive alliteration of old Saxon verse or
the strict rhymes of modern lyrics. (Alliteration, both initial and
internal, is common in Lamentations.)
As the final piece, ch. v. may have suffered more in transmission than
those which precede it--even to the extent of losing the acrostic form
(like some of the Psalms and Nahum i.), besides half of its stanzas. If
we divide the chapter into quatrains, like ch. iv., we notice several
vestiges of an acrostic. The _Aleph_ stanza (verses 7, 8) still precedes
the _Beth_ (verses 9, 10), and the _Ain_ is still quite clear (verses
17, 18; cf. i. 16). Transposing verses 5, 6, and correcting their text,
we see that the _Jod_ stanza (verses 3, 4) precedes the _Lamed_ (verses
6, 5), _Caph_ having disappeared between them. With this clue, we may
rearrange the other quatrains in alphabetical sequence, each according
to its initial letter. We thus get a broken series of eleven stanzas,
beginning with the letters [Hebrew: alef] (verses 7, 8), [Hebrew: beth]
(9, 10), [Hebrew: hei] (21, 22), [Hebrew: vav] (19, cf. Psalm cii. 13;
and 20), [Hebrew: nun] (1, 2), [Hebrew: het] (13, [Hebrew: horim]; 14),
[Hebrew: iod] (3, 4), [Hebrew: lamed] (6, [Hebrew: latzadim]; 5,
[Hebrew: hibkiru] ... [Hebrew: ol]), [Hebrew: nun] (11, 12), [Hebrew:
ayin] (17, 18), and [Hebrew: shin] (15, 16), successively. An internal
connexion will now be apparent in all the stanzas.
_General subject and outline of contents._--The theme of Lamentations is
the final siege and fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.), and the attendant and
subsequent miseries of the Jewish people.
In ch. i. we have a vivid picture of the distress of Zion, after all is
over. The poet does not describe the events of the siege, nor the
horrors of the capture, but the painful experience of subjection and
tyranny which followed. Neither this nor ch. ii. is strictly a "dirge."
Zion is not dead. She is personified as a widowed princess, bereaved and
desolate, sitting amid the ruins of her former joys, and brooding over
her calamities. From verse 11c to the end (except verse 17) she herself
is the speaker:--
"O come, ye travellers all!
Behold and see
If grief there be like mine!"
She images her sorrows under a variety of metaphors (cf. ch. iii. 1-18);
ascribing all her woes to Yahweh's righteous wrath, provoked by her
sins, and crying for vengeance on the malicious rivals who had rejoiced
at her overthrow.
The text has suffered much. Verse 5c read: [Hebrew: bashevi] (v. 18),
"into captivity," [Hebrew: zarim] (v. 7), "adversaries." For verse 7,
see Budde, V. 14: [Hebrew: nishkod], read [Hebrew: nikshar], "was
bound." Verse 19c read: [Hebrew: aval lhashiv nefesh velo matzu ki
bikshu] "For they sought food to restore life, and found it not:" cf.
Septuagint; and verses 11, 16. Verse 20: the incongruous [Hebrew: ki
maro mariti], "For I grievously rebelled," should be [Hebrew: nihmeru
rahamai], "My inwards burn"; Hos. xi. 8. Verses 21 f.: "All my foes
heard, rejoiced That IT" (cf. Psalm ix. 13), "Thou didst. Bring Thou"
([Hebrew: havee et]), "the Day Thou hast proclaimed; Let them become
like me! Let the time" ([Hebrew: et]; see Septuagint) "of their
calamity come!"
Chapter ii.--"Ah how in wrath the Lord | Beclouds Bath-Sion!" The poet
laments Yahweh's anger as the true cause which destroyed city and
kingdom, suspended feast and Sabbath, rejected altar and sanctuary. He
mentions the uproar of the victors in the Temple; the dismantling of the
walls; the exile of king and princes (verses 1-9). He recalls the
mourning in the doomed city; the children dying of hunger in the
streets; the prophets deluding the people with vain hopes. Passers-by
jeered at the fallen city; and all her enemies triumphed over her
(verses 10-17). Sion is urged to cry to the Lord in protest against His
pitiless work (verses 18-22).
Here too emendation is necessary. Verse 4a: [Hebrew: hetziv hatzev],
"He fixed His arrow," sc. on the string (Septuagint, [Greek:
estereôsen]); cf. Psalm xi. 2. Add at the end [Hebrew: kila (et) apo],
"He spent His anger:" see iv. 11; Ezek. vii. 8, xx. 8, 21. Verse 6:
[Hebrew: vaifratz gader mishkano], "And He broke down the wall of His
dwelling-place" (Septuagint [Greek: tho skênôma autou]; cf. Psalm
lxxxiv. 7f., where [Hebrew: moed] follows, as here). Is. v. 5; Psalms
lxxx. 13, lxxxix. 41. Perhaps [Hebrew: vaiehares], verses 2, 17. But
Septuagint [Greek: kahi diepetasen] = [Hebrew: vaifros] (i. 13, 17) =
[Hebrew: vaifros] (iv. 4) or even [Hebrew: vaifrotz]. Verse 9,
perhaps: "He sunk ([Hebrew: tava]) her gates in the ground,--He
shattered her bars; He made her king and her princes wander ([Hebrew:
ybir], Jer. xxiii. 1)--Among the nations without Torah" (cf. Ezek.
vii. 26 f.). Verse 18: "Cry much" ([Hebrew: rabat]; or bitterly,
[Hebrew: mar], Zeph. i. 14) "unto the Lord, O Virgin Daughter of
Zion!" Verse 19 is metrically redundant, and the last clauses do not
agree with what follows. "For the life of thy children" was altered
from "for what He hath done to thee" ([Hebrew: al sheolel leha]); and
then the rest was added. The uniform gloom of this, the most
dirge-like of all the pieces, is unrelieved by a single ray of hope,
even the hope of vengeance; cf. chapters i. iii. iv. _ad fin_.
Chapter iii.--Here the nation is personified as a man (cf. Hos. xi. 1),
who laments his own calamities. In view of i. 12-22, ii. 20-22, this is
hardly a serious deviation from the strict form of elegy (_Klagelied_).
Budde makes much of "the close external connexion with ch. ii." The
truth is that the break is as great as between any two of these poems.
Chapter ii. ends with a mother's lament over her slaughtered children;
chapter iii. makes an entirely new beginning, with its abruptly
independent "I am the Man!" The suppression of the Divine Name is
intentional. Israel durst not breathe it, until compelled by the climax,
verse 18: cf. Am. vi. 10. Contrast its frequency afterwards, when ground
of hope is found in the Divine pity and purpose (verses 22-40), and when
the contrite nation turns to its God in prayer (verses 55-66). The
spiritual aspect of things is now the main topic. The poet deals less
with incident, and more with the moral significance of the nation's
sufferings. It is the religious culmination of the book. His poem is
rather lyrical than narrative, which may account for some obscurities in
the connexion of thought; but his alphabetic scheme proves that he
_designed_ twenty-two stanzas, not sixty-six detached couplets. There is
something arresting in that bold "I am the Man"; and the lyrical
intensity, the religious depth and beauty of the whole, may well blind
us to occasional ruggedness of metre and language, abrupt transitions
from figure to figure and other alleged blemishes, some of which may not
have seemed such to the poet's contemporaries (e.g. the repetition of
the acrostic word, far more frequent in Psalm cxix.); and some disappear
on revision of the text.
Verse 5, perhaps: "He swallowed me up" (Jer. li. 34) "and begirt my
head" (Septuagint) "with gloom" ([Hebrew: afela] Is. lviii. 10, cf.
verse 6, yet cf. also [Hebrew: halaa], Neh. ix. 32). Verse 14: "all
my people," rather _all peoples_ (Heb. MSS. and Syr.). Verse 16b, rd.
[Hebrew: yflishani], "He made me bore" (i.e. grovel) "in the ashes:"
cf. Jer. vi. 26; Ezek. xxvii. 30. Verse 17a should be: [Hebrew:
vaiznah leolam nafshi] "And He cast off my soul for ever:" see verse
31; Psalm lxxxviii. 15. Verse 26: "It is good _to wait_" [Hebrew:
leohil] "_in silence_" ([Hebrew: dumam] Is. xlvii. 5); or "It is good
_that he wait and be silent_" ([Hebrew: ki yohil vedamam]; cf. verse
27). Verse 31, add [Hebrew: nafsho], "his soul." The verse is a reply
to 17a. Verses 34-36 render: "To crush under His feet ... Adonai
_purposed_ not" (Gen. xx. 10; Psalm lxvi. 18). Verse 39, [Hebrew: hai]
(Gen. v. 5; or [Hebrew: haya] Neh. ix. 29) is the necessary second
verb: "Why doth a mortal complain?" (or "What ... lament?"). "Doth a
man live by his sins?": Man "lives by" righteousness (Ezek. xxxiii.
19). For the wording, cf. Psalm lxxxix. 49. Verse 43a: "Thou didst
encompass with" (rg. [Hebrew: savota]; Hos. xii. 1) "anger and pursue
us." Syntax as verse 66a. Verse 49, rd. [Hebrew: tefune] (cf. ii. 18
also). Verse 51: "Mine eye did hurt to herself" [Hebrew: lenafsha]),
"By weeping over my people:" Verse 48: ch. i. 16; Jer. xxxi. 15. Verse
52: "They quelled my life in the pit" (Sheol; Psalms xxx. 4, lxxxviii.
4, 7; verse 55); "They _brought me down to Abaddon_" ([Hebrew:
horiduni abaddon]; cf. Psalm lxxxviii. 12). Verse 58: "O plead, Lord,
the cause of my soul! O redeem my life!"; cf. Psalm cxix. 154. If the
prayer for vengeance begins here, Budde's "deep division in the middle
of an acrostic letter-group" vanishes. Verse 59, rd. [Hebrew: uti],
"my perverting;" inf. pi. c. suff. obj.; cf. verse 36. Verse 61b
repeated by mistake from 60b. Perhaps: "Wherewith they dogged my
steps:" [Hebrew: shihrefu ekvotai]: Psalm lxxxix. 51 f. Verse 63, rd.
[Hebrew: komem], as usual, and [Hebrew: neginatam], as in verse 14 and
Job xxx. 9. Verse 65: "Thou wilt give them madness" (cf. Arab.
_gunûn_; _magnûn_, mad) "of heart; Thou wilt curse and consume them!"
([Hebrew: tohar tohlam]).
Chapter iv.
"Ah, how doth gold grow dim,--
The finest ore change hue!"
The poet shows how famine and the sword desolated Zion (verses 1-10).
All was Yahweh's work; a wonder to the heathen world, but accounted for
by the crimes of prophets and priests (Jer. xxiii. 11, 14, xxvi. 8, 20
ff., xxix. 21-23), who, like Cain, became homeless wanderers and
outcasts (verses 11-16). Vainly did the besieged watch for succours from
Egypt (Jer. xxxvii. 5 ff.); and even the last forlorn hope, the flight
of "Yahweh's Anointed," King Zedekiah, was doomed to fail (verses 17-20;
Jer. xxxix. 4 ff). Edom rejoiced in her ruin (Ezek. xxv. 12; xxxv. 15;
Obad.; Psalm cxxxvii. 7); but Zion's sin is now atoned for (cf. Is. xl.
2), and she may look forward to the judgment of her foe (verses 21-22).
Verse 6d, perhaps: "And their ruin tarried not" ([Hebrew: ukt yihel
piryam]); cf. Pro. xxiv. 22. Verse 7d: "Their body" (rd. [Hebrew:
noiham]) "was a sapphire:" see Ct. v. 14; Dn. x. 6. Verse 9: "Happier
were the slain of the sword Than the slain of famine! For they"
(Septuagint om.), "they passed away" ([Hebrew: halhu] Septuagint;
Psalm xxxix. 14) "with a stab" (Ju. ix. 54; Is. xiii. 15; Jer. li. 4),
"Suddenly, in the field" ([Hebrew: pitom besh']; Jer. xiv. 18). Verse
13, add [Hebrew: hi] after [Hebrew: nevieia]; cf. Ju. xiv. 4; Jer.
xxii. 16. Verse 17c: "While we watched" (Septuagint) "continually:"
[Hebrew: betzapoteinu tzafu]. Verse 18: "Our steps were curbed"
([Hebrew: tzaru] MSS.; see Pro. iv. 12; Job xviii. 7) "from walking In
our open places" (before the city gates: Neh. viii. 1, 3); "The
completion of our days drew nigh" ([Hebrew: karev yom meleot yameinu];
cf. Lev. viii. 33; Job xx. 22), "For our end was come" (Ezek. vii. 2,
6, &c.). Verse 21, Septuagint om. Uz (dittogr.?); "Settler in the
Land!" (i.e. of Judah; cf. Ezek. xxxv. 10, xxxvi. 5. Perhaps [Hebrew:
yorashti ha'] "Seizer of the Land").
Chapter v.--A sorrowful supplication, in which the speakers deplore, not
the fall of Jerusalem, but their own state of galling dependence and
hopeless poverty. They are still suffering for the sins of their
fathers, who perished in the catastrophe (verse 7). They are at the
mercy of "servants" (verse 8; cf. 2 Kings xxv. 24; Neh. v. 15: "Yea,
even their 'boys' lorded it over the people"), under a tyranny of pashas
of the worst type (verses 11 f.). The soil is owned by aliens; and the
Jews have to buy their water and firewood (verses 2, 4; cf. Neh. ix. 36
f.). While busy harvesting, they are exposed to the raids of the
Bedouins (verse 9). Jackals prowl among the ruins of Zion (verse 18; cf.
Neh. iv. 3). And this condition of things has already lasted a very long
time (verse 20).
Verses 5 f. transpose and read: "To adversaries" ([Hebrew: latzarim])
"we submitted, Saying" ([Hebrew: leemor]), "'We shall be satisfied
with bread'" (cf. Jer. xlii. 14); "The yoke of our neck they made
heavy" (Neh. v. 15: [Hebrew: ehbidu al haam]); "We toil, and no rest
is allowed us." Verse 13: "Nobles endured to grind, And princes
staggered under logs" ([Hebrew: horim] for [Hebrew: bahurim], which
belongs to verse 14; [Hebrew: sarim] for [Hebrew: nearim]. Eccl. x. 7;
Is. xxxiv. 12; Neh. iv. 14; v. 7; vi. 17). Verse 19, "But Thou..."
Psalm cii. 13 ([Hebrew: ve] fell out after preceding [Hebrew: vav],
verse 18). Verse 22, omit [Hebrew: em]; dittogr. of following [Hebrew:
ma].
_Authorship and date._--The tradition of Jeremiah's authorship cannot be
traced higher than the Septuagint version. The prefatory note there may
come from a Hebrew MS., but perhaps refers to chapter i. only ("Jeremiah
sang _this dirge_"). The idea that Lamentations was originally appended
to Jeremiah in the Hebrew Canon, as it is in the old versions, and was
afterwards separated from it and added to the other Megilloth for the
liturgical convenience of the Synagogue, rests on the fact that Josephus
(Ap. i. 1, 8) and, following him, Jerome and Origen reckon 22 books,
taking Ruth with Judges and Lamentations with Jeremiah; whereas the
ordinary Jewish reckoning gives 24 books, as in our Hebrew Bibles. There
is no evidence that this artificial reckoning according to the number of
letters in the Hebrew alphabet was ever much more than a fanciful
suggestion. Even in the Septuagint the existing order may not be
original. It appears likely that Lamentations was not translated by the
same hand as Jeremiah (Nöldeke). Unlike the latter, the Septuagint
Lamentations sticks closely to the Massoretic text. The two books can
hardly have been united from the first. On the strength of 2 Chron.
xxxv. 25, some ancient writers (e.g. Jerome _ad_ Zech. xii. 11) held
that Jeremiah composed Lamentations. When, however, Josephus (Ant. x. 5,
1) states that Jeremiah wrote an elegy on Josiah still extant in his
day, he may be merely quoting a little too much of Chron. loc. cit.; and
it is obvious that he need not mean our book (see Whiston's note). It is
urged, indeed, that the author of Chronicles could not have imagined a
prophet to have sympathized with such a king as Zedekiah so warmly as is
implied by Lamentations iv. 20; and, therefore, he must have connected
the passage with Josiah, the last of the good kings. However that may
have been, the Chronicler neither says that Jeremiah wrote _all_ the
elegies comprised in _The Qinoth_, nor does he imply that the entire
collection consisted of only five pieces. Rather, the contrary; for he
implies that _The Qinoth_ contained not only Jeremiah's single dirge on
Josiah, but also the elegies of "all the singing men and singing women,"
from the time of Josiah's death (608) down to his own day (3rd century).
The untimely fate of Josiah became a stock allusion in dirges. It is not
meant that for three centuries the dirge-writers had nothing else to
sing of; much less, that they sang of the fall of Jerusalem (presupposed
by our book) before its occurrence. Upon the whole, it does not seem
probable, either that the Chronicler mistook Lamentations iv. for
Jeremiah's dirge on Josiah, or that the book he calls _The Qinoth_ was
identical with our Qinoth. Later writers misunderstood him, because--on
the ground of certain obtrusive similarities between Jeremiah and
Lamentations (see Driver, L.O.T. p. 433 f.), and the supposed reference
in Lamentations iii. 53 ff. to Jeremiah xxxviii. 6 ff., as well as the
fact that Jeremiah was the one well-known inspired writer who had lived
through the siege of Jerusalem--they naturally enough ascribed this
little book to the prophet. It is certainly true that the same emotional
temperament, dissolving in tears at the spectacle of the country's woes,
and expressing itself to a great extent in the same or similar language,
is noticeable in the author(s) of Lamentations i.-iv. and in Jeremiah.
And both refer these woes to the same cause, viz. the sins of the
nation, and particularly of its prophets and priests.
This, however, is not enough to prove identity of authorship; and the
following considerations militate strongly against the tradition. (i.)
The language and style of Lamentations are in general very unlike those
of Jeremiah (see the details in Nägelsbach and Löhr); whatever allowance
may be made for conventional differences in the phraseology of elegiac
poetry and prophetic prose, even of a more or less lyrical cast. (ii.)
Lamentations i.-iv. show a knowledge of Ezekiel (cf. Lamentations ii.
4c; Ez. xx. 8, 21; Lam. ii. 14; Ez. xii. 24; xiii. 10, 14; Lam. ii. 15;
Ez. xxvii. 3; xxviii. 12; Lam. iv. 20; Ez. xix. 4, 8) and of Is.
xl.-lxvi. (Lam. i. 10, [Hebrew: mahmadim]; Is. lxiv. 10; Lam. i. 15; Is.
lxiii. 2; Lam. ii. 1; Is. lxvi. 1; Lam. ii. 2c; Is. xliii. 28; Lam. ii.
13 _the 3 verbs_; Is. xl. 18, 25; Lam. ii. 15c; Is. lx. 15b; Lam. iii.
26 [Hebrew: dumam]; Is. xlvii. 5; Lam. iii. 30; Is. i. 6; Lam. iv. 14;
Is. lix. 3, 10; Lam. iv. 15; Is. lii. 11; Lam. iv. 17c; Is. xlv. 20;
Lam. iv. 22; Is. xl. 2). Jeremiah does not quote Ezekiel; and he could
hardly have quoted writings of the age of Cyrus. (iii.) The coincidences
of language between Lamentations and certain late Psalms, such as Psalms
lxix., lxxiv., lxxx., lxxxviii., lxxxix., cxix., are numerous and
significant, at least as a general indication of date. (iv.) The point
of view of Lamentations sometimes differs from that of the prophet. This
need not be the case in i. 21 f. where the context shows that the
"enemies" are not the Chaldeans, but Judah's ill neighbours, Edom,
Ammon, Moab and the rest (cf. iv. 21 f.; iii. 59-66 may refer to the
same foes). Ch. ii. 9c may refer to popular prophecy ("_her_ prophets";
cf. verse 14), which would naturally be silenced by the overwhelming
falsification of its comfortable predictions (iv. 14 ff.; cf. Jer. xiv.
13; Ezek. vii. 26 f.; Psalm lxxiv. 9). But though Jeremiah was by no
means disloyal (Jer. xxxiv. 4 f.), he would hardly have spoken of
Zedekiah in the terms of Lam. iv. 20; and the prophet never looked to
Egypt for help, as the poet of iv. 17 appears to have done. It must be
admitted that Lamentations exhibits, upon the whole, "a poet (more) in
sympathy with the old life of the nation, whose attitude towards the
temple and the king is far more popular than Jeremiah's" (W. Robertson
Smith); cf. i. 4, 10, 19, ii. 6, 7, 20c. (v.) While we find in
Lamentations some things that we should not have expected from Jeremiah,
we miss other things characteristic of the prophet. There is no trace of
his confident faith in the restoration of both Israel and Judah (Jer.
iii. 14-18, xxiii. 3-8, xxx.-xxxiii.), nor of his unique doctrine of the
New Covenant (Jer. xxxi. 31-34), as a ground of hope and consolation for
Zion. The only hope expressed in Lamentations i. is the hope of Divine
vengeance on Judah's malicious rivals (i. 21 f.); and even this is
wanting from ch. ii. Chapter iii. finds comfort in the thought of
Yahweh's unfailing mercy; but ends with a louder cry for vengeance.
Chapter iv. suggests neither hope nor consolation, until the end, where
we have an assurance that Zion's punishment is complete, and she will
not again be exiled (iv. 21 f.). The last word is woe for Edom. In
chapter v. we have a prayer for restoration: "Make us return, O Yahweh,
and we shall return!" (i.e. to our pristine state). Had Jeremiah been
the author, we should have expected something more positive and
definitely prophetic in tone and spirit. (The author of chapter iii.
seems to have felt this. It was apparently written in view of chapter
ii. as a kind of religious counterpoise to its burden of despair, which
it first takes up, verses 1-20, and then dissipates, verses 21 ff.).
(vi.) It seems almost superfluous to add that, in the brief and troubled
story of the prophet's life after the fall of the city Jer.
xxxix.-xliv.), it is difficult to specify an occasion when he may be
supposed to have enjoyed the necessary leisure and quiet for the
composition of these elaborate and carefully constructed pieces, in a
style so remote from his ordinary freedom and spontaneity of utterance.
And if at the very end of his stormy career he really found time and
inclination to write anything of this nature, we may wonder why it was
not included in the considerable and somewhat miscellaneous volume of
his works, or at least mentioned in the chapters which relate to his
public activity after the catastrophe.
Budde's date, 550 B.C., might not be too early for chapter v., if it
stood alone. But it was evidently written as the close of the book, and
perhaps to complete the number of five divisions, after the model of the
Pentateuch; which would bring it below the date of Ezra (457 B.C.). And
this date is supported by internal indications. The Divine forgetfulness
has already lasted a very long time since the catastrophe ("for ever,"
verse 20); which seems to imply the lapse of much more than thirty-six
years (cf. Zech. i. 12). The hill of Zion is still a deserted site
haunted by jackals, as it was when Nehemiah arrived, 445 B.C. (Neh. i.
3, ii. 3, 13, 17, iv. 3). And the conditions, political and economic,
seem to agree with what is told us by Nehemiah of the state of things
which he found, and which prevailed before his coming: cf. esp. Neh. v.
2-5 with Lamentations v. 2, 10, and Neh. v. 15 with Lamentations v. 5,
8. There is nothing in chapter i. which Nehemiah himself might not have
written, had he been a poet (cf. Neh. i. 4). The narrative of Neh. xiii.
throws light on verse 10; and there are many coincidences of language,
e.g. "The Province" (of Judea), Neh. i. 3, cf. verse 1; "adversaries"
[Hebrew: tzarim], of Judah's hostile neighbours, verse 7, Neh. iv. 11;
"made my strength stumble," verse 14, cf. Neh. iv. 4 (Heb.); the
prayers, verses 21 f., Neh. iv. 4 f. (Heb. iii. 36 f.), are similar. The
memory of what is told in Neh. iv. 5 (11), Ezra iv. 23 f., v. 5, may
perhaps have suggested the peculiar term [Hebrew: meshabeah],
_stoppage_, _arrest_, verse 7. With verse 3 "Judah migrated from
oppression; From greatness of servitude; She settled among the nations,
Without finding a resting-place," cf. Neh. v. 18 end, Jer. xl. 11 f. The
"remnant of the captivity" (Neh. i. 2 f.) became much attenuated (cf.
verse 4), because all who could escape from the galling tyranny of the
foreigner left the country (cf. verse 6). Verses 11, 19 (dearth of
food), 20 (danger in the field, starvation in the house) agree curiously
with Neh. v. 6, 9 f.
Chapters ii. and iv. can hardly be dated earlier than the beginning of
the Persian period. They might then have been written by one who, as a
young man of sixteen or twenty, had witnessed the terrible scenes of
fifty years before. If, however, as is generally recognized, these poems
are not the spontaneous and unstudied outpourings of passionate grief,
but compositions of calculated art and studied effects, written for a
purpose, it is obvious that they need not be contemporary. A poet of a
later generation might have sung of the great drama in this fashion. The
chief incidents and episodes would be deeply graven in the popular
memory; and it is the poet's function to make the past live again. There
is much metaphor (i. 13-15, ii. 1-4, iii. 1-18, iv. 1 ff.), and little
detail beyond the horrors usual in long sieges (see Deut. xxviii. 52
ff.; 2 Kings vi. 28 f.) Acquaintance with the existing literature and
the popular reminiscences of the last days of Jerusalem would supply an
ample foundation for all that we find in these poems.
LITERATURE.--The older literature is fully given by Nägelsbach in
Lange's _Bibelwerk A.T._ xv. (1868, Eng. trans., 1871, p. 17). Among
commentaries may be noticed those of Kalkar (in Latin) (1836); O.
Thenius in _Kurzgefasstes Exeg. Handbuch_ (1855), who ascribes
chapters ii. and iv. to Jeremiah (comp. K. Budde in _Z.A.T.W._, 1882,
p. 45); Vaihinger (1857); Neumann (1858); H. Ewald in his _Dichter_,
vol. i. pt. ii. (2nd ed., 1866); Engelhardt (1867); Nägelsbach, op.
cit. (1868); E. Gerlach, _Die Klagelied. Jer._ (1868); A. Kamphausen
in Bunsen's _Bibelwerk_ iii. (1868); C. F. Keil (1872) (Eng. trans.,
1874); Payne Smith in _The Speaker's Commentary_; Reuss, _La Bible:
poésie lyrique_ (1879); T. K. Cheyne, at end of "Jeremiah," _Pulpit
Commentary_ (1883-1885); E. H. Plumptre, in Ellicott's _O.T. for
English Readers_ (1884); S. Oettli in Strack-Zöckler's _Kurzgef. Komm.
A.T._ vii. (1889); M. Löhr (1891) and again _Handkommentar zum A.T._
(1893); F. Baethgen _ap._ Kautzsch, _Die Heilige Schrift d. A.T._
(1894); W. F. Adeney, _Expositor's Bible_ (1895); S. Minocchi, _Le
Lamentazioni di Geremia_ (Rome, 1897); and K. Budde, "Fünf Megillot,"
in _Kurzer Hd.-Comm. zum A. T._ (1898).
For textual and literary criticism see also Houbigant, _Notae
Criticae_, ii. 477-483 (1777); E. H. Rodhe, _Num Jeremias Threnos
scripserit quaestiones_ (Lundae, 1871); F. Montet, _Étude sur le livre
des Lamentations_ (Geneva, 1875); G. Bickell, _Carmina V. T. metrice_,
112-120 (1882), and _Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunde des Morgenlandes_,
viii. 101 ff. (1894) (Cf. also his _Dichtungen der Hebräer_, i.
87-108, 1882); Merkel, _Über das A.T. Buch der Klagelieder_ (Halle,
1889); J. Dyserinck, _Theologisch Tijdschrift_, xxvi. 359 ff. (1892);
S. A. Fries, "Parallele zwischen Thr. iv., v. und der
Makkabäerzeit,"_Z.A.T.W._, xiii. 110 ff. (1893) (chaps. iv. v.
Maccabean; i.-iii. Jeremiah's); and on the other side Löhr, _Z.A.T.W._
xiv. 51 ff. (1894); id. ib., p. 31 ff., _Der Sprachgebrauch des Buches
der Klagelieder_; and Löhr, "Threni iii. und die jeremianische
Autorschaft des Buches der Klagelieder," _Z.A.T.W._, xxiv. 1 ff.
(1904).
On the prosody, see (besides the works of Bickell and Dyserinck) K.
Budde, "Das hebräische Klagelied," _Z.A.T.W._, ii. 1 ff. (1882), iii.
299 ff. (1883), xi. 234 ff. (1891), xii. 31 ff. 261 ff. (1892);
_Preussische Jahrbücher_, lxxiii. 461 ff. (1893); and C. J. Ball, "The
Metrical Structure of Qinoth," _P.S.B.A._ (March 1887). (The writer
was then unacquainted with Budde's previous labours.)
The following may also be consulted, Nöldeke, _Die A.T. Literatur_,
pp. 142-148 (1868); Seinecke, _Gesch. des Volkes Israel_, ii. 29 ff.
(1884); Stade, _Gesch._ p. 701, n. 1 (1887); Smend in _Z.A.T.W._
(1888), p. 62 f.; Steinthal, "Die Klagelieder Jer." in _Bibel und
Rel.-philosophie_, 16-33 (1890); Driver, _L.O.T._ (1891), p. 428, "The
Lamentations"; and Cheyne's article "Lamentations (Book)," in _Enc.
Bibl._ iii. (C. J. B.*)
LAMETH, ALEXANDRE THÉODORE VICTOR, COMTE DE (1760-1829), French soldier
and politician, was born in Paris on the 20th of October 1760. He served
in the American War of Independence under Rochambeau, and in 1789 was
sent as deputy to the States General by the nobles of the _bailliage_ of
Péronne. In the Constituent Assembly he formed with Barnave and Adrien
Duport a sort of association called the "Triumvirate," which controlled
a group of about forty deputies forming the advanced left of the
Assembly. He presented a famous report in the Constituent Assembly on
the organization of the army, but is better known by his eloquent speech
on the 28th of February 1791, at the Jacobin Club, against Mirabeau,
whose relations with the court were beginning to be suspected, and who
was a personal enemy of Lameth. However, after the flight of the king to
Varennes, Lameth became reconciled with the court. He served in the army
as _maréchal-de-camp_ under Luckner and Lafayette, but was accused of
treason on the 15th of August 1792, fled the country, and was imprisoned
by the Austrians. After his release he engaged in commerce at Hamburg
with his brother Charles and the duc d'Aiguillon, and did not return to
France until the Consulate. Under the Empire he was made prefect
successively in several departments, and in 1810 was created a baron. In
1814 he attached himself to the Bourbons, and under the Restoration was
appointed prefect of Somme, deputy for Seine-Inférieure and finally
deputy for Seine-et-Oise, in which capacity he was a leader of the
Liberal opposition. He died in Paris on the 18th of March 1829. He was
the author of an important _History of the Constituent Assembly_ (Paris,
2 vols., 1828-1829).
Of his two brothers, THÉODORE LAMETH (1756-1854) served in the American
war, sat in the Legislative Assembly as deputy from the department of
Jura, and became _maréchal-de-camp_; and CHARLES MALO FRANÇOIS LAMETH
(1757-1832), who also served in America, was deputy to the States
General of 1789, but emigrated early in the Revolution, returned to
France under the Consulate, and was appointed governor of Würzburg under
the Empire. Like Alexandre, Charles joined the Bourbons, succeeding
Alexandre as deputy in 1829.
See F. A. Aulard, _Les Orateurs de l'Assemblée Constituante_ (Paris,
1905); also M. Tourneux, _Bibliog. de l'histoire de Paris_ (vol. iv.,
1906, _s.v._ "Lameth").
LAMETTRIE, JULIEN OFFRAY DE (1709-1751), French physician and
philosopher, the earliest of the materialistic writers of the
Illumination, was born at St Malo on the 25th of December 1709. After
studying theology in the Jansenist schools for some years, he suddenly
decided to adopt the profession of medicine. In 1733 he went to Leiden
to study under Boerhaave, and in 1742 returned to Paris, where he
obtained the appointment of surgeon to the guards. During an attack of
fever he made observations on himself with reference to the action of
quickened circulation upon thought, which led him to the conclusion that
psychical phenomena were to be accounted for as the effects of organic
changes in the brain and nervous system. This conclusion he worked out
in his earliest philosophical work, the _Histoire naturelle de l'âme_,
which appeared about 1745. So great was the outcry caused by its
publication that Lamettrie was forced to take refuge in Leiden, where he
developed his doctrines still more boldly and completely, and with great
originality, in _L'Homme machine_ (Eng. trans., London, 1750; ed. with
introd. and notes, J. Assézat, 1865), and _L'Homme plante_, treatises
based upon principles of the most consistently materialistic character.
The ethics of these principles were worked out in _Discours sur le
bonheur_, _La Volupté_, and _L'Art de jouir_, in which the end of life
is found in the pleasures of the senses, and virtue is reduced to
self-love. Atheism is the only means of ensuring the happiness of the
world, which has been rendered impossible by the wars brought about by
theologians. The soul is only the thinking part of the body, and with
the body it passes away. When death comes, the farce is over (_la farce
est jouée_), therefore let us take our pleasure while we can. Lamettrie
has been called "the Aristippus of modern materialism." So strong was
the feeling against him that in 1748 he was compelled to quit Holland
for Berlin, where Frederick the Great not only allowed him to practise
as a physician, but appointed him court reader. He died on the 11th of
November 1751. His collected _Oeuvres philosophiques_ appeared after his
death in several editions, published in London, Berlin and Amsterdam
respectively.
The chief authority for his life is the _Éloge_ written by Frederick
the Great (printed in Assézat's ed. of _Homme machine_). In modern
times Lamettrie has been judged less severely; see F. A. Lange,
_Geschichte des Materialismus_ (Eng. trans. by E. C. Thomas, ii.
1880); Nérée Quépat (i.e. René Paquet), _La Mettrie, sa vie et ses
oeuvres_ (1873, with complete history of his works); J. E. Poritzky,
_J. O. de Lamettrie, Sein Leben und seine Werke_ (1900); F. Picavet,
"La Mettrie et la critique allemande," in _Compte rendu des séances de
l'Acad. des Sciences morales et politiques_, xxxii. (1889), a reply to
German rehabilitations of Lamettrie.
LAMIA, in Greek mythology, queen of Libya. She was beloved by Zeus, and
when Hera robbed her of her children out of jealousy, she killed every
child she could get into her power (Diod. Sic. xx. 41; Schol.
Aristophanes, _Pax_, 757). Hence Lamia came to mean a female bogey or
demon, whose name was used by Greek mothers to frighten their children;
from the Greek she passed into Roman demonology. She was represented
with a woman's face and a serpent's tail. She was also known as a sort
of fiend, the prototype of the modern vampire, who in the form of a
beautiful woman enticed young men to her embraces, in order that she
might feed on their life and heart's blood. In this form she appears in
Goethe's _Die Braut von Corinth_, and Keats's _Lamia_. The name Lamia is
clearly the feminine form of Lamus, king of the Laestrygones (q.v.). At
some early period, or in some districts, Lamus and Lamia (both,
according to some accounts, children of Poseidon) were worshipped as
gods; but the names did not attain general currency. Their history is
remarkably like that of the malignant class of demons in Germanic and
Celtic folk-lore. Both names occur in the geographical nomenclature of
Greece and Asia Minor; and it is probable that the deities belong to
that religion which spread from Asia Minor over Thrace into Greece.
LAMMAS (O. Eng. _hlammaesse_, _hlafmaesse_, from _hlaf_, loaf, and
_maesse_, mass, "loaf-mass"), originally in England the festival of the
wheat harvest celebrated on the 1st of August, O.S. It was one of the
old quarter-days, being equivalent to midsummer, the others being
Martinmas, equivalent to Michaelmas, Candlemas (Christmas) and
Whitsuntide (Easter). Some rents are still payable in England at
Lammastide, and in Scotland it is generally observed, but on the 12th of
August, since the alteration of the calendar in George II.'s reign. Its
name was in allusion to the custom that each worshipper should present
in the church a loaf made of the new wheat as an offering of the
first-fruits.
A relic of the old "open-field" system of agriculture survives in the
so-called "Lammas Lands." These were lands enclosed and held in
severalty during the growing of corn and grass and thrown open to
pasturage during the rest of the year for those who had common rights.
These commoners might be the several owners, the inhabitants of a
parish, freemen of a borough, tenants of a manor, &c. The opening of the
fields by throwing down the fences took place on Lammas Day (12th of
August) for corn-lands and on Old Midsummer Day (6th of July) for grass.
They remained open until the following Lady Day. Thus, in law, "lammas
lands" belong to the several owners in fee-simple subject for half the
year to the rights of pasturage of other people (_Baylis_ v.
_Tyssen-Amherst_, 1877, 6 Ch. D., 50).
See further F. Seebohm, _The English Village Community_; C. I. Elton,
_Commons and Waste Lands_; P. Vinogradoff, _Villainage in England_.
LÄMMERGEYER (Ger. _Lämmergeier_, _Lamm_, lamb, and _Geier_, vulture), or
bearded vulture, the _Falco barbatus_ of Linnaeus and the _Gypaetus
barbatus_ of modern ornithologists, one of the grandest birds-of-prey of
the Palaearctic region--inhabiting lofty mountain chains from Portugal
to the borders of China, though within historic times it has been
exterminated in several of its ancient haunts. Its northern range in
Europe does not seem to have extended farther than the southern frontier
of Bavaria, or the neighbourhood of Salzburg;[1] but in Asia it
formerly reached a higher latitude, having been found even so lately as
1830 in the Amur region where, according to G. F. Radde (_Beitr._
_Kenntn._ _Russ._ _Reichs_, xxiii. p. 467), it has now left but its
name. It is not uncommon on many parts of the Himalayas, where it
breeds; and on the mountains of Kumaon and the Punjab, and is the
"golden eagle" of most Anglo-Indians. It is found also in Persia,
Palestine, Crete and Greece, the Italian Alps, Sicily, Sardinia and
Mauritania.
In some external characters the lämmergeyer is intermediate between the
families _Vulturidae_ and _Falconidae_, and the opinion of systematists
has from time to time varied as to its proper position. It is now
generally agreed, however, that it is more closely allied with the
eagles than with the vultures, and the sub-family _Gypaëtinae_ of the
_Falconidae_ has been formed to contain it.
The whole length of the bird is from 43 to 46 in., of which, however,
about 20 are due to the long cuneiform tail, while the pointed wings
measure more than 30 in. from the carpal joint to the tip. The top of
the head is white, bounded by black, which, beginning in stiff bristly
feathers turned forwards over the base of the beak, proceeds on either
side of the face in a well-defined band to the eye, where it bifurcates
into two narrow stripes, of which the upper one passes above and beyond
that feature till just in front of the scalp it suddenly turns upwards
across the head and meets the corresponding stripe from the opposite
side, enclosing the white forehead already mentioned, while the lower
stripe extends beneath the eye about as far backwards and then suddenly
stops. A tuft of black, bristly feathers projects beardlike from the
base of the mandible, and gives the bird one of its commonest epithets
in many languages. The rest of the head, the neck, throat and lower
parts generally are clothed with lanceolate feathers of a pale tawny
colour--sometimes so pale as to be nearly white beneath; while the
scapulars, back and wing-coverts generally, are of a glossy
greyish-black, most of the feathers having a white shaft and a median
tawny line. The quill-feathers, both of the wings and tail, are of a
dark blackish-grey. The irides are of a light orange, and the sclerotic
tunics--equivalent to the "white of the eye" in most animals--which in
few birds are visible, are in this very conspicuous and of a bright
scarlet, giving it an air of great ferocity. In the young of the year
the whole head, neck and throat are clothed in dull black, and most of
the feathers of the mantle and wing-coverts are broadly tipped and
mesially streaked with tawny or lightish-grey.
The lämmergeyer breeds early in the year. The nest is of large size,
built of sticks, lined with soft material and placed on a ledge of
rock--a spot being chosen, and often occupied for many years, which is
nearly always difficult of access. Here in the month of February a
single egg is usually laid. This is more than 3 in. in length by nearly
2½ in breadth, of a pale but lively brownish-orange. The young when in
the nest are clad in down of a dirty white, varied with grey on the head
and neck, and with ochraceous in the iliac region.
There is much discrepancy as to the ordinary food of the lämmergeyer,
some observers maintaining that it lives almost entirely on carrion,
offal and even ordure; but there is no question of its frequently taking
living prey, and it is reasonable to suppose that this bird, like so
many others, is not everywhere uniform in its habits. Its name shows it
to be the reputed enemy of shepherds, and it is in some measure owing to
their hostility that it has been exterminated in so many parts of its
European range. But the lämmergeyer has also a great partiality for
bones, which when small enough it swallows. When they are too large, it
is said to soar with them to a great height and drop them on a rock or
stone that they may be broken into pieces of convenient size. Hence its
name ossifrage,[2] by which the Hebrew _Peres_ is rightly translated in
the Authorized Version of the Bible (Lev. xi. 13; Deut. xiv. 12)--a word
corrupted into osprey, and applied to a bird which has no habit of the
kind.
The lämmergeyer of north-eastern and south Africa is specifically
distinct, and is known as _Gypaetus meridionalis_ or _G. nudipes_. In
habits it resembles the northern bird, from which it differs in little
more than wanting the black stripe below the eye and having the lower
part of the tarsus bare of feathers. It is the "golden eagle" of Bruce's
_Travels_, and has been beautifully figured by Joseph Wolf in E.
Rüppell's _Syst. Übers. der Vögel Nord-Ost-Afrika's_ (Taf. 1).
(A. N.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See a paper by Dr Girtanner on this bird in Switzerland
(_Verhandl. St-Gall. naturw. Gesellschaft_, 1869-1870, pp. 147-244).
[2] Among other crimes attributed to the species is that, according
to Pliny (_Hist. Nat._ x. cap. 3), of having caused the death of the
poet Aeschylus, by dropping a tortoise on his bald head! In the Atlas
range the food of this bird is said to consist chiefly of the
_Testudo mauritanica_, which "it carries to some height in the air,
and lets fall on a stone to break the shell" (_Ibis_, 1859, p. 177).
It was the [Greek: harpê] and [Greek: phênê] of Greek classical
writers.
LAMOIGNON, a French family, which takes its name from Lamoignon, a place
said to have been in its possession since the 13th century. One of its
several branches is that of Lamoignon de Malesherbes. Several of the
Lamoignons have played important parts in the history of France and the
family has been specially distinguished in the legal profession.
GUILLAUME DE LAMOIGNON (1617-1677), attained eminence as a lawyer and
became president of the parlement of Paris in 1658. First on the
popular, and later on the royalist side during the Fronde, he presided
at the earlier sittings of the trial of Fouquet, whom he regarded as
innocent, and he was associated with Colbert, whom he was able more than
once to thwart. Lamoignon tried to simplify the laws of France and
sought the society of men of letters like Boileau and Racine. Having
received rich rewards for his public services, he died in Paris on the
10th of December 1677. Guillaume's second son, NICOLAS DE LAMOIGNON
(1648-1724), took the surname of Basville. Following his hereditary
calling he filled many public offices, serving as intendant of
Montauban, of Pau, of Poitiers and of Languedoc before his retirement in
1718. His administration of Languedoc was chiefly remarkable for
vigorous measures against the Camisards and other Protestants, but in
other directions his work in the south of France was more beneficent,
as, following the example of Colbert, he encouraged agriculture and
industry generally and did something towards improving the means of
communication. He wrote a _Mémoire_, which contains much interesting
information about his public work. This was published at Amsterdam in
1724. Lamoignon, who is called by Saint Simon, "the king and tyrant of
Languedoc," died in Paris on the 17th of May 1724. CHRÉTIEN FRANÇOIS DE
LAMOIGNON (1735-1789) entered public life at an early age and was an
actor in the troubles which heralded the Revolution. First on the side
of the parlement and later on that of the king he was one of the
assistants of Loménie de Brienne, whose unpopularity and fall he shared.
He committed suicide on the 15th of May 1789.
LAMONT, JOHANN VON (1805-1879), Scottish-German astronomer and
magnetician, was born at Braemar, Aberdeenshire, on the 13th of December
1805. He was sent at the age of twelve to be educated at the Scottish
monastery in Regensburg, and apparently never afterwards returned to his
native country. His strong bent for scientific studies was recognized by
the head of the monastery, P. Deasson, on whose recommendation he was
admitted in 1827 to the then new observatory of Bogenhausen (near
Munich), where he worked under J. Soldner. After the death of his chief
in 1835 he was, on H. C. Schumacher's recommendation, appointed to
succeed him as director of the observatory. In 1852 he became professor
of astronomy at the university of Munich, and held both these posts till
his death, which took place on the 6th of August 1879. Lamont was a
member of the academies of Brussels, Upsala and Prague, of the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, of the Cambridge Philosophical Society and of many
other learned corporations. Among his contributions to astronomy may be
noted his eleven zone-catalogues of 34,674 stars, his measurements, in
1836-1837, of nebulae and clusters, and his determination of the mass of
Uranus from observations of its satellites (_Mem. Astron. Soc._ xi. 51,
1838). A magnetic observatory was equipped at Bogenhausen in 1840
through his initiative; he executed comprehensive magnetic surveys
1849-1858; announced the magnetic decennial period in 1850, and his
discovery of earth-currents in 1862. His _Handbuch des Erdmagnetismus_
(Berlin, 1849) is a standard work on the subject.
See _Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie_ (S. Günther); V. J. Schrift,
_Astr. Gesellschaft_, xv. 60; _Monthly Notices Roy. Astr. Society_,
xl. 203; _Nature_, xx. 425; _Quart. Journal Meteor. Society_, vi. 72;
_Proceedings Roy. Society of Edinburgh_, x. 358; _The Times_ (12 Aug.,
1879); Sir F. Ronalds's _Cat. of Books relating to Electricity and
Magnetism_, pp. 281-283; _Royal Society's Cat. of Scientific Papers_,
vols. iii. vii.
LAMORICIÈRE, CHRISTOPHE LÉON LOUIS JUCHAULT DE (1806-1865), French
general, was born at Nantes on the 11th of September 1806, and entered
the Engineers in 1828. He served in the Algerian campaigns from 1830
onwards, and by 1840 he had risen to the grade of _maréchal-de-camp_
(major-general). Three years later he was made a general of division. He
was one of the most distinguished and efficient of Bugeaud's generals,
rendered special service at Isly (August 14, 1844), acted temporarily as
governor-general of Algeria, and finally effected the capture of Abd
el-Kader in 1847. Lamoricière took some part in the political events of
1848, both as a member of the Chamber of Deputies and as a military
commander. Under the régime of General Cavaignac he was for a time
minister of war. From 1848 to 1851 Lamoricière was one of the most
conspicuous opponents of the policy of Louis Napoleon, and at the _coup
d'état_ of the 2nd of December 1851 he was arrested and exiled. He
refused to give in his allegiance to the emperor Napoleon III., and in
1860 accepted the command of the papal army, which he led in the Italian
campaign of 1860. On the 18th of September of that year he was severely
defeated by the Italian army at Castelfidardo. His last years were spent
in complete retirement in France (he had been allowed to return in
1857), and he died at Prouzel (Somme) on the 11th of September 1865.
See E. Keller, _Le Général de Lamoricière_ (Paris, 1873).
LA MOTHE LE VAYER, FRANÇOIS DE (1588-1672), French writer, was born in
Paris of a noble family of Maine. His father was an _avocat_ at the
parlement of Paris and author of a curious treatise on the functions of
ambassadors, entitled _Legatus, seu De legatorum privilegiis, officio et
munere libellus_ (1579) and illustrated mainly from ancient history.
François succeeded his father at the parlement, but gave up his post
about 1647 and devoted himself to travel and _belles lettres_. His
_Considérations sur l'éloquence française_ (1638) procured him admission
to the Academy, and his _De l'instruction de Mgr. le Dauphin_ (1640)
attracted the attention of Richelieu. In 1649 Anne of Austria entrusted
him with the education of her second son and subsequently with the
completion of Louis XIV.'s education, which had been very much
neglected. The outcome of his pedagogic labours was a series of books
comprising the _Géographie_, _Rhétorique_, _Morale_, _Économique_,
_Politique_, _Logique_, and _Physique du prince_ (1651-1658). The king
rewarded his tutor by appointing him historiographer of France and
councillor of state. La Mothe Le Vayer died in Paris. Modest, sceptical,
and occasionally obscene in his Latin pieces and in his verses, he made
himself a _persona grata_ at the French court, where libertinism in
ideas and morals was hailed with relish. Besides his educational works,
he wrote _Jugement sur les anciens et principaux historiens grecs et
latins_ (1646); a treatise entitled _Du peu de certitude qu'il y a en
histoire_ (1668), which in a sense marks the beginning of historical
criticism in France; and sceptical _Dialogues_, published posthumously
under the pseudonym of Orosius Tubero. An incomplete edition of his
works was published at Dresden in 1756-1759.
See Bayle, _Dictionnaire critique_, article "Vayer"; L. Étienne,
_Essai sur La Mothe Le Vayer_ (Paris, 1849).
LA MOTTE, ANTOINE HOUDAR DE (1672-1731), French author, was born in
Paris on the 18th of January 1672. In 1693 his comedy _Les Originaux_
proved a complete failure, which so depressed the author that he
contemplated joining the Trappists, but four years later he again began
writing operas and ballets, e.g. _L'Europe galante_ (1697), and
tragedies, one of which, _Inès de Castro_ (1723), was produced with
immense success at the Théâtre Français. He was a champion of the
moderns in the revived controversy of the ancients and moderns. Madame
Dacier had published (1699) a translation of the _Iliad_, and La Motte,
who knew no Greek, made a translation (1714) in verse founded on her
work. The nature of his work may be judged from his own expression: "I
have taken the liberty to change what I thought disagreeable in it." He
defended the moderns in the _Discours sur Homère_ prefixed to his
translation, and in his _Réflexions sur la critique_ (1716). Apart from
the merits of the controversy, it was conducted on La Motte's side with
a wit and politeness which compared very favourably with his opponent's
methods. He was elected to the Academy in 1710, and soon after became
blind. La Motte carried on a correspondence with the duchesse du Maine,
and was the friend of Fontenelle. He had the same freedom from
prejudice, the same inquiring mind as the latter, and it is on the
excellent prose in which his views are expressed that his reputation
rests. He died in Paris on the 26th of December 1731.
His _Oeuvres du théâtre_ (2 vols.) appeared in 1730, and his _Oeuvres_
(10 vols.) in 1754. See A. H. Rigault, _Histoire de la querelle des
anciens et des modernes_ (1859).
LAMOUREUX, CHARLES (1834-1899), French conductor and violinist, was born
at Bordeaux on the 28th of September 1834. He studied at the Pau
Conservatoire, was engaged as violinist at the Opéra, and in 1864
organized a series of concerts devoted to chamber music. Having
journeyed to England and assisted at a Handel festival, he thought he
would attempt something similar in Paris. At his own expense he founded
the "Société de l'Harmonie Sacrée," and in 1873 conducted the first
performance in Paris of Handel's _Messiah_. He also gave performances of
Bach's _St Matthew Passion_, Handel's _Judas Maccabaeus_, Gounod's
_Gallia_, and Massenet's _Eve_. In 1875 he conducted the festival given
at Rouen to celebrate the centenary of Boïeldieu. The following year he
became _chef d'orchestre_ at the Opéra Comique. In 1881 he founded the
famous concerts associated with his name, which contributed so much to
popularize Wagner's music in Paris. The performances of detached pieces
taken from the German master's works did not, however, satisfy him, and
he matured the project to produce _Lohengrin_, which at that time had
not been heard in Paris. For this purpose he took the Eden Theatre, and
on the 3rd of May 1887 he conducted the first performance of Wagner's
opera in the French capital. Owing to the opposition of the Chauvinists,
the performance was not repeated; but it doubtless prepared the way for
the production of the same masterpiece at the Paris Opéra a few years
later. Lamoureux was successively second _chef d'orchestre_ at the
Conservatoire, first _chef d'orchestre_ at the Opéra Comique, and twice
first _chef d'orchestre_ at the Opéra. He visited London on several
occasions, and gave successful concerts at the Queen's Hall. Lamoureux
died at Paris on the 21st of December 1899. _Tristan und Isolde_ had
been at last heard in Paris, owing to his initiative and under his
direction. After conducting one of the performances of this masterpiece
he was taken ill and succumbed in a few days, having had the consolation
before his death of witnessing the triumph of the cause he had so
courageously championed.
LAMP (from Gr. [Greek: lampas], a torch, [Greek: lampein], to shine),
the general term for an apparatus in which some combustible substance,
generally for illuminating purposes, is held. Lamps are usually
associated with lighting, though the term is also employed in connexion
with heating (e.g. spirit-lamp); and as now employed for oil, gas and
electric light, they are dealt with in the article on LIGHTING. From the
artistic point of view, in modern times, their variety precludes
detailed reference here; but their archaeological history deserves a
fuller account.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Bronze Lamp in British Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.]
_Ancient Lamps._--Though Athenaeus states (xv. 700) that the lamp
([Greek: lychnos]) was not an ancient invention in Greece, it had come
into general use there for domestic purposes by the 4th century B.C.,
and no doubt had long before been employed for temples or other places
where a permanent light was required in room of the torch of Homeric
times. Herodotus (ii. 62) sees nothing strange in the "festival of
lamps," Lychnokaie, which was held at Sais in Egypt, except in the vast
number of them. Each was filled with oil so as to burn the whole night.
Again he speaks of evening as the time of lamps ([Greek: peri lychnôn],
vii. 215). Still, the scarcity of lamps in a style anything like that of
an early period, compared with the immense number of them from the late
Greek and Roman age, seems to justify the remark of Athenaeus. The
commonest sort of domestic lamps were of terra-cotta and of the shape
seen in figs. 1 and 2 with a spout or nozzle ([Greek: myktêr]) in which
the wick ([Greek: thryallis]) burned, a round hole on the top to pour in
oil by, and a handle to carry the lamp with. A lamp with two or more
spouts was [Greek: dimyxos], [Greek: trimyxos], &c., but these terms
would not apply strictly to the large class of lamps with numerous holes
for wicks but without nozzles. Decoration was confined to the front of
the handle, or more commonly to the circular space on the top of the
lamp, and it consisted almost always of a design in relief, taken from
mythology or legend, from objects of daily life or scenes such as
displays of gladiators or chariot races, from animals and the chase. A
lamp in the British Museum has a view of the interior of a Roman circus
with spectators looking on at a chariot race. In other cases the lamp is
made altogether of a fantastic shape, as in the form of an animal, a
bull's head, or a human foot. Naturally colour was excluded from the
ornamentation except in the form of a red or black glaze, which would
resist the heat. The typical form of hand lamp (figs. 1, 2) is a
combination of the flatness necessary for carrying steady and remaining
steady when set down, with the roundness evolved from the working in
clay and characteristic of vessels in that material. In the bronze lamps
this same type is retained, though the roundness was less in keeping
with metal. Fanciful shapes are equally common in bronze. The standard
form of handle consists of a ring for the forefinger and above it a kind
of palmette for the thumb. Instead of the palmette is sometimes a
crescent, no doubt in allusion to the moon. It would only be with bronze
lamps that the cover protecting the flame from the wind could be used,
as was the case out of doors in Athens. Such a lamp was in fact a
lantern. Apparently it was to the lantern that the Greek word _lampas_,
a torch, was first transferred, probably from a custom of having guards
to protect the torches also. Afterwards it came to be employed for the
lamp itself ([Greek: lychnos], _lucerna_). When Juvenal (_Sat._ iii.
277) speaks of the _aenea lampas_, he may mean a torch with a bronze
handle, but more probably either a lamp or a lantern. Lamps used for
suspension were mostly of bronze, and in such cases the decoration was
on the under part, so as to be seen from below. Of this the best example
is the lamp at Cortona, found there in 1840 (engraved, _Monumenti d.
inst. arch._ iii. pls. 41, 42, and in Dennis, _Cities and Cemeteries of
Etruria_, 2nd ed. ii. p. 403). It is set round with sixteen nozzles
ornamented alternately with a siren and a satyr playing on a double
flute. Between each pair of nozzles is a head of a river god, and on the
bottom of the lamp is a large mask of Medusa, surrounded by bands of
animals. These designs are in relief, and the workmanship, which appears
to belong to the beginning of the 5th century B.C., justifies the esteem
in which Etruscan lamps were held in antiquity (Athenaeus xv. 700). Of a
later but still excellent style is a bronze lamp in the British Museum
found in the baths of Julian in Paris (figs. 3, 4, 5). The chain is
attached by means of two dolphins very artistically combined. Under the
nozzles are heads of Pan (fig. 3); and from the sides project the
foreparts of lions (fig. 5). To what extent lamps may have been used in
temples is unknown. Probably the Erechtheum on the acropolis of Athens
was an exception in having a gold one kept burning day and night, just
as this lamp itself must have been an exception in its artistic merits.
It was the work of the sculptor Callimachus, and was made apparently for
the newly rebuilt temple a little before 400 B.C. When once filled with
oil and lit it burned continuously for a whole year. The wick was of a
fine flax called Carpasian (now understood to have been a kind of
cotton), which proved to be the least combustible of all flax (Pausanias
i. 26. 7). Above the lamp a palm tree of bronze rose to the roof for the
purpose of carrying off the fumes. But how this was managed it is not
easy to determine unless the palm be supposed to have been inverted and
to have hung above the lamp spread out like a reflector, for which
purpose the polished bronze would have served fairly well. The stem if
left hollow would collect the fumes and carry them out through the roof.
This lamp was refilled on exactly the same day each year, so that there
seems to have been an idea of measuring time by it, such as may also
have been the case in regard to the lamp stand ([Greek: lychneion])
capable of holding as many lamps as there were days of the year, which
Dionysius the Sicilian tyrant placed in the Prytaneum of Tarentum. At
Pharae in Achaia there was in the market-place an oracular statue of
Hermes with a marble altar before it to which bronze lamps were attached
by means of lead. Whoever desired to consult the statue went there in
the evening and first filled the lamps and lit them, placing also a
bronze coin on the altar. A similar custom prevailed at the oracle of
Apis in Egypt (Pausanias vii. 22. 2). At Argos he speaks of a chasm into
which it was a custom continued to his time to let down burning lamps,
with some reference to the goddess of the lower world, Persephone (ii.
22. 4). At Cnidus a large number of terra-cotta lamps were found crowded
in one place a little distance below the surface, and it was conjectured
that there must have been there some statue or altar at which it had
been a custom to leave lamps burning at night (Newton, _Discoveries at
Halicarnassus, &c._, ii. 394). These lamps are of terra-cotta, but with
little ornamentation, and so like each other in workmanship that they
must all have come from one pottery, and may have been all brought to
the spot where they were found on one occasion, probably the funeral of
a person with many friends, or the celebration of a festival in his
honour, such as the _parentalia_ among the Romans, to maintain which it
was a common custom to bequeath property. For example, a marble slab in
the British Museum has a Latin inscription describing the property which
had been left to provide among other things that a lighted lamp with
incense on it should be placed at the tomb of the deceased on the
kalends, nones and ides of each month (_Mus. Marbles_, v. pl. 8, fig.
2). For birthday presents terra-cotta lamps appear to have been
frequently employed, the device generally being that of two figures of
victory holding between them a disk inscribed with a good wish for the
new year: ANNV NOV FAVSTV FELIX. This is the inscription on a lamp in
the British Museum, which besides the victories has among other symbols
a disk with the head of Janus. As the torch gave way to the lamp in
fact, so also it gave way in mythology. In the earlier myths, as in that
of Demeter, it is a torch with which she goes forth to search for her
daughter, but in the late myth of Cupid and Psyche it is an oil lamp
which Psyche carries, and from which to her grief a drop of hot oil
falls on Cupid and awakes him. Terra-cotta lamps have very frequently
the name of the maker stamped on the foot. Clay moulds from which the
lamps were made exist in considerable numbers. (A. S. M.)
LAMP-BLACK, a deep black pigment consisting of carbon in a very fine
state of division, obtained by the imperfect combustion of highly
carbonaceous substances. It is manufactured from scraps of resin and
pitch refuse and inferior oils and fats, and other similar combustible
bodies rich in carbon, the finest lamp-black being procured by the
combustion of oils obtained in coal-tar distillation (see COAL-TAR).
Lamp-black is extensively used in the manufacture of printing ink, as a
pigment for oil painting and also for "ebonizing" cabinet work, and in
the waxing and lacquering of leather. It is the principal constituent of
China ink.
LAMPEDUSA, a small island in the Mediterranean, belonging to the
province of Girgenti, from which it is about 112 m. S.S.W. Pop. (1901,
with Linosa--see below) 2276. Its greatest length is about 7 m., its
greatest width about 2 m.; the highest point is 400 ft. above sea-level.
Geologically it belongs to Africa, being situated on the edge of the
submarine platform which extends along the east coast of Tunisia, from
which (at Mahadia) it is 90 m. distant eastwards. The soil is
calcareous; it was covered with scrub (chiefly the wild olive) until
comparatively recent times, but this has been cut, and the rock is now
bare. The valleys are, however, fairly fertile. On the south, near the
only village, is the harbour, which has been dredged to a depth of 13
ft. and is a good one for torpedo boats and small craft.
The island was, as remains of hut foundations show, inhabited in
prehistoric times. Punic tombs and Roman buildings also exist near the
harbour. The island is the Lopadusa of Strabo, and the Lipadosa of
Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_, the scene of the landing of Roger of Sicily
and of his conversion by the hermit. A thousand slaves were taken from
its population in 1553. In 1436 it was given by Alfonso of Aragon to Don
Giovanni de Caro, baron of Montechiaro. In 1661, Ferdinand Tommasi, its
then owner, received the title of prince from Charles II. of Spain. In
1737 the earl of Sandwich found only one inhabitant upon it; in 1760
some French settlers established themselves there. Catherine II. of
Russia proposed to buy it as a Russian naval station, and the British
government thought of doing the same if Napoleon had succeeded in
seizing Malta. In 1800 a part of it was leased to Salvatore Gatt of
Malta, who in 1810 sublet part of it to Alessandro Fernandez. In 1843
onwards Ferdinand II. of Naples established a colony there. There is now
an Italian penal colony for _domicilio coatto_, with some 400 convicts
(see B. Sanvisente, _L'Isola di Lampedusa eretta a colonia_, Naples,
1849). Eight miles W. is the islet of Lampione. Linosa, some 30 m. to
the N.N.E., measures about 2 by 2 m., and is entirely volcanic; its
highest point is 610 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) about 200. It has
landing-places on the S. and W., and is more fertile than Lampedusa; but
it suffers from the lack of springs. Sanvisente says the water in
Lampedusa is good. A few fragments of undoubtedly Roman pottery and some
Roman coins have been found there, but the cisterns and the ruins of
houses are probably of later date (P. Calcara, _Descrizione dell' isola
di Linosa_, Palermo, 1851, 29). (T. As.)
LAMPERTHEIM, a town in the grand-duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, 8 m. N. from
Mannheim by the railway to Frankfort-on-Main via Biblis, and at the
junction of lines to Worms and Weinheim. It contains a Roman Catholic
church and a fine Evangelical church, and has chemical and cigar
factories. Pop. (1900) 8020.
LAMPETER (_Llanbedr-pont-Stephan_), a market town, municipal borough and
assize town of Cardiganshire, Wales, on the right bank of the Teifi,
here crossed by an ancient stone bridge. Pop. (1901) 1722. Lampeter is a
station on the so-called Manchester-and-Milford branch line of the Great
Western railway. Though of ancient origin, the town is entirely modern
in appearance, its most conspicuous object being the Gothic buildings of
St David's College, founded in 1822, which cover a large area and
contain a valuable library of English, Welsh and foreign works (see
UNIVERSITIES). The modernized parish church of St Peter, or Pedr,
contains some old monuments of the Lloyd family. North of the town are
the park and mansion of Falcondale, the seat of the Harford family.
The name of Llanbedr-pont-Stephan goes to prove the early foundation of
the place by St Pedr, a Celtic missionary of the 6th century, while one
Stephen was the original builder of the bridge over the Teifi. As an
important outpost in the upper valley of the Teifi, Lampeter possessed a
castle, which was demolished by Owen Gwynedd in the 12th century. In
1188 the town was visited by Archbishop Baldwin on his way from Cardigan
to Strata-Florida Abbey, and the Crusade was vigorously preached at this
spot. Lampeter was first incorporated under Edward II., but the earliest
known charter dates from the reign of Henry VI., whereby the principal
officer of the town, a portreeve, was to be appointed annually at the
court-leet of the manor. The town was subsequently governed under a
confirmatory charter of 1814, but in 1884 a new charter was obtained,
whereby the corporation was empowered to consist of a mayor, 4 aldermen
and 12 councillors. Although only a small agricultural centre, Lampeter
has since 1886 become the assize town of Cardiganshire owing to its
convenient position. Until the Redistribution Act of 1885 Lampeter
formed one of the group of boroughs comprising the Cardigan
parliamentary district.
LAMPOON, a virulent satire either in prose or verse; the idea of
injustice and unscrupulousness seems to be essential to its definition.
Although in its use the word is properly and almost exclusively English,
the derivation appears to be French. Littré derives it from a term of
Parisian argot, _lamper_, to drink, greedily, in great mouthfuls. This
word appears to have begun to be prevalent in the middle of the 17th
century, and Furetière has preserved a fragment from a popular song,
which says:--
Jacques fuyant de Dublin
Dit à Lauzun, son cousin,
"Prenez soin de ma couronne,
J'aurai soin de ma personne,
Lampons! lampons!"
--that is to say, let us drink heavily, and begone dull care. Scarron
speaks of a wild troop, singing _leridas_ and _lampons_. There is, also,
a rare French verb, _lamponner_, to attack with ridicule, used earlier
in the 17th century by Brantôme. In its English form, lampoon, the word
is used by Evelyn in 1645, "Here they still paste up their drolling
lampoons and scurrilous papers," and soon after it is a verb,--"suppose
we lampooned all the pretty women in Town." Both of these forms, the
noun and the verb, have been preserved ever since in English, without
modification, for violent and reckless literary censure. Tom Brown
(1663-1704) was a past master in the art of lampooning, and some of his
attacks on the celebrities of his age have a certain vigour. When Dryden
became a Roman Catholic, Brown wrote:--
Traitor to God and rebel to thy pen,
Priest-ridden Poet, perjured son of Ben,
If ever thou prove honest, then the nation
May modestly believe in transubstantiation.
Several of the heroes of the _Dunciad_, and in particular John Oldmixon
(1673-1742), were charged without unfairness with being professional
lampooners. The coarse diatribes which were published by Richard Savage
(1697-1743), mainly against Lady Macclesfield, were nothing more nor
less than lampoons, and the word may with almost equal justice be
employed to describe the coarser and more personal portions of the
satires of Churchill. As a rule, however, the lampoon possessed no
poetical graces, and in its very nature was usually anonymous. The
notorious _Essay on Woman_ (1764) of John Wilkes was a lampoon, and was
successfully proceeded against as an obscene libel. The progress of
civilization and the discipline of the law made it more and more
impossible for private malice to take the form of baseless and
scurrilous attack, and the lampoon, in its open shape, died of public
decency in the 18th century. Malice, especially in an anonymous form,
and passing in manuscript from hand to hand, has continued, however, to
make use of this very unlovely form of literature. It has constantly
reappeared at times of political disturbance, and the French have seldom
failed to exercise their wicked wit upon their unpopular rulers. See
also PASQUINADE. (E. G.)
LAMPREY, a fish belonging to the family _Petromyzontidae_ (from [Greek:
petros] and [Greek: myzô], literally, stone-suckers), which with the
hag-fishes or _Myxinidae_ forms a distinct subclass of fishes, the
_Cyclostomata_, distinguished by the low organization of their skeleton,
which is cartilaginous, without vertebral segmentation, without ribs or
real jaws, and without limbs. The lampreys are readily recognized by
their long, eel-like, scaleless body, terminating anteriorly in the
circular, suctorial mouth characteristic of the whole sub-class. On each
side, behind the head, there is a row of seven branchial openings,
through which the water is conveyed to and from the gills. By means of
their mouth they fasten to stones, boats, &c., as well as to other
fishes, their object being to obtain a resting-place on the former,
whilst they attach themselves to the latter to derive nourishment from
them. The inner surface of their cup-shaped mouth is armed with pointed
teeth, with which they perforate the integuments of the fish attacked,
scraping off particles of the flesh and sucking the blood. Mackerel,
cod, pollack and flat-fishes are the kinds most frequently attacked by
them in the sea; of river-fish the migratory _Salmonidae_ and the shad
are sometimes found with the marks of the teeth of the lamprey, or with
the fish actually attached to them. About fifteen species are known from
the coasts and rivers of the temperate regions of the northern and
southern hemispheres. In Great Britain and Europe generally three
species occur, viz. the large spotted sea-lamprey (_Petromyzon
marinus_), the river-lamprey or lampern (_P. fluviatilis_), and the
small lampern or "pride" or "sand-piper" (_P. branchialis_). The first
two are migratory, entering rivers in the spring to spawn; of the
river-lamprey, however, specimens are met with in fresh water all the
year round. In North America about ten species of lamprey occur, while
in South America and Australasia still others are found. Lampreys,
especially the sea-lamprey, are esteemed as food, formerly more so than
at present; but their flesh is not easy of digestion. Henry I. of
England is said to have fallen a victim to this, his favourite dish. The
species of greatest use is the river-lamprey, which as bait is preferred
to all others in the cod and turbot fisheries of the North Sea. Yarrell
states that formerly the Thames alone supplied from 1,000,000 to
1,200,000 lamperns annually, but their number has so much fallen off
that, for instance, in 1876 only 40,000 were sold to the cod-fishers.
That year, however, was an unusually bad year; the lamperns, from their
scarcity, fetched £8, 10s. a thousand, whilst in ordinary years £5 is
considered a fair price. The season for catching lamperns closes in the
Thames about the middle of March. The origin of the name lamprey is
obscure; it is an adaptation of Fr. _lamproie_, Med. Lat. _lampreda_;
this has been taken as a variant of another Med. Lat. form _Lampetra_,
which occurs in ichthyological works of the middle ages; the derivation
from _lambere petras_, to lick stones, is a specimen of etymological
ingenuity. The development of lampreys has received much attention on
the part of naturalists, since Aug. Müller discovered that they undergo
a metamorphosis, and that the minute worm-like lamperns previously known
under the name of _Ammocoetes_, and abundant in the sand and mud of many
streams, were nothing but the undeveloped young of the river-lampreys
and small lamperns. See CYCLOSTOMATA.
LAMPROPHYRES (from Gr. [Greek: lampros], bright, and the terminal part
of the word porphyry, meaning rocks containing bright porphyritic
crystals), a group of rocks containing phenocrysts, usually of biotite
and hornblende (with bright cleavage surfaces), often also of olivine
and augite, but not of felspar. They are thus distinguished from the
porphyries and porphyrites in which the felspar has crystallized in two
generations. They are essentially "dike rocks," occurring as dikes and
thin sills, and are also found as marginal facies of plutonic
intrusions. They furnish a good example of the correlation which often
exists between petrographical types and their mode of occurrence,
showing the importance of physical conditions in determining the
mineralogical and structural characters of rocks. They are usually dark
in colour, owing to the abundance of ferro-magnesian silicates, of
relatively high specific gravity and liable to decomposition. For these
reasons they have been defined as a _melanocrate_ series (rich in the
dark minerals); and they are often accompanied by a complementary
_leucocrate_ series (rich in the white minerals felspar and quartz) such
as aplites, porphyries and felsites. Both have been produced by
differentiation of a parent magma, and if the two complementary sets of
rocks could be mixed in the right proportions, it is presumed that a
mass of similar chemical composition to the parent magma would be
produced.
Both in the hand specimens and in microscopic slides of lamprophyric
rocks biotite and hornblende are usually conspicuous. Though black by
reflected light they are brown by transmitted light and highly
pleochroic. In some cases they are yellow-brown, in other cases
chestnut-brown and reddish brown; in the same rock the two minerals have
strikingly similar colour and pleochroism. Augite, when it occurs, is
sometimes green, at other times purple. Felspar is restricted to the
ground mass; quartz occurs sometimes but is scarce. Although porphyritic
structure is almost universal, it is sometimes not very marked. The
large biotites and hornblendes are not sharply distinct from those of
intermediate size, which in turn graduate into the small crystals of the
same minerals in the ground mass. As a rule all the ingredients have
rather perfect crystalline forms (except quartz), hence these rocks have
been called "panidiomorphic." In many lamprophyres the pale quartz and
felspathic ingredients tend to occur in rounded spots, or _ocelli_, in
which there has been progressive crystallization from the margins
towards the centre. These spots may consist of radiate or brush-like
felspars (with some mica and hornblende) or of quartz and felspar. A
central area of quartz or of analcite probably represents an original
miarolitic cavity infilled at a later period.
There are two great groups of lamprophyres differing in composition
while retaining the general features of the class. One of these
accompanies intrusions of granite and diorite and includes the minettes,
kersantites, vogesites and spessartites. The other is found in
association with nepheline syenites, essexites and teschenites, and is
exemplified by camptonites, monchiquites and alnoites. The complementary
facies of the first group is the aplites, porphyrites and felsites; that
of the second group includes bostonites, tinguaites and other rocks.
The _granito-dioritic-lamprophyres_ (the first of these two groups)
are found in many districts where granites and diorites occur, e.g.
the Scottish Highlands and Southern Uplands, the Lake district,
Ireland, the Vosges, Black Forest, Harz, &c. As a rule they do not
proceed directly from the granite, but form separate dikes which may
be later than, and consequently may cut, the granites and diorites. In
other districts where granites are abundant no rocks of this class are
known. It is rare to find only one member of the group present, but
minettes, vogesites, kersantites, &c., all appear and there are
usually transitional forms. For this reason these rock species must
not be regarded as sharply distinct from one another. The group as a
whole is a well-characterized one and shows few transitions to
porphyries, porphyrites and other dike types; its subdivisions,
however, tend to merge into one another and especially when they are
weathered are hard to differentiate. The presence or absence of the
four dominant minerals, orthoclase, plagioclase, biotite and
hornblende, determines the species. Minettes contain biotite and
orthoclase; kersantites, biotite and plagioclase. Vogesites contain
hornblende and orthoclase; spessartites, hornblende and plagioclase.
Each variety of lamprophyre may and often does contain all four
minerals but is named according to the two which preponderate. These
rocks contain also iron oxides (usually titaniferous), apatite,
sometimes sphene, augite and olivine. The hornblende and biotite are
brown or greenish brown, and as a rule their crystals even when small
are very perfect and give the micro-sections an easily recognizable
character. Green hornblende occurs in some of these rocks. The augite
builds eumorphic crystals of pale green colour, often zonal and
readily weathering. Olivine in the fresh state is rare; it forms
rounded, corroded grains; in many cases it is decomposed to green or
colourless hornblende in radiating nests (pilite). The plagioclase
occurs as small rectangular crystals; orthoclase may have similar
shapes or may be fibrous and grouped in sheaflike aggregates which are
narrow in the middle and spread out towards both ends. If quartz is
present it is the last product of crystallization and the only mineral
devoid of idiomorphism; it fills up the spaces between the other
ingredients of the rock. As all lamprophyres are prone to alteration
by weathering a great abundance of secondary minerals is usually found
in them; the principal are calcite and other carbonates, limonite,
chlorite, quartz and kaolin.
Ocellar structure is common; the ocelli consist mainly of orthoclase
and quartz, and may be a quarter of an inch in diameter. Another
feature of these rocks is the presence of large foreign crystals or
xenocrysts of felspar and of quartz. Their forms are rounded,
indicating partial resorption by the solvent action of the
lamprophyric magma; and the quartz may be surrounded by corrosion
borders of minerals such as augite and hornblende produced where the
magma is attacking the crystal. These crystals are of doubtful origin;
they are often of considerable size and may be conspicuous in
hand-specimens of the rocks. It is supposed that they did not
crystallize in the lamprophyre dike but in some way were caught up by
it. Other enclosures, more certainly of foreign origin, are often
seen, such as quartzite, schists, garnetiferous rocks, granite, &c.
These may be baked and altered or in other cases partly dissolved.
Cordierite may be formed either in the enclosure or in the
lamprophyre, where it takes the shape of hexagonal prisms which in
polarized light break up into six sectors, triangular in shape,
diverging from the centre of the crystal.
The second group of lamprophyric dike rocks (_the camptonite,
monchiquite, alnoite series_) is much less common than those above
described. As a rule they occur together, and there are transitions
between the different sub-groups as in the granito-dioritic
lamprophyres. In Sweden, Brazil, Portugal, Norway, the north of
Scotland, Bohemia, Arkansas and other places this assemblage of rock
types has been met with, always presenting nearly identical features.
In most cases, though not in all, they have a close association with
nepheline or leucite syenites and similar rocks rich in alkalies. This
indicates a genetic affinity like that which exists between the
granites and the minettes, &c., and further proof of this connexion is
furnished by the occasional occurrence in those lamprophyres of
leucite, haüyne and other felspathoid minerals.
The camptonites (called after Campton, New Hampshire) are dark brown,
nearly black rocks often with large hornblende phenocrysts. Their
essential minerals in thin section are hornblende of a strong
reddish-brown colour; augite purple, pleochroic and rich in titanium,
olivine and plagioclase felspar. They have the porphyritic and
panidiomorphic structures described in the rocks of the previous
group, and like them also have an ocellar character, often very
conspicuous under the microscope. The accessory minerals are biotite,
apatite, iron oxides and analcite. They decompose readily and are then
filled with carbonates. Many of these rocks prove on analysis to be
exceedingly rich in titanium; they may contain 4 or 5% of titanium
dioxide.
The monchiquites (called after the Serra de Monchique, Portugal) are
fine-grained and devoid of felspar. Their essential constituents are
olivine and purplish augite. Brown hornblende, like that of the
camptonites, occurs in many of them. An interstitial substance is
present, which may sometimes be a brown glass, but at other times is
colourless and is believed by some petrographers to be primary
crystalline analcite. They would define the monchiquites as rocks
consisting of olivine, augite and analcite; others regard the analcite
as secondary, and consider the base as essentially glassy. Some
monchiquites contain haüyne; while in others small leucites are found.
Ocellar structure is occasionally present, though less marked than in
the camptonites. A special group of monchiquites rich in deep brown
biotite has been called fourchites (after the Fourche Mountains,
Arkansas).
The alnoites (called after the island of Alnö in Norway) are rare
rocks found in Norway, Montreal and other parts of North America and
in the north of Scotland. They contain olivine, augite, brown biotite
and melilite. They are free from felspar, and contain very low
percentages of silica.
The chemical composition of some of these rocks will be indicated by
the analyses of certain well-known examples.
+--------+-------+------+-------+-------+------+------+------+------+------+
| | SiO2 | TiO2 | Al2O3 | Fe2O3 | FeO | MgO | CaO | Na2O | K2O |
+--------+-------+------+-------+-------+------+------+------+------+------+
| I.[1]| 52.70 | 1.71 | 15.07 | 8.41 | ... | 7.23 | 5.33 | 3.12 | 4.81 |
| II. | 52.12 | 1.20 | 13.52 | 2.56 | 4.53 | 6.36 | 5.78 | 2.34 | 5.36 |
| III. | 45.15 | ... | 15.39 | 2.76 | 5.64 | 6.38 | 8.83 | 2.67 | 2.77 |
| IV. | 54.67 | ... | 12.68 | 11.68 | 2.13 | 6.11 | 4.96 | 3.85 | 3.65 |
| V. | 41.96 | 4.15 | 15.36 | 3.27 | 9.89 | 5.01 | 9.47 | 5.15 | 0.19 |
| VI. | 43.74 | 2.80 | 14.82 | 2.40 | 7.52 | 6.98 |10.81 | 3.06 | 2.90 |
| VII. | 29.25 | 2.54 | 8.80 | 3.92 | 5.42 |17.66 |17.86 | 0.77 | 2.45 |
+--------+-------+------+-------+-------+------+------+------+------+------+
In addition to the oxides given these rocks contain small quantities
of water (combined and hygroscopic), CO2, S, MnO, P2O5, Ca2O3, &c.
(J. S. F.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] I. Minette (Weiler, Alsace). II. Kersantite (Neubrunn,
Thuringia). III. Vogesite (Castle Mountain, Montana). IV. Spessartite
(Waldmichael, Spessart). V. Camptonite (Campton Falls). VI.
Monchiquite (Ria do Ouro, Serra de Tingua). VII. Alnöite (Alnö,
Sweden).
LAMPSACUS, an ancient Greek colony in Mysia, Asia Minor, known as
Pityusa or Pityussa before its colonization by Ionian Greeks from
Phocaea and Miletus, was situated on the Hellespont, opposite Callipolis
(Gallipoli) in Thrace. It possessed a good harbour; and the
neighbourhood was famous for its wine, so that, having fallen into the
hands of the Persians during the Ionian revolt, it was assigned by
Artaxerxes I. to Themistocles to provide him with wine, as Percote did
with meat and Magnesia with bread. After the battle of Mycale (479
B.C.), Lampsacus joined the Athenians, but, having revolted from them in
411, was reduced by force. It was defended in 196 B.C. against Antiochus
the Great of Syria, after which its inhabitants were received as allies
of Rome. Lampsacus was the chief seat of the worship of Priapus, a gross
nature-god closely connected with the culture of the vine. The ancient
name is preserved in that of the modern village of Lapsaki, but the
Greek town possibly lay at Chardak immediately opposite Gallipoli.
See A. L. Castellan, _Lettres sur la Morée, l'Hellespont, &c._ (Paris,
1820); Choiseul Gouffier, _Voyage pittoresque dans l'empire ottoman_
(1842).
LAMPSTAND, a pillar, tripod or figure extending to the floor for
supporting or holding a lamp. The lampstand (_lampadère_) is probably of
French origin; it appears to have been in use in France before the end
of the 17th century.
LANARK, a royal, municipal and police burgh, and county town of
Lanarkshire, Scotland, standing on high ground about half a mile from
the right bank of the Clyde, 31 m. S.E. of Glasgow by the Caledonian
railway. Pop. (1901) 6440. It is a favourite holiday resort, being the
point from which the falls of the Clyde are usually visited. The
principal buildings are the town hall, the county buildings, the
assembly rooms, occupying the site of an old Franciscan monastery, three
hospitals, a convalescent home, the Smyllum orphanage and the Queen
Victoria Jubilee fountain. The industries include cotton-spinning,
weaving, nail-making and oilworks, and there are frequent markets for
cattle and sheep. Lanark is a place of considerable antiquity. Kenneth
II. held a parliament here in 978, and it was sometimes the residence of
the Scottish kings, one of whom, William the Lion (d. 1214), granted it
a charter. Several of the earlier exploits of William Wallace were
achieved in the neighbourhood. He burned the town and slew the English
sheriff William Hezelrig. About 1 m. N.W. are Cartland Craigs, where
Mouse Water runs through a precipitous red sandstone ravine, the sides
of which are about 400 ft. high. The stream is crossed by a bridge of
single span, supposed to be Roman, and by a three-arched bridge,
designed by Thomas Telford and erected in 1823. On the right bank, near
this bridge, is the cave in which Wallace concealed himself after
killing Hezelrig and which still bears his name. Lanark was the centre
of much activity in the days of the Covenanters. William Lithgow
(1582-1645), the traveller, William Smellie (1697-1763), the
obstetrician and Gavin Hamilton (1730-1797), the painter, were born at
Lanark. The town is one of the Falkirk district group of parliamentary
burghs, the other constituents being Airdrie, Hamilton, Falkirk and
Linlithgow.
New Lanark (pop. 795), 1 m. S., is famous in connexion with the
socialist experiments of Robert Owen. The village was founded by David
Dale (1739-1806) in 1785, with the support of Sir Richard Arkwright,
inventor of the spinning-frame, who thought the spot might be made the
Manchester of Scotland. In ten years four cotton mills were running,
employing nearly 1400 hands. They were sold in 1799 to a Manchester
company, who appointed Owen manager. In the same year he married Dale's
daughter. For many years the mills were successfully conducted, but
friction ultimately arose and Owen retired in 1828. The mills, however,
are still carried on.
There are several interesting places near Lanark. Braxfield, on the
Clyde, gave the title of Lord Braxfield to Robert Macqueen
(1722-1799), who was born in the mansion and acquired on the bench the
character of the Scottish Jeffreys. Robert Baillie, the patriot who
was executed for conscience' sake (1684), belonged to Jerviswood, an
estate on the Mouse. Lee House, the home of the Lockharts, is 3 m.
N.W. The old castle was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. It
contains some fine tapestry and portraits, and the Lee Penny--familiar
to readers of Sir Walter Scott's _Talisman_--which was brought from
Palestine in the 14th century by the Crusading knight, Sir Simon
Lockhart. It is described as a cornelian encased in a silver coin.
Craignethan Castle on the Nethan, a left-hand tributary joining the
Clyde at Crossford, is said to be the original of the "Tillietudiem"
of Scott's _Old Mortality_.
LANARKSHIRE, a south-western county of Scotland, bounded N. by the
shires of Dumbarton and Stirling, E. by Linlithgowshire, Mid-Lothian and
Peeblesshire, S. by Dumfriesshire and W. by the counties of Ayr, Renfrew
and Dumbarton. Its area is 879 sq. m. (562,821 acres). It may be
described as embracing the valley of the Clyde; and, in addition to the
gradual descent from the high land in the south, it is also
characterized by a gentle slope towards both banks of the river. The
shire is divided into three wards, the Upper, comprising all the
southern section, or more than half the whole area (over 330,000 acres);
the Middle, with Hamilton for its chief town, covering fully 190,000
acres; and the Lower, occupying the northern area of about 40,000 acres.
The surface falls gradually from the uplands in the south to the Firth
of Clyde. The highest hills are nearly all on or close to the borders of
Peeblesshire and Dumfriesshire, and include Culter Fell (2454 ft.) and
Lowther Hill (2377). The loftiest heights exclusively belonging to
Lanarkshire are Green Lowther (2403), Tinto (2335), Ballencleuch Law
(2267), Rodger Law (2257), Dun Law (2216), Shiel Dod (2190), Dungrain
Law (2186) and Comb Law (2107). The principal rivers are the Clyde and
its head waters and affluents (on the right, the Medwin, Mouse, South
Calder, North Calder and Kelvin; on the left, the Douglas, Nethan,
Avon, Rotten Calder and Cart). There are no lochs of considerable size,
the few sheets of water in the north--Woodend Reservoir, Bishop Loch,
Hogganfield Loch, Woodend Loch, Lochend Loch--mainly feeding the
Monkland and the Forth and Clyde Canals. The most famous natural
features are the Falls of Clyde at Bonnington, Corra, Dundaff and
Stonebyres.
_Geology._--The southern upland portion is built up of Silurian and
Ordovician rocks; the northern lower-lying tracts are formed of
Carboniferous and Old Red Sandstone rocks. Ordovician strata cross the
county from S.W. to N.E. in a belt 5-7 m. in breadth which is brought
up by a fault against the Old Red and the Silurian on the northern
side. This fault runs by Lamington, Roberton and Crawfordjohn. The
Ordovician rocks lie in a synclinal fold with beds of Caradoc age in
the centre flanked by graptolitic shales, grits and conglomerates,
including among the last-named the local "Haggis-rock"; the well-known
lead mines of Leadhills are worked in these formations. Silurian
shales and sandstones, &c., extend south of the Ordovician belt to the
county boundary; and again, on the northern side of the Ordovician
belt two small tracts appear through the Old Red Sandstone on the
crests of anticlinal folds. The Old Red Sandstone covers an irregular
tract north of the Ordovician belt; a lower division consisting of
sandstone, conglomerates and mud-stones is the most extensively
developed; above this is found a series of contemporaneous porphyrites
and melaphyres, conformable upon the lower division in the west of the
county but are not so in the east. An upper series of sandstones and
grits is seen for a short distance west of Lamington. Lanark stands on
the Old Red Sandstone and the Falls of Clyde occur in the same rocks.
Economically the most important geological feature is the coal basin
of the Glasgow district. The axis of this basin lies in a N.E.-S.W.
direction; in the central part, including Glasgow, Airdrie,
Motherwell, Wishaw, Carluke, lie the coal-measures, consisting of
sandstones, shales, marls and fireclays with seams of coal and
ironstone. There are eleven beds of workable coal, the more important
seams being the Ell, Main, Splint, Pyotshaw and Virtuewell. Underlying
the coal-measures is the Millstone Grit seen on the northern side
between Glenboig and Hogganfield--here the fireclays of Garnkirk,
Gartcosh and Glenboig are worked--and on the south and south-east of
the coal-measures, but not on the western side, because it is there
cut out by a fault. Beneath the last-named formation comes the
Carboniferous Limestone series with thin coals and ironstones, and
again beneath this is the Calciferous Sandstone series which in the
south-east consists of sandstones, shales, &c., but in the west the
greater part of the series is composed of interbedded volcanic
rocks--porphyrites and melaphyres. It will be observed that in general
the younger formations lie nearer the centre of the basin and the
older ones crop out around them. Besides the volcanic rocks mentioned
there are intrusive basalts in the Carboniferous rocks like that in
the neighbourhood of Shotts, and the smaller masses at Hogganfield
near Glasgow and elsewhere. Volcanic necks are found in the Carluke
and Kilcadzow districts, marking the vents of former volcanoes and
several dikes of Tertiary age traverse the older rocks. An intrusion
of pink felsite in early Old Red times has been the cause of Tinto
Hill. Evidences of the Glacial period are abundant in the form of
kames and other deposits of gravel, sand and boulder clay. The ice in
flowing northward and southward from the higher ground took an
easterly direction when it reached the lower ground. In the lower
reaches of the Clyde the remains of old beaches at 25, 50 and 100 ft.
above the present sea-level are to be observed.
_Climate and Agriculture._--The rainfall averages 42 in. annually,
being higher in the hill country and lower towards the north. The
temperature for the year averages 48° F., for January 38° and for July
59°. The area under grain has shown a downward tendency since 1880.
Oats is the principal crop, but barley and wheat are also grown.
Potatoes and turnips are raised on a large scale. In the Lower Ward
market-gardening has increased considerably, and the quantity of
vegetables, grapes and tomatoes reared under glass has reached great
proportions. An ancient industry in the vale of the Clyde for many
miles below Lanark is the cultivation of fruit, several of the
orchards being said to date from the time of Bede. The apples and
pears are of good repute. There has been a remarkable extension in the
culture of strawberries, hundreds of acres being laid down in beds.
The sheep walks in the upper and middle wards are heavily stocked and
the herds of cattle are extensive, the favoured breeds being Ayrshire
and a cross between this and "improved Lanark." Dairy-farming
flourishes, the cheeses of Carnwath and Lesmahagow being in steady
demand. Clydesdale draught-horses are of high class. They are supposed
to have been bred from Flanders horses imported early in the 18th
century by the 5th duke of Hamilton. Most of the horses are kept for
agricultural work, but a considerable number of unbroken horses and
mares are maintained for stock. Pigs are numerous, being extensively
reared by the miners. The largest farms are situated in the Upper
Ward, but the general holding runs from 50 to 100 acres. More than
21,000 acres are under wood.
_Other Industries._--The leading industries are those in connexion
with the rich and extensive coal and iron field to the east and
southeast of Glasgow; the shipbuilding at Govan and Partick and in
Glasgow harbour; the textiles at Airdrie, Blantyre, Hamilton, Lanark,
New Lanark, Rutherglen and Glasgow; engineering at Cambuslang,
Carluke, Coatbridge, Kinning Park, Motherwell and Wishaw, and the
varied and flourishing manufactures centred in and around Glasgow.
_Communications._--In the north of the county, where population is
most dense and the mineral field exceptionally rich, railway
facilities are highly developed, there being for 10 or 12 m. around
Glasgow quite a network of lines. The Caledonian Railway Company's
main line to the south runs through the whole length of the shire,
sending off branches at several points, especially at Carstairs
Junction. The North British Railway Company serves various towns in
the lower and middle wards and its lines to Edinburgh cross the
northwestern corner and the north of the county. Only in the immediate
neighbourhood of Glasgow does the Glasgow and South Western system
compete for Lanarkshire traffic, though it combines with the
Caledonian to work the Mid-Lanarkshire and Ayrshire railway. The
Monkland Canal in the far north and the Forth and Clyde Canal in the
north and north-west carry a considerable amount of goods, and before
the days of railways afforded one of the principal means of
communication between east and west.
_Population and Administration._--The population amounted in 1891 to
1,105,899 and in 1901 to 1,339,327, or 1523 persons to the sq. m. Thus
though only tenth in point of extent, it is much the most populous
county in Scotland, containing within its bounds nearly one-third of
the population of the country. In 1901 there were 104 persons speaking
Gaelic only, and 26,905 speaking Gaelic and English. The chief towns,
with populations in 1901, apart from Glasgow, are Airdrie (22,288),
Cambuslang (12,252), Coatbridge (36,991), Govan (82,174), Hamilton
(32,775), Kinning Park (13,852), Larkhall (11,879), Motherwell
(30,418), Partick (54,298), Rutherglen (17,220), Shettleston (12,154),
Wishaw (20,873). Among smaller towns are Bellshill, Carluke, Holytown,
Lanark, Stonefield, Tollcross and Uddingston; and Lesmahagow and East
Kilbride are populous villages and mining centres. The county is
divided into six parliamentary divisions:--North-east, North-west, Mid
and South Lanark, Govan and Partick each returning one member. The
royal burghs are Glasgow, Lanark and Rutherglen; the municipal and
police burghs Airdrie, Biggar, Coatbridge, Glasgow, Govan, Hamilton,
Kinning Park, Lanark, Motherwell, Partick, Rutherglen and Wishaw.
Glasgow returns seven members to Parliament; Airdrie, Hamilton and
Lanark belong to the Falkirk group and Rutherglen to the Kilmarnock
group of parliamentary burghs. Lanarkshire is a sheriffdom, whose
sheriff-principal is confined to his judicial duties in the county,
and he has eight substitutes, five of whom sit constantly in Glasgow,
and one each at Airdrie, Hamilton and Lanark. The shire is under
school-board jurisdiction, many schools earning grants for higher
education. For advanced education, besides the university and many
other institutions in Glasgow there are a high school in Hamilton, and
technical schools at Coatbridge and Wishaw. The county council expends
the "residue" grant in supporting lectures and classes in agriculture
and agricultural chemistry, mining, dairying, cookery, laundry work,
nursery and poultry-keeping, in paying fees and railway fares and
providing bursaries for technical students, and in subsidizing science
and art and technical classes in day and evening schools. A director
of technical education is maintained by the council. Lanark,
Motherwell and Biggar entrust their shares of the grant to the county
council, and Coatbridge and Airdrie themselves subsidize science and
art and evening classes and continuation schools.
_History._--At an early period Lanarkshire was inhabited by a Celtic
tribe, the Damnonii, whose territory was divided by the wall of
Antoninus between the Forth and Clyde (remains of which are found in the
parish of Cadder), but who were never wholly subjugated by the Romans.
Traces of their fortifications, mounds and circles exist, while stone
axes, bronze celts, querns and urns belonging to their age are
occasionally unearthed. Of the Romans there are traces in the camp on
Beattock summit near Elvanfoot, in the fine bridge over the Mouse near
Lanark, in the road to the south of Strathaven, in the wall already
mentioned and in the coins and other relics that have been dug up. After
their departure the country which included Lanarkshire formed part of
the kingdom of Strathclyde, which, in the 7th century, was subdued by
Northumbrian Saxons, when great numbers of the Celts migrated into
Wales. The county once embraced a portion of Renfrewshire, but this was
disjoined in the time of Robert III. The shire was then divided into two
wards, the Over (with Lanark as its chief town) and the Nether (with
Rutherglen as its capital). The present division into three wards was
not effected till the 18th century. Independently of Glasgow,
Lanarkshire has not borne any part continuously in the general history
of Scotland, but has been the scene of several exciting episodes. Many
of Wallace's daring deeds were performed in the county, Queen Mary met
her fate at Langside (1568) and the Covenanters received constant
support from the people, defeating Claverhouse at Drumclog (1679), but
suffering defeat themselves at Bothwell Brig (1679).
See W. Hamilton, _Description of the Sheriffdoms of Lanark and
Renfrew_, Maitland Club (1831); C. V. Irving and A. Murray, _The Upper
Ward of Lanarkshire_ (Glasgow, 1864); _The Clydesdale Stud Book_
(Glasgow); W. A. Cowan, _History of Lanark_ (Lanark, 1867); _Extracts
from the Records of the Burgh of Lanark_ (Glasgow, 1893).
LANCASHIRE, a north-western county of England, bounded N.E. by
Westmorland, E. by Yorkshire, S. by Cheshire, W. by the Irish Sea and
N.W. by Cumberland. The area is 1880.2 sq. m., the county being the
sixth in size in England. The coast is generally flat, and broken by
great inlets, with wide expanses of sandy foreshore at low tide. The
chief inlets, from N. to S., are--the estuary of the river Duddon,
which, with the river itself, separates the county from Cumberland;
Morecambe Bay; and the estuaries of the Ribble and the Mersey. Morecambe
Bay receives the rivers Crake and Leven in a common estuary, and the
Kent from Westmorland; while the Lune and the Wyre discharge into
Lancaster Bay, which is only partially separated from Morecambe Bay by
the promontory of Red Nab. Morecambe Bay also detaches from the rest of
the county the district of Furness (q.v.), extending westward to the
Duddon, and having off its coast the island of Walney, 8 m. in length,
and several small isles within the strait between Walney and the
mainland. The principal seaside resorts and watering-places, from S. to
N., are Southport, Lytham, St Anne's-on-the-Sea, Blackpool, Fleetwood
and Morecambe; while at the head of Morecambe Bay are several pleasant
villages frequented by visitors, such as Arnside and Grange. Of the
rivers the Mersey (q.v.), separating the county from Cheshire, is the
principal, and receives from Lancashire the Irwell, Sankey and other
small streams. The Ribble, which rises in the mountains of the West
Riding of Yorkshire, forms for a few miles the boundary with that
county, and then flows S.W. to Preston, receiving the Hodder from the N.
and the Calder and Darwen from the S. Lancashire has a share in two of
the English districts most famous for their scenery, but does not
include the finest part of either. Furness, entirely hilly except for a
narrow coastal tract, extends N. to include the southern part of the
Lake District (q.v.); it contains Coniston Lake and borders Windermere,
which are drained respectively by the Leven and Crake, with some smaller
lakes and such mountains as the Old Man and Wetherlam. Another elevated
district, forming part of a mountainous chain stretching from the
Scottish border, covered by the name of Pennine uplands in its broader
application, runs along the whole eastern boundary of the main portion
of the county, and to the south of the Ribble occupies more than half
the area, stretching west nearly to Liverpool. The moorlands in the
southern district are generally bleak and covered with heather. Towards
the north the scenery is frequently beautiful, the green rounded
elevated ridges being separated by pleasant cultivated valleys
variegated by woods and watered by rivers. None of the summits of the
range within Lancashire attains an elevation of 2000 ft., the highest
being Blackstone Edge (1523 ft.), Pendle Hill (1831 ft.) and Boulsworth
Hill (1700 ft.).
Along the sea-coast from the Mersey to Lancaster there is a continuous
plain formerly occupied by peat mosses, many of which have been
reclaimed. The largest is Chat Moss between Liverpool and Manchester. In
some instances these mosses have exhibited the phenomenon of a moving
bog. A large district in the north belonging to the duchy of Lancaster
was at one time occupied by forests, but these have wholly disappeared,
though their existence is recalled in nomenclature, as in the Forest of
Rossendale, near the Yorkshire boundary somewhat south of the centre.
_Geology._--The greater part of Lancashire, the central and eastern
portions, is occupied by Carboniferous rocks; a broad belt of Triassic
strata fringes the west and south; while most of the detached northern
portion is made up of Silurian and Ordovician formations. The
Carboniferous system includes the great coal-field in which are
gathered all the principal manufacturing towns, Colne, Burnley,
Blackburn, Chorley, Wigan, Bolton, Preston, Oldham, Rochdale and
Manchester. In the centre of the coal-field is an elevated moorland
tract formed of the grits and shales of the Millstone Grit series.
Part of the small coal-field of Ingleton also lies within the county.
Between these two coal basins there is a moderately hilly district in
which grits and black shales predominate, with a broad tract of
limestone and shales which are well exposed in the quarries at
Clitheroe and at Longridge, Chipping, Whalley and Downham. The
limestone again appears in the north at Bolton-le-Sands,
Burton-in-Kendall, Grange, Ulverston and Dalton-in-Furness. Large
pockets of rich iron ore are worked in the limestone in the Furness
district. The belt of Trias includes the Bunter sandstone and
conglomerate, which ranges from Barrow-in-Furness, through Garstang,
Preston, Ormskirk, Liverpool, Warrington and Salford; and Keuper
marls, which underlie the surface between the Bunter outcrop and the
sea. On the coast there is a considerable development of blown sand
between Blackpool and Lytham and between Southport and Seaforth. North
of Broughton-in-Furness, Ulverston and Cartmel are the Silurian rocks
around Lakes Windermere and Coniston Water, including the Coniston
grits and flags and the Brathay flags. These rocks are bounded by the
Ordovician Coniston limestone, ranging north-east and south-west, and
the volcanic series of Borrowdale. A good deal of the solid geology is
obscured in many places by glacial drift, boulder clay and sands.
The available coal supply of Lancashire has been estimated at about
five thousand millions of tons. In 1852 the amount raised was
8,225,000 tons; in 1899 it was 24,387,475 tons. In the production of
coal Lancashire vies with Yorkshire, but each is about one-third below
Durham. There are also raised in large quantities--fireclay,
limestone, sandstone, slate and salt, which is also obtained from
brine. The red hematitic iron obtained in the Furness district is very
valuable, but is liable to decrease. The district also produces a fine
blue slate. Metals, excepting iron, are unimportant.
_Climate and Agriculture._--The climate in the hilly districts is
frequently cold, but in the more sheltered parts lying to the south
and west it is mild and genial. From its westerly situation and the
attraction of the hills there is a high rainfall in the hilly
districts (e.g. at Bolton the average is 58.71 in.), while the average
for the other districts is about 35. The soil after reclamation and
drainage is fertile; but, as it is for the most part a strong clayey
loam it requires a large amount of labour. In some districts it is
more of a peaty nature, and in the Old Red Sandstone districts of the
Mersey there is a tract of light sandy loam, easily worked, and well
adapted for wheat and potatoes. In many districts the ground has been
rendered unfit for agricultural operations by the rubbish from
coal-pits. A low proportion (about seven-tenths) of the total area is
under cultivation, and of this nearly three-fourths is in permanent
pasture, cows being largely kept for the supply of milk to the towns,
while in the uplands many sheep are reared. In addition to the
cultivated area, about 92,000 acres are under hill pasturage. A
gradual increase is noticeable in the acreage under oats, which occupy
more than seven-tenths of the area under grain crops, and in that
under wheat, to the exclusion of the cultivation of barley. Of green
crops the potato is the chief.
_Industries and Trade._--South Lancashire is the principal seat of the
cotton manufacture in the world, the trade centring upon Manchester,
Oldham and the neighbouring densely populated district. It employs
upwards of 400,000 operatives. The worsted, woollen and silk
manufactures, flax, hemp and jute industries, though of less importance,
employ considerable numbers. Non-textile factories employ about 385,000
hands. The manufacture of machines, appliances, conveyances, tools, &c.,
are very important, especially in supplying the needs of the immense
weaving and spinning industries. For the same purpose there is a large
branch of industry in the manufacture of bobbins from the wood grown in
the northern districts of the county. Of industries principally confined
to certain definite centres there may be mentioned--the manufacture of
iron and steel at Barrow-in-Furness, a town of remarkably rapid growth
since the middle of the 19th century; the great glass works at St
Helens; the watch-making works at Prescot and the leather works at
Warrington. Printing, bleaching and dyeing works, paper and chemical
works, india-rubber and tobacco manufactures are among the chief of the
other resources of this great industrial region. Besides the port of
Liverpool, of worldwide importance, the principal ports are Manchester,
brought into communication with the sea by the Manchester Ship Canal
opened in 1894, Barrow-in-Furness and Fleetwood, while Preston and
Lancaster have docks and a considerable shipping trade by the rivers
Lune and Ribble respectively. The sea fisheries, for which Fleetwood and
Liverpool are the chief ports, are of considerable value.
[Illustration: Map of Lancashire.]
_Communications._--Apart from the Manchester Ship Canal, canal-traffic
plays an important part in the industrial region. In 1760 the Sankey
canal, 10 m. long, the first canal opened in Britain (apart from very
early works), was constructed to carry coal from St Helens to
Liverpool. Shortly afterwards the duke of Bridgewater projected the
great canal from Manchester across the Irwell to Worsley, completed in
1761 and bearing the name of its originator. The Leeds and Liverpool
canal, begun in 1770, connects Liverpool and other important towns
with Leeds by a circuitous route of 130 m. The other principal canals
are the Rochdale, the Manchester (to Huddersfield) and the Lancaster,
connecting Preston and Kendal. A short canal connects Ulverston with
Morecambe Bay. A network of railways covers the industrial region. The
main line of the London and North Western railway enters the county at
Warrington, and runs north through Wigan, Preston, Lancaster and
Carnforth. It also serves Liverpool and Manchester, providing the
shortest route to each of these cities from London, and shares with
the Lancashire and Yorkshire company joint lines to Southport, to
Blackpool and to Fleetwood, whence there is regular steamship
communication with Belfast. The Lancashire and Yorkshire line serves
practically all the important centres as far north as Preston and
Fleetwood. All the northern trunk lines from London have services to
Manchester and Liverpool. The Cheshire Lines system, worked by a
committee of the Great Northern, Great Central and Midland companies,
links their systems with the South Lancashire district generally, and
maintains lines between Liverpool and Manchester, both these cities
with Southport, and numerous branches. Branches of the Midland railway
from its main line in Yorkshire serve Lancaster, Morecambe, and
Heysham and Carnforth, where connexion is made with the Furness
railway to Ulverston, Barrow, Lake Side, Coniston, &c.
_Population and Administration._--The area of the ancient county is
1,203,365 acres. Its population in 1801 was 673,486; in 1891, 3,926,760;
and in 1901, 4,406,409. The area of the administrative county is
1,196,753 acres. The distribution of the industrial population may be
best appreciated by showing the parliamentary divisions, parliamentary,
county and municipal boroughs and urban districts as placed among the
four divisions of the ancient county. In the case of urban districts the
name of the great town to which each is near or adjacent follows where
necessary. The figures show population in 1901.
NORTHERN DIVISION.--This embraces almost all the county N. of the
Ribble, including Furness, and a small area S. of the Ribble estuary.
It is considerably the largest of the divisions. _Parliamentary
divisions_, from N. to S.--North Lonsdale, Lancaster, Blackpool,
Chorley. _Parliamentary, county and municipal
boroughs_--Barrow-in-Furness (57,586; one member); Preston (112,989;
two members). _Municipal boroughs_--Blackpool (county borough;
47,348), Chorley (26,852), Lancaster (40,329; county town), Morecambe
(11,798). _Urban districts_--Adlington (4523; Chorley),
Bispham-with-Norbreck (Blackpool), Carnforth (3040; Lancaster),
Croston (2102; Chorley), Dalton-in-Furness (13,020), Fleetwood
(12,082), Fulwood (5238; Preston), Grange (1993), Heysham (3381;
Morecambe), Kirkham (3693; Preston), Leyland (6865; Chorley),
Longridge (4304; Preston), Lytham (7185), Poulon-le-Fylde (2223;
Blackpool). Preesall-with-Hackinsall (1423; Fleetwood), St
Anne's-on-the-Sea (6838, a watering-place between Blackpool and
Lytham), Thornton (3108; Fleetwood), Ulverston (10,064, in Furness),
Withnell (3349; Chorley).
NORTH-EASTERN-DIVISION.--This lies E. of Preston, and is the smallest
of the four. _Parliamentary divisions_--Accrington, Clitheroe, Darwen,
Rossendale. _Parliamentary, county and municipal boroughs_--Blackburn
(127,626; two members); Burnley (97,043; one member). _Municipal
boroughs_--Accrington (43,122), Bacup (22,505), Clitheroe (11,414),
Colne (23,000), Darwen (38,212), Haslingden (18,543, extending into
South-Eastern division), Nelson (32,816), Rawtenstall (31,053). _Urban
districts_--Barrowford (4959; Colne), Brierfield (7288; Burnley),
Church (6463; Accrington), Clayton-le-Moors (8153; Accrington), Great
Harwood (12,015; Blackburn), Oswaldtwistle (14,192; Blackburn),
Padiham (12,205; Burnley), Rishton (7031; Blackburn), Trawden (2641;
Colne), Walton-le-Dale (11,271; Preston).
SOUTH-WESTERN DIVISION.--This division represents roughly a quadrant
with radius of 20 m. drawn from Liverpool. _Parliamentary
divisions_--Bootle, Ince, Leigh, Newton, Ormskirk, Southport, Widnes.
_Parliamentary boroughs_--the city and county and municipal borough of
Liverpool (684,958; nine members); the county and municipal boroughs
of St Helens (84,410; one member); Wigan (60,764; one member),
Warrington (64,242; a part only of the parliamentary borough is in
this county). _Municipal boroughs_--Bootle (58,566), Leigh (40,001),
Southport (county borough; 48,083), Widnes (28,580). _Urban
districts_--Abram (6306; Wigan), Allerton (1101; Liverpool),
Ashton-in-Makerfield (18,687), Atherton (16,211), Billinge (4232;
Wigan), Birkdale (14,197; Southport), Childwall (219; Liverpool),
Formby (6060), Golborne (6789; St Helens), Great Crosby (7555;
Liverpool), Haydock (8575; St Helens), Hindley (23,504; Wigan),
Huyton-with-Roby (4661; St Helens), Ince-in-Makerfield (21,262),
Lathom-and-Burscough (7113; Ormskirk), Litherland (10,592; Liverpool),
Little Crosby (563; Liverpool), Little Woolton (1091; Liverpool), Much
Woolton (4731; Liverpool), Newton-in-Makerfield (16,699), Ormskirk
(6857), Orrell (5436; Wigan), Prescot (7855; St Helens), Rainford
(3359; St Helens), Skelmersdale (5699; Ormskirk),
Standish-with-Langtree (6303; Wigan), Tyldesley-with-Shakerley
(14,843), Upholland (4773; Wigan), Waterloo-with-Seaforth (23,102;
Liverpool).
SOUTH-EASTERN DIVISION.--This is of about the same area as the
South-Western division, and it constitutes the heart of the industrial
region. _Parliamentary divisions_--Eccles, Gorton, Heywood, Middleton,
Prestwich, Radcliffe-cum-Farnworth, Stretford, Westhoughton.
_Parliamentary boroughs_--the city and county of a city of Manchester
(543,872; six members); with which should be correlated the adjoining
county and municipal borough of Salford (220,957; three members), also
the county and municipal boroughs of Bolton (168,215; two members),
Bury (58,029; one member), Rochdale (83,114; one member), Oldham
(137,246; two members), and the municipal borough of Ashton-under-Lyne
(43,890). Part only of the last parliamentary borough is within the
county, and this division also contains part of the parliamentary
boroughs of Stalybridge and Stockport. _Municipal boroughs_--Eccles
(34,369), Heywood (25,458), Middleton (25,178), Mossley (13,452).
_Urban districts_--Aspull (8388; Wigan), Audenshaw (7216;
Ashton-under-Lyne), Blackrod (3875; Wigan), Chadderton (24,892;
Oldham), Crompton (13,427; Oldham), Denton (14,934;
Ashton-under-Lyne), Droylsden (11,087; Manchester), Failsworth
(14,152; Manchester), Farnworth (25,925; Bolton), Gorton (26,564;
Manchester), Heaton Norris (9474; Stockport). Horwich (15,084;
Bolton), Hurst (7145; Ashton-under-Lyne), Irlam (4335; Eccles),
Kearsley (9218; Bolton), Lees (3621; Oldham), Levenshulme (11,485;
Manchester), Littleborough (11,166; Rochdale), Little Hulton (7294;
Bolton), Little Lever (5119; Bolton), Milnrow (8241; Rochdale), Norden
(3907; Rochdale), Prestwich (12,839; Manchester), Radcliffe (25,368;
Bury), Ramsbottom (15,920; Bury), Royton (14,881; Oldham), Stretford
(30,436; Manchester), Swinton-and-Pendlebury (27,005; Manchester),
Tottington (6118; Bury), Turton (12,355; Bolton), Urmston (6594;
Manchester), Wardle (4427; Rochdale), Westhoughton (14,377; Bolton),
Whitefield or Stand (6588; Bury), Whitworth (9578; Rochdale), Worsley
(12,462; Eccles).
Lancashire is one of the counties palatine. It is attached to the duchy
of Lancaster, a crown office, and retains the chancery court for the
county palatine. The chancery of the duchy of Lancaster was once a court
of appeal for the chancery of the county palatine, but now even its
jurisdiction in regard to the estates of the duchy is merely nominal.
The chancery of the county palatine has concurrent jurisdiction with the
High Court of Chancery in all matters of equity within the county
palatine, and independent jurisdiction in regard to a variety of other
matters. The county palatine comprises six hundreds.
Lancashire is in the northern circuit, and assizes are held at
Lancaster for the north, and at Liverpool and Manchester for the south
of the county. There is one court of quarter sessions, and the county
is divided into 33 petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of
Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Salford and
Wigan have separate commissions of the peace and courts of quarter
sessions; and those of Accrington, Ashton-under-Lyne,
Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Clitheroe, Colne, Darwen,
Eccles, Heywood, Lancaster, Middleton, Mossley, Nelson, Preston,
Rochdale, St Helens, Southport and Warrington have separate
commissions of the peace only. There are 430 civil parishes.
Lancashire is mainly in the diocese of Manchester, but parts are in
those of Liverpool, Carlisle, Ripon, Chester and Wakefield. There are
787 ecclesiastical parishes or districts wholly or in part within the
county.
Manchester and Liverpool are each seats of a university and of other
important educational institutions. Within the bounds of the county
there are many denominational colleges, and near Clitheroe is the
famous Roman Catholic college of Stonyhurst. There is a day training
college for schoolmasters in connexion with University College,
Liverpool, and a day training college for both schoolmasters and
schoolmistresses in connexion with Owens College, Manchester. At
Edgehill, Liverpool, there is a residential training college for
schoolmistresses which takes day pupils, at Liverpool a residential
Roman Catholic training college for schoolmasters, and at Warrington a
residential training college (Chester, Manchester and Liverpool
diocesan) for schoolmistresses.
_History._--The district afterwards known as Lancashire was after the
departure of the Romans for many years apparently little better than a
waste. It was not until the victory of Æthelfrith, king of Deira, near
Chester in 613 cut off the Britons of Wales from those of Lancashire and
Cumberland that even Lancashire south of the Ribble was conquered. The
part north of the Ribble was not absorbed in the Northumbrian kingdom
till the reign of Ecgfrith (670-685). Of the details of this long
struggle we know nothing, but to the stubborn resistance made by the
British leaders are due the legends of Arthur; and of the twelve great
battles he is supposed to have fought against the English, four are
traditionally, though probably erroneously, said to have taken place on
the river Douglas near Wigan. In the long struggle for supremacy between
Mercia and Northumbria, the country between the Mersey and Ribble was
sometimes under one, sometimes under the other kingdom. During the 9th
century Lancashire was constantly invaded by the Danes, and after the
peace of Wedmore (878) it was included in the Danish kingdom of
Northumbria. The _A.S. Chronicle_ records the reconquest of the district
between the Ribble and Mersey in 923 by the English king, when it
appears to have been severed from the kingdom of Northumbria and united
to Mercia, but the districts north of the Ribble now comprised in the
county belonged to Northumbria until its incorporation with the kingdom
of England. The names on the Lancashire coast ending in _by_, such as
Crosby, Formby, Roby, Kirkby, Derby, show where the Danish settlements
were thickest. William the Conqueror gave the lands between the Ribble
and Mersey, and Amounderness to Roger de Poictou, but at the time of
Domesday Book these had passed out of his hand and belonged to the king.
The name Lancashire does not appear in Domesday; the lands between the
Ribble and Mersey were included in Cheshire and those north of the
Ribble in Yorkshire. Roger de Poictou soon regained his lands, and Rufus
added to his possessions the rest of Lonsdale south of the Sands, of
which he already held a part; and as he had the Furness fells as well,
he owned all that is now known as Lancashire. In 1102 he finally
forfeited all his lands, which Henry I. held till, in 1118, he created
the honour of Lancaster by incorporating with Roger's forfeited lands
certain escheated manors in the counties of Nottingham, Derby and
Lincoln, and certain royal manors, and bestowed it upon his nephew
Stephen, afterwards king. During Stephen's reign the history of the
honour presents certain difficulties, for David of Scotland held the
lands north of the Ribble for a time, and in 1147 the earl of Chester
held the district between the Ribble and Mersey. Henry II. gave the
whole honour to William, Stephen's son, but in 1164 it came again into
the king's hands until 1189, when Richard I. granted it to his brother
John. In 1194, owing to John's rebellion, it was confiscated and the
honour remained with the crown till 1267. In 1229, however, all the
crown demesne between the Ribble and Mersey was granted to Ranulf, earl
of Chester, and on his death in 1232 came to William Ferrers, earl of
Derby, in right of his wife Agnes, sister and co-heir of Ranulf. The
Ferrers held it till 1266, when it was confiscated owing to the earl's
rebellion. In 1267 Henry III. granted the honour and county and all the
royal demesne therein to his son Edmund, who was created earl of
Lancaster. His son, Earl Thomas, married the heiress of Henry de Lacy,
earl of Lincoln, and thus obtained the great estates belonging to the de
Lacys in Lancashire. On the death of Henry, the first duke of Lancaster,
in 1361, the estates, title and honour fell to John of Gaunt in right of
his wife Blanche, the duke's elder daughter, and by the accession of
Henry IV., John of Gaunt's only son, to the throne, the duchy and honour
became merged in the crown.
The county of Lancaster is first mentioned in 1169 as contributing 100
marks to the Royal Exchequer for defaults and fines. The creation of the
honour decided the boundaries, throwing into it Furness and Cartmel,
which geographically belong to Westmorland; Lonsdale and Amounderness,
which in Domesday had been surveyed under Yorkshire; and the land
between the Ribble and Mersey. In Domesday this district south of the
Ribble was divided into the six hundreds of West Derby, Newton,
Warrington, Blackburn, Salford and Leyland, but before Henry II.'s reign
the hundreds of Warrington and Newton were absorbed in that of West
Derby. Neither Amounderness nor Lonsdale was called a hundred in
Domesday, but soon after that time the former was treated as a hundred.
Ecclesiastically the whole of the county originally belonged to the
diocese of York, but after the reconquest of the district between the
Ribble and Mersey in 923 this part was placed under the bishop of
Lichfield in the archdeaconry of Chester, which was subdivided into the
rural deaneries of Manchester, Warrington and Leyland. Up to 1541 the
district north of the Ribble belonged to the archdeaconry of Richmond in
the diocese of York, and was subdivided into the rural deaneries of
Amounderness, Lonsdale and Coupland. In 1541 the diocese of Chester was
created, including all Lancashire, which was divided into two
archdeaconries: Chester, comprising the rural deaneries of Manchester,
Warrington and Blackburn, and Richmond, comprising the deaneries of
Amounderness, Furness, Lonsdale and Kendal. In 1847 the diocese of
Manchester was created, which included all Lancashire except parts of
West Derby, which still belonged to the diocese of Chester, and Furness
and Cartmel, which were added to Carlisle in 1856. In 1878 by the
creation of the diocese of Liverpool the south-eastern part of the
county was subtracted from the Manchester diocese.
No shire court was ever held for the county, but as a duchy and county
palatine it has its own special courts. It may have enjoyed palatine
jurisdiction under Earl Morcar before the Conquest, but these
privileges, if ever exercised, remained in abeyance till 1351, when
Henry, duke of Lancaster, received power to have a chancery in the
county of Lancaster and to issue writs therefrom under his own seal, as
well touching pleas of the crown as any other relating to the common
laws, and to have all _Jura Regalia_ belonging to a county palatine. In
1377 the county was erected into a palatinate for John of Gaunt's life,
and in 1390 these rights of jurisdiction were extended and settled in
perpetuity on the dukes of Lancaster. The county palatine courts consist
of a chancery which dates back at least to 1376, a court of common
pleas, the jurisdiction of which was transferred in 1873 by the
Judicature Act to the high court of justice, and a court of criminal
jurisdiction which in no way differs from the king's ordinary court. In
1407 the duchy court of Lancaster was created, in which all questions of
revenue and dignities affecting the duchy possessions are settled. The
chancery of the duchy has been for years practically obsolete. The duchy
and county palatine each has its own seal. The office of chancellor of
the duchy and county palatine dates back to 1351.
Lancashire is famed for the number of old and important county
families living within its borders. The most intimately connected with
the history of the county are the Stanleys, whose chief seat is
Knowsley Hall. Sir John Stanley early in the 15th century married the
heiress of Lathom and thus obtained possession of Lathom and Knowsley.
In 1456 the head of the family was created a peer by the title of
Baron Stanley and in 1485 raised to the earldom of Derby. The
Molyneuxes of Sephton and Croxteth are probably descended from William
de Molines, who came to England with William the Conqueror, and is on
the roll of Battle Abbey. Roger de Poictou gave him the manor of
Sephton, and Richard de Molyneux who held the estate under Henry II.
is undoubtedly an ancestor of the family. In 1628 Sir Richard Molyneux
was advanced to the peerage of Ireland by the title of Viscount
Maryborough, and in 1771 Charles, Lord Maryborough, became earl of
Sefton in the peerage of Ireland. His son was created a peer of the
United Kingdom as Baron Sefton of Croxteth. The Bootle Wilbrahams,
earls of Lathom, are, it is said, descended from John Botyll of
Melling, who was alive in 1421, and from the Wilbrahams of Cheshire,
who date back at least to Henry III.'s reign. In 1755 the two families
intermarried. In 1828 the title of Baron Skelmersdale was bestowed on
the head of the family and in 1880 that of earl of Lathorn. The
Gerards of Bryn are said to be descended from an old Tuscan family,
one of whom came to England in Edward the Confessor's time, and whose
son is mentioned in Domesday. Bryn came into this family by marriage
early in the 14th century. Sir Thomas Gerard was created a baronet by
James I. in 1611, and in 1876 a peerage was conferred on Sir Robert
Gerard. The Gerards of Ince were a collateral branch. The Lindsays,
earls of Crawford and Balcarres, are representative on the female side
of the Bradshaighs of Haigh Hall, who are said to be of Saxon origin.
Other great Lancashire families are the Hoghtons of Hoghton Tower,
dating back to the 12th century, the Blundells of Ince Blundell, who
are said to have held the manor since the 12th century, now
represented by the Weld-Blundells, the Tyldesleys of Tyldesley, now
extinct, and the Butlers of Bewsey, barons of Warrington, of whom the
last male heir died in 1586.
At the close of the 12th and during the 13th century there was a
considerable advance in the importance of the towns; in 1199 Lancaster
became a borough, in 1207 Liverpool, in 1230 Salford, in 1246 Wigan, and
in 1301 Manchester. The Scottish wars were a great drain to the county,
not only because the north part was subject to frequent invasions, as in
1322, but because some of the best blood was taken for these wars. In
1297 Lancashire raised 1000 men, and at the battle of Falkirk (1298)
1000 Lancashire soldiers were in the vanguard, led by Henry de Lacy,
earl of Lincoln. In 1349 the county was visited by the Black Death and a
record exists of its ravages in Amounderness. In ten parishes between
September 1349 and January 1350, 13,180 persons perished. At Preston
3000 died, at Lancaster 3000, at Garstang 2000 and at Kirkham 3000. From
the effects of this plague Lancashire was apparently slow to recover;
its boroughs ceased to return members early in the 14th century and
trade had not yet made any great advance. The drain of the Wars of the
Roses on the county must also have been heavy, although none of the
battles was fought within its borders; Lord Stanley's force of 5000
raised in Lancashire and Cheshire virtually decided the battle of
Bosworth Field. The poverty of the county is shown by the fact that out
of £40,000 granted in 1504 by parliament to the king, Lancashire's share
was only £318. At the battle of Flodden (1513) the Lancashire archers
led by Sir Edward Stanley almost totally destroyed the Highlanders on
the right Scottish wing and greatly contributed to the victory. Under
the Tudors the county prospered; the parliamentary boroughs once more
began to return members, the towns increased in size, many halls were
built by the gentry and trade increased.
In 1617 James I. visited Lancashire, and in consequence of a petition
presented to him at Hoghton, complaining of the restrictions imposed
upon Sunday amusements, he issued in 1618 the famous _Book of Sports_.
Another of James's works, the _Daemonologie_, is closely connected
with the gross superstitions concerning witches which were specially
prevalent in Lancashire. The great centre of this witchcraft was
Pendle Forest, in the parish of Whalley, and in 1612 twelve persons
from Pendle and eight from Samlesbury were tried for witchcraft, nine
of whom were hanged. In 1633 another batch of seventeen witches from
Pendle were tried and all sentenced to be executed, but the king
pardoned them. This was the last important case of witchcraft in
Lancashire.
In the assessment of ship money in 1636 the county was put down for
£1000, towards which Wigan was to raise £50, Preston £40, Lancaster £30,
and Liverpool £25, and these figures compared with the assessments of
£140 on Hull and £200 on Leeds show the comparative unimportance of the
Lancashire boroughs. On the eve of the Great Rebellion in 1641
parliament resolved to take command of the militia, and Lord Strange,
Lord Derby's eldest son, was removed from the lord lieutenancy. On the
whole, the county was Royalist, and the moving spirit among the
Royalists was Lord Strange, who became Lord Derby in 1642. Manchester
was the headquarters of the Parliamentarians, and was besieged by Lord
Derby in September 1642 for seven days, but not taken. Lord Derby
himself took up his headquarters at Warrington and garrisoned Wigan. At
the opening of 1643 Sir Thomas Fairfax made Manchester his headquarters.
Early in February the Parliamentarians from Manchester successfully
assaulted Preston, which was strongly Royalist; thence the
Parliamentarians marched to Hoghton Tower, which they took, and within a
few days captured Lancaster. On the Royalist side Lord Derby made an
unsuccessful attack on Bolton from Wigan. In March a large Spanish ship,
laden with ammunition for the use of parliament, was driven by a storm
on Rossall Point and seized by the Royalists; Lord Derby ordered the
ship to be burned, but the parliament forces from Preston succeeded in
carrying off some of the guns to Lancaster castle. In March Lord Derby
captured the town of Lancaster but not the castle, and marching to
Preston regained it for the king, but was repulsed in an attack on
Bolton. In April Wigan, one of the chief Royalist strongholds in the
county, was taken by the parliament forces, who also again captured
Lancaster, and the guns from the Spanish ship were moved for use against
Warrington, which was obliged to surrender in May after a week's siege.
Lord Derby also failed in an attempt on Liverpool, and the tide of war
had clearly turned against the Royalists in Lancashire. In June Lord
Derby went to the Isle of Man, which was threatened by the king's
enemies. Soon after, the Parliamentarians captured Hornby castle, and
only two strongholds, Thurland castle and Lathom house, remained in
Royalist hands. In the summer, after a seven weeks' siege by Colonel
Alexander Rigby, Thurland castle surrendered and was demolished. In
February 1644 the Parliamentarians, under Colonel Rigby, Colonel Ashton
and Colonel Moore, besieged Lathom house, the one refuge left to the
Royalists, which was bravely defended by Lord Derby's heroic wife,
Charlotte de la Trémoille. The siege lasted nearly four months and was
raised on the approach of Prince Rupert, who marched to Bolton and was
joined on his arrival outside the town by Lord Derby. Bolton was carried
by storm; Rupert ordered that no quarter should be given, and it is
usually said at least 1500 of the garrison were slain. Prince Rupert
advanced without delay to Liverpool, which was defended by Colonel
Moore, and took it after a siege of three weeks. After the battle of
Marston Moor Prince Rupert again appeared in Lancashire and small
engagements took place at Ormskirk, Upholland and Preston; in November
Liverpool surrendered to the Parliamentarians. Lathom house was again
the only strong place in Lancashire left to the Royalists, and in
December 1645 after a five months' siege it was compelled to surrender
through lack of provisions, and was almost entirely destroyed. For the
moment the war in Lancashire was over. In 1648, however, the Royalist
forces under the duke of Hamilton and Sir Marmaduke Langdale marched
through Lancaster to Preston, hoping to reach Manchester; but near
Preston were defeated by Cromwell in person. The remnant retreated
through Wigan towards Warrington, and after being again defeated at
Winwick surrendered at Warrington. In 1651 Charles II. advanced through
Lancaster, Preston and Chorley on his southward march, and Lord Derby
after gathering forces was on his way to meet him when he was defeated
at Wigan. In 1658, after Cromwell's death, a Royalist rebellion was
raised in which Lancashire took a prominent part, but it was quickly
suppressed. During the Rebellion of 1715 Manchester was the chief centre
of Roman Catholic and High Church Toryism. On the 7th of November the
Scottish army entered Lancaster, where the Pretender was proclaimed
king, and advanced to Preston, at which place a considerable body of
Roman Catholics joined it. The rebels remained at Preston a few days,
apparently unaware of the advance of the government troops, until
General Wills from Manchester and General Carpenter from Lancaster
surrounded the town, and on the 13th of November the town and the rebel
garrison surrendered. Several of the rebels were hanged at Preston,
Wigan, Lancaster and other places. In 1745 Prince Charles Edward passed
through the county and was joined by about 200 adherents, called the
Manchester regiment and placed under the command of Colonel Townley, who
was afterwards executed.
The first industry established in Lancashire was that of wool, and with
the founding of Furness abbey in 1127 wool farming on a large scale
began here, but the bulk of the wool grown was exported, not worked up
in England. In 1282, however, there was a mill for fulling or bleaching
wool in Manchester, and by the middle of the 16th century there was
quite a flourishing trade in worsted goods. In an act of 1552 Manchester
"rugs and frizes" are specially mentioned, and in 1566 another act
regulated the fees of the aulnager who was to have his deputies at
Manchester, Rochdale, Bolton, Blackburn and Bury; the duty of the
aulnagers was to prevent "cottons, frizes and rugs" from being sold
unsealed, but it must be noted that by cottons is not meant what we now
understand by the word, but woollen goods. The 17th century saw the
birth of the class of clothiers, who purchased the wool in large
quantities or kept their own sheep, and delivered it to weavers who
worked it up into cloth in their houses and returned it to the
employers. The earliest mention of the manufacture of real cotton goods
is in 1641, when Manchester made fustians, vermilions and dimities, but
the industry did not develop to any extent until after the invention of
the fly shuttle by John Kay in 1733, of the spinning jenny by James
Hargreaves of Blackburn in 1765, of the water frame throstle by Richard
Arkwright of Bolton in 1769, and of the mule by Samuel Crompton of
Hall-in-the-Wood near Bolton in 1779. So rapid was the development of
the cotton manufacture that in 1787 there were over forty cotton mills
in Lancashire, all worked by water power. In 1789, however, steam was
applied to the industry in Manchester, and in 1790 in Bolton a cotton
mill was worked by steam. The increase in the import of raw cotton from
3,870,000 lb. in 1769 to 1,083,600,000 in 1860 shows the growth of the
industry. The rapid growth was accompanied with intermittent periods of
depression, which in 1819 in particular led to the formation of various
political societies and to the Blanketeers' Meeting and the Peterloo
Massacre. During the American Civil War the five years' cotton famine
caused untold misery in the county, but public and private relief
mitigated the evils, and one good result was the introduction of
machinery capable of dealing with the shorter staple of Indian cotton,
thus rendering the trade less dependent for its supplies on America.
During the 18th century the only town where maritime trade increased was
Liverpool, where in the last decade about 4500 ships arrived annually of
a tonnage about one-fifth that of the London shipping. The prosperity of
Liverpool was closely bound up with the slave trade, and about
one-fourth of its ships were employed in this business. With the
increase of trade the means of communication improved. In 1758 the duke
of Bridgewater began the Bridgewater canal from Worsley to Salford and
across the Irwell to Manchester, and before the end of the century the
county was intersected by canals. In 1830 the first railway in England
was opened between Manchester and Liverpool, and other railways rapidly
followed.
The first recorded instance of parliamentary representation in
Lancashire was in 1295, when two knights were returned for the county
and two burgesses each for the boroughs of Lancaster, Preston, Wigan
and Liverpool. The sheriff added to this return "There is no city in
the county of Lancaster." The boroughs were, however, excused one
after another from parliamentary representation, which was felt as a
burden owing to the compulsory payment of the members' wages.
Lancaster ceased to send members in 1331 after making nineteen
returns, but renewed its privileges in 1529; from 1529 to 1547 there
are no parliamentary returns, but from 1547 to 1867 Lancaster
continued to return two members. Preston similarly was excused after
1331, after making eleven returns, but in 1529 and from 1547 onwards
returned two members. Liverpool and Wigan sent members in 1295 and
1307, but not again till 1547. To the writ issued in 1362 the sheriff
in his return says: "There is not any City or Borough in this County
from which citizens or burgesses ought or are accustomed to come as
this Writ requires." In 1559 Clitheroe and Newton-le-Willows first
sent two members. Thus in all Lancashire returned fourteen members,
and, with a brief exception during the Commonwealth, this continued to
be the parliamentary representation till 1832. By the Reform Act of
1832 Lancashire was assigned four members, two for the northern and
two for the southern division. Lancaster, Preston, Wigan and Liverpool
continued to send two members, Clitheroe returned one and Newton was
disfranchised. The following new boroughs were created: Manchester,
Bolton, Blackburn, Oldham, returning two members each;
Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury, Rochdale, Salford and Warrington, one each.
In 1861 a third member was given to South Lancashire and in 1867 the
county was divided into four constituencies, to each of which four
members were assigned; since 1885 the county returns twenty-three
members. The boroughs returned from 1867 to 1885 twenty-five members,
and since 1885 thirty-four.
_Antiquities._--The Cistercian abbey of Furness (q.v.) is one of the
finest and most extensive ecclesiastical ruins in England. Whalley
abbey, first founded at Stanlawe in Cheshire in 1178, and removed in
1296, belonged to the same order. There was a priory of Black Canons
at Burscough, founded in the time of Richard I., one at Conishead
dating from Henry II.'s reign, and one at Lancaster. A convent of
Augustinian friars was founded at Cartmel in 1188, and one at
Warrington about 1280. There are some remains of the Benedictine
priory of Upholland, changed from a college of secular priests in
1318; and the same order had a priory at Lancaster founded in 1094, a
cell at Lytham, of the reign of Richard I., and a priory at
Penwortham, founded shortly after the time of the Conqueror. The
Premonstratensians had Cockersand abbey, changed in 1190 from a
hospital founded in the reign of Henry II., of which the chapter-house
remains. At Kersal, near Manchester, there was a cell of Cluniac monks
founded in the reign of John, while at Lancaster there were convents
of Dominicans and Franciscans, and at Preston a priory of Grey Friars
built by Edmund, earl of Lancaster, son of Henry III.
Besides the churches mentioned under the several towns, the more
interesting are those of Aldingham, Norman doorway; Aughton; Cartmel
priory church (see Furness); Hawkshead; Heysham, Norman with traces of
earlier date; Hoole; Huyton; Kirkby, rebuilt, with very ancient font;
Kirkby Ireleth, late Perpendicular, with Norman doorway; Leyland;
Melling (in Lonsdale), Perpendicular, with stained-glass windows;
Middleton, rebuilt in 1524, but containing part of the Norman church
and several monuments; Ormskirk, Perpendicular with traces of Norman,
having two towers, one of which is detached and surmounted by a spire;
Overton, with Norman doorway; Radcliffe, Norman; Sefton,
Perpendicular, with fine brass and recumbent figures of the Molyneux
family, also a screen exquisitely carved; Stidd, near Ribchester,
Norman arch and old monuments; Tunstall, late Perpendicular; Upholland
priory church, Early English, with low massy tower; Urswick, Norman,
with embattled tower and several old monuments; Walton-on-the-hill,
anciently the parish church of Liverpool; Walton-le-Dale; Warton, with
old font; Whalley abbey church, Decorated and Perpendicular, with
Runic stone monuments.
The principal old castles are those of Lancaster; Dalton, a small rude
tower occupying the site of an older building; two towers of Gleaston
castle, built by the lords of Aldingham in the 14th century; the ruins
of Greenhalgh castle, built by the first earl of Derby, and demolished
after a siege by order of parliament in 1649; the ruins of Fouldrey in
Piel Island near the entrance to Barrow harbour, erected in the reign
of Edward III., now most dilapidated. There are many old timber houses
and mansions of interest, as well as numerous modern seats.
See _Victoria History of Lancashire_ (1906-1907); E. Baines, _The
History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster_ (1888); H.
Fishwick, _A History of Lancashire_ (1894); W. D. Pink and A. B.
Beavan, _The Parliamentary Representation of Lancashire_ (1889).
LANCASTER, HOUSE OF. The name House of Lancaster is commonly used to
designate the line of English kings immediately descended from John of
Gaunt, the fourth son of Edward III. But the history of the family and
of the title goes back to the reign of Henry III., who created his
second son, Edmund, earl of Lancaster in 1267. This Edmund received in
his own day the surname of Crouchback, not, as was afterwards supposed,
from a personal deformity, but from having worn a cross upon his back in
token of a crusading vow. He is not a person of much importance in
history except in relation to a strange theory raised in a later age
about his birth, which we shall notice presently. His son Thomas, who
inherited the title, took the lead among the nobles of Edward II.'s time
in opposition to Piers Gaveston and the Despensers, and was beheaded for
treason at Pontefract. At the commencement of the following reign his
attainder was reversed and his brother Henry restored to the earldom;
and Henry being appointed guardian to the young king Edward III.,
assisted him to throw off the yoke of Mortimer. On this Henry's death in
1345 he was succeeded by a son of the same name, sometimes known as
Henry Tort-Col or Wryneck, a very valiant commander in the French wars,
whom the king advanced to the dignity of a duke. Only one duke had been
created in England before, and that was fourteen years previously, when
the king's son Edward, the Black Prince, was made duke of Cornwall. This
Henry Wryneck died in 1361 without heir male. His second daughter,
Blanche, became the wife of John of Gaunt, who thus succeeded to the
duke's inheritance in her right; and on the 13th of November 1362, when
King Edward attained the age of fifty, John was created duke of
Lancaster, his elder brother, Lionel, being at the same time created
duke of Clarence. It was from these two dukes that the rival houses of
Lancaster and York derived their respective claims to the crown. As
Clarence was King Edward's third son, while John of Gaunt was his
fourth, in ordinary course on the failure of the elder line the issue of
Clarence should have taken precedence of that of Lancaster in the
succession. But the rights of Clarence were conveyed in the first
instance to an only daughter, and the ambition and policy of the house
of Lancaster, profiting by advantageous circumstances, enabled them not
only to gain possession of the throne but to maintain themselves in it
for three generations before they were dispossessed by the
representatives of the elder brother.
As for John of Gaunt himself, it can hardly be said that this sort of
politic wisdom is very conspicuous in him. His ambition was generally
more manifest than his discretion; but fortune favoured his ambition,
even as to himself, somewhat beyond expectation, and still more in his
posterity. Before the death of his father he had become the greatest
subject in England, his three elder brothers having all died before him.
He had even added to his other dignities the title of king of Castile,
having married, after his first wife's death, the daughter of Peter the
Cruel. The title, however, was an empty one, the throne of Castile being
actually in the possession of Henry of Trastamara, whom the English had
vainly endeavoured to set aside. His military and naval enterprises were
for the most part disastrous failures, and in England he was exceedingly
unpopular. Nevertheless, during the later years of his father's reign
the weakness of the king and the declining health of the Black Prince
threw the government very much into his hands. He even aimed, or was
suspected of aiming, at the succession to the crown; but in this hope he
was disappointed by the action of the Good Parliament a year before
Edward's death, in which it was settled that Richard the son of the
Black Prince should be king after his grandfather. Nevertheless the
suspicion with which he was regarded was not altogether quieted when
Richard came to the throne, a boy in the eleventh year of his age. The
duke himself complained in parliament of the way he was spoken of out of
doors, and at the outbreak of Wat Tyler's insurrection the peasants
stopped pilgrims on the road to Canterbury and made them swear never to
accept a king of the name of John. On gaining possession of London they
burnt his magnificent palace of the Savoy. Richard found a convenient
way to get rid of John of Gaunt by sending him to Castile to make good
his barren title, and on this expedition he was away three years. He
succeeded so far as to make a treaty with his rival, King John, son of
Henry of Trastamara, for the succession, by virtue of which his
daughter Catherine became the wife of Henry III. of Castile some years
later. After his return the king seems to have regarded him with greater
favour, created him duke of Aquitaine, and employed him in repeated
embassies to France, which at length resulted in a treaty of peace, and
Richard's marriage to the French king's daughter.
Another marked incident of his public life was the support which he gave
on one occasion to the Reformer Wycliffe. How far this was due to
religious and how far to political considerations may be a question; but
not only John of Gaunt but his immediate descendants, the three kings of
the house of Lancaster, all took deep interest in the religious
movements of the times. A reaction against Lollardy, however, had
already begun in the days of Henry IV., and both he and his son felt
obliged to discountenance opinions which were believed to be politically
and theologically dangerous.
Accusations had been made against John of Gaunt more than once during
the earlier part of Richard II.'s reign of entertaining designs to
supplant his nephew on the throne. But these Richard never seems to have
wholly credited, and during his three years' absence his younger
brother, Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, showed himself a far
more dangerous intriguer. Five confederate lords with Gloucester at
their head took up arms against the king's favourite ministers, and the
Wonderful Parliament put to death without remorse almost every agent of
his former administration who had not fled the country. Gloucester even
contemplated the dethronement of the king, but found that in this matter
he could not rely on the support of his associates, one of whom was
Henry, earl of Derby, the duke of Lancaster's son. Richard soon
afterwards, by declaring himself of age, shook off his uncle's control,
and within ten years the acts of the Wonderful Parliament were reversed
by a parliament no less arbitrary. Gloucester and his allies were then
brought to account; but the earl of Derby and Thomas Mowbray, earl of
Nottingham, were taken into favour as having opposed the more violent
proceedings of their associates. As if to show his entire confidence in
both these noblemen, the king created the former duke of Hereford and
the latter duke of Norfolk. But within three months from this time the
one duke accused the other of treason, and the truth of the charge,
after much consideration, was referred to trial by battle according to
the laws of chivalry. But when the combat was about to commence it was
interrupted by the king, who, to preserve the peace of the kingdom,
decreed by his own mere authority that the duke of Hereford should be
banished for ten years--a term immediately afterwards reduced to
five--and the duke of Norfolk for life.
This arbitrary sentence was obeyed in the first instance by both
parties, and Norfolk never returned. But Henry, duke of Hereford, whose
milder sentence was doubtless owing to the fact that he was the popular
favourite, came back within a year, having been furnished with a very
fair pretext for doing so by a new act of injustice on the part of
Richard. His father, John of Gaunt, had died in the interval, and the
king, troubled with a rebellion in Ireland, and sorely in want of money,
had seized the duchy of Lancaster as forfeited property. Henry at once
sailed for England, and landing in Yorkshire while King Richard was in
Ireland, gave out that he came only to recover his inheritance. He at
once received the support of the northern lords, and as he marched
southwards the whole kingdom was soon practically at his command.
Richard, by the time he had recrossed the channel to Wales, discovered
that his cause was lost. He was conveyed from Chester to London, and
forced to execute a deed by which he resigned his crown. This was
recited in parliament, and he was formally deposed. The duke of
Lancaster then claimed the kingdom as due to himself by virtue of his
descent from Henry III.
The claim which he put forward involved, to all appearance, a strange
falsification of history, for it seemed to rest upon the supposition
that Edmund of Lancaster, and not Edward I., was the eldest son of Henry
III. A story had gone about, even in the days of John of Gaunt, who, if
we may trust the rhymer John Hardyng (_Chronicle_, pp. 290, 291), had
got it inserted in chronicles deposited in various monasteries, that
this Edmund, surnamed Crouchback, was really hump-backed, and that he
was set aside in favour of his younger brother Edward on account of his
deformity. No chronicle, however, is known to exist which actually
states that Edmund Crouchback was thus set aside; and in point of fact
he had no deformity at all, while Edward was six years his senior.
Hardyng's testimony is, moreover, suspicious as reflecting the
prejudices of the Percys after they had turned against Henry IV., for
Hardyng himself expressly says that the earl of Northumberland was the
source of his information (see note, p. 353 of his _Chronicle_). But a
statement in the continuation of the chronicle called the _Eulogium_
(vol. iii. pp. 369, 370) corroborates Hardyng to some extent; for we are
told that John of Gaunt had once desired in parliament that his son
should be recognized on this flimsy plea as heir to the crown; and when
Roger Mortimer, earl of March, denied the story and insisted on his own
claim as descended from Lionel, duke of Clarence, Richard imposed
silence on both parties. However this may be, it is certain that this
story, though not directly asserted to be true, was indirectly pointed
at by Henry when he put forward his claim, and no one was then bold
enough to challenge it.
This was partly due, no doubt, to the fact that the true lineal heir
after Richard was then a child, Edmund, who had just succeeded his
father as earl of March. Another circumstance was unfavourable to the
house of Mortimer--that it derived its title through a woman. No case
precisely similar had as yet arisen, and, notwithstanding the precedent
of Henry II., it might be doubted whether succession through a female
was favoured by the constitution. If not, Henry could say with truth
that he was the direct heir of his grandfather, Edward III. If, on the
other hand, succession through females was valid, he could trace his
descent through his mother from Henry III. by a very illustrious line of
ancestors. And, in the words by which he formally made his claim, he
ventured to say no more than that he was descended from the king last
mentioned "by right line of the blood." In what particular way that
"right line" was to be traced he did not venture to indicate.
A brief epitome of the reigns of the three successive kings belonging to
the house of Lancaster (Henry IV., V. and VI.) will be found elsewhere.
With the death of Henry VI. the direct male line of John of Gaunt became
extinct. But by his daughters he became the ancestor of more than one
line of foreign kings, while his descendants by his third wife,
Catherine Swynford, conveyed the crown of England to the house of Tudor.
It is true that his children by this lady were born before he married
her; but they were made legitimate by act of parliament, and, though
Henry IV. in confirming the privilege thus granted to them endeavoured
to debar them from the succession to the crown, it is now ascertained
that there was no such reservation in the original act, and the title
claimed by Henry VII. was probably better than he himself supposed.
We show on the following page a pedigree of the royal and illustrious
houses that traced their descent from John of Gaunt. (J. Ga.)
LANCASTER, HENRY, EARL OF (c. 1281-1345), was the second son of Edmund,
earl of Lancaster (d. 1296), and consequently a grandson of Henry III.
During his early days he took part in campaigns in Flanders, Scotland
and Wales, but was quite overshadowed by his elder brother Thomas (see
below). In 1324, two years after Thomas had lost his life for opposing
the king, Henry was made earl of Leicester by his cousin, Edward II.,
but he was not able to secure the titles and estates of Lancaster to
which he was heir, and be showed openly that his sympathies were with
his dead brother. When Queen Isabella took up arms against her husband
in 1326 she was joined at once by the earl, who took a leading part in
the proceedings against the king and his favourites, the Despensers,
being Edward's gaoler at Kenilworth castle. Edward III. being now on the
throne, Leicester secured the earldom of Lancaster and his brother's
lands, becoming also steward of England; he knighted the young king and
was the foremost member of the royal council, but he was soon at
variance with Isabella and her paramour, Roger Mortimer, and was
practically deprived of his power. In 1328 his attempt to overthrow
Mortimer failed, and he quietly made his peace with the king; a second
essay against Mortimer was more successful. About this time Lancaster
became blind; he retired from public life and died on the 22nd of
September, 1345.
TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL DESCENDANTS OF JOHN OF GAUNT.
John of Gaunt, = Blanche, = Constance, = Catherine,
duke of Lancaster, titular king | daughter and heiress of | the elder of the two daughters | daughter of Sir Payne Roet,
of Castile. | Henry, duke of Lancaster. | and heiresses of Peter, king of | widow of Sir Hugh Swynford.
| | Castile and Leon. |
+---------------+------------+-----------------------------+ | +----------+-------+--+------------------+
| | | | | | | | |
Philippa, Henry IV.,= Mary de Bohun,= Joan, Elizabeth, Catherine, John Henry Thomas Joan Beaufort,
married to king of | daughter and daughter of married to John married to Prince Beaufort, Beaufort, Beaufort, wife of Ralph Nevill, 1st
John I., king England. | co-heir of Charles the Holand, duke of Henry, afterwards earl of cardinal. duke of earl of Westmoreland, by
of Portugal. | Humphrey de Bad, king Exeter, who was Henry III. of Somerset. Exeter. whom she became an ancestor
| | Bohun, earl of of Navarre. beheaded by Henry Castile. | of Edward IV., Richard III.,
Edward, | Hereford and No issue. IV.; afterwards to | +-+------------------+ Warwick the King Maker and
king of | Essex. Sir John Cornwall, John II. | | many noble families.
Portugal. | created Baron king of Castile. Henry John
| | Fanhope. | Beaufort, Beaufort,
+----+--------+ +-+------------------------+----------+-----+----+ Isabella of Castile, earl of earl, afterwards
| | | | | | | queen of Ferdinand Somerset. duke, of
| | | | | | | of Aragon; whose Somerset.
| | | | | | | descendants were |
Alphonso V. Ferdinand, Henry V., = Catherine, Thomas, John, | Humphrey, kings of Spain till Edmund, = Margaret
of Portugal. duke of Viseu. king of | daughter of duke of duke of | duke of the accession of the earl of Rich- | Beaufort.
| | England. | Charles IV. Clarence. Bedford.| Gloucester. Bourbons in 1700. mond, son of |
John II Emmanuel, | of France | Sir Owen Tudor |
of Portugal. king of Portugal; | afterwards | by Catherine, |
whose descendants | Tudor. Philippa, widow of Henry |
have reigned in that | married V. |
country ever since. Henry VI. to Eric |
| VII. of Henry VII.,
Edward, Denmark king of England.
prince of Wales. of Sweden. |
|
+---------------------+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| | |
Henry VIII. Margaret = James IV. Mary. = Charles Brandon,
| | king of Scotland. | duke of Suffolk.
+-----------+-----------+ | |
| | | James V., +-------+---+-----------------+
Edward VI. Mary, Elizabeth, king of Scotland. | | |
queen of queen of | Henry, Frances, Eleanor,
England. England. Mary Stuart. earl of wife of Henry wife of Henry,
| Lincoln. Grey, marquess 2nd. earl of
James VI. of Scotland of Dorset, Cumberland.
and I. of England created duke of
whose descendants Suffolk.
have reigned in Great |
Britain ever since. Lady Jane Grey
and others.
His son and successor, HENRY, 1st duke of Lancaster (c. 1300-1361), was
a soldier of unusual distinction. Probably from his birthplace in
Monmouthshire he was called Henry of Grosmont. He fought in the naval
fight off Sluys and in the one off Winchelsea in 1350; he led armies
into Scotland, Gascony and Normandy, his exploits in Gascony in 1345 and
1346 being especially successful; he served frequently under Edward III.
himself; and he may be fairly described as one of the most brilliant and
capable of the English warriors during the earlier part of the Hundred
Years' War. During a brief respite from the king's service he led a
force into Prussia and he was often employed on diplomatic business. In
1354 he was at Avignon negotiating with Pope Innocent VI., who wished to
make peace between England and France, and one of his last acts was to
assist in arranging the details of the treaty of Brétigny in 1360. In
1337 he was made earl of Derby; in 1345 he succeeded to his father's
earldoms of Lancaster and Leicester; in 1349 he was created earl of
Lincoln, and in 1351 he was made duke of Lancaster. He was steward of
England and one of the original knights of the order of the garter. He
died at Leicester on the 13th of March 1361. He left no sons; one of his
daughters, Maud (d. 1362), married William V., count of Holland, a son
of the emperor Louis the Bavarian, and the other, Blanche (d. 1369),
married Edward III.'s son, John of Gaunt, who obtained his
father-in-law's titles and estates.
LANCASTER, SIR JAMES (fl. 1591-1618), English navigator and statesman,
one of the foremost pioneers of the British Indian trade and empire. In
early life he fought and traded in Portugal. On the 10th of April 1591
he started from Plymouth, with Raymond and Foxcroft, on his first great
voyage to the East Indies; this fleet of three ships is the earliest of
English oversea Indian expeditions. Reaching Table Bay (1st of August
1591), and losing one ship off Cape Corrientes on the 12th of September,
the squadron rested and refitted at Zanzibar (February 1592), rounded
Cape Comorin in May following, and was off the Malay Peninsula in June.
Crossing later to Ceylon, the crews insisted on returning home; the
voyage back was disastrous; only twenty-five officers and men reappeared
in England in 1594. Lancaster himself reached Rye on the 24th of May
1594; in the same year he led a military expedition against Pernambuco,
without much success; but his Indian voyage, like Ralph Fitch's overland
explorations and trading, was an important factor in the foundation of
the East India Company. In 1600 he was given command of the company's
first fleet (which sailed from Torbay towards the end of April 1601); he
was also accredited as Queen Elizabeth's special envoy to various
Eastern potentates. Going by the Cape of Good Hope (1st of November
1601) Lancaster visited the Nicobars (from the 9th of April 1602), Achin
and other parts of Sumatra (from the 5th of June 1602), and Bantam in
Java; an alliance was concluded with Achin, a factory established at
Bantam and a commercial mission despatched to the Moluccas. The return
voyage (20th of February to 11th of September 1603) was speedy and
prosperous, and Lancaster (whose success both in trade and in diplomacy
had been brilliant) was rewarded with knighthood (October 1603). He
continued to be one of the chief directors of the East India Company
till his death in May 1618; most of the voyages of the early Stuart time
both to India and in search of the North-West passage were undertaken
under his advice and direction; Lancaster Sound, on the north-west of
Baffin's Bay (in 74° 20' N.), was named by William Baffin after Sir
James (July 1616).
See Hakluyt, _Principal Navigations_, vol. ii. pt. ii. pp. 102-110,
vol. iii. pp. 708-715 (1599); Purchas, _Pilgrims_, vol. i. pt. ii. pp.
147-164; also _The Voyages of Sir James Lancaster ... to the East
Indies ..._, ed. Sir Clements Markham, Hakluyt Soc. (1877), _Calendars
of State Papers, East Indies_. The original journals of Lancaster's
voyage of 1601-1603 have disappeared, and here we have only Purchas to
go on.
LANCASTER, JOHN OF GAUNT, _Duke of_ (1340-1399), fourth son of Edward
III. and Queen Philippa, was born in March 1340 at Ghent, whence his
name. On the 29th of September 1342 he was made earl of Richmond; as a
child he was present at the sea fight with the Spaniards in August 1350,
but his first military service was in 1355, when he was knighted. On the
19th of May 1359 he married his cousin Blanche, daughter and ultimately
sole heiress of Henry, duke of Lancaster. In her right he became earl of
Lancaster in 1361, and next year was created duke. His marriage made him
the greatest lord in England, but for some time he took no prominent
part in public affairs. In 1366 he joined his eldest brother, Edward the
Black Prince, in Aquitaine, and in the year after led a strong
contingent to share in the campaign in support of Pedro the Cruel of
Castile. With this began the connexion with Spain, which was to have so
great an influence on his after-life. John fought in the van at Najera
on the 3rd of April 1367, when the English victory restored Pedro to his
throne. He returned home at the end of the year. Pedro proved false to
his English allies, and was finally overthrown and killed by his rival,
Henry of Trastamara, in 1369. The disastrous Spanish enterprise led
directly to renewed war between France and England. In August 1369 John
had command of an army which invaded northern France without success. In
the following year he went again to Aquitaine, and was present with the
Black Prince at the sack of Limoges. Edward's health was broken down,
and he soon after went home, leaving John as his lieutenant. For a year
John maintained the war at his own cost, but whilst in Aquitaine a
greater prospect was opened to him. The duchess Blanche had died in the
autumn of 1369 and now John married Constance (d. 1394), the elder
daughter of Pedro the Cruel, and in her right assumed the title of king
of Castile and Leon. For sixteen years the pursuit of his kingdom was
the chief object of John's ambition. No doubt he hoped to achieve his
end, when he commanded the great army which invaded France in 1373. But
the French would not give battle, and though John marched from Calais
right through Champagne, Burgundy and Auvergne, it was with disastrous
results; only a shattered remnant of the host reached Bordeaux.
The Spanish scheme had to wait, and when John got back to England he was
soon absorbed in domestic politics. The king was prematurely old, the
Black Prince's health was broken. John, in spite of the unpopularity of
his ill-success, was forced into the foremost place. As head of the
court party he had to bear the brunt of the attack on the administration
made by the Good Parliament in 1376. It was not perhaps altogether just,
and John was embittered by reflections on his loyalty. As soon as the
parliament was dissolved he had its proceedings reversed, and next year
secured a more subservient assembly. There came, however, a new
development. The duke's politics were opposed by the chief
ecclesiastics, and in resisting them he had made use of Wycliffe. With
Wycliffe's religious opinions he had no sympathy. Nevertheless when the
bishops arraigned the reformer for heresy John would not abandon him.
The conflict over the trial led to a violent quarrel with the Londoners,
and a riot in the city during which John was in danger of his life from
the angry citizens. The situation was entirely altered by the death of
Edward III. on the 21st of June. Though his enemies had accused him of
aiming at the throne, John was without any taint of disloyalty. In his
nephew's interests he accepted a compromise, disclaimed before
parliament the truth of the malicious rumours against him, and was
reconciled formally with his opponents. Though he took his proper place
in the ceremonies at Richard's coronation, he showed a tactful
moderation by withdrawing for a time from any share in the government.
However, in the summer of 1378, he commanded in an attack on St Malo,
which through no fault of his failed. To add to this misfortune, during
his absence some of his supporters violated the sanctuary at
Westminster. He vindicated himself somewhat bitterly in a parliament at
Gloucester, but still avoiding a prominent part in the government,
accepted the command on the Scottish border. He was there engaged when
his palace of the Savoy in London was burnt during the peasants' revolt
in June 1381. Wild reports that even the government had declared him a
traitor made him seek refuge in Scotland. Richard had, however,
denounced the calumnies, and at once recalled his uncle.
John's self-restraint had strengthened his position, and he began again
to think of his Spanish scheme. He urged its undertaking in parliament
in 1382, but nearer troubles were more urgent, and John himself was
wanted on the Scottish border. There he sought to arrange peace, but
against his will was forced into an unfortunate campaign in 1384. His
ill-success renewed his unpopularity, and the court favourites of
Richard II. intrigued against him. They were probably responsible for
the allegation, made by a Carmelite, called Latemar, that John was
conspiring against his nephew. Though Richard at first believed it, the
matter was disposed of by the friar's death. However, the court party
soon after concocted a fresh plot for the duke's destruction; John
boldly denounced his traducers, and the quarrel was appeased by the
intervention of the king's mother. The intrigue still continued, and
broke out again during the Scottish campaign in 1385. John was not the
man to be forced into treason to his family, but the impossibility of
the position at home made his foreign ambitions more feasible.
The victory of John of Portugal over the king of Castile at Aljubarrota,
won with English help, offered an opportunity. In July 1386 John left
England with a strong force to win his Spanish throne. He landed at
Corunna, and during the autumn conquered Galicia. Juan, who had
succeeded his father Henry as king of Castile, offered a compromise by
marriage. John of Gaunt refused, hoping for greater success with the
help of the king of Portugal, who now married the duke's eldest daughter
Philippa. In the spring the allies invaded Castile. They could achieve
no success, and sickness ruined the English army. The conquests of the
previous year were lost, and when Juan renewed his offers, John of Gaunt
agreed to surrender his claims to his daughter by Constance of Castile,
who was to marry Juan's heir. After some delay the peace was concluded
at Bayonne in 1388. The next eighteen months were spent by John as
lieutenant of Aquitaine, and it was not till November 1389 that he
returned to England. By his absence he had avoided implication in the
troubles at home. Richard, still insecure of his own position, welcomed
his uncle, and early in the following year marked his favour by creating
him duke of Aquitaine. John on his part was glad to support the king's
government; during four years he exercised his influence in favour of
pacification at home, and abroad was chiefly responsible for the
conclusion of a truce with France. Then in 1395 he went to take up the
government of his duchy; thanks chiefly to his lavish expenditure his
administration was not unsuccessful, but the Gascons had from the first
objected to government except by the crown, and secured his recall
within less than a year. Almost immediately after his return John
married as his third wife Catherine Swynford; Constance of Castile had
died in 1394. Catherine had been his mistress for many years, and his
children by her, who bore the name of Beaufort, were now legitimated. In
this and in other matters Richard found it politic to conciliate him.
But though John presided at the trial of the earl of Arundel in
September 1397, he took no active part in affairs. The exile of his son
Henry in 1398 was a blow from which he did not recover. He died on the
3rd of February 1399, and was buried at St Paul's near the high altar.
John was neither a great soldier nor a statesman, but he was a
chivalrous knight and loyal to what he believed were the interests of
his family. In spite of opportunities and provocations he never lent
himself to treason. He deserves credit for his protection of Wycliffe,
though he had no sympathy with his religious or political opinions. He
was also the patron of Chaucer, whose _Boke of the Duchesse_ was a
lament for Blanche of Lancaster.
The chief original sources for John's life are Froissart, the
maliciously hostile _Chronicon Angliae_ (1328-1388), and the
eulogistic _Chronicle_ of Henry Knighton (both the latter in the Rolls
Series). But fuller information is to be found in the excellent
biography by S. Armytage-Smith, published in 1904. For his descendants
see the table under LANCASTER, HOUSE OF. (C. L. K.)
LANCASTER, JOSEPH (1778-1838), English educationist, was born in
Southwark in 1778, the son of a Chelsea pensioner. He had few
opportunities of regular instruction, but he very early showed unusual
seriousness and desire for learning. At sixteen he looked forward to the
dissenting ministry; but soon after his religious views altered, and he
attached himself to the Society of Friends, with which he remained
associated for many years, until long afterwards he was disowned by that
body. At the age of twenty he began to gather a few poor children under
his father's roof, and to give them the rudiments of instruction,
without a fee, except in cases in which the parent was willing to pay a
trifle. Soon a thousand children were assembled in the Borough Road;
and, the attention of the duke of Bedford, Mr Whitbread, and others
having been directed to his efforts, he was provided with means for
building a schoolroom and supplying needful materials. The main features
of his plan were the employment of older scholars as monitors, and an
elaborate system of mechanical drill, by means of which these young
teachers were made to impart the rudiments of reading, writing and
arithmetic to large numbers at the same time. The material appliances
for teaching were very scanty--a few leaves torn out of spelling-books
and pasted on boards, some slates and a desk spread with sand, on which
the children wrote with their fingers. The order and cheerfulness of the
school and the military precision of the children's movements began to
attract much public observation at a time when the education of the poor
was almost entirely neglected. Lancaster inspired his young monitors
with fondness for their work and with pride in the institution of which
they formed a part. As these youths became more trustworthy, he found
himself at leisure to accept invitations to expound what he called "his
system" by lectures in various towns. In this way many new schools were
established, and placed under the care of young men whom he had trained.
In a memorable interview with George III., Lancaster was encouraged by
the expression of the king's wish that every poor child in his dominions
should be taught to read the Bible. Royal patronage brought in its train
resources, fame and public responsibility, which proved to be beyond
Lancaster's own powers to sustain or control. He was vain, reckless and
improvident. In 1808 a few noblemen and gentlemen paid his debts, became
his trustees and founded the society at first called the Royal
Lancasterian Institution, but afterwards more widely known as the
British and Foreign School Society. The trustees soon found that
Lancaster was impatient of control, and that his wild impulses and
heedless extravagance made it impossible to work with him. He quarrelled
with the committee, set up a private school at Tooting, became bankrupt,
and in 1818 emigrated to America. There he met at first a warm
reception, gave several courses of lectures which were well attended,
and wrote to friends at home letters full of enthusiasm. But his fame
was short-lived. The miseries of debt and disappointment were aggravated
by sickness, and he settled for a time in the warmer climate of Carácas.
He afterwards visited St Thomas and Santa Cruz, and at length returned
to New York, the corporation of which city made him a public grant of
500 dollars in pity for the misfortunes which had by this time reduced
him to lamentable poverty. He afterwards visited Canada, where he gave
lectures at Montreal, and was encouraged to open a school which enjoyed
an ephemeral success, but was soon abandoned. A small annuity provided
by his friends in England was his only means of support. He formed a
plan for returning home and giving a new impetus to his "system," by
which he declared it would be possible "to teach ten thousand children
in different schools, not knowing their letters, all to read fluently in
three weeks to three months." But these visions were never realized. He
was run over by a carriage in the streets of New York on the 24th of
October 1838, and died in a few hours.
As one of the two rival inventors of what was called the "monitorial"
or "mutual" method of instruction, Lancaster's name was prominent for
many years in educational controversy. Dr Andrew Bell (q.v.) had in
1797 published an account of his experiments in teaching; and
Lancaster in his first pamphlet, published in 1803, frankly
acknowledges his debt to Bell for some useful hints. The two worked
independently, but Lancaster was the first to apply the system of
monitorial teaching on a large scale. As an economical experiment his
school at the Borough Road was a signal success. He had one thousand
scholars under discipline, and taught them to read, write and work
simple sums at a yearly cost of less than 5s. a head. His tract
_Improvements in Education_ described the gradation of ranks, the
system of signals and orders, the functions of the monitors, the
method of counting and of spelling and the curious devices he adopted
for punishing offenders. Bell's educational aims were humbler, as he
feared to "elevate above their station those who were doomed to the
drudgery of daily labour," and therefore did not desire to teach even
writing and ciphering to the lower classes. The main difference
between them was that the system of the one was adopted by
ecclesiastics and Conservatives,--the "National Society for the
Education of the Poor in the principles of the Established Church"
having been founded in 1811 for its propagation; while Lancaster's
method was patronized by the _Edinburgh Review_, by Whig statesmen, by
a few liberal Churchmen and by Nonconformists generally. It was the
design of Lancaster and his friends to make national education
Christian, but not sectarian,--to cause the Scriptures to be read,
explained and reverenced in the schools, without seeking by catechisms
or otherwise to attract the children to any particular church or sect.
This principle was at first vehemently denounced as deistic and
mischievous, and as especially hostile to the Established Church. To
do them justice, it must be owned that the rival claims and merits of
Bell and Lancaster were urged with more passion and unfairness by
their friends than by themselves. Yet neither is entitled to hold a
very high place among the world's teachers. Bell was cold, shrewd and
self-seeking. Lancaster had more enthusiasm, a genuine and abounding
love for children, and some ingenuity in devising plans both for
teaching and governing. But he was shiftless, wayward and
unmethodical, and incapable of sustained and high-principled personal
effort. His writings were not numerous. They consist mainly of short
pamphlets descriptive of the successes he attained at the Borough
Road. His last publication, _An Epitome of the Chief Events and
Transactions of my Own Life_, appeared in America in 1833, and is
characterized, even more strongly than his former writings, by
looseness and incoherency of style, by egotism and by a curious
incapacity for judging fairly the motives either of his friends or his
foes. We have since come to believe that intelligent teaching requires
skill and previous training, and that even the humblest rudiments are
not to be well taught by those who have only just acquired them for
themselves, or to be attained by mere mechanical drill. But in the
early stages of national education the monitorial method served a
valuable purpose. It brought large numbers of hitherto neglected
children under discipline, and gave them elementary instruction at a
very cheap rate. Moreover, the little monitors were often found to
make up in brightness, tractability and energy for their lack of
experience, and to teach the arts of reading, writing and computing
with surprising success. And one cardinal principle of Bell and
Lancaster is of prime importance. They regarded a school, not merely
as a place to which individual pupils should come for guidance from
teachers, but as an organized community whose members have much to
learn from each other. They sought to place their scholars from the
first in helpful mutual relations, and to make them feel the need of
common efforts towards the attainment of common ends. (J. G. F.)
LANCASTER, THOMAS, EARL OF (c. 1277-1322), was the eldest son of Edmund,
earl of Lancaster and titular king of Sicily, and a grandson of the
English king, Henry III.; while he was related to the royal house of
France both through his mother, Blanche, a granddaughter of Louis VIII.,
and his step-sister, Jeanne, queen of Navarre, the wife of Philip IV. A
minor when Earl Edmund died in 1296, Thomas received his father's
earldoms of Lancaster and Leicester in 1298, but did not become
prominent in English affairs until after the accession of his cousin,
Edward II., in July 1307. Having married Alice (d. 1348), daughter and
heiress of Henry Lacy, earl of Lincoln, and added the earldom of Derby
to those which he already held, he was marked out both by his wealth and
position as the leader of the barons in their resistance to the new
king. With his associates he produced the banishment of the royal
favourite, Piers Gaveston, in 1308; compelled Edward in 1310 to
surrender his power to a committee of "ordainers," among whom he himself
was numbered; and took up arms when Gaveston returned to England in
January 1312. Lancaster, who had just obtained the earldoms of Lincoln
and Salisbury on the death of his father-in-law in 1311, drove the king
and his favourite from Newcastle to Scarborough, and was present at the
execution of Gaveston in June 1312. After lengthy efforts at mediation,
he made his submission and received a full pardon from Edward in October
1313; but he refused to accompany the king on his march into Scotland,
which ended at Bannockburn, and took advantage of the English disaster
to wrest the control of affairs from the hands of Edward. In 1315 he
took command of the forces raised to fight the Scots, and was soon
appointed to the "chief place in the council," while his supporters
filled the great offices of state, but his rule was as feeble as that of
the monarch whom he had superseded. Quarrelling with some of the barons,
he neglected both the government and the defence of the kingdom, and in
1317 began a private war with John, Earl Warrenne, who had assisted his
countess to escape from her husband. The capture of Berwick by the
Scots, however, in April 1318 led to a second reconciliation with
Edward. A formal treaty, made in the following August, having been
ratified by parliament, the king and earl opened the siege of Berwick;
but there was no cohesion between their troops, and the undertaking was
quickly abandoned. On several occasions Lancaster was suspected of
intriguing with the Scots, and it is significant that his lands were
spared when Robert Bruce ravaged the north of England. He refused to
attend the councils or to take any part in the government until 1321,
when the Despensers were banished, and war broke out again between
himself and the king. Having conducted some military operations against
Lancaster's friends on the Welsh marches, Edward led his troops against
the earl, who gradually fell back from Burton-on-Trent to Pontefract.
Continuing this movement, Lancaster reached Boroughbridge, where he was
met by another body of royalists under Sir Andrew Harclay. After a
skirmish he was deserted by his troops, and was obliged to surrender.
Taken to his own castle at Pontefract, where the king was, he was
condemned to death as a rebel and a traitor, and was beheaded near the
town on the 22nd of March 1322. He left no children.
Although a coarse, selfish and violent man, without any of the
attributes of a statesman, Lancaster won a great reputation for
patriotism; and his memory was long cherished, especially in the north
of England, as that of a defender of popular liberties. Over a hundred
years after his death miracles were said to have been worked at his tomb
at Pontefract; thousands visited his effigy in St Paul's Cathedral,
London, and it was even proposed to make him a saint.
See _Chronicles of the Reigns of Edward I. and Edward II._, edited
with introduction by W. Stubbs (London, 1882-1883); and W. Stubbs,
_Constitutional History_, vol. ii. (Oxford, 1896).
LANCASTER, a market town and municipal borough, river port, and the
county town of Lancashire, England, in the Lancaster parliamentary
division, 230 m. N.W. by N. from London by the London & North-Western
railway (Castle Station); served also by a branch of the Midland railway
(Green Ayre station). Pop. (1891) 33,256; (1901) 40,329. It lies at the
head of the estuary of the river Lune, mainly on its south bank, 7 m.
from the sea. The site slopes sharply up to an eminence crowned by the
castle and the church of St Mary. Fine views over the rich valley and
Morecambe Bay to the west are commanded from the summit. St Mary's
church was originally attached by Roger de Poictou to his Benedictine
priory founded at the close of the 11th century. It contains some fine
Early English work in the nave arcade, but is of Perpendicular
workmanship in general appearance, while the tower dates from 1759.
There are some beautiful Decorated oak stalls in the chancel, brought
probably from Cockersand or Furness Abbey.
The castle occupies the site of a Roman _castrum_. The Saxon foundations
of a yet older structure remain, and the tower at the south-west corner
is supposed to have been erected during the reign of Hadrian. The
Dungeon Tower, also supposed to be of Roman origin, was taken down in
1818. The greater part of the old portion of the present structure was
built by Roger de Poictou, who utilized some of the Roman towers and the
old walls. In 1322 much damage was done to the castle by Robert Bruce,
whose attack it successfully resisted, but it was restored and
strengthened by John of Gaunt, who added the greater part of the Gateway
Tower as well as a turret on the keep or Lungess Tower, which on that
account has been named "John o' Gaunt's Chair." During the Civil War the
castle was captured by Cromwell. Shortly after this it was put to public
use, and now, largely modernized, contains the assize courts and gaol.
Its appearance, with massive buildings surrounding a quadrangle, is
picturesque and dignified. Without the walls is a pleasant terrace walk.
Other buildings include several handsome modern churches and chapels
(notably the Roman Catholic church); the Storey Institute with art
gallery, technical and art schools, museum and library, presented to the
borough by Sir Thomas Storey in 1887; Palatine Hall, Ripley hospital (an
endowed school for the children of residents in Lancaster and the
neighbourhood), the asylum, the Royal Lancaster infirmary and an
observatory in the Williamson Park. A new town hall, presented by Lord
Ashton in 1909, is a handsome classical building from designs of E. W.
Mountford. The Ashton Memorial in Williamson Park, commemorating members
of the Ashton family, is a lofty domed structure. The grammar school
occupies modern buildings, but its foundation dates from the close of
the 15th century, and in its former Jacobean house near the church
William Whewell and Sir Richard Owen were educated. A horseshoe inserted
in the pavement at Horseshoe Corner in the town, and renewed from time
to time, is said to mark the place where a shoe was cast by John of
Gaunt's horse.
The chief industries are cotton-spinning, cabinet-making, oil
cloth-making, railway wagon-building and engineering. Glasson Dock, 5 m.
down the Lune, with a graving dock, is accessible to vessels of 600
tons. The Kendal and Lancaster canal reaches the town by an aqueduct
over the Lune, which is also crossed by a handsome bridge dated 1788.
The town has further connexion by canal with Preston. The corporation
consists of a mayor, 8 aldermen and 24 councillors. Area, 3506 acres.
_History._--Lancaster (Lone-caster or Lunecastrum) was an important
Roman station, and traces of the Roman fortification wall remain. The
Danes left few memorials of their occupation, and the Runic Cross found
here, once supposed to be Danish, is now conclusively proved to be
Anglo-Saxon. At the Conquest, the place, reduced in size and with its
Roman castrum almost in ruins, became a possession of Roger de Poictou,
who founded or enlarged the present castle on the old site. The town and
castle had a somewhat chequered ownership till in 1266 they were granted
by Henry III. to his son Edmund, first earl of Lancaster, and continued
to be a part of the duchy of Lancaster till the present time. A town
gathered around the castle, and in 1193 John, earl of Mertoun,
afterwards king, granted it a charter, and another in 1199 after his
accession. Under these charters the burgesses claimed the right of
electing a mayor, of holding a yearly fair at Michaelmas and a weekly
market on Saturday. Henry III. in 1226 confirmed the charter of 1199; in
1291 the style of the corporation is first mentioned as _Ballivus et
communitas burgi_, and Edward III.'s confirmation and extension (1362)
is issued to the mayor, bailiffs and commonalty. Edward III.'s charter
was confirmed by Richard II. (1389), Henry IV. (1400), Henry V. (1421),
Henry VII. (1488) and Elizabeth (1563). James I. (1604) and Charles II.
(1665 and 1685) ratified, with certain additions, all previous charters,
and again in 1819 a similar confirmation was issued. John of Gaunt in
1362 obtained a charter for the exclusive right of holding the sessions
of pleas for the county in Lancaster itself, and up to 1873 the duchy
appointed a chief justice and a puisne justice for the court of common
pleas at Lancaster. In 1322 the Scots burnt the town, the castle alone
escaping; the town was rebuilt but removed from its original position on
the hill to the slope and foot. Again in 1389, after the battle of
Otterburn, it was destroyed by the same enemy. At the outbreak of the
Great Rebellion the burgesses sided with the king, and the town and
castle were captured in February 1643 by the Parliamentarians. In March
1643 Lord Derby assaulted and took the town with great slaughter, but
the castle remained in the hands of the Parliamentarians. In May and
June of the same year the castle was again besieged in vain, and in 1648
the Royalists under Sir Thomas Tyldesley once more fruitlessly besieged
it. During the rebellion of 1715 the northern rebels occupied Lancaster
for two days and several of them were later executed here. During the
1745 rebellion Prince Charles Edward's army passed through the town in
its southward march and again in its retreat, but the inhabitants stood
firm for the Hanoverians.
Two chartered markets are held weekly on Wednesday and Saturday and
three annual fairs in April, July and October. A merchant gild existed
here, which was ratified by Edward III.'s charter (1362), and in 1688
six trade companies were incorporated. The chief manufactures used to
be sailcloth, cabinet furniture, candles and cordage. The borough
returned two members to parliament from 1295 to 1331 and again from
some time in Henry VIII.'s reign before 1529 till 1867, when it was
merged in the Lancaster division of north Lancashire. A church existed
here, probably on the site of the parish church of St Mary's, in
Anglo-Saxon times, but the present church dates from the early 15th
century. An act of parliament was passed in 1792 to make the canal
from Kendal through Lancaster and Preston, which is carried over the
Lune about a mile above Lancaster by a splendid aqueduct.
See Fleury, _Time-Honoured Lancaster_ (1891); E. Baines, _History of
Lancashire_ (1888).
LANCASTER, a city and the county-seat of Fairfield county, Ohio, U.S.A.,
on the Hocking river (non-navigable), about 32 m. S.E. of Columbus. Pop.
(1900) 8991, of whom 442 were foreign-born and 212 were negroes; (1910
census) 13,093. Lancaster is served by the Hocking Valley, the Columbus
& Southern and the Cincinnati & Muskingum Valley (Pennsylvania Lines)
railways, and by the electric line of the Scioto Valley Traction
Company, which connects it with Columbus. Near the centre of the city is
Mt. Pleasant, which rises nearly 200 ft. above the surrounding plain and
about which cluster many Indian legends; with 70 acres of woodland and
fields surrounding it, this has been given to the city for a park. On
another hill is the county court house. Lancaster has a public library
and a children's home; and 6 m. distant is the State Industrial School
for Boys. The manufactures include boots and shoes, glass and
agricultural implements. The total value of the city's factory product
in 1905 was $4,159,410, being an increase of 118.3% over that of 1900.
Lancaster is the trade centre of a fertile agricultural region, has good
transportation facilities, and is near the Hocking Valley and Sunday
Creek Valley coal-fields; its commercial and industrial importance
increased greatly, after 1900, through the development of the
neighbouring natural gas fields and, after 1907-1908, through the
discovery of petroleum near the city. Good sandstone is quarried in the
vicinity. The municipality owns and operates its waterworks and natural
gas plant. Lancaster was founded in 1800 by Ebenezer Zane (1747-1811),
who received a section of land here as part compensation for opening a
road, known as "Zane's Trace," from Wheeling, West Virginia, to
Limestone (now Maysville), Kentucky. Some of the early settlers were
from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, whence the name. Lancaster was
incorporated as a village in 1831 and twenty years later became a city
of the third class.
LANCASTER, a city and the county-seat of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania,
U.S.A., on the Conestoga river, 68 m. W. of Philadelphia. Pop. (1900)
41,459, of whom 3492 were foreign-born and 777 were negroes; (1910
census) 47,227. It is served by the Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia &
Reading and the Lancaster, Oxford & Southern railways, and by tramways
of the Conestoga Traction Company, which had in 1909 a mileage of 152 m.
Lancaster has a fine county court house, a soldiers' monument about 43
ft. in height, two fine hospitals, the Thaddeus Stevens Industrial
School (for orphans), a children's home, the Mechanics' Library, and the
Library of the Lancaster Historical Society. It is the seat of Franklin
and Marshall College (Reformed Church), of the affiliated Franklin and
Marshall Academy, and of the Theological Seminary of the Reformed
Church, conducted in connexion with the college. The college was founded
in 1852 by the consolidation of Franklin College, founded at Lancaster
in 1787, and Marshall College, founded at Mercersburg in 1836, both of
which had earned a high standing among the educational institutions of
Pennsylvania. Franklin College was named in honour of Benjamin Franklin,
an early patron; Marshall College was founded by the Reformed Church and
was named in honour of John Marshall. The Theological Seminary was
opened in 1825 at Carlisle, Pa., and was removed to York, Pa., in 1829,
to Mercersburg, Pa., in 1837 and to Lancaster in 1871; in 1831 it was
chartered by the Pennsylvania legislature. Among its teachers have been
John W. Nevin and Philip Schaff, whose names, and that of the seminary,
are associated with the so-called "Mercersburg Theology." At
Millersville, 4 m. S.W. of Lancaster, is the Second Pennsylvania State
Normal School. At Lancaster are the graves of General John F. Reynolds,
who was born here; Thaddeus Stevens, who lived here after 1842; and
President James Buchanan, who lived for many years on an estate,
"Wheatland," near the city and is buried in the Woodward Hill Cemetery.
The city is in a productive tobacco and grain region, and has a large
tobacco trade and important manufactures. The value of the city's
factory products increased from $12,750,429 in 1900 to $14,647,681 in
1905, or 14.9%. In 1905 the principal products were umbrellas and canes
(valued at $2,782,879), cigars and cigarettes ($1,951,971), and foundry
and machine-shop products ($1,036,526). Lancaster county has long been
one of the richest agricultural counties in the United States, its
annual products being valued at about $10,000,000; in 1906 the value of
the tobacco crop was about $3,225,000, and there were 824 manufactories
of cigars in the county.
Lancaster was settled about 1717 by English Quakers and Germans, was
laid out as a town in 1730, incorporated as a borough in 1742, and
chartered as a city in 1818. An important treaty with the Iroquois
Indians was negotiated here by the governor of Pennsylvania and by
commissioners from Maryland and Virginia in June 1744. Some of General
Burgoyne's troops, surrendered at Saratoga, were confined here after the
autumn of 1780. The Continental Congress sat here on the 27th of
September 1777 after being driven from Philadelphia by the British; and
subsequently, after the organization of the Federal government,
Lancaster was one of the places seriously considered when a national
capital was to be chosen. From 1799 to 1812 Lancaster was the capital of
Pennsylvania.
LANCE, a form of spear used by cavalry (see SPEAR). The use of the
lance, dying away on the decay of chivalry and the introduction of
pistol-armed cavalry, was revived by the Polish and Cossack cavalry who
fought against Charles XII. and Frederick the Great. It was not until
Napoleon's time, however, that lancer regiments appeared in any great
numbers on European battlefields. The effective use of the weapon--long
before called by Montecucculi the "queen of weapons"--by Napoleon's
lancers at Waterloo led to its introduction into the British service,
and except for a short period after the South African War, in which it
was condemned as an anachronism, it has shared, or rather contested,
with the sword the premier place amongst cavalry arms. In Great Britain
and other countries lances are carried by the front rank of cavalry,
except light cavalry, regiments, as well as by lancer regiments. In
Germany, since 1889, the _whole_ of the cavalry has been armed with the
lance. In Russia, on the other hand, line cavalry being, until recently,
considered as a sort of mounted infantry or dragoons, the lance was
restricted to the Cossacks, and in Austria it enjoys less favour than in
Germany. Altogether there are few questions of armament or military
detail more freely disputed, in the present day as in the past, than
this of sword _versus_ lance.
The lances used in the British service are of two kinds, those with
ash and those with bamboo staves. The latter are much preferred and
are generally used, the "male" bamboo being peculiarly tough and
elastic. The lance is provided with a sling, through which the trooper
passes his right arm when the lance is carried slung, the point of the
steel shoe fitting into a bucket attached to the right stirrup. A
small "dee" loop is also provided, by which the lance can be attached
to the saddle when the trooper dismounts. The small flag is removed on
service. The head is of the best steel. The Germans, doubtless owing
to difficulty in obtaining bamboos, or ash in large quantity straight
enough in the grain over a considerable length, for lance staves,
have adopted a stave of steel tubing as well as one of pine (figs. 2,
3 and 4).
[Illustration: TYPES OF BRITISH AND GERMAN LANCES.
FIG. 1 is the British bamboo lance; figs. 2 and 3 the German steel
tubular lance, and fig. 4 the German pine-wood lance. The full
length of the German lance is 11 ft. 9 in., that of the Cossacks 9
ft. 10 in., that of the Austrian lancers 8 ft. 8 in., and the French
lance 11 ft. The British lance is 9 ft. long. The weight of a lance
varies but slightly. The steel-staved lance weighs 4 lb, the bamboo
4½.]
As to the question of the relative efficiency of the lance and the
sword as the principal arm for cavalry, it is alleged that the former
is heavy and fatiguing to carry, conspicuous, and much in the way when
reconnoitring in close country, working through woods and the like;
that, when unslung ready for the charge, it is awkward to handle, and
may be positively dangerous if a horse becomes restive and the rider
has to use both hands on the reins; that unless the thrust be
delivered at full speed, it is easily parried; and, lastly, that in
the _mêlée_, when the trooper has not room to use his lance, he will
be helpless until he either throws it away or slings it, and can draw
his sword. While admitting the last-mentioned objection, those who
favour the lance contend that success in the first shock of contact is
all-important, and that this success the lancer will certainly obtain,
owing to his long reach enabling him to deliver a blow before the
swordsman can retaliate, while, when the _mêlée_ commences, the rear
rank will come to the assistance of the front rank. Further, it is
claimed that the power of delivering the first blow gives confidence
to the young soldier; that the appearance of a lancer regiment,
preceded as it were by a hedge of steel, has an immense moral effect;
that in single combat a lancer, with room to turn, can always defeat
an opponent armed with a sword; and, lastly, that in pursuit a lancer
is terrible to an enemy, whether the latter be mounted or on foot. As
in the case of the perennial argument whether a sword should be
designed mainly for cutting or thrusting, it is unlikely that the
dispute as to the merits of the lance over the sword will ever be
definitely settled, since so many other factors--horsemanship, the
training of the horse, the skill and courage of the
adversary--determine the trooper's success quite as much as the weapon
he happens to wield. The following passage from _Cavalry: its History
and Tactics_ (London, 1853), by Captain Nolan, explains how the lance
gained popularity in Austria:--"In the last Hungarian war (1848-49)
the Hungarian Hussars were ... generally successful against the
Austrian heavy cavalry--cuirassiers and dragoons; but when they met
the Polish Lancers, the finest regiments of light horse in the
Austrian service, distinguished for their discipline, good riding,
and, above all, for their _esprit de corps_ and gallantry in action,
against those the Hungarians were not successful, and at once
attributed this to the lances of their opponents. The Austrians then
extolled the lance above the sword, and armed all their light cavalry
regiments with it."
The lancer regiments in the British service are the 5th, the 9th, the
12th, the 16th, the 17th and the 21st. All these were converted at
different dates from hussars and light dragoons, the last-named in
1896. The typical lancer uniform is a light-fitting short-skirted
tunic with a double-breasted front, called the plastron, of a
different colour, a girdle, and a flat-topped lancer "cap," adapted
from the Polish czapka (see UNIFORMS: _Naval and Military_). The
British lancers, with the exception of the 16th, who wear scarlet with
blue facings, are clad in blue, the 5th, 9th and 12th having scarlet
facings and green, black and red plumes respectively, the 17th (famous
as the "death or glory boys" and wearing a skull and crossbones badge)
white facings and white plume, and the 21st light-blue facings and
plume.
LANCELOT (Lancelot du Lac, or Lancelot of the Lake), a famous figure in
the Arthurian cycle of romances. To the great majority of English
readers the name of no knight of King Arthur's court is so familiar as
is that of Sir Lancelot. The mention of Arthur and the Round Table at
once brings him to mind as the most valiant member of that brotherhood
and the secret lover of the Queen. Lancelot, however, is not an original
member of the cycle, and the development of his story is still a source
of considerable perplexity to the critic.
Briefly summarized, the outline of his career, as given in the German
_Lanzelet_ and the French prose _Lancelot_, is as follows: Lancelot was
the only child of King Ban of Benoic and his queen Helaine. While yet an
infant, his father was driven from his kingdom, either by a revolt of
his subjects, caused by his own harshness (_Lanzelet_), or by the action
of his enemy Claudas de la Deserte (_Lancelot_). King and queen fly,
carrying the child with them, and while the wife is tending her husband,
who dies of a broken heart on his flight, the infant is carried off by a
friendly water-fairy, the Lady of the Lake, who brings the boy up in her
mysterious kingdom. In the German poem this is a veritable "Isle of
Maidens," where no man ever enters, and where it is perpetual spring. In
the prose _Lancelot_, on the other hand, the Lake is but a mirage, and
the Lady's court does not lack its complement of gallant knights;
moreover the boy has the companionship of his cousins, Lionel and
Bohort, who, like himself, have been driven from their kingdom by
Claudas. When he reaches the customary age (which appears to be
fifteen), the young Lancelot, suitably equipped, is sent out into the
world. In both versions his name and parentage are concealed, in the
_Lanzelet_ he is genuinely ignorant of both; here too his lack of all
knightly accomplishments (not unnatural when we remember he has here
been brought up entirely by women) and his inability to handle a steed
are insisted upon. Here he rides forth in search of what adventure may
bring. In the prose _Lancelot_ his education is complete, he knows his
name and parentage, though for some unexplained reason he keeps both
secret, and he goes with a fitting escort and equipment to Arthur's
court to demand knighthood. The subsequent adventures differ widely: in
the _Lanzelet_ he ultimately reconquers his kingdom, and, with his wife
Iblis, reigns over it in peace, both living to see their children's
children, and dying on the same day, in good old fairy-tale fashion. In
fact, the whole of the _Lanzelet_ has much more the character of a fairy
or folk-tale than that of a knightly romance.
In the prose version, Lancelot, from his first appearance at court,
conceives a passion for the queen, who is very considerably his senior,
his birth taking place some time after her marriage to Arthur. This
infatuation colours all his later career. He frees her from imprisonment
in the castle of Meleagant, who has carried her off against her will--(a
similar adventure is related in _Lanzelet_, where the abductor is
Valerîn, and Lanzelet is not the rescuer)--and, although he recovers his
kingdom from Claudas, he prefers to remain a simple knight of Arthur's
court, bestowing the lands on his cousins and half-brother Hector.
Tricked into a liaison with the Fisher King's daughter Elaine, he
becomes the father of Galahad, the Grail winner, and, as a result of the
queen's jealous anger at his relations with the lady, goes mad, and
remains an exile from the court for some years. He takes part,
fruitlessly, in the Grail quest, only being vouchsafed a fleeting
glimpse of the sacred Vessel, which, however, is sufficient to cast him
into unconsciousness, in which he remains for as many days as he has
spent years in sin. Finally, his relations with Guenevere are revealed
to Arthur by the sons of King Lot, Gawain, however, taking no part in
the disclosure. Surprised together, Lancelot escapes, and the queen is
condemned to be burnt alive. As the sentence is about to be carried into
execution Lancelot and his kinsmen come to her rescue, but in the fight
that ensues many of Arthur's knights, including three of Gawain's
brothers, are slain. Thus converted into an enemy, Gawain urges his
uncle to make war on Lancelot, and there follows a desperate struggle
between Arthur and the race of Ban. This is interrupted by the tidings
of Mordred's treachery, and Lancelot, taking no part in the last fatal
conflict, outlives both king and queen, and the downfall of the Round
Table. Finally, retiring to a hermitage, he ends his days in the odour
of sanctity.
The process whereby the independent hero of the _Lanzelet_ (who, though
his mother is Arthur's sister, has but the slightest connexion with the
British king), the faithful husband of Iblis, became converted into the
principal ornament of Arthur's court, and the devoted lover of the
queen, is by no means easy to follow, nor do other works of the cycle
explain the transformation. In the pseudo-chronicles, the _Historia_ of
Geoffrey and the translations by Wace and Layamon, Lancelot does not
appear at all; the queen's lover, whose guilty passion is fully
returned, is Mordred. Chrétien de Troyes' treatment of him is
contradictory; in the _Erec_, his earliest extant poem, Lancelot's name
appears as third on the list of the knights of Arthur's court. (It is
well, however, to bear in mind the possibility of later addition or
alteration in such lists.) In _Cligés_ he again ranks as third, being
overthrown by the hero of the poem. In _Le Chevalier de la Charrette_,
however, which followed _Cligés_, we find Lancelot alike as leading
knight of the court and lover of the queen, in fact, precisely in the
position he occupies in the prose romance, where, indeed, the section
dealing with this adventure is, as Gaston Paris clearly proved, an
almost literal adaptation of Chrétien's poem. The subject of the poem is
the rescue of the queen from her abductor Meleagant; and what makes the
matter more perplexing is that Chrétien handles the situation as one
with which his hearers are already familiar; it is Lancelot, and not
Arthur or another, to whom the office of rescuer naturally belongs.
After this it is surprising to find that in his next poem, _Le Chevalier
au Lion_, Lancelot is once, and only once, casually referred to, and
that in a passing reference to his rescue of the queen. In the
_Perceval_, Chrétien's last work, he does not appear at all, and yet
much of the action passes at Arthur's court.
In the continuations added at various times to Chrétien's unfinished
work the rôle assigned to Lancelot is equally modest. Among the fifteen
knights selected by Arthur to accompany him to Chastel Orguellous he
only ranks ninth. In the version of the _Luite Tristran_ inserted by
Gerbert in his _Perceval_, he is publicly overthrown and shamed by
Tristan. Nowhere is he treated with anything approaching the importance
assigned to him in the prose versions. Welsh tradition does not know
him; early Italian records, which have preserved the names of Arthur and
Gawain, have no reference to Lancelot; among the group of Arthurian
knights figured on the architrave of the north doorway of Modena
cathedral (a work of the 12th century) he finds no place; the real cause
for his apparently sudden and triumphant rise to popularity is extremely
difficult to determine. What appears the most probable solution is that
which regards Lancelot as the hero of an independent and widely diffused
folk-tale, which, owing to certain special circumstances, was brought
into contact with, and incorporated in, the Arthurian tradition. This
much has been proved certain of the adventures recounted in the
_Lanzelet_; the theft of an infant by a water-fairy; the appearance of
the hero three consecutive days, in three different disguises, at a
tournament; the rescue of a queen, or princess, from an Other-World
prison, all belong to one well-known and widely-spread folk-tale,
variants of which are found in almost every land, and of which numerous
examples have been collected alike by M. Cosquin in his _Contes
Lorrains_, and by Mr J. F. Campbell in his _Tales of the West
Highlands_.
The story of the loves of Lancelot and Guenevere, as related by
Chrétien, has about it nothing spontaneous and genuine; in no way can it
be compared with the story of Tristan and Iseult. It is the exposition
of a relation governed by artificial and arbitrary rules, to which the
principal actors in the drama must perforce conform. Chrétien states
that he composed the poem (which he left to be completed by Godefroi de
Leigni) at the request of the countess Marie of Champagne, who provided
him with _matière et san_. Marie was the daughter of Louis VII. of
France and of Eleanor of Aquitaine, subsequently wife of Henry II. of
Anjou and England. It is a matter of history that both mother and
daughter were active agents in fostering that view of the social
relations of the sexes which found its most famous expression in the
"Courts of Love," and which was responsible for the dictum that love
between husband and wife was impossible. The logical conclusion appears
to be that the _Charrette_ poem is a "_Tendenz-Schrift_," composed under
certain special conditions, in response to a special demand. The story
of _Tristan and Iseult_, immensely popular as it was, was too
genuine--(shall we say too crude?)--to satisfy the taste of the court
for which Chrétien was writing. Moreover, the Arthurian story was the
popular story of the day, and Tristan did not belong to the magic
circle, though he was ultimately introduced, somewhat clumsily, it must
be admitted, within its bounds. The Arthurian cycle must have its own
love-tale; Guenevere, the leading lady of that cycle, could not be
behind the courtly ladies of the day and lack a lover; one had to be
found for her. Lancelot, already popular hero of a tale in which an
adventure parallel to that of the _Charrette_ figured prominently, was
pressed into the service, Modred, Guenevere's earlier lover, being too
unsympathetic a character; moreover, Modred was required for the final
rôle of traitor.
But to whom is the story to be assigned? Here we must distinguish
between the _Lancelot_ proper and the _Lancelot-Guenevere_ versions; so
far as the latter are concerned, we cannot get behind the version of
Chrétien,--nowhere, prior to the composition of the _Chevalier de la
Charrette_ is there any evidence of the existence of such a story. Yet
Chrétien does not claim to have invented the situation. Did it spring
from the fertile brain of some court lady, Marie, or another? The
authorship of the _Lancelot_ proper, on the other hand, is invariably
ascribed to Walter Map (see MAP), the chancellor of Henry II., but so
also are the majority of the Arthurian prose Romances. The trend of
modern critical opinion is towards accepting Map as the author of a
_Lancelot_ romance, which formed the basis for later developments, and
there is a growing tendency to identify this hypothetical original
_Lancelot_ with the source of the German _Lanzelet_. The author, Ulrich
von Zatzikhoven, tells us that he translated his poem from a French
(_welsches_) book in the possession of Hugo de Morville, one of the
English hostages, who, in 1194, replaced Richard Coeur de Lion in the
prison of Leopold of Austria. Further evidence on the point is,
unfortunately, not at present forthcoming. To the student of the
original texts Lancelot is an infinitely less interesting hero than
Gawain, Perceval or Tristan, each of whom possesses a well-marked
personality, and is the centre of what we may call individual
adventures. Saving and excepting the incident of his being stolen and
brought up by a water-fairy (from a _Lai_ relating which adventure the
whole story probably started), there is absolutely nothing in Lancelot's
character or career to distinguish him from any other romantic hero of
the period. The language of the prose _Lancelot_ is good, easy and
graceful, but the adventures lack originality and interest, and the
situations repeat themselves in a most wearisome manner. English
readers, who know the story only through the medium of Malory's noble
prose and Tennyson's melodious verse, carry away an impression entirely
foreign to that produced by a study of the original literature. The
_Lancelot_ story, in its rise and development, belongs exclusively to
the later stage of Arthurian romance; it was a story for the court, not
for the folk, and it lacks alike the dramatic force and human appeal of
the genuine "popular" tale.
The prose _Lancelot_ was frequently printed; J. C. Brunet chronicles
editions of 1488, 1494, 1513, 1520 and 1533--of this last date there
are two, one published by Jehan Petit, the other by Philippe Lenoire,
this last by far the better, being printed from a much fuller
manuscript. There is no critical edition, and the only version
available for the general reader is the modernized and abridged text
published by Paulin Paris in vols. iii. to v. of _Romans de la Table
Ronde_. A Dutch verse translation of the 13th century was published by
M. W. J. A. Jonckbloet in 1850, under the title of _Roman van
Lanceloet_. This only begins with what Paulin Paris terms the
_Agravain_ section, all the part previous to Guenevere's rescue from
Meleagant having been lost; but the text is an excellent one, agreeing
closely with the Lenoire edition of 1533. The Books devoted by Malory
to Lancelot are also drawn from this latter section of the romance;
there is no sign that the English translator had any of the earlier
part before him. Malory's version of the _Charrette_ adventure differs
in many respects from any other extant form, and the source of this
special section of his work is still a question of debate among
scholars. The text at his disposal, especially in the _Queste_
section, must have been closely akin to that used by the Dutch
translator and the compiler of Lenoire, 1533. Unfortunately, Dr
Sommer, in his study on the _Sources of Malory_, omitted to consult
these texts, with the result that the sections dealing with _Lancelot_
and _Queste_ urgently require revision.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--_Lanzelet_ (ed. Hahn, 1845, out of print and extremely
difficult to obtain). Chrétien's poem has been published by Professor
Wendelin Foerster, in his edition of the works of that poet, _Der
Karrenritter_ (1899). A Dutch version of a short episodic poem,
_Lancelot et le cerf au pied blanc_ will be found in M. Jonckbloet's
volume, and a discussion of this and other _Lancelot_ poems, by Gaston
Paris, is contained in vol. xxx. of _Histoire littéraire de la
France_. For critical studies on the subject cf. Gaston Paris's
articles in _Romania_, vols. x. and xii.; Wechssler, _Die
verschiedenen Redaktionen des Graal-Lancelot Cyklus_; J. L. Weston,
_The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac_ (Grimm Library, vol. xii.); and
_The Three Days' Tournament_ (Grimm Library, vol. xv.) an appendix to
the previous vol. (J. L. W.)
LANCET (from Fr. _lancette_, dim. of _lance_, lance), the name given to
a surgical instrument, with a narrow two-edged blade and a lance-shaped
point, used for opening abscesses, &c. The term is applied, in
architecture, to a form of the pointed arch, and to a window of which
the head is a lancet-arch.
LANCEWOOD, a straight-grained, tough, light elastic wood obtained from
the West Indies and Guiana. It is brought into commerce in the form of
taper poles of about 20 ft. in length and from 6 to 8 in. in diameter at
the thickest end. Lancewood is used by carriage-builders for shafts; but
since the practice of employing curved shafts has come largely into use
it is not in so great demand as formerly. The smaller wood is used for
whip-handles, for the tops of fishing-rods, and for various minor
purposes where even-grained elastic wood is a desideratum. The wood is
obtained from two members of the natural order Anonaceae. The black
lancewood or carisiri of Guiana (_Guatteria virgata_) grows to a height
of 50 ft., is of remarkably slender form, and seldom yields wood more
than 8 in. diameter. The yellow lancewood tree (_Duguetia quitarensis_,
yari-yari, of Guiana) is of similar dimensions, found in tolerable
abundance throughout Guiana, and used by the Indians for arrow-points,
as well as for spars, beams, &c.
LAN-CHOW-FU, the chief town of the Chinese province of Kan-suh, and one
of the most important cities of the interior part of the empire, on the
right bank of the Hwang-ho. The population is estimated at 175,000. The
houses, with very few exceptions, are built of wood, but the streets are
paved with blocks of granite and marble. Silks, wood-carvings, silver
and jade ornaments, tin and copper wares, fruits and tobacco are the
chief articles of the local trade. Tobacco is very extensively
cultivated in the vicinity.
LANCIANO (anc. _Anxanum_), a town and episcopal see of the Abruzzi,
Italy, in the province of Chieti, situated on three hills, 984 ft. above
sea-level, about 8 m. from the Adriatic coast and 12 m. S.E. of Chieti.
Pop. (1901) 7642 (town), 18,316 (commune). It has a railway station on
the coast railway, 19 m. S.E. of Castellammare Adriatico. It has broad,
regular streets, and several fine buildings. The cathedral, an imposing
structure with a fine clock-tower of 1619, is built upon bridges of
brickwork, dating perhaps from the Roman period (though the inscription
attributing the work to Diocletian is a forgery), that span the gorge of
the Feltrino, and is dedicated to S. Maria del Ponte, Our Lady of the
Bridge. The Gothic church of S. Maria Maggiore dates from 1227 and has a
fine façade, with a portal of 1317 by a local sculptor. The processional
cross by the silversmith Nicola di Guardiagrele (1422) is very
beautiful. In S. Nicola is a fine reliquary of 1445 by Nicola di
Francavilla. The church of the Annunziata has a good rose window of
1362. The industries of the town, famous in the middle ages, have
declined. Anxanum belonged originally to the tribe of the Frentani and
later became a _municipium_. It lay on the ancient highroad, which
abandoned the coast at Ortona 10 m. to the N. and returned to it at
Histonium (Vasto). Remains of a Roman theatre exist under the bishop's
palace.
See V. Bindi, _Monumenti degli Abruzzi_ (Naples, 1889, 690 sqq.), and
for discoveries in the neighbourhood see A. de Nino in _Notizie degli
scavi_ (1884), 431. (T. As.)
LANCRET, NICOLAS (1660-1743), French painter, was born in Paris on the
22nd of January 1660, and became a brilliant depicter of light comedy
which reflected the tastes and manners of French society under the
regent Orleans. His first master was Pierre d'Ulin, but his acquaintance
with and admiration for Watteau induced him to leave d'Ulin for Gillot,
whose pupil Watteau had been. Two pictures painted by Lancret and
exhibited on the Place Dauphine had a great success, which laid the
foundation of his fortune, and, it is said, estranged Watteau, who had
been complimented as their author. Lancret's work cannot now, however,
be taken for that of Watteau, for both in drawing and in painting his
touch, although intelligent, is dry, hard and wanting in that quality
which distinguished his great model; these characteristics are due
possibly in part to the fact that he had been for some time in training
under an engraver. The number of his paintings (of which over eighty
have been engraved) is immense; he executed a few portraits and
attempted historical composition, but his favourite subjects were balls,
fairs, village weddings, &c. The British Museum possesses an admirable
series of studies by Lancret in red chalk, and the National Gallery,
London, shows four paintings--the "Four Ages of Man" (engraved by
Desplaces and l'Armessin), cited by d'Argenville amongst the principal
works of Lancret. In 1719 he was received as Academician, and became
councillor in 1735; in 1741 he married a grandchild of Boursault, author
of _Aesop at Court_. He died on the 14th of September 1743.
See d'Argenville, _Vies des peintres_; and Ballot de Sovot, _Éloge de
M. Lancret_ (1743, new ed. 1874).
LAND, the general term for that part of the earth's surface which is
solid and dry as opposed to sea or water. The word is common to Teutonic
languages, mainly in the same form and with essentially the same
meaning. The Celtic cognate forms are Irish _lann_, Welsh _llan_, an
enclosure, also in the sense of "church," and so of constant occurrence
in Welsh place-names, Cornish _lan_ and Breton _lann_, health, which has
given the French _lande_, an expanse or tract of sandy waste ground. The
ultimate root is unknown. From its primary meaning have developed
naturally the various uses of the word, for a tract of ground or country
viewed either as a political, geographical or ethnographical division of
the earth, as property owned by the public or state or by a private
individual, or as the rural as opposed to the urban or the cultivated as
opposed to the built on part of the country; of particular meanings may
be mentioned that of a building divided into tenements or flats, the
divisions being known as "houses," a Scottish usage, and also that of a
division of a ploughed field marked by the irrigating channels, hence
transferred to the smooth parts of the bore of a rifle between the
grooves of the rifling.
For the physical geography of the land, as the solid portion of the
earth's surface, see GEOGRAPHY. For land as the subject of cultivation
see AGRICULTURE and SOIL, also RECLAMATION OF LAND. For the history of
the holding or tenure of land see VILLAGE COMMUNITIES and FEUDALISM; a
particular form of land tenure is dealt with under MÉTAYAGE. The
article AGRARIAN LAWS deals with the disposal of the public land
(_Ager publicus_) in Ancient Rome, and further information with regard
to the part played by the land question in Roman history will be found
under ROME: § _History_. The legal side of the private ownership of
land is treated under REAL PROPERTY and CONVEYANCING (see also
LANDLORD AND TENANT, and LAND REGISTRATION).
LANDAU, a town in the Bavarian Palatinate, on the Queich, lying under
the eastern slope of the Hardt Mountains, 32 m. by rail S.W. from
Mannheim, at the junction of lines to Neustadt an der Hardt, Weissenburg
and Saarbrücken. Pop. (1905) 17,165. Among its buildings are the Gothic
Evangelical church, dating from 1285; the chapel of St Catherine built
in 1344; the church of the former Augustinian monastery, dating from
1405; and the Augustinian monastery itself, founded in 1276 and now
converted into a brewery. There are manufactures of cigars, beer, hats,
watches, furniture and machines, and a trade in wine, fruit and cereals.
Large cattle-markets are held here. Landau was founded in 1224, becoming
an imperial city fifty years later. This dignity was soon lost, as in
1317 it passed to the bishopric of Spires and in 1331 to the Palatinate,
recovering its former position in 1511. Captured eight times during the
Thirty Years' War the town was ceded to France by the treaty of
Westphalia in 1648, although with certain ill-defined reservations. In
1679 Louis XIV. definitely took possession of Landau. Its fortifications
were greatly strengthened; nevertheless it was twice taken by the
Imperialists and twice recovered by the French during the Spanish
Succession War. In 1815 it was given to Austria and in the following
year to Bavaria. The fortifications were finally dismantled in 1871.
The town is commonly supposed to have given its name to the four-wheeled
carriage, with an adjustable divided top for use either open or closed,
known as a "landau" (Ger. _Landauer_). But this derivation is doubtful,
the origin of the name being also ascribed to that of an English
carriage-builder, Landow, who introduced this form of equipage.
See E. Heuser, _Die Belagerungen von Landau in den Jahren 1702 und
1703_ (Landau, 1894); Lehmann, _Geschichte der ehemaligen freien
Reichsstadt Landau_ (1851); and Jost, _Interessante Daten aus der 600
jährigen Geschichte der Stadt Landau_ (Landau, 1879).
LANDECK, a town and spa in the Prussian province of Silesia, on the
Biele, 73 m. by rail S. of Breslau and close to the Austrian frontier.
Pop. (1905) 3,481. It is situated at an altitude of 1400 ft. It has
manufactures of gloves. Landeck is visited by nearly 10,000 people
annually on account of its warm sulphur baths, which have been known
since the 13th century. In the neighbourhood are the ruins of the castle
of Karpenstein.
See Langner, _Bad Landeck_ (Glatz, 1872); Schütze, _Die Thermen von
Landeck_ (Berlin, 1895); Wehse, _Bad Landeck_ (Breslau, 1886); Joseph,
_Die Thermen von Landeck_ (Berlin, 1887), and Patschovsky, _Führer
durch Bad Landeck und Umgebung_ (Schweidnitz, 1902).
LANDEN, JOHN (1719-1790), English mathematician, was born at Peakirk
near Peterborough in Northamptonshire on the 23rd of January 1719, and
died on the 15th of January 1790 at Milton in the same county. He lived
a very retired life, and saw little or nothing of society; when he did
mingle in it, his dogmatism and pugnacity caused him to be generally
shunned. In 1762 he was appointed agent to the Earl Fitzwilliam, and
held that office to within two years of his death. He was first known as
a mathematician by his essays in the _Ladies' Diary_ for 1744. In 1766
he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. He was well acquainted
with the works of the mathematicians of his own time, and has been
called the "English d'Alembert." In his _Discourse_ on the "Residual
Analysis," he proposes to avoid the metaphysical difficulties of the
method of fluxions by a purely algebraical method. The idea may be
compared with that of Joseph Louis Lagrange's _Calcul des Fonctions_.
His memoir (1775) on the rotatory motion of a body contains (as the
author was aware) conclusions at variance with those arrived at by Jean
le Rond, d'Alembert and Leonhard Euler in their researches on the same
subject. He reproduces and further develops and defends his own views in
his _Mathematical Memoirs_, and in his paper in the _Philosophical
Transactions_ for 1785. But Landen's capital discovery is that of the
theorem known by his name (obtained in its complete form in the memoir
of 1775, and reproduced in the first volume of the _Mathematical
Memoirs_) for the expression of the arc of an hyperbola in terms of two
elliptic arcs. His researches on elliptic functions are of considerable
elegance, but their great merit lies in the stimulating effect which
they had on later mathematicians. He also showed that the roots of a
cubic equation can be derived by means of the infinitesimal calculus.
The list of his writings is as follows:--_Ladies' Diary_, various
communications (1744-1760); papers in the _Phil. Trans._ (1754, 1760,
1768, 1771, 1775, 1777, 1785); _Mathematical Lucubrations_ (1755); _A
Discourse concerning the Residual Analysis_ (1758); _The Residual
Analysis_, book i. (1764); _Animadversions on Dr Stewart's Method of
computing the Sun's Distance from the Earth_ (1771); _Mathematical
Memoirs_ (1780, 1789).
LANDEN, a town in the province of Liége, Belgium, an important junction
for lines of railway from Limburg, Liége and Louvain. Pop. (1904) 2874.
It is the birthplace of the first Pippin, distinguished as Pippin of
Landen from his grandson Pippin of Herstal. In 1693 the French under
Marshal Luxemburg defeated here the Anglo-Dutch army under William III.
This battle is also called Neerwinden from a village 3 m. W. of Landen.
Here in 1793 the Austrians under Frederick of Saxe-Coburg and Clerfayt
defeated the French under Dumouriez.
LANDER, RICHARD LEMON (1804-1834) and JOHN (1807-1839), English
explorers of the Niger, were natives of Cornwall, sons of an innkeeper
at Truro. At the age of eleven Richard went to the West Indies in the
service of a merchant. Returning to England after an absence of three
years he took service with various wealthy families, with whom he
travelled on the continent. In 1823-1824 he accompanied Major
(afterwards General Sir) W. M. Colebrooke, on a tour through Cape
Colony. In 1825 Richard offered his services to Hugh Clapperton, then
preparing for his second expedition to West Africa. He was Clapperton's
devoted servant and companion in this expedition, and on Clapperton's
death near Sokoto in April 1827 Richard Lander, after visiting Kano and
other parts of the Hausa states, returned to the Guinea coast through
Yoruba bringing with him Clapperton's journal. To this on its
publication (1829) was added _The Journal of Richard Lander from Kano to
the Coast_, and in the next year Lander published another account of the
expedition entitled _Records of Captain Clapperton's Last Expedition to
Africa ... with the subsequent Adventures of the Author_. To this
narrative he prefixed an autobiographical note. Richard Lander, though
without any scientific attainments, had exhibited such capacity for
exploration that the British government decided to send him out to
determine the course of the lower Niger. In the expedition he was
accompanied by his brother John, by trade a printer, and better educated
than Richard, who went as an unsalaried volunteer. Leaving England in
January 1830, the brothers landed at Badagry on the Guinea coast on the
22nd of March. They then travelled by the route previously taken by
Clapperton to Bussa on the right bank of the Niger, reached on the 17th
of June. Thence they ascended the river for about 100 m. Going back to
Bussa the travellers began, on the 20th of September, the descent of the
river, not knowing whither it would lead them. They journeyed in canoes
accompanied by a few negroes, their only scientific instrument a common
compass. They discovered the Benue river, ascertaining when passing its
confluence, by paddling against its stream, that their course was not in
that direction. At the beginning of the delta they were captured by the
Ibos, from whom they were ransomed by "King Boy" of Brass Town; by him
they were taken to the Nun mouth of the river, whence a passage was
obtained to Fernando Po, reached on the 1st of December. The Landers
were thus able to lay down with approximate correctness the lower course
of the Niger--a matter till then as much in dispute as was the question
of the Nile sources. In the attack by the Ibos the Landers lost many of
their records, but they published a narrative of their discoveries in
1832, in three small volumes--_Journal of an Expedition to Explore the
Course and Termination of the Niger_. In recognition of his services the
Royal Geographical Society--formed two years previously--granted Richard
Lander in 1832 the royal medal, he being the first recipient of such an
award. In the same year Richard went to Africa again as leader of an
expedition organized by Macgregor Laird and other Liverpool merchants to
open up trade on the Niger and to found a commercial settlement at the
junction of the Benue with the main stream. The expedition encountered
many difficulties, suffered great mortality from fever, and was not able
to reach Bussa. Lander made several journeys up and down stream, and
while going up the river in a canoe was attacked by the natives on the
20th of January 1834 at a spot about 84 m. above the Nun mouth, and
wounded by a musket ball in the thigh. He was removed to Fernando Po,
where he died on the 6th of February. John Lander, who on his return to
England in 1831 obtained a situation at the London customs house, died
on the 16th of November 1839 of a disease contracted in Africa.
See, besides the books mentioned, the _Narrative_ of the Niger
expedition of 1832-1834, published in 1837 by Macgregor Laird and R.
A. K. Oldfield.
LANDES, a department in the south-west of France, formed in 1790 of
portions of the ancient provinces of Guyenne (Landes, Condomios
Chalosse), Gascony and Béarn, and bounded N. by Gironde, E. by
Lot-et-Garonne and Gers, S. by Basses Pyrenées, and W. (for 68 m.) by
the Bay of Biscay. Pop. (1906) 293,397. Its area, 3615 sq. m., is second
only to that of the department of Gironde. The department takes its name
from the _Landes_, which occupy three-quarters of its surface, or
practically the whole region north of the Adour, the chief river of the
department. They are separated from the sea by a belt of dunes fringed
on the east by a chain of lakes. South of the Adour lies the Chalosse--a
hilly region, intersected by the Gabas, Luy and Gave de Pau, left-hand
tributaries of the Adour, which descend from the Pyrenees. On the right
the Adour is joined by the Midouze, formed by the junction of the Douze
and the Midou. The climate of Landes is the Girondine, which prevails
from the Loire to the Pyrenees. Snow is almost unknown, the spring is
rainy, the summer warm and stormy. The prevailing wind is the
south-west, and the mean temperature of the year is 53° F., the
thermometer hardly ever rising above 82° or falling below 14°. The
annual rainfall in the south of the department in the neighbourhood of
the sea reaches 55 in., but diminishes by more than half towards the
north-east.
The fertility of La Chalosse is counterbalanced by the comparative
poorness of the soil of the Landes, and small though the population is,
the department does not produce wheat enough for its own consumption.
The chief cereal is maize; next in importance are rye, wheat and millet.
Of vegetables, the bean is most cultivated. The vine is grown in the
Chalosse, sheep are numerous, and the "Landes" breed of horses is well
known. Forests, chiefly composed of pines, occupy more than half the
department, and their exploitation forms the chief industry. The resin
of the maritime pine furnishes by distillation essence of turpentine,
and from the residue are obtained various qualities of resin, which
serve to make varnish, tapers, sealing-wax and lubricants. Tar, and an
excellent charcoal for smelting purposes, are also obtained from the
pine-wood. The department has several mineral springs, the most
important being those of Dax, which were frequented in the time of the
Romans, and of Eugénie-les-Bains and Préchacq. The cultivation of the
cork tree is also important. There are salt-workings and stone quarries.
There are several iron-works in the department; those at Le Boucau, at
the mouth of the Adour, are the most important. There are also
saw-mills, distilleries, flour-mills, brick and tile works and
potteries. Exports include resinous products, pine-timber, metal,
brandy; leading imports are grain, coal, iron, millinery and furniture.
In its long extent of coast the department has no considerable port.
Opposite Cape Breton, however, where the Adour formerly entered the sea,
there is, close to land, a deep channel where there is safe anchorage.
It was from this once important harbour of Capbreton that the
discoverers of the Canadian island of that name set out. Landes includes
three arrondissements (Mont-de-Marsan, Dax and St Sever), 28 cantons and
334 communes.
Mont-de-Marsan is the capital of the department, which comes within the
circumscription of the appeal court of Pau, the académie (educational
division) of Bordeaux and the archbishopric of Auch, and forms part of
the region of the 18th army corps. It is served by the Southern railway;
there is some navigation on the Adour, but that upon the other rivers is
of little importance. Mont-de-Marsan, Dax, St Sever and
Aire-sur-l'Adour, the most noteworthy towns, receive separate notice.
Hagetmau has a church built over a Romanesque crypt, the roof of which
is supported on columns with elaborately-carved capitals. Sorde has an
interesting abbey-church of the 13th and 14th centuries.
LANDES, an extensive natural region of south-western France, known more
strictly as the Landes de Gascogne. It has an area of 5400 sq. m., and
occupies three-quarters of the department of Landes, half of that of
Gironde, and some 175,000 acres of Lot-et-Garonne. The Landes, formerly
a vast tract of moorland and marsh, now consist chiefly of fields and
forests of pines. They form a plateau, shaped like a triangle, the base
of which is the Atlantic coast while the apex is situated slightly west
of Nérac (Lot-et-Garonne). Its limits are, on the S. the river Adour; on
the E. the hills of Armagnac, Eauzan, Condomois, Agenais and Bazadais;
and on the N.E. the Garonne, the hills of Médoc and the Gironde. The
height of the plateau ranges in general from 130 to 260 ft.; the highest
altitude (498 ft.) is found in the east near Baudignan (department of
Landes), from which point there is a gradual slope towards north, south,
east and west. The soil is naturally sterile. It is composed of fine
sand resting on a subsoil of tufa (_alios_) impermeable by water; for
three-quarters of the year, consequently, the waters, settling on the
almost level surface and unable to filter through, used to transform the
country into unwholesome swamps, which the Landesats could only traverse
on stilts. About the middle of the 18th century an engineer, François
Chambrelent, instituted a scheme of draining and planting to remedy
these evils. As a result about 1600 m. of ditches have been dug which
carry off superficial water either to streams or to the lakes which
fringe the landes on the west, and over 1,600,000 acres have been
planted with maritime pines and oaks. The coast, for a breadth of about
4 m., and over an area of about 225,000 acres, is bordered by dunes, in
ranges parallel to the shore, and from 100 to 300 ft. in height. Driven
by the west wind, which is most frequent in these parts, the dunes were
slowly advancing year by year towards the east, burying the cultivated
lands and even the houses. Nicolas Thomas Brémontier, towards the end of
the 18th century, devised the plan of arresting this scourge by planting
the dunes with maritime pines. Upwards of 210,000 acres have been thus
treated. In the south-west, cork trees take the place of the pines. To
prevent the formation of fresh dunes, a "dune littorale" has been formed
by means of a palisade. This barrier, from 20 to 30 ft. high, presents
an obstacle which the sand cannot cross. On the eastern side of the
dunes is a series of lakes (Hourtin et Carcans, Lacanau, Cazau or
Sanguinet, Biscarrosse, Aureilhan, St Julien, Léon and Soustons)
separated from the sea by the heaping up of the sand. The salt water has
escaped by defiltration, and they are now quite fresh. The Basin of
Arcachon, which lies midway between the lakes of Lacanau and Cazau,
still communicates with the ocean, the current of the Leyre which flows
into it having sufficient force to keep a passage open.
LANDESHUT, a town in the Prussian province of Silesia, at the north foot
of the Riesengebirge, and on the river Bober, 65 m. S.W. of Breslau by
rail. Pop. (1905) 9000. Its main industries are flax-spinning,
linen-weaving and manufactures of cloth, shoes and beer. The town dates
from the 13th century, being originally a fortress built for protection
against the Bohemians. There the Prussians defeated the Austrians in May
1745, and in June 1760 the Prussians were routed by a greatly superior
force of Austrians.
See Perschke, _Beschreibung und Geschichte der Stadt Landeshut_
(Breslau, 1829).
LANDGRAVE (Ger. _Landgraf_, from _Land_, "a country" and _Graf_, "count"
), a German title of nobility surviving from the times of the Holy Roman
Empire. It originally signified a count of more than usual power or
dignity, and in some cases implied sovereignty. The title is now rare;
it is borne by the former sovereign of Hesse-Homburg, now incorporated
in Prussia, the heads of the various branches of the house of Hesse, and
by a branch of the family of Fürstenberg. In other cases the title of
landgrave is borne by German sovereigns as a subsidiary title; e.g. the
grand-duke of Saxe-Weimar is landgrave of Thuringia.
LANDLORD AND TENANT. In _Roman Law_, the relationship of landlord and
tenant arose from the contract of letting and hiring (_locatio
conductio_), and existed also with special incidents, under the forms of
tenure known as _emphyteusis_--the long lease of Roman law--and
_precarium_, or tenancy at will (see ROMAN LAW).
_Law of England._--The law of England--and the laws of Scotland and
Ireland agree with it on this point--recognizes no absolute private
ownership of land. The absolute and ultimate owner of all land is the
crown, and the highest interest that a subject can hold therein--viz. an
estate in fee simple--is only a tenancy. But this aspect of the law,
under which the landlord, other than the crown, is himself always a
tenant, falls beyond the scope of the present article, which is
restricted to those holdings that arise from the hiring and leasing of
land.
Leases.
The legal relationship of landlord and tenant is constituted by a lease,
or an agreement for a lease, by assignment, by attornment and by
estoppel. And first of a lease and an agreement for a lease. All kinds
of interests and property, whether corporeal, such as lands or
buildings, or incorporeal, such as rights of common or of way, may be
let. The Benefices Act 1898, however, now prohibits the grant of a lease
of an advowson. Titles of honour, offices of trust or relating to the
administration of justice, and pensions granted by the crown for
military services are also inalienable. Generally speaking, any person
may grant or take a lease. But there are a number of common-law and
statutory qualifications and exceptions. A lease by or to an infant is
voidable at his option. But extensive powers of leasing the property of
infants have been created by the Settled Estates Act 1877 and the
Settled Land Act 1882. A person of unsound mind can grant or take a
lease if he is capable of contracting. Leases may be made on behalf of
lunatics subject to the jurisdiction in lunacy under the provisions of
the Lunacy Act 1890 and the Settled Land Act 1882. A married woman can
lease her "separate property" apart from or under the Married Women's
Property Acts, as if she were a single woman (_feme sole_). As regards
other property, the concurrence of her husband is generally necessary.
An alien was, at common law, incapable of being either a lessor or a
lessee. But this disqualification is removed by the Naturalization Act
1870. The right to deal with the property of a convict while he is
undergoing sentence (but not while he is out of prison on leave) is, by
the Forfeiture Act 1870, vested in his administrator. Leases by or to
corporations must be by deed under their common seal, and the leasing
powers of ecclesiastical corporations in particular are subject to
complicated statutory restrictions which cannot here be examined (see
Phillimore, _Eccl. Law_, 2nd ed., p. 1281). Powers of granting building
and other leases have been conferred by modern legislation on municipal
corporations and other local authorities.
A person having an interest in land can, in general, create a valid
interest only to the extent of that interest. Thus a tenant for years,
or even from year to year only, may stand in his turn as landlord to
another tenant. If he profess, however, to create a tenancy for a period
longer than that to which his own interest extends, he does not thereby
give to his tenant an interest available against the reversioner or
remainder man. The subtenant's interest will expire with the interest of
the person who created it. But as between the subtenant and his
immediate lessor the subtenancy will be good, and should the interest of
the lessor become greater than it was when the subtenancy was created
the subtenant will have the benefit of it. On his side, again, the
subtenant, by accepting that position, is estopped from denying that his
lessor's title (whatever it be) is good. There are also special rules of
law with reference to leases by persons having only a limited interest
in the property leased, e.g. a tenant for life under the Settled Land
Acts, or a mortgagor or mortgagee.
_The Letting._--To constitute the relationship of landlord and tenant in
the mode under consideration, it is necessary not only that there should
be parties capable of entering into the contract, but that there should
be a letting, as distinct from a mere agreement to let, and that the
right conveyed should be a right to the exclusive possession of the
subject of the letting and not a simple licence to use it. Whether a
particular instrument is a lease, or an agreement for a lease, or a bare
licence, is a question the answer to which depends to a large extent on
the circumstances of individual cases; and the only general rule is
that in a lease there must be an expression of intention on the part of
the lessor to convey, and of the lessee to accept, the exclusive
possession of the thing let for the prescribed term and on the
prescribed conditions. The landlord must not part with the whole of his
interest, since, if he does so, the instrument is not a lease but an
assignment. Where a tenant enters under an agreement for a lease and
pays rent, the agreement will be regarded as a lease from year to year;
and if the agreement is one of which specific performance would be
decreed (i.e. if it contains a complete contract between the parties
and satisfies the provisions--to be noted immediately--of the Statute of
Frauds, and if, in all the circumstances, its enforcement is just and
equitable), the lessee is treated as having a lease for the term fixed
in the agreement from the time that he took possession under it, just as
if a valid lease had been executed. At common law a lease for a term of
years (other than a lease by a corporation) might be made by parol. But
under the Statute of Frauds (1677, ss., 1, 2) leases, except those the
term of which does not exceed three years, and in which the reserved
rent is equal to two-thirds at least of the improved value of the
premises, were required to be in writing signed by the parties or their
lawfully authorized agents; and, under the Real Property Act 1845, a
lease required by law to be in writing is void unless made by deed. The
Statute of Frauds also prohibits an action from being brought upon any
agreement for a lease, for any term, unless such agreement is in writing
and signed by the party to be charged therewith or by some agent
lawfully authorized by him.
_Forms of Tenancy._--The following are the principal forms of tenancy:
(i.) _Tenancy for Life._--A lease for life must be made by deed, and
the term may be the life of the lessee and the life or lives of some
other person or persons, and in the latter case either for their joint
lives or for the life of the survivor; also for the lives of the
lessee himself and of some other person or persons, and this
constitutes a single estate. A tenant for life under a settlement has
extensive powers of leasing under the Settled Land Act 1882. He may
lease the settled land, or any part of it, for any time not exceeding
(a) in the case of a building lease, 99 years; (b) in the case of a
mining lease, 60 years, (c) in the case of any other lease, 21 years.
He may also grant either a lease of the surface of settled land,
reserving the mines and minerals, or a lease of the minerals without
the surface. A lease under the Settled Land Act 1882 must be by deed
and must be made to take effect in possession not later than 12 months
after its date; the best rent that can reasonably be obtained must be
reserved and the lease must contain a covenant by the lessee for
payment of the rent, and a condition of re-entry on non-payment within
a specified time not exceeding 30 days, (ii.) _Tenancy for Years_,
i.e. for a term of years.--This tenancy is created by an express
contract between the parties and never by implication, as in the case
of tenancy from year to year and tenancy at will. Here the tenancy
ends on the expiry of the prescribed term, without notice to quit or
any other formality. (iii.) _Tenancy from Year to Year._--This tenancy
may be created by express agreement between the parties, or by
implication as, e.g. where a person enters and pays rent under a
lease for years, void either by law or by statute, or without any
actual lease or agreement, or holds over after the determination of a
lease whether for years or otherwise. In the absence of express
agreement or custom or statutory provision (such as is made by the
Agricultural Holdings Act 1883), a tenancy from year to year is
determinable on half a year's notice expiring at the end of some
current year of the tenancy. Where there is no express stipulation
creating a yearly tenancy, if the parties have contracted that the
tenant may be dispossessed by a notice given at any time, effect will
be given to this provision. The common law doctrine of a six months'
notice being required to terminate a tenancy from year to year of a
corporeal hereditament, does not apply to an incorporeal hereditament
such as a right to shoot. (iv.) _Tenancies for Shorter
Periods._--Closely associated with tenancies from year to year are
various other tenancies for shorter periods than a year--weekly,
monthly or quarterly. Questions of considerable importance frequently
arise as to the notice necessary to terminate tenancies of this
character. The issue is one of fact; the date at which the rent is
payable is a material circumstance, but it may be said generally that
a week's notice should be given to determine a weekly tenancy, a
month's to determine a monthly tenancy, and a quarter's to determine a
quarterly tenancy. It is chiefly in connexion with the letting of
lodgings, flats, &c., that tenancies of this class arise (see FLATS,
LODGER AND LODGINGS). (v.) _Tenancy at Will._--A tenancy at will is
one which endures at the will of the parties only, i.e. at the will
of both, for if a demise be made to hold at the will of the lessor,
the law implies that it is at the will of the lessee also and vice
versa. Any signification of a desire to terminate the tenancy, whether
expressed as "notice" or not, will bring it to an end. This form of
tenancy, like tenancy from year to year, may be treated either by
express contract or by implication, as where premises are occupied
with the consent of the owner, but without any express or implied
agreement as to the duration of the tenancy, or where a house is lent
rent free by one person to another. A tenancy at will is determined by
either party alienating his interest as soon as such alienation comes
to the knowledge of the other. (vi.) _Tenancy at Sufferance._--A
tenant who comes into possession by a lawful demise, but "holds over"
or continues in possession after his estate is ended, is said to be a
"tenant at sufferance." Properly speaking, tenancy at sufferance is
not a tenancy at all, inasmuch as if the landlord acquiesces in it, it
becomes a tenancy at will; and it is to be regarded merely as a legal
fiction which prevented the rightful owner from treating the tenant as
a trespasser until he had himself made an actual entry on or had
brought an action to recover the land. The Distress for Rent Act 1737,
however, enables a landlord to recover double rent from a tenant who
holds over after having himself given notice to quit; while another
statute in the reign of George II.--the Landlord and Tenant Act
1730--makes a tenant who holds over after receiving a notice from his
landlord liable to the extent of double the value of the premises.
There is no tenancy by sufferance against the crown.
_Form of a Lease._--The component parts of a lease are the parties, the
recitals (when necessary) setting out such matters as the title of the
lessor; the demise or actual letting (the word "demise" is ordinarily
used, but any term indicating an express intention to make a present
letting is sufficient); the parcels in which the extent of the premises
demised is stated; the _habendum_ (which defines the commencement and
the term of the lease), the _reddendum_ or reservation of rent, and the
covenants and conditions. The Conveyancing Act 1881 provides that, as
regards conveyances subsequent to 1881, unless a contrary intention is
expressed, a lease of "land" is to be deemed to include all buildings,
fixtures, easements, &c., appertaining to it; and, if there are houses
or other buildings on the land demised, all out-houses, erections, &c.,
are to pass with the lease of the land. Rights which the landlord
desires to retain over the lands let are excepted or reserved. Sporting
rights will pass to the lessee unless reserved (see GAME LAWS). A grant
or reservation of mines in general terms confers, or reserves, a right
to work the mines, subject to the obligation of leaving a reasonable
support to the surface as it exists at the time of the grant or
reservation. It is not necessary that a lease should be dated. In the
absence of a date, it will take effect from the day of delivery.
_Covenants in Leases._--These may be roughly divided into four groups:
(i.) _Implied Covenants._--A covenant is said to be implied when it is
raised by implication of law without any express provision being made
for it in the lease. Thus a lessee is under an implied obligation to
treat the premises demised in a tenant-like or "husband-like" manner,
and again, where in a lease by deed the word "demise" is used, the
lessor probably covenants impliedly for his own title and for the
quiet enjoyment of the premises by the lessee. (ii.) _"Usual"
Covenants._--Where an agreement for a lease specifies only such
essential conditions as the payment of rent, and either mentions no
other terms, or provides that the lease shall contain the "usual"
covenants, the parties are entitled to have inserted in the lease made
in pursuance of the agreement such other provisions as are "usual" in
leases of property of the same character, and in the same district,
not being provisions tending to abridge or qualify the legal incidents
of the estate intended to be granted to the lessee. The question what
covenants are "usual" is a question of fact. A covenant by the lessor,
limited to his own acts and those of persons claiming under or through
him, for the "quiet enjoyment" by the lessee of the demised premises,
and covenants by the lessee to pay rent, to pay taxes, except such as
fall upon the landlord, to keep the premises in repair, and to allow
the landlord to enter and view the condition of the premises may be
taken as typical instances of "usual" covenants. Covenants by the
lessee to build and repair, not to assign or underlet without license,
or to insure, or not to carry on a particular trade on the premises
leased, have been held not to be "usual." Where the agreement provides
for the insertion in the lease of "proper" covenants, such covenants
only are pointed at as are calculated to secure the full effect of the
contract, and a covenant against assignment or under-letting would not
ordinarily be included. (iii.) _The Covenants running with the
Land._--A covenant is said to "run with the land" when the rights and
duties which it creates are not merely personal to the immediate
parties (in which case a covenant is said to be "collateral"), but
pass also to their assignees. At common law, it was said that
covenants "ran with the land" but not with the reversion, the assignee
of the reversion not having the rights of the original lessor. But the
assignees of both parties were placed on the same footing by a statute
of Henry VIII. (1540). A covenant "runs with the land" if it relates
either to a thing _in esse_, which is part and parcel of the demise,
e.g. the payment of rent, the repair of houses or fixtures or
machinery already built or set up, or to a thing not _in esse_ at the
time of the demise, but touching the land, provided that the word
"assigns" is used in the covenant. All implied covenants run with the
land. As instances of "collateral" covenants, we may take a covenant
by a lessor to give the lessee a right of pre-emption over a piece of
land adjoining the subject of the demise, or in the case of a lease of
a beer-shop, not to keep any similar shop within a prescribed distance
from the premises demised, or a covenant by a lessee to pay rates on
premises not demised. A covenant not to assign without the lessor's
assent runs with the land and applies to a re-assignment to the
original lessee. (iv.) _Restrictive Covenants._--These may be
subdivided into two classes--covenants not to assign or underlet
without the lessor's consent (it may be noted that such consent must
be applied for even if, under the covenant, it cannot be withheld);
and covenants in restraint of trade, e.g. not to use the demised
premises for certain trading purposes, and in the case of "tied
houses" a covenant by the lessees to purchase all beer required from
the lessors.
In addition a lease frequently contains covenants for renewal of the
lease at the option of the lessee, and for repairs or insurance
against damage by fire by the lessee. Leases frequently contain a
covenant by the lessee to bear and pay rates, taxes, assessments and
other "impositions" or "charges," or "duties" or "outgoings," or
"burdens" (except property tax) imposed upon the demised premises
during the term. Considerable difficulty has arisen as to the scope of
the terms "impositions," "charges," "duties," "outgoings," "burdens."
The words, "rates, taxes, assessments" point to payments of a
periodical or recurring character. Are the latter words in such
covenants limited to payments of this kind, or do they include single
and definite payments demanded, for example, by a local authority,
acting under statutory powers, for improvements of a permanent kind
affecting the premises demised? The decisions on the point are
numerous and difficult to reconcile, but the main test is whether, on
the true construction of the particular covenant, the lessee has
undertaken to indemnify the landlord against payments of all kinds.
The stronger current of modern authority is in favour of the landlords
and not in favour of restricting the meaning of covenants of this
class. It may be added that, if a lessee covenants to pay rates and
taxes, no demand by the collector apparently is necessary to
constitute a breach of the covenant; where a rate is duly made and
published it is the duty of the parties assessed to seek out the
collector and pay it.
Repairs.
_Mutual Rights and Liabilities of Landlord and Tenant._--These are to a
large extent regulated by the covenants of the lease. (i.) The landlord
generally covenants--and, in the absence of such a proviso, a covenant
will be implied from the fact of letting--that the tenant shall have
quiet enjoyment of the premises for the time agreed upon. This
obligation makes the landlord responsible for any lawful eviction of the
tenant during the term, but not for wrongful eviction unless he is
himself the wrong-doer or has expressly made himself responsible for
evictions of all kinds. It may be noted here that at common law no lease
for years is complete till actual entry has been made by the lessee.
Till then, he has only a right of entry or _interesse termini_. (ii.)
The tenant, on his part, is presumed to undertake to use the property in
a reasonable manner, according to the purposes for which it was let, and
to do reasonable repairs. A landlord is not presumed to have undertaken
to put the premises in repair, nor to execute repairs. But the
respective obligations of parties where repairs are, as they always are
in leases for years, the subject of express covenant, may vary
indefinitely. The obligation is generally imposed upon the tenant to
keep the premises in "good condition" or "tenantable repair." The amount
and quality of the repairs necessary to fulfil the covenant are always
relative to the age, class and condition of the premises at the time of
the lease. A tenant is not responsible, under such a covenant, for
deterioration due to diminution in value caused by lapse of time or by
the elements. Where there is an unqualified covenant to repair, and the
premises during the tenancy are burnt down, or destroyed by some other
inevitable calamity, the tenant is bound to rebuild and restore them at
his own expense, even although the landlord has taken out a policy on
his own account and been paid by the insurance company in respect of it.
A covenant to keep in repair requires the tenant to put the premises in
repair if they are out of it, and to maintain them in that condition up
to and at the end of the tenancy. A breach of the covenant to repair
gives the landlord an action for damages which will be measured by the
estimated injury to the reversion if the action be brought during the
tenancy, and by the sum necessary to execute the repairs, if the action
be brought later. (iii.) The improper user of the premises to the injury
of the reversioner is _waste_ (q.v.). (iv.) Covenants by the tenants to
insure the premises and keep them insured are also common; and if the
premises are left uninsured for the smallest portion of the term, though
there is no damage by fire, the covenant is broken. (v.) Covenants to
bear and pay rates and taxes have been discussed above. (vi.) As to the
tenant's obligation to pay rent, see RENT.
_Assignment, Attornment, Estoppel._--The relationship of landlord and
tenant may be altered either voluntarily, by the act of the parties, or
involuntarily, by the operation of law, and may also be dissolved. The
principal mode of voluntary alteration is an assignment either by the
tenant of his term or by the landlord of his reversion. An assignment
which creates the relationship of landlord and tenant between the lessor
or lessee and the assignee, must be by deed, but the acceptance by a
landlord of rent from a tenant under an invalid assignment may create an
implied tenancy from year to year; and similarly payment of rent by a
tenant may amount to an acknowledgment of his landlord's title. This is
one form of tenancy by estoppel. The principle of all tenancies of this
kind is that something has been done by the party estopped, amounting to
an admission which he cannot be allowed to contradict. "Attornment," or
the agreement by a tenant to become tenant to a new landlord, is a term
now often used to indicate an acknowledgment of the existence of the
relationship of landlord and tenant. It may be noted that it is still
common to insert in mortgage deeds what is called an "attornment
clause," by which the mortgagor "attorns" tenant to the mortgagee, and
the latter thereupon acquires a power of distress as an additional
security. If the lands assigned are situated in Middlesex or Yorkshire,
the assignment should be registered under the Middlesex Registry or
Yorkshire Registries Acts, as the case may be; and similar provision is
now made for the registration by an assignee of his title under the Land
Transfer Acts 1875 and 1897.
_Underlease._--Another form of alteration in a contract of tenancy is an
under-lease, which differs from assignment in this--that the lessor
parts with a portion of his estate instead of, as in assignment, with
the whole of it. There is no privity of contract between an underlessee
and the superior landlord, but the latter can enforce against the former
restrictive covenants of which he had notice; it is the duty of the
underlessee to inform himself as to the covenants of the original lease,
and, if he enters and takes possession, he will be considered to have
had full notice of, and will be bound by, these covenants.
_Bankruptcy, Death._--The contract of tenancy may also be altered by
operation of law. If a tenant become bankrupt, his interest passes to
his trustee in bankruptcy--unless, as is frequently the case, the lease
makes the occurrence of that contingency determine the lease. So, on the
death of a tenant, his interest passes to his legal representatives.
_Dissolution of Tenancy._--Tenancy is dissolved by the expiry of the
term for which it was created, or by forfeiture of the tenant's interest
on the ground of the breach of some condition by the tenant and re-entry
by the landlord. A breach of condition may, however, be waived by the
landlord, and the legislature has made provision for the relief of the
tenant from the consequences of such breaches in certain cases. Relief
from forfeiture and rights of re-entry are now regulated chiefly by the
Conveyancing Acts 1881 and 1882. Under these acts a right of re-entry or
forfeiture is not to be enforceable unless and until the lessor has
served on the lessee a written notice specifying the breach of covenant
or condition complained of, and requiring him to remedy it or make
compensation, and this demand has not within a reasonable time been
complied with; and when a lessor is proceeding to enforce such a right
the court may, if it think fit, grant relief to the lessee. A forfeiture
is also waived if the landlord elects not to take advantage of it--and
shows his election either expressly or impliedly by some act, which
acknowledges the continuance of the tenancy, e.g. by the acceptance of,
or even by an absolute and unqualified demand for, rent, which has
accrued due since the forfeiture, by bringing an action for such rent,
or by distraining for rent whether due before or after the forfeiture.
A tenancy may also be determined by merger, i.e. where a greater and a
less estate coincide and meet in one and the same person, without any
intermediate estate, as, for instance, when a tenant for years obtains
the fee simple. There may also be a surrender, either voluntary or by
operation of law, which will determine a tenancy, as, for example, when
a tenant is party to some act, the validity of which he is legally
estopped from denying and which would not have been valid had the
tenancy continued to exist.
The land, on the expiration of the tenancy, becomes at common law the
absolute property of the landlord, no matter how it may have been
altered or improved during the occupation. In certain cases, however,
the law has discriminated between the contending claims of landlord and
tenant. (1) In respect of _fixtures_ (which may be shortly defined as
movables so affixed to the soil as to become part thereof), the tenant
may sometimes remove them, e.g. when they have been brought on the
premises for the purpose of being used in business (see FIXTURES). (2)
In respect of _emblements_, i.e. the profits of sown land, a tenant may
be entitled to these whose term comes to an end by the happening of an
uncertain contingency (see EMBLEMENTS). (3) A similar right is very
generally recognized by custom in tenants whose term expires in the
ordinary way. The custom of the district, in the absence of stipulations
between the parties, would be imported into their contract--the tenant
going out on the same conditions as he came in. Such customary tenant
right only arises at the expiration of the lease, and on the substantial
performance of the covenants; and is forfeited if the tenant abandons
his tenancy during the term. Tenant right is assignable, and will pass
under an assignment of "all the estate and interest" of the outgoing
tenant in the farm. But, with the exceptions noted, the land in its
improved condition passes over at common law to the landlord. The tenant
may have added to its value by buildings, by labour applied to the land,
or by the use of fertilizing manures, but, whatever be the amount of the
additional value, he is not entitled to any compensation whatever. This
again is a matter which the parties may, if they please, regulate for
themselves.
The law as to _Ejectment_ is dealt with under that heading.
_Statutory Provisions._--Reference may be made, in conclusion, to a
few modern statutes which have affected the law of landlord and
tenant. The Agricultural Holdings Act 1908 (which repeals the
Agricultural Holdings Acts of 1883, 1900 and 1906) gives to the
agricultural tenant a right to compensation for (i.) certain specified
improvements made by him with the landlord's previous consent in
writing; and (ii.) certain other classes of improvements although the
landlord's consent has not been obtained. As examples of class (i.)
may be mentioned--erection or enlargement of buildings, laying down of
permanent pasture, making of gardens or fences, planting of hops,
embankments and sluices; as examples of (ii.)--chalking of land, clay
burning, application to land of purchased artificial or purchased
manure, except they have been made for the purpose of making provision
to protect the holding from injury or deterioration. In the case of
proposed drainage improvements, notice in writing must be given to the
landlord, who may then execute the improvements himself and charge the
tenant with interest not exceeding 5% per annum on the outlay, or such
annual instalments, payable for a period of twenty-five years, and
recoverable as rent, as will repay the outlay, with interest at the
rate of 3% a year. Under s. 11 of the act a tenant is entitled to
compensation for disturbance, when he is compelled to quit without
good and sufficient cause, and for reasons inconsistent with good
estate management. An agricultural tenant may not contract himself out
of his statutory right to compensation, but "contracting out" is
apparently not prohibited with regard to the right given him by the
acts of 1883 and 1900 to remove fixtures which he has erected and for
which he is not otherwise entitled to compensation, after reasonable
notice to the landlord, unless the latter elects to purchase such
fixtures at a valuation. The Agricultural Holdings Act 1906 conferred
upon every tenant (with slight exceptions) entire freedom of cropping
and of disposal of produce, notwithstanding any custom of the county
or explicit agreement to the contrary. (See further the articles
EJECTMENT, FIXTURES, RENT.) The Small Holdings and Allotments Act
1908, which repealed previous acts of 1887, 1890 and 1907, deals, on
terms similar to those of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1908, with
small holdings and allotments (the expression "small holding" meaning
an agricultural holding which exceeds one acre, and either does not
exceed fifty acres, or, if exceeding fifty acres, is at the date of
sale or letting of an annual value for the purposes of income tax not
exceeding fifty pounds; the expression "allotment" includes a field
garden). Section 47 of the act gives the tenant the same rights to
compensation as if his holding had been a holding under the
Agricultural Holdings Act 1908 (_vide supra_). Compensation was given
to market gardeners for unexhausted improvements by the Market
Gardeners' Compensation Act 1895 and by the Agricultural Holdings Act
1906 for improvements effected before the commencement of that act on
a holding cultivated to the knowledge of the landlord as a market
garden, if the landlord had not dissented in writing to the
improvements. The important sections of these acts were incorporated
in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1908, s. 42.
_Scots Law._--The original lease in Scots law took the form of a grant
by the proprietor or lessor. But, with advancing civilization and the
consequent increase in the number of the conditions to be imposed on
both parties, leases became mutual contracts, bilateral in form. The law
of Scotland as to landlord and tenant may be considered under two main
heads:--I. _Ordinary Leases, Common Law and Statutory_; II. _Building or
Long Leases_.
I. _Ordinary Leases, Common Law and Statutory._--A verbal lease for a
year is good. Such a lease for more than a year is not effectual even
for a year, except where the lessee has taken possession. At common
law, while a lease was binding on the grantor and his heirs, it was
not good against "singular successors," i.e. persons acquiring by
purchase or adjudication, and the lessee was liable to be ejected by
such persons, unless (a precaution usually taken) sasine of the
subjects demised was expressly conferred on him by the lease. To
obviate this difficulty, the Scots Act 1449, c. 18, made possession of
the subjects of the lease equivalent to sasine. This enactment applies
to leases of agricultural subjects, houses, mills, fisheries and
whatever is _fundo annexum_; provided that (a) the lease, when for
more than one year, must be in writing, (b) it must be definite as to
subject, rent (which may consist of money, grain or services, if the
_reddendum_ is not illusory) and term of duration, (c) possession must
follow on the lease. Special powers of granting leases are conferred
by statute on trustees. (Trusts [Scotland] Act 1867, s. 2), _curatores
bonis_ (Judicial Factors [Scotland] Act 1889) and heirs of entail (cf.
Entail Act 1882, ss. 5, 6, 8, 9). The requisites of the statutory
leases, last mentioned, are similar to those imposed in England upon
tenants for life by the Settled Land Acts (_v. sup._ p. 3). The rent
stipulated for must not be illusory, and must fairly represent the
value of the subjects leased, and the term of the lease must not be
excessive (as to rent generally, see RENT). A life-renter can only
grant a lease that is effectual during the subsistence of the
life-rent. There is practically no limitation, but the will of the
parties, as to the persons to whom a lease may be granted. A lease
granted to a tenant by name will pass, on his death during the
subsistence of the term to his heir-at-law, even if the lease contains
no destination to heirs. The rights and obligations of the lessor and
the tenant (e.g. as to the use of the produce, the payment of rent,
the quiet possession of the subjects demised, and as to the payment of
rates and taxes) are similar to those existing under English law. An
agricultural lease does not, apart from stipulation, confer any right
to kill game, other than hares and rabbits (as to which, see the
Ground Game Act 1880, and GAME LAWS) or any right of fishing. A tenant
is not entitled, without the landlord's consent, to change the
character of the subjects demised, and, except under an agricultural
lease, he is bound to quit the premises on the expiration of the
lease. In the case of urban leases, however, ejectment
(q.v.)--called in Scots Law "removing"--will not be authorized
unless the tenant received 40 days' warning before the term of
removal. In the absence of such notice, the parties are held, if there
be nothing in their conduct or in the lease inconsistent with this
presumption, to renew their agreement in all its terms, and so on from
year to year till due notice is given. This is called "tacit
relocation." A lease may be transmitted (i.) by "assignation,"
intimated to the landlord, and followed by possession on the part of
the assignee; (ii.) by sub-lease--the effect of which is equivalent to
that of under-lease in English law; (iii.) by succession, as of the
heir of a tenant; (iv.) in the case of agricultural holdings, by
bequest (Agricultural Holdings [Scotland] Act 1883, s. 29). A lease
terminates (i.) by the expiration of its term or by advantage being
taken by the party in whose favour it is stipulated, of a "break" in
the term; (ii.) by the occurrence of an "irritancy" of ground of
forfeiture, either conventional, or statutory, e.g. where a tenant's
rent is in arrear, or he fails to remove on the expiry of his lease
(Act of Sederunt, 14th of Dec. 1756: Agricultural Holdings Act 1883,
s. 27); (iii.) by the bankruptcy or insolvency of the tenant, at the
landlord's option, if it is so stipulated in the lease; (iv.) by the
destruction, e.g. by fire, of the subject leased, unless the
landlord is bound to restore it. Complete destruction of the subject
leased, e.g. where a house is burnt down, or a farm is reduced to
"sterility" by flood or hurricane, discharges the tenant from the
obligation to pay rent. The effect of partial destruction has given
rise to some uncertainty. "The distinction seems to be that if the
destruction be permanent, though partial, the failure of the subject
let will give relief by entitling the tenant to renounce the lease,
unless a deduction shall be allowed, but that if it be merely
temporary or occasional, it will not entitle the tenant to relief"
(Bell's _Prin._ s. 1208). Agricultural leases usually contain special
provisions as to the order of cropping, the proper stocking of the
farm, and the rights of the incoming and outgoing tenant with regard
to the waygoing crop. Where the rent is in money, it is generally
payable at Whitsunday and Martinmas--the two "legal terms." Sometimes
the term of payment is _before_ the crop is reaped, sometimes _after_.
"The terms thus stipulated are called 'the conventional terms'; the
rent payable by anticipation being called 'forehand rent,' that which
is payable after the crop is reaped, 'back rent.' Where the rent is in
grain, or otherwise payable in produce, it is to be satisfied from the
produce of the farm, if there be any. If there be none the tenant is
bound and entitled to deliver fair marketable grain of the same kind."
(Bell's _Principles_, ss. 1204, 1205). The general rule with regard to
"waygoing crops" on arable farms is that the tenant is entitled to
reap the crop sown before the term of removal (whether or not that be
the natural termination of the lease), the right of exclusive
possession being his during seed time. But he is not entitled to the
use of the barns in threshing, &c., the corn.
The Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Acts 1883 and 1900, already
referred to incidentally, contain provisions--similar to those of the
English acts--as to a tenant's right to compensation for unexhausted
improvements, removal for non-payment of rent, notice to quit at the
termination of a tenancy, and a tenant's property in fixtures. The
Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Acts 1886, 1887 and 1888, confer on
"crofters" special rights. A crofter is defined as "a tenant of a
holding"--being arable or pasture land, or partly arable and partly
pasture land--"from year to year who resides on his holding, the
annual rent of which does not exceed £30 in money, and which is
situated in a 'crofting parish.'" Nearly all the parishes in Argyll,
Inverness, Ross, Cromarty, Sutherland, Caithness and Orkney and
Shetland answer to this description. The crofter enjoys a perpetual
tenure subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions as to payment
of rent, non-assignment of tenancy, &c., and to defeasance at his own
option on giving one year's notice to the landlord. A Crofters'
Commission constituted under the acts has power to fix fair rents, and
the crofter on renunciation of his tenancy or removal from his holding
is entitled to compensation for permanent improvements. The Small
Holdings Act 1892 applies to Scotland.
Under the law of Scotland down to 1880, a landlord had as security for
rent due on an agricultural lease a "hypothec"--i.e. a preferential
right over ordinary creditors, and extending, subject to certain
limitations, over the whole stock and crop of the tenant. This right
was enforceable by sequestration and sale. It was abolished in 1880 as
regards all leases entered into after the 11th of November 1881, where
the land demised exceeded two acres in extent, and the landlord was
left to remedies akin to ejectment (Hypothec Abolition, Scotland, Act
1880).
II. _Building or Long Leases._--Under these leases, the term of which
is usually 99 and sometimes 999 years, the tenant is to a certain
extent in the position of a fee simple proprietor, except that his
right is terminable, and that he can only exercise such rights of
ownership as are conferred on him either by statute or by the terms of
his lease. Extensive powers of entering into such leases have been
given by statute to trustees subject to the authority of the Court
(Trusts [Scotland] Act 1867, s. 3) and to heirs of entail (Entail Acts
1840, 1849, 1882). Where long leases are "probative," i.e. holograph
or duly tested, do not exceed 31 years, or, except as regards leases
of mines and minerals, and of lands held by burgage tenure, relate to
an extent of land exceeding 50 acres, and contain provisions for
renewal, they may be recorded for publication in the _Register of
Sasines_, and such publication has the effect of possession
(Registration of Leases [Scotland] Act 1857).
_Ireland._--The law of landlord and tenant was originally
substantially the same as that described for England is. But the
modern Land Acts have readjusted the relation between landlords and
tenants, while the Land Purchase Acts have aimed at abolishing those
relations by enabling the tenant to become the owner of his holding.
The way was paved for these changes by the existence in Ulster of a
local custom having virtually the force of law, which had two main
features--fixity of tenure, and free right of sale by the tenant of
his interest. These principles, with the addition of that of fair
rents settled by judicial means, were gradually established by the
Land Acts of 1870 and subsequent years, and the whole system was
remodelled by the Land Purchase Acts (see IRELAND).
_United States._--The law of landlord and tenant in the United States is
in its principles similar to those of English law. It is only possible
to indicate, by way of example, some of the points of similarity. The
relationship of landlord and tenant is created, altered and dissolved in
the same way, and the rights and duties of parties are substantially
identical. A lease must contain, either in itself or by clear reference,
all the terms of a complete contract--the names of the parties,
description of the property let, the rent (see RENT) and the conditions.
The date is not essential. That is a matter of identification as to
time only. In Pennsylvania, parol evidence of the date is allowed. The
general American doctrine is that where the contract is contained in
separate writings they must connect themselves by reference, and that
parol evidence is not admissible to connect them. The English doctrine
that a verbal lease may be specifically enforced if there has been part
performance by the person seeking the remedy has been fully adopted in
nearly all the American states. The law as to the rights and obligations
of assignees and sub-lessees and as to surrender is the same as in
England. Forfeiture only renders a lease void as regards the lessee; it
may be waived by the lessor, and acceptance by the landlord of rent due
after forfeiture, with notice of such forfeiture, amounts to waiver.
Where there is a lease for a certain period, no notice to quit is
necessary. In uncertain tenancies there must be reasonable
notice--i.e. at common law six months generally. The notice necessary
to determine a monthly or weekly tenancy is generally a month or a week
(see further under LODGER; LODGINGS). In the United States, as in
England, the covenant for quiet enjoyment only extends, so far as
relates to the acts of third parties, to lawful acts of disturbance in
the enjoyment of the subject agreed to be let.
_Laws of other Countries._--It is impossible here to deal with the
systems of land tenure in force in other countries. Only the question of
the legal relations between landlord and tenant can be touched upon. In
France, the Code Civil recognizes two such relationships, the letting to
hire of houses (_bail à loyer_) and the letting to farm of rural
properties (_bail à ferme_). To a certain extent, both forms of tenancy
are governed by the same rules. The letting may be either written or
verbal. But a verbal lease presents this disadvantage that, if it is
unperformed and one of the parties denies its existence, it cannot be
proved by witnesses. The party who denies the letting can only be put to
his oath (Arts. 1714-1715). It may further be noted that in the case of
a verbal lease, notice to quit is regulated by the custom of the place
(Art. 1736). The tenant or farmer has the right of underletting or
assigning his lease, in the absence of prohibiting stipulation (Art.
1717). The lessor is bound by the nature of his contract and without the
need of any particular stipulation (i.) to deliver to the lessee the
thing hired in a good state of repair; (ii.) to maintain it in a state
to serve the purpose for which it has been hired; (iii.) to secure to
the lessee peaceable enjoyment during the continuance of the lease
(Arts. 1719-1720). He is bound to warrant the lessee against, and to
indemnify him for, any loss arising from any faults or defects in the
thing hired which prevent its use, even though he was not aware of them
at the time of the lease (Art. 1721). If during the continuance of the
letting, the thing hired is entirely destroyed by accident, the lease is
cancelled. In case of partial destruction, the lessee may, according to
circumstances, demand either a diminution of the price, or the
cancellation of the lease. In neither case is there ground for damages
(Art. 1722). The lessor cannot, during the lease, change the form of the
thing hired (Art. 1723). The lessee is bound, on his side (i.) to use
the thing hired like a good head of a household (_bon père de famille_),
in accordance with the express or presumed purpose of the hiring; (ii.)
to pay the price of the hiring at the times agreed (Art. 1728). On
breach of the former obligation, the lease may be judicially cancelled
(Art. 1729). As to the consequences of breach of the latter, see RENT.
If a statement of the condition of the property (_état des lieux_) has
been prepared, the lessee must give it up such as he received it
according to the statement, except what has perished or decayed by age
or by means of _force majeure_ (Art. 1730). In the absence of an _état
des lieux_, the lessee is presumed to have received the thing hired in a
good state of tenantable repair, and must so yield it up, saving proof
to the contrary (Art. 1731). He is liable for injuries or losses
happening during his enjoyment, unless he prove that they have taken
place without his fault (Art. 1732); in particular, for loss by fire
unless he show that the fire happened by accident, _force majeure_, or
defect of construction, or through communication from a neighbouring
house (Art. 1733). The lessee is liable for injuries and losses
happening by the act of persons belonging to his house or of his
sub-tenants (Art. 1735). A lease terminates (i.) at the expiration of
the prescribed term (Art. 1737)--if at that period the lessee remains
and is left in possession, there is, in the case of written leases, a
tacit renewal (_tacite reconduction_) of the lease as a verbal lease
(Arts. 1738-1739); (ii.) by the loss of the thing hired and by the
default of the lessor or lessee in the fulfilment of their respective
obligations (Art. 1741), but (iii.) not by the death either of the
lessor or of the lessee (1742). The conditions of EJECTMENT are stated
under that heading. The special rules (Arts. 1752-1762) relative to the
hire of houses are touched upon in LODGER AND LODGINGS. It only remains
here to refer to those applicable to leases to farm. The lessee is bound
to stock the farm with the cattle and implements necessary for its
husbandry (Art. 1766), and to stack in the places appointed for the
purpose in the lease (Art. 1767). A lessee, who farms on condition of
dividing the produce with the lessor, can only underlet or assign if he
is expressly empowered to do so by the lease (Art. 1763). The lessee
must give notice to the lessor of any acts of usurpation committed on
the property (Art. 1768). If at least half of the harvest in any year is
destroyed by accident, the lessee (a) in the case of a lease for several
years, obtains, at the end of his lease, a refund of rent, by way of
indemnity, unless he has been indemnified by preceding harvests; (b) in
the case of a lease for a year only, may secure a proportional abatement
of the current rent. No refund is payable if the produce was severed
before the accident, unless the lessor was entitled to a portion of it,
when he must bear his share of the loss, provided the lessee was not _in
morâ_ as regards the delivery of the lessor's portion. The lessee has no
right to a refund when the cause of damage was existing and known at the
date of the lease (Arts. 1769-1771). Liability for loss by "accidents"
may be thrown on the lessee by express stipulation (Art. 1772).
"Accidents" here mean ordinary accidents only, such as hail, lightning
or frost, and the lessee will not be answerable for loss caused by
extraordinary accidents such as war or floods, unless he has been made
liable for all accidents, foreseen or unforeseen (Art. 1773). A verbal
lease is deemed to be for the term necessary to enable the lessee to
gather in all the produce, thus for a year in the case of a meadow or
vineyard; in the case of lands leased in tillage, where they are divided
into shifts or seasons, for as many years as there are shifts (Art.
1774). The outgoing must leave for the incoming tenant convenient
housing and other facilities for the labours of the year following; the
incoming must procure for the outgoing tenant conveniences for the
consumption of his fodder and for the harvests remaining to be got in.
In either case the custom of the place is to be followed (Art. 1777).
The outgoing tenant must leave the straw and manure of the year, if he
received them at the beginning of his lease, and even where he has not
so received them, the owner may retain them according to valuation (Art.
1778). A word must be added as to letting by cheptel (_bail à
cheptel_)--a contract by which one of the parties gives to the other a
stock of cattle to keep under conditions agreed on between them (Art.
1800). There are several varieties of the contract, (i.) simple cheptel
(_cheptel simple_) in which the whole stock is supplied by the
lessor--the lessee taking half the profit and bearing half the loss
(Art. 1804); (ii.) cheptel by moiety (_cheptel à moietié_)--here each of
the contracting parties furnishes half of the stock, which remains
common for profit or loss (Art. 1818); (iii.) cheptel given to a farmer
(_fermier_) or participating cultivator (_colon partiaire_)--in the
cheptel given to the farmer (also called _cheptel de fer_) stock of a
value equal to the estimated price of the stock given must be left at
the expiry of the lease (Art. 1821); cheptel given to the participating
cultivator resembles simple cheptel, except in points of detail (Arts.
1827-1830); (iv.) the term "cheptel" is also improperly applied to a
contract by which cattle are given to be housed and fed--here the lessor
retains the ownership, but has only the profit of the calves (Art.
1831).
The French system just described is in force in its entirety in Belgium
(Code Civil, Arts. 1713 et seq.) and has been followed to some extent
in Italy (Civil Code, Arts. 1568 et seq.), Spain (Civil Code, Arts 1542
et seq.), and Portugal (Civil Code, Arts. 1298 et seq., 1595 et seq.).
In all these countries there are varieties of emphyteutic tenure; and in
Italy the mezzadria or metayer system (see Civil Code, Arts. 1647 et
seq.) exists. The German Civil Code adopts the distinction between _bail
à loyer_ (Miehl, Arts. 535 et seq.) and _bail à ferme_ (Pacht, Arts. 581
et seq.). Dutch law also (Civil Code, Arts. 1583 et seq.) is similar to
the French.
The Indian law of landlord and tenant is described in the article INDIAN
LAW. The laws of the various British colonies on the subject are too
numerous and too different to be dealt with here. In Mauritius, the
provisions of the Code Civil are in force without modification. In
Quebec (Civil Code, Arts. 1605 et seq.) and St Lucia (Civil Code, Arts.
1512 et seq.) they have been reproduced by the local law. In many of the
colonies, parts of the English law of landlord and tenant, common law
and statutory, have been introduced by local enactments (cf. British
Guiana, Ord. 4 of 1846; Jamaica, 1 Vict. c. 26). In others (e.g.
Victoria, Landlord and Tenant Act 1890, No. 1108; Ontario, Rev. Stats.
1897, c. 170) consolidating statutes have been passed.
AUTHORITIES.--English Law: Wolstenholme, Brinton and Cherry,
_Conveyancing and Settled Land Acts_ (London, 9th ed., 1905); Hood and
Challis, _Conveyancing and Settled Land Acts_ (London, 7th ed., 1909);
Foà, on _Landlord and Tenant_ (London, 4th ed., 1907); Woodfall, on
_Landlord and Tenant_ (London, 18th ed., 1907); Fawcett, _Landlord and
Tenant_ (London, 3rd ed., 1905). Scots Law: Hunter, on _Landlord and
Tenant_ (Edinburgh, 4th ed., 1876); Rankine, on _Land Ownership_
(Edinburgh, 3rd ed., 1891); Rankine, on _Leases_ (Edinburgh, 2nd ed.,
1893); Hunter, _Landlord and Tenant_ (4th ed. G. Guthrie, Edinburgh,
1876). Irish Law: Kelly's _Statute Law of Landlord and Tenant in
Ireland_ (Dublin, 1898); Barton and Cherry's _Land Act 1896_ (Dublin,
1896); Quill, Hamilton and Longworth, _Irish Land Acts of 1903 and
1904_ (Dublin, 1904). American Law: Bouvier, _Law Dictionary_ (ed.
Rawle) (London, 1897); McAdam, _Rights, Remedies and Liabilities of
Landlord and Tenant_ (New York, 1900); Wood, _Law of Landlord and
Tenant_ (New York, 1888). Foreign and Colonial Laws: Field,
_Landholding and the relation of Landlord and Tenant in various
Countries; Ruling Cases_ (American Notes), (London and Boston,
1894-1901). (A. W. R.)
LANDON, CHARLES PAUL (1760-1826), French painter and art-author, was
born at Nonant in 1760. He entered the studio of Regnault, and won the
first prize of the Academy in 1792. After his return from Italy,
disturbed by the Revolution, he seems to have abandoned painting for
letters, but he began to exhibit in 1795, and continued to do so at
various intervals up to 1814. His "Leda" obtained an award of merit in
1801, and is now in the Louvre. His "Mother's Lesson," "Paul and
Virginia Bathing," and "Daedalus and Icarus" have been engraved; but his
works on painting and painters, which reach nearly one hundred volumes,
form his chief title to be remembered. In spite of a complete want of
critical accuracy, an extreme carelessness in the biographical details,
and the feebleness of the line engravings by which they are illustrated,
Landon's _Annales du Musée_, in 33 vols., form a vast repertory of
compositions by masters of every age and school of permanent value.
Landon also published _Lives of Celebrated Painters_, in 22 vols.; _An
Historical Description of Paris_, 2 vols.; a _Description of London_,
with 42 plates; and descriptions of the Luxembourg, of the Giustiniani
collection, and of the gallery of the duchesse de Berry. He died at
Paris in 1826.
LANDON, LETITIA ELIZABETH (1802-1838), English poet and novelist, better
known by her initials L. E. L. than as Miss Landon or Mrs Maclean, was
descended from an old Herefordshire family, and was born at Chelsea on
the 14th of August 1802. She went to a school in Chelsea where Miss
Mitford also received her education. Her father, an army agent, amassed
a large property, which he lost by speculation shortly before his death.
About 1815 the Landons made the acquaintance of William Jerdan, and
Letitia began her contributions to the _Literary Gazette_ and to various
Christmas annuals. She also published some volumes of verse, which soon
won for her a wide literary fame. The gentle melancholy and romantic
sentiment her writings embodied suited the taste of the period, and
would in any case have secured her the sympathy and approval of a wide
class of readers. She displays richness of fancy and aptness of
language, but her work suffered from hasty production, and has not stood
the test of time. The large sums she earned by her literary labours were
expended on the support of her family. An engagement to John Forster, it
is said, was broken off through the intervention of scandalmongers. In
June 1838 she married George Maclean, governor of the Gold Coast, but
she only survived her marriage, which proved to be very unhappy, by a
few months. She died on the 15th of October 1838 at Cape Coast from an
overdose of prussic acid, which, it is supposed, was taken accidentally.
For some time L. E. L. was joint editor of the _Literary Gazette_. Her
first volume of poetry appeared in 1820 under the title The _Fate of
Adelaide_, and was followed by other collections of verses with
similar titles. She also wrote several novels, of which the best is
_Ethel Churchill_ (1837). Various editions of her _Poetical Works_
have been published since her death, one in 1880 with an introductory
memoir by W. B. Scott. _The Life and Literary Remains of Letilia
Elizabeth Landon_, by Laman Blanchard, appeared in 1841, and a second
edition in 1855.
LANDOR, WALTER SAVAGE (1775-1864), English writer, eldest son of Walter
Landor and his wife Elizabeth Savage, was born at Warwick on the 30th of
January 1775. [He was sent to Rugby school, but was removed at the
headmaster's request and studied privately with Mr Langley, vicar of
Ashbourne. In 1793 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge. He adopted
republican principles and in 1794 fired a gun at the windows of a Tory
for whom he had an aversion. He was rusticated for a year, and, although
the authorities were willing to condone the offence, he refused to
return. The affair led to a quarrel with his father in which Landor
expressed his intention of leaving home for ever. He was, however,
reconciled with his family through the efforts of his friend Dorothea
Lyttelton. He entered no profession, but his father allowed him £150 a
year, and he was free to live at home or not as he pleased.]
In 1795 appeared in a small volume, divided into three books, _The Poems
of Walter Savage Landor_, and, in pamphlet form of nineteen pages, an
anonymous _Moral Epistle, respectfully dedicated to Earl Stanhope_. No
poet at the age of twenty ever had more vigour of style and fluency of
verse; nor perhaps has any ever shown such masterly command of epigram
and satire, made vivid and vital by the purest enthusiasm and most
generous indignation. Three years later appeared the first edition of
the first great work which was to inscribe his name for ever among the
great names in English poetry. The second edition of _Gebir_ appeared in
1803, with a text corrected of grave errors and improved by magnificent
additions. About the same time the whole poem was also published in a
Latin form, which for might and melody of line, for power and perfection
of language, must always dispute the palm of precedence with the English
version. [His father's death in 1805 put him in possession of an
independent fortune. Landor settled in Bath. Here in 1808 he met
Southey, and the mutual appreciation of the two poets led to a warm
friendship.] In 1808, under an impulse not less heroic than that which
was afterwards to lead Byron to a glorious death in redemption of Greece
and his own good fame, Landor, then aged thirty-three, left England for
Spain as a volunteer to serve in the national army against Napoleon at
the head of a regiment raised and supported at his sole expense. After
some three months' campaigning came the affair of Cintra and its
disasters; "his troop," in the words of his biographer, "dispersed or
melted away, and he came back to England in as great a hurry as he had
left it," but bringing with him the honourable recollection of a brave
design unselfishly attempted, and the material in his memory for the
sublimest poem published in our language, between the last masterpiece
of Milton and the first masterpiece of Shelley--one equally worthy to
stand unchallenged beside either for poetic perfection as well as moral
majesty--the lofty tragedy of _Count Julian_, which appeared in 1812,
without the name of its author. No comparable work is to be found in
English poetry between the date of _Samson Agonistes_ and the date of
_Prometheus Unbound_; and with both these great works it has some
points of greatness in common. The superhuman isolation of agony and
endurance which encircles and exalts the hero is in each case expressed
with equally appropriate magnificence of effect. The style of _Count
Julian_, if somewhat deficient in dramatic ease and the fluency of
natural dialogue, has such might and purity and majesty of speech as
elsewhere we find only in Milton so long and so steadily sustained.
In May 1811 Landor had suddenly married Miss Julia Thuillier, with whose
looks he had fallen in love at first sight in a ball-room at Bath; and
in June they settled for a while at Llanthony Abbey in Monmouthshire,
from whence he was worried in three years' time by the combined vexation
of neighbours and tenants, lawyers and lords-lieutenant; not before much
toil and money had been nobly wasted on attempts to improve the
sterility of the land, to relieve the wretchedness and raise the
condition of the peasantry. He left England for France at first, but
after a brief residence at Tours took up his abode for three years at
Como; "and three more wandering years he passed," says his biographer,
"between Pisa and Pistoja, before he pitched his tent in Florence in
1821."
In 1835 he had an unfortunate difference with his wife which ended in a
complete separation. In 1824 appeared the first series of his _Imaginary
Conversations_, in 1826 "the second edition, corrected and enlarged"; a
supplementary third volume was added in 1828; and in 1829 the second
series was given to the world. Not until 1846 was a fresh instalment
added, in the second volume of his collected and selected works. During
the interval he had published his three other most famous and greatest
books in prose: _The Citation and Examination of William Shakespeare_
(1834), _Pericles and Aspasia_ (1836), _The Pentameron_ (1837). To the
last of these was originally appended _The Pentalogia_, containing five
of the very finest among his shorter studies in dramatic poetry. In 1847
he published his most important Latin work, _Poemata et inscriptiones_,
comprising, with large additions, the main contents of two former
volumes of idyllic, satiric, elegiac and lyric verse; and in the same
golden year of his poetic life appeared the very crown and flower of its
manifold labours, the _Hellenics of Waller Savage Landor_, enlarged and
completed. Twelve years later this book was re-issued, with additions of
more or less value, with alterations generally to be regretted, and with
omissions invariably to be deplored. In 1853 he put forth _The Last
Fruit off an Old Tree_, containing fresh conversations, critical and
controversial essays, miscellaneous epigrams, lyrics and occasional
poems of various kind and merit, closing with _Five Scenes_ on the
martyrdom of Beatrice Cenci, unsurpassed even by their author himself
for noble and heroic pathos, for subtle and genial, tragic and profound,
ardent and compassionate insight into character, with consummate mastery
of dramatic and spiritual truth. In 1856 he published _Antony and
Octavius--Scenes for the Study_, twelve consecutive poems in dialogue
which alone would suffice to place him high among the few great masters
of historic drama.
In 1858 appeared a metrical miscellany bearing the title of _Dry Sticks
Fagoted by W. S. Landor_, and containing among other things graver and
lighter certain epigrammatic and satirical attacks which reinvolved him
in the troubles of an action for libel; and in July of the same year he
returned for the last six years of his life to Italy, which he had left
for England in 1835. [He was advised to make over his property to his
family, on whom he was now dependent. They appear to have refused to
make him an allowance unless he returned to England. By the exertions of
Robert Browning an allowance was secured. Browning settled him first at
Siena and then at Florence.] Embittered and distracted by domestic
dissensions, if brightened and relieved by the affection and veneration
of friends and strangers, this final period of his troubled and splendid
career came at last to a quiet end on the 17th of September 1864. In the
preceding year he had published a last volume of _Heroic Idyls, with
Additional Poems_, English and Latin,--the better part of them well
worthy to be indeed the "last fruit" of a genius which after a life of
eighty-eight years had lost nothing of its majestic and pathetic power,
its exquisite and exalted loveliness.
A complete list of Landor's writings, published or privately printed, in
English, Latin and Italian, including pamphlets, fly-sheets and
occasional newspaper correspondence on political or literary questions,
it would be difficult to give anywhere and impossible to give here. From
nineteen almost to ninety his intellectual and literary activity was
indefatigably incessant; but, herein at least like Charles Lamb, whose
cordial admiration he so cordially returned, he could not write a note
of three lines which did not bear the mark of his "Roman hand" in its
matchless and inimitable command of a style at once the most powerful
and the purest of his age. The one charge which can ever seriously be
brought and maintained against it is that of such occasional obscurity
or difficulty as may arise from excessive strictness in condensation of
phrase and expurgation of matter not always superfluous, and sometimes
almost indispensable. His English prose and his Latin verse are perhaps
more frequently and more gravely liable to this charge than either his
English verse or his Latin prose. At times it is well-nigh impossible
for an eye less keen and swift, a scholarship less exquisite and ready
than his own, to catch the precise direction and follow the perfect
course of his rapid thought and radiant utterance. This apparently
studious pursuit and preference of the most terse and elliptic
expression which could be found for anything he might have to say could
not but occasionally make even so sovereign a master of two great
languages appear "dark with excess of light"; but from no former master
of either tongue in prose or verse was ever the quality of real
obscurity, of loose and nebulous incertitude, more utterly alien or more
naturally remote. There is nothing of cloud or fog about the path on
which he leads us; but we feel now and then the want of a bridge or a
handrail; we have to leap from point to point of narrative or argument
without the usual help of a connecting plank. Even in his dramatic
works, where least of all it should have been found, this lack of
visible connexion or sequence in details of thought or action is too
often a source of sensible perplexity. In his noble trilogy on the
history of Giovanna queen of Naples it is sometimes actually difficult
to realize on a first reading what has happened or is happening, or how,
or why, or by what agency--a defect alone sufficient, but unhappily
sufficient in itself, to explain the too general ignorance of a work so
rich in subtle and noble treatment of character, so sure and strong in
its grasp and rendering of "high actions and high passions," so rich in
humour and in pathos, so royally serene in its commanding power upon the
tragic mainsprings of terror and of pity. As a poet, he may be said on
the whole to stand midway between Byron and Shelley--about as far above
the former as below the latter. If we except Catullus and Simonides, it
might be hard to match and it would be impossible to overmatch the
flawless and blameless yet living and breathing beauty of his most
perfect elegies, epigrams or epitaphs. As truly as prettily was he
likened by Leigh Hunt "to a stormy mountain pine which should produce
lilies." His passionate compassion, his bitter and burning pity for all
wrongs endured in all the world, found only their natural and inevitable
outlet in his lifelong defence or advocacy of tyrannicide as the last
resource of baffled justice, the last discharge of heroic duty. His
tender and ardent love of children, of animals and of flowers makes
fragrant alike the pages of his writing and the records of his life. He
was as surely the most gentle and generous as the most headstrong and
hot-headed of heroes or of men. Nor ever was any man's best work more
thoroughly imbued and informed with evidence of his noblest qualities.
His loyalty and liberality of heart were as inexhaustible as his bounty
and beneficence of hand. Praise and encouragement, deserved or
undeserved, came yet more readily to his lips than challenge or
defiance. Reviled and ridiculed by Lord Byron, he retorted on the
offender living less readily and less warmly than he lamented and
extolled him dead. On the noble dramatic works of his brother Robert he
lavished a magnificence of sympathetic praise which his utmost
self-estimate would never have exacted for his own. Age and the lapse
of time could neither heighten nor lessen the fulness of this rich and
ready generosity. To the poets of his own and of the next generation he
was not readier to do honour than to those of a later growth, and not
seldom of deserts far lower and far lesser claims than theirs. That he
was not unconscious of his own, and avowed it with the frank simplicity
of nobler times, is not more evident or more certain than that in
comparison with his friends and fellows he was liable rather to
undervalue than to overrate himself. He was a classic, and no formalist;
the wide range of his just and loyal admiration had room for a genius so
far from classical as Blake's. Nor in his own highest mood or method of
creative as of critical work was he a classic only, in any narrow or
exclusive sense of the term. On either side, immediately or hardly below
his mighty masterpiece of _Pericles and Aspasia_, stand the two scarcely
less beautiful and vivid studies of medieval Italy and Shakespearean
England. The very finest flower of his immortal dialogues is probably to
be found in the single volume comprising only "Imaginary Conversations
of Greeks and Romans"; his utmost command of passion and pathos may be
tested by its transcendent success in the distilled and concentrated
tragedy of _Tiberius and Vipsania_, where for once he shows a quality
more proper to romantic than classical imagination--the subtle and
sublime and terrible power to enter the dark vestibule of distraction,
to throw the whole force of his fancy, the whole fire of his spirit,
into the "shadowing passion" (as Shakespeare calls it) of gradually
imminent insanity. Yet, if this and all other studies from ancient
history or legend could be subtracted from the volume of his work,
enough would be left whereon to rest the foundation of a fame which time
could not sensibly impair. (A. C. S.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--See _The Works and Life of Walter Savage Landor_ (8
vols., 1846), the life being the work of John Forster. Another edition
of his works (1891-1893), edited by C. G. Crump, comprises _Imaginary
Conversations_, _Poems_, _Dialogues in Verse and Epigrams_ and _The
Longer Prose Works_. His _Letters and other Unpublished Writings_ were
edited by Mr Stephen Wheeler (1897). There are many volumes of
selections from his works, notably one (1882) for the "Golden
Treasury" series, edited by Sidney Colvin, who also contributed the
monograph on _Landor_ (1881) in the "English Men of Letters" series. A
bibliography of his works, many of which are very rare, is included in
Sir Leslie Stephen's article on Landor in the _Dictionary of National
Biography_ (vol. xxxii., 1892). (M. Br.)
LANDOUR, a hill station and sanatorium in India, in Dehra Dun district
of the United Provinces, adjoining Mussoorie. Pop. (1901) 1720, rising
to 3700 in the hot season. Since 1827 it has been a convalescent station
for European troops, with a school for their children.
LAND REGISTRATION, a legal process connected with the transfer of landed
property, comprising two forms--registration of deeds and registration
of title, which may be best described as a species of machinery for
assisting a purchaser or mortgagee in his inquiries as to his vendor's
or mortgagor's title previously to completing his dealing, and for
securing his own position afterwards. The expediency of making inquiry
into the vendor's title before completing a purchase of land (and the
case of a mortgage is precisely similar) is obvious. In the case of
goods possession may ordinarily be relied on as proof of full ownership;
in the case of land, the person in ostensible possession is very seldom
the owner, being usually only a tenant, paying rent to someone else.
Even the person to whom the rent is paid is in many cases--probably, in
England, in most cases--not the full owner, but only a life owner, or a
trustee, whose powers of disposing of the property are of a strictly
limited nature. Again, goods are very seldom the subject of a mortgage,
whereas land has from time immemorial been the frequent subject of this
class of transaction. Evidently, therefore, some sort of inquiry is
necessary to enable a purchaser to obtain certainty that the land for
which he pays full price is not subject to an unknown mortgage or charge
which, if left undiscovered, might afterwards deprive him of a large
part or even the whole of its value. Again, the probability of serious
consequences to the purchaser ensuing from a mistake as to title is
infinitely greater in the case of land than in the case of goods. Before
the rightful owner can recover misappropriated goods, he has to find
out where they are. This is usually a matter of considerable difficulty.
By the time they have reached the hands of a _bonâ fide_ purchaser all
chance of their recovery by the true owner is practically at an end. But
with land the case is far otherwise. A dispossessed rightful owner never
has any difficulty in tracing his property, for it is immovable. All he
has to do is to bring an action for ejectment against the person in
possession. For these reasons, among others, any attempt to deal with
land on the simple and unsuspecting principles which obtain in regard to
goods would be fraught with grave risks.
Apart from very early and primitive social conditions, there appear to
be only two ways in which the required certainty as to title to land can
be obtained. Either the purchaser must satisfy himself, by an exhaustive
scrutiny and review of all the deeds, wills, marriages, heirships and
other documents and events by which the property has been conveyed,
mortgaged, leased, devised or transmitted during a considerable period
of time, that no loophole exists whereby an adverse claim can enter or
be made good--this is called the system of private investigation of
title--or the government must keep an authoritative list or register of
the properties within its jurisdiction, together with the names of the
owners and particulars of the encumbrances in each case, and must
protect purchasers and others dealing with land, on the faith of this
register, from all adverse claims. This second system is called
Registration of Title. To these two alternatives may perhaps be added a
third, of very recent growth--Insurance of Title. This is largely used
in the United States. But it is in reality only a phase of the system of
private investigation. The insurance company investigates the title, and
charges the purchaser a premium to cover the expense and the risk of
error. Registration of deeds is an adjunct of the system of private
investigation, and, except in England, is a practically invariable
feature of it. It consists in the establishment of public offices in
which all documents affecting land are to be recorded--partly to
preserve them in a readily accessible place, partly to prevent the
possibility of any material deed or document being dishonestly concealed
by a vendor. Where registration is effected by depositing a full copy of
the deed, it also renders the subsequent falsification of the original
document dangerous. Registration of deeds does not (except perhaps to a
certain extent indirectly) cheapen or simplify the process of
investigation--the formalities at the registry add something to the
trouble and cost incurred--but it prevents the particular classes of
fraud mentioned.
The history of land registration follows, as a general rule, a fairly
uniform course of development. In very early times, and in small and
simple communities, the difficulty afterwards found in establishing
title to land does not arise, owing to the primitive habit of attaching
ceremony and publicity to all dealings. The parties meet on the land,
with witnesses; symbolical acts (such as handing over a piece of earth,
or the bough of a tree) are performed; and a set form of words is
spoken, expressive of the intention to convey. By this means the
ownership of each estate in the community becomes to a certain extent a
matter of common knowledge, rendering fraud and mistake difficult. But
this method leaves a good deal to be desired in point of security.
Witnesses die, and memory is uncertain; and one of the earliest
improvements consists in the establishment of a sort of public record
kept by the magistrate, lord or other local authority, containing a
series of contemporary notes of the effect of the various transactions
that take place. This book becomes the general title-deed of the whole
community, and as long as transactions remain simple, and not too
numerous, the results appear to be satisfactory. Of this character are
the Manorial Court Rolls, which were in the middle ages the great
authorities on title, both in England and on the continent. The entries
in them in early times were made in a very few words. The date, the
names of the parties, the name or short verbal description of the land,
the nature of the transaction, are all that appear. In the land registry
at Vienna there is a continuous series of registers of this kind going
back to 1368, in Prague to 1377, in Munich to 1440. No doubt there are
extant (though in a less easily accessible form) manorial records in
England of equal or greater antiquity. This may be considered the first
stage in the history of Land Registration. It can hardly be said to be
in active operation at the present day in any civilized country--in the
sense in which that term is usually understood. Where dealings become
more numerous and complicated, written instruments are required to
express the intentions of the parties, and afterwards to supply evidence
of the landowner's title. It appears, too, that as a general rule the
public books already described continue to be used, notwithstanding this
change; only (as would be expected) the entries in them, once plain and
simple, either grow into full copies of the long and intricate deeds, or
consist of mere notes stating that such and such deeds have been
executed, leaving the persons interested to inquire for the originals,
in whose custody soever they may be found. This system, which may be
regarded as the second stage in the history of land registration, is
called Registration of Deeds. It prevails in France, Belgium, parts of
Switzerland, in Italy, Spain, India, in almost all the British colonies
(except Australasia and Canada), in most of the states of the American
Union, in the South American republics, in Scotland and Ireland, and in
the English counties of Yorkshire and Middlesex. Where it exists, there
is generally a law to the effect that in case of dispute a registered
deed shall prevail over an unregistered one. The practical effect is
that a purchaser can, by searching the register, find out exactly what
deeds he ought to inquire for, and receives an assurance that if, after
completion, he registers his own conveyance, no other deeds--even if
they exist--will prevail against him.
The expenses and delays, not to mention the occasional actual losses of
property through fraud or mistake, attendant on the system of making
every purchaser responsible for the due examination of his vendor's
title--whether or not assisted by registration of deeds--have induced
several governments to establish the more perfect system of Registration
of Title, which consists in collecting the transactions affecting each
separate estate under a separate head, keeping an accurate account of
the parcels of which each such estate is composed, and summarizing
authoritatively, as each fresh transaction occurs, the subsisting rights
of all parties in relation to the land itself. This system prevails in
Germany, Austria, Hungary, parts of Switzerland, the Australasian
colonies, nearly the whole of Canada, some of the states of the American
Union, to a certain extent in Ireland, and is in course of establishment
in England and Wales. The Register consists of three portions:--(1) The
description of the land, usually, but not necessarily, accompanied by a
reference to a map; (2) the ownership, giving the name and address of
the person who can sell and dispose of the land; and (3) the
encumbrances, in their order of priority, and the names of the persons
for the time being entitled to them. When any fresh transaction takes
place the instrument effecting it is produced, and the proper
alterations in, or additions to, the register are made: if it be a sale,
the name of the vendor is cancelled from the register, and that of the
purchaser is entered instead; if it be a mortgage, it is added to the
list of encumbrances; if a discharge, the encumbrance discharged is
cancelled; if it is a sale of part of the land, the original description
is modified or the plan is marked to show the piece conveyed, while a
new description or plan is made and a new register is opened for the
detached parcel. In the English and Australian registries a "land
certificate" is also issued to the landowner containing copies of the
register and of the plan. This certificate takes the place more or less
of the old documents of title. On a sale, the process is as follows: The
vendor first of all produces to the purchaser his land certificate, or
gives him the number of his title and an authority to inspect the
register. In Austria and in some colonial registries this is not
necessary, the register being open to public inspection, which in
England is not the case. The purchaser, on inspecting this, can easily
see for himself whether the land he wishes to buy is comprised in the
registered description or plan, whether the vendor's name appears on the
register as the owner of the land, and whether there are any
encumbrances or other burdens registered as affecting it. If there are
encumbrances, the register states their amount and who are entitled to
them. The purchaser then usually[1] prepares a conveyance or transfer of
the land (generally in a short printed form issued by the registry), and
the vendor executes it in exchange for the purchase money. If there are
mortgages, he pays them off to the persons named in the register as
their owners, and they concur in a discharge. He then presents the
executed instruments at the registry, and is entered as owner of the
land instead of the vendor, the mortgages, if any, being cancelled.
Where "land certificates" are used (as in England and Australia), a new
land certificate is issued to the purchaser showing the existing state
of the register and containing a copy of the registered plan of the
land. The above is only a brief outline of the processes employed. For
further information as to practical details reference may be made to the
treatises mentioned at the end of this article.
_England and Wales._--The first attempt to introduce general
registration of conveyances appears to have been made by the Statute
of Enrolments, passed in the 27th year of Henry VIII. But this was
soon found to be capable of evasion, and it became a dead letter. A
Registration Act applying to the counties of Lancaster, Chester and
Durham was passed in Queen Elizabeth's reign, but failed for want of
providing the necessary machinery for its observance. The subject
reappeared in several bills during the Commonwealth, but these failed
to pass, owing, it would seem, to the objection of landowners to
publicity. In 1669 a committee of the House of Lords reported that one
cause of the depreciation of landed property was the uncertainty of
titles, and proposed registration of deeds as a remedy, but nothing
was done.
During the next thirty years numerous pamphlets for and against a
general registry were published. In 1704 the first Deed Registry Act
was passed, applying to the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1707 the
system was extended to the East Riding, and in 1708 to Middlesex.
These Middlesex and Yorkshire registries (modified considerably in
practice, but not seriously in principle, by the Yorkshire Registries
Acts 1884, 1885, and Land Registry [Middlesex Deeds] Act 1891) remain
in operation, and are greatly valued by the smaller proprietors and
mortgagees, owing to the security against fraud which they provide at
a trifling cost. The selection of these counties seems capricious: its
probable explanation is that in them trade was flourishing, and the
fortunes made were frequently invested in land, and a protection
against secret encumbrances was most in demand. In 1728 and 1732
Surrey and Derby petitioned, unsuccessfully, for local registries. In
1735 the North Riding Deed Registry Act was passed. In 1739 a General
Registry bill passed the Commons, but did not reach the Lords. Next
year the Lords passed a similar bill, but it did not reach the
Commons. In 1759 a General Registry bill was thrown out by a majority
of one. In 1784 Northumberland unsuccessfully petitioned for a local
registry. After this the subject went almost out of sight till the
Real Property Commission of 1828. They reported in 1830 in favour of a
general register of deeds, but though several bills were introduced,
none were passed. In 1846 a committee of the House of Lords reported
that the marketable value of real property was seriously diminished by
the tedious and expensive process of the transfer of land, and that a
registry of title to all real property was essential to the success of
any attempt to simplify the system of conveyancing. In 1850 a Royal
Commission reported in favour of a general register of deeds, and in
1851 Lord Campbell introduced a bill accordingly, but it was opposed,
and was dropped. In 1853 Lord Cranworth introduced a bill, which
passed the Lords but not the Commons.
Hitherto only registration of deeds had been considered, but in 1854 a
new Royal Commission was appointed, which reported in 1857 in favour
of a register of title. The scheme they recommended was substantially
embodied in a bill introduced in 1859 by Lord Cairns--then
Solicitor-General--but a dissolution stopped its progress. In 1862
Lord Westbury had the satisfaction of carrying the first act for
registration of title. This act enabled any landowner to register an
indefeasible title on production of strict proof. The proof required
was to be such as the court of chancery would force an unwilling
purchaser to accept. Only a few hundred titles were registered under
this act, and in 1868 a Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into
the causes of its failure. They reported in 1870, making various
suggestions of detail, and especially adverting to the great expense
caused by the strictness of the official investigation of title before
a property could be admitted to the register. In the same year Lord
Hatherley introduced a Transfer of Land Bill, but it was not proceeded
with. In 1873 Lord Selborne introduced a Land Titles and Transfer
Bill, following more or less the recommendations of the report of
1870, proposing for the first time compulsory registration of title
upon every next sale after a prescribed date. Lord Cairns again
introduced this bill (with some modifications) in 1874, but it had to
be dropped. In 1875 Lord Cairns's Land Transfer Act of that year was
passed, which was much the same as the former bill, but without
compulsion. This act had no better success in the way of voluntary
general adoption than the act of 1862, but as its adoption has since
been made compulsory, its provisions are important. Its most
noticeable feature, from a practical point of view, is the additional
prominence given to an expedient called "Possessory" registration
(which also existed under another name in Lord Westbury's Act),
whereby is removed the great initial difficulty of placing titles on
the register in the first instance. Two sorts of registration were
established, "Absolute" and "Possessory." The effect of an absolute
registration was immediately to destroy all claims adverse to the
registered title. But this was only to be granted on a regular
investigation of title, which, though not so strict as under the
former act, yet necessarily involved time and cost. Possessory
registration, however, was to be granted to any one who could show a
prima facie title--a quick and cheap process. But the effect of such
registration would not be immediately felt. It would not destroy
existing adverse claims. It would only prevent new difficulties from
arising. In course of time such a title would be practically as good
as an absolute one. In 1885 the duke of Marlborough introduced a bill
for a registry of titles, and in the following vacation Lord Davey
wrote three letters to _The Times_ advocating the same thing on the
general lines afterwards adopted.[2] In 1887 Lord Halsbury, by
introducing his Land Transfer Bill, commenced a struggle with the
opponents of reform, which, after ten years of almost continuous
effort, resulted in the passing of his act of 1897, establishing
compulsory registration of title. Lord Halsbury introduced bills in
1887, 1888 and 1889. Lord Herschell, who succeeded him after the
change of government, introduced bills in 1893, 1894 and 1895, these
last three being unanimously passed by the House of Lords on every
occasion. The bill of 1895 reached committee in the Commons, but was
stopped by the dissolution of parliament. In 1897 Lord Halsbury (who
had returned to the woolsack) again introduced the same bill with
certain modifications which caused the Incorporated Law Society to
withdraw its opposition in the House of Commons, and the act was
finally passed on the last day of the session. Under it the Privy
Council has power to issue orders declaring that on a certain date
registration of title is to be compulsory on sale in a given district.
The effect of such an order is to oblige every purchaser of land in
the district after that date to register a "possessory title,"
immediately after his purchase. The compulsory provisions of the act
extend to freeholds and (by a rule afterwards made) to leaseholds
having forty years to run. No order except the first can be made, save
on the request of a county council. The first order was made in July
1898. It embraced the whole administrative county of London (including
the City of London), proceeding gradually by groups of parishes. Under
this order upwards of 122,000 titles had been registered by 1908,
representing a value exceeding one hundred millions sterling.
Under the operation of this act, at the expense of a slightly
increased cost on all transactions during a few years, persons dealing
with land in the county will ultimately experience great relief in the
matter both of cost and of delay. The costs of a sale (including
professional assistance, if required) will ultimately be for the
vendor about one-fifth, and for the purchaser (at the most usual
values) less than half, of the present expenses. The delay will be no
more than in dealings with stock. Mortgagees will also be protected
from risks of fraud, which at present are very appreciable, and of
which the Redgrave and Richards cases are recent examples. Further
particulars of the practical operation of the acts will be found in
the Registrar's Reports of 1902 and 1906, embracing the period from
1899 to 1905 inclusive, with comments on the general position,
suggestions for future legislation, &c. In the autumn of 1908 a Royal
Commission under the chairmanship of Lord St Aldwyn, was appointed to
inquire into the working of the Land Transfer Acts. The evidence given
before them in October, November and December 1908 comprised a general
exposition by the registrar of the origin and history of the acts, and
the principles of their working, and suggestions for amendments in
certain details. It also comprised the experience of several
landowners and others, who had found the acts highly beneficial, and
who had carried through a large number of dealings under absolute
titles, without professional help, very quickly, and at a greatly
reduced cost.
_Scotland._--In Scotland registration of _deeds_ was established by an
act of 1617, which remained unaltered till 1845. There are also acts
of 1868 and 1874. The registry is in Edinburgh. Deeds are registered
almost invariably by full copy. The deeds are indexed according to
properties--each property having a separate number and folio called a
"search sheet," on which all deeds affecting it are referred to. About
40,000 deeds are registered annually. The consequence of the existence
of this register is to render fraud in title absolutely unknown. Forty
years is the usual period investigated. The investigation can, if
desired, be made from the records in the registry alone. The fees are
trifling, but suffice to pay the expenses of the office, which employs
between 70 and 80 permanent officers in addition to temporary
assistants. The total costs of conveyancing amount, roughly speaking,
to between 1 and 2% on the purchase money, and are equally shared
between vendor and purchaser. In 1906 a royal commission was
appointed, with Lord Dunedin as chairman, to inquire into the
expediency of instituting in Scotland a system of registration of
title.
_Australia and New Zealand._--These states now furnish the most
conspicuous examples in the British empire of the success of
registration of _title_. But prior to the year 1857 they had only
registration of _deeds_, and the expense, delay and confusion
resulting from the frequent dealings appear to have been a crying
evil. Sir Robert Torrens, then registrar of deeds in South Australia,
drew up and carried an act establishing a register of title similar to
the shipping register. The act rapidly became popular, and was adopted
(with variations) in all the other Australasian states in the years
1861, 1862, 1870 and 1874. Consolidating and amending acts have since
been passed in most of these states. Only absolute title is
registered. All land granted by government, after the passing of the
several acts, is placed on the register compulsorily. But voluntary
applications are also made in very large numbers. It is said ordinary
purchasers will not buy land unless the vendor first registers the
title. The fees are very low--£1 to £3 is a usual maximum--though in
some states, e.g. Victoria, the fees rise indefinitely, _ad
valorem_, at a rate of about 10s. per £1000. Insurance funds are
established to provide compensation for errors. At a recent date they
amounted to over £400,000, while only £14,600 odd had been paid in
claims. All the registries pay their own expenses. Bankers and men of
business generally are warm in their appreciation of the acts, which
are popularly called Torrens Acts, after their originator, who, though
not a lawyer, originated and carried through this important and
difficult legal work.
_Canada._--Registration of _title_ was introduced in Vancouver Island
in 1861, was extended to the rest of British Columbia in 1870, and was
in 1885 adopted by Ontario, Manitoba and the North-West Territories.
Only Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
retain the old English system, plus registration of deeds. The three
provinces which have adopted registration of title have adopted it in
somewhat different forms. In British Columbia it is similar to Lord
Westbury's Act of 1862. The North-West Territories follow closely the
Torrens Acts. The Ontario Act is almost a transcript of Lord Cairns's
Act of 1875. The fees are very low, seldom exceeding a few shillings,
but all expenses of the office are paid from this source. The Ontario
registry has five district offices, as well as the central one at
Toronto. This is apparently the only colonial registry not open to
public inspection.
_Other British Colonies._--In the other British colonies private
investigation of title, plus registration of deeds, is the prevailing
system, but registration of title has been introduced in one or two
instances.
_Germany and Austria-Hungary._--By far the most important examples of
registration of _title_ at present existing--because they show how the
system works when applied to large European communities, with all the
intricacies and complications of modern civilized life--are to be
found in Germany and Austria-Hungary. In some parts of these countries
registration of title has been established for several
centuries--notably in Bohemia; in most parts it has existed for the
greater part of the 19th century; in some districts, again, notably
Tirol and the Rhine Provinces, it is still in course of introduction.
In all cases it appears to have been preceded by a system of deed
registration, which materially facilitated its introduction. In some
cases, Prussia, for instance, the former registers were kept in such a
way as to amount in themselves to little short of a registry of title.
Very low scales of fees suffice to pay all official expenses. In
Prussia the fees for registering sales begin at 5d. for a value of £1;
at £20 the fee is 2s 7d.; at £100 it is 7s. 3d.; at £1000 it is £1,
10s.; at £5000, £4, 5s., and so on. In case of error, the officials
are personally liable; failing these, the state. Other states are very
similar. In 1894, 1,159,995 transactions were registered in Prussia.
In 1893, 938,708 were registered in Austria. Some idea of the extent
to which small holdings prevail in these countries may be gathered
from the fact that 36% of the sales and mortgages in Austria were for
under £8, 6s. 8d. value--74% were for under £50. Owing to the ease and
simplicity of the registers, it is not always necessary to employ
professional help. When such help is required, the fees are low. In
Vienna £1 is a very usual fee for the purchaser's lawyer. £10 is
seldom reached. In Germany the register is private. In Austria it is
open to public inspection. In these registers may be found examples of
large estates in the country with numerous charges and encumbrances
and dealings therewith; peasants' properties, in numerous scattered
parcels, acquired and disposed of at different times, and variously
mortgaged; town and suburban properties, flats, small farms, rights to
light and air, rights of way, family settlements, and dealings of all
sorts--inheritances and wills, partitions, bankruptcies, mortgages,
and a great variety of dealings therewith. The Continental systems are
usually administered locally in districts, about 20 to 30 m. across,
attached to the local law courts. In Baden and Württemberg every
parish (commune) has its own registry. All ordinary dealings are
transacted with the greatest expedition. Security is absolute.[3]
_The United States._--Up to a late date the ordinary English system,
with registration of _deeds_, was universal in the United States. The
registries appear to go back practically to the original settlement of
the country. Registration is by full copy. It is said that in the
large towns the name indexes were often much overgrown owing to the
want of subdivision into smaller areas corresponding to the parishes
into which the Middlesex and Yorkshire indexes are divided. In the New
York registry not many years ago 25,000 deeds were registered
annually. At the same time 35,000 were registered in Middlesex.
Complaints are made by American lawyers of want of accuracy in the
indexes also. In 1890 an act was passed in New York for splitting the
indexes into "blocks," which is believed to have given much relief.
The average time and cost of an examination of title, as estimated by
a committee of the Bar Association of New York in 1887, was about
thirty days and 150 dollars (about £30). A later State Commission in
Illinois estimates the law costs of a sale there at about 25 dollars
(£5); the time may run into many months. Allusion has already been
made to the insurance of title companies. The rates of insurance are
substantial, e.g. 65 dollars (£13) on the first 3000 dollars (£600),
and 5 dollars (£1) on each additional 1000 dollars (£200). This would
amount to £20 on £2000 value, £110 on £20,000, £510 on £100,000. The
guarantee given is very ample, and may be renewed to subsequent owners
at one-third of the fee. Registration of title has lately been
introduced, on a voluntary basis, into the states of California,
Oregon, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Colorado, and also into
Hawaii and the Philippines.
_France._--In France registration of _deeds_ is universal. Sales,
mortgages, gifts and successions; easements, leases of over eighteen
years, and transactions affecting the land to the extent of three
years' rent may lose priority if not registered. Wills need not be
registered. Mortgages must be re-registered every ten years. Purchase
deeds are registered by filing full copies. Registries are established
in all the considerable towns. The duty on sales amounts to the high
figure of about 6½% on the value. Part of this is allocated to
registration, in addition to which a fixed fee of one franc, and
stationers' charges averaging 6 francs are also chargeable. The title
can usually be fully investigated from the documents in the registry.
Official searches for mortgages are commonly resorted to, at a cost of
about 5 francs. Under the monarchy the land system was practically
copyhold tenure, but greater validity was attached to the Court Rolls
than was the case in England. The present system was established by a
law of 1790 after the abolition of seigniorial institutions in 1789.
This was modified by the Code Napoleon, and further perfected by a law
of 1855. The average value of transactions in France is very small.
Probably at the present time four-fifths of the properties are of
under £25 value. The costs of a sale for 200 francs (£8) would be
about as follows: Duty, 13 fr.; Notary (1%), 2 fr.; expenses, 12
fr.--total 27 fr. A sale for 1000 fr. (£40) would cost about 110 fr.
Taking all values, the cost of conveyance and duty reaches the high
figure of 10% in the general run of transactions. The vendor as a rule
has no costs. _Indefeasible_ title is not obtainable, but frauds are
almost unknown. A day or two usually suffices for all formalities. On
large sales a further process known as the "purge" is undergone, which
requires a few weeks and more expense, in order to guard against
possible claims against which the deed registries afford no
protection, such as dowries of wives, claims under guardianships, &c.
A commission (Commission Extraparlementaire du Cadastre), appointed in
1891 to consider the revision of the government cadastral maps (which
are in very serious arrear) and the establishment of registration of
title, collected, in nine volumes of Comptes Rendus, a great mass of
most interesting particulars relating to land questions in France, and
in 1905 reported in favour of the general establishment of a register
of title, with a draft of the necessary enactment.
AUTHORITIES.--A very complete list of some 114 English publications
from 1653 to 1895 will be found in R. Burnet Morris, _Land
Registration_ (1895); Parliamentary Publications: _Second Report of
the Real Property Commissioners_ (1831); _Report of the Registration
and Conveyancing Commission_ (1850); _Report of the Registration of
Title Commission_ (1857); _Report of the Land Transfer Commission_
(1870); _Reports on Registration of Title in Australasian Colonies_
(1871 and 1881); _Report on Registration of Title in Germany and
Austria-Hungary_ (1896); _The Registrar's Reports of 1902 and 1906 on
the Formation of a Register in London; Royal Commission on the Land
Transfer Acts, Minutes of Evidence_ (1909). General reviews of land
registration in the British Isles, the Colonies, and in foreign
countries: R. Burnet Morris, as above, and C. F. Brickdale, _Land
Transfer in Various Countries_ (1894). Books on practice:
England--Brickdale and Sheldon, _The Land Transfer Acts_ (2nd ed.,
1905); Cherry and Marigold, _The Land Transfer Acts_ (1898); Hay,
_Land Registration under the Land Transfer Acts_ (1904); _Land
Transfer, &c._ (1901); C. F. Brickdale, _Registration in Middlesex_
(1892). _Australia--The Australian Torrens System_; Hogg, _The
Transfer of Land Act 1890_ (Melbourne). Prussia--Oberneck, _Die
Preussischen Grundbuchgesetze_ (Berlin). Austria--_Das allgemeine
Grundbuchsgesetz_, &c. (Vienna); Bartsch, _Das Oesterreichische
allgemeine Grundbuchsgesetz in seiner practischen Anwendung_ (Vienna).
Saxony--Siegmann, _Sächsische Hypothekenrecht_ (Leipzig).
Statistics--_Oesterreichische Statistik_ (_Grundbuchs-ämter_) (Vienna,
annually). (C. F.-Br.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In Prussia all conveyances are verbal, made in person or by
attorney before the registrar, who forthwith notes them in his books.
[2] This summary is an abridgement (with permission) of pp. 7 to 26
of Mr R. Burnet Morris's book referred to at the end of this article.
[3] Full information as to the German and Austrian systems is to be
found in a Parliamentary Report of 1896 (C.--8139) on the subject.
LANDSBERG AM LECH, a town in the kingdom of Bavaria, on the river Lech,
38 m. by rail W. by S. of Munich. Pop. (1905) 6505. It has eight Roman
Catholic churches, among them the Liebfrauen Kirche dating from 1498,
several monasteries, and a fine medieval town-hall, with frescoes by
Karl von Piloty and a painting by Hubert von Herkomer. Here also are a
fine gateway, the Bayer-Tor, an agricultural and other schools. Brewing,
tanning and the manufacture of agricultural machinery are among the
principal industries.
See Schober, _Landsberg am Lech und Umgebung_ (1902); and Zwerger,
_Geschichte Landsbergs_ (1889).
LANDSBERG-AN-DER-WARTHE, a town in the Prussian province of Brandenburg,
at the confluence of the Warthe and the Kladow, 80 m. N.E. of Berlin by
rail. Pop. (1905) 36,934. It has important engine and boiler works and
iron-foundries; there are also manufactures of tobacco, cloth,
carriages, wools, spirits, jute products and leather. An active trade is
carried on in wood, cattle and the produce of the surrounding country.
Landsberg obtained civic privileges in 1257, and later was besieged by
the Poles and then by the Hussites.
See R. Eckert, _Geschichte von Landsberg-Warthe_ (1890).
LANDSBERG BEI HALLE, a town in Prussia on the Strengbach, on the railway
from Berlin to Weissenfels. Pop. (1905) 1770. Its industries include
quarrying and malting, and the manufacture of sugar and machinery.
Landsberg was the capital of a small margraviate of this name, ruled in
the 12th century by a certain Dietrich, who built the town. Later it
belonged to Meissen and to Saxony, passing to Prussia in 1814.
LANDSEER, SIR EDWIN HENRY (1802-1873), English painter, third son of
John Landseer, A.R.A., a well-known engraver and writer on art, was born
at 71 Queen Anne Street East (afterwards 33 Foley Street), London, on
March 7th 1802. His mother was Miss Potts, who sat to Sir Joshua
Reynolds as the reaper with a sheaf of corn on her head, in "Macklin's
Family Picture," or "The Gleaners."[1] Edwin Henry Landseer began his
artistic education under his father so successfully that in his fifth
year he drew fairly well, and was familiar with animal character and
passion. Drawings of his, at South Kensington, dated by his father,
attest that he drew excellently at eight years of age; at ten he was an
admirable draughtsman and his work shows considerable sense of humour.
At thirteen he drew a majestic St Bernard dog so finely that his brother
Thomas engraved and published the work. At this date (1815) he sent two
pictures to the Royal Academy, and was described in the catalogue as
"Master E. Landseer, 33 Foley Street." Youth forbade his being reckoned
among practising artists, and caused him to be considered as the
"Honorary Exhibitor" of "No. 443, Portrait of a Mule," and "No. 584,
Portraits of a Pointer Bitch and Puppy." Adopting the advice of B. R.
Haydon, he studied the Elgin Marbles, the animals in the Tower of London
and Exeter 'Change, and dissected every animal whose carcass he could
obtain. In 1816 Landseer was admitted a student of the Royal Academy
schools. In 1817 he sent to the Academy a portrait of "Old Brutus," a
much-favoured dog, which, as well as its son, another Brutus, often
appeared in his later pictures. Even at this date Landseer enjoyed
considerable reputation, and had more work than he could readily
perform, his renown having been zealously fostered by his father in
James Elmes's _Annals of the Fine Arts_. At the Academy he was a
diligent student and a favourite of Henry Fuseli's, who would look
about the crowded antique school and ask, "Where is my curly-headed
dog-boy?" Although his pictures sold easily from the first, the prices
he received at this time were comparatively small. In 1818 Landseer sent
to the Society of Painters in Oil and Water Colours, which then held its
exhibitions in Spring Gardens, his picture of "Fighting Dogs getting
Wind." The sale of this work to Sir George Beaumont vastly enhanced the
fame of the painter, who soon became "the fashion." This picture
illustrates the prime strength of Landseer's earlier style. Unlike the
productions of his later life, it displays not an iota of sentiment.
Perfectly drawn, solidly and minutely finished, and carefully composed,
its execution attested the skill acquired during ten years' studies from
nature. Between 1818 and 1825 Landseer did a great deal of work, but on
the whole gained little besides facility of technical expression, a
greater zest for humour and a larger style. The work of this stage ended
with the production of the painting called "The Cat's Paw," which was
sent to the British Institution in 1824, and made an enormous sensation.
The price obtained for this picture, £100, enabled Landseer to set up
for himself in the house No. 1 St John's Wood Road, where he lived
nearly fifty years and in which he died. During this period Landseer's
principal pictures were "The Cat Disturbed"; "Alpine Mastiffs
reanimating a Distressed Traveller," a famous work engraved by his
father; "The Ratcatchers"; "Pointers to be"; "The Larder Invaded"; and
"Neptune," the head and shoulders of a Newfoundland dog. In 1824
Landseer and C. R. Leslie made a journey to the Highlands--a momentous
visit for the former, who thenceforward rarely failed annually to repeat
it in search of studies and subjects.
In 1826 Landseer was elected an A.R.A. In 1827 appeared "The Monkey who
has seen the World," a picture which marked the growth of a taste for
humorous subjects in the mind of the painter that had been evoked by the
success of the "Cat's Paw." "Taking a Buck" (1825) was the painter's
first Scottish picture. Its execution marked a change in his style
which, in increase of largeness, was a great improvement. In other
respects, however, there was a decrease of solid qualities; indeed,
finish, searching modelling, and elaborate draughtsmanship rarely
appeared in Landseer's work after 1823. The subject, as such, soon after
this time became a very distinct element in his pictures; ultimately it
dominated, and in effect the artist enjoyed a greater degree of
popularity than technical judgment justified, so that later criticism
has put Landseer's position in art much lower than the place he once
occupied. Sentiment gave new charm to his works, which had previously
depended on the expression of animal passion and character, and the
exhibition of noble qualities of draughtsmanship. Sentimentality ruled
in not a few pictures of later dates, and _quasi_-human humour, or
pathos, superseded that masculine animalism which rioted in its energy,
and enabled the artist to rival Snyders, if not Velazquez, as a painter
of beasts. After "High Life" and "Low Life," now in the Tate Gallery,
London, Landseer's dogs, and even his lions and birds, were sometimes
more than half civilized. It was not that these later pictures were less
true to nature than their forerunners, but the models were chosen from
different grades of animal society. As Landseer prospered he kept finer
company, and his new patrons did not care about rat-catching and
dog-fighting, however vigorously and learnedly those subjects might be
depicted. It cannot be said that the world lost much when, in exchange
for the "Cat Disturbed" and "Fighting Dogs getting Wind," came "Jack in
Office," "The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner," and "The Swannery invaded
by Eagles," three pictures which are types of as many diverse moods of
Landseer's art, and each a noble one.
Landseer was elected a Royal Academician in 1831. "Chevy Chase" (1826),
which is at Woburn, "The Highland Whisky Still" (1829), "High Life"
(1829) and "Low Life" (1829), besides other important works, had
appeared in the interval. Landseer had by this time attained such
amazing mastery that he painted "Spaniel and Rabbit" in two hours and a
half, and "Rabbits," which was at the British Institution, in
three-quarters of an hour; and the fine dog-picture "Odin" (1836) was
the work of one sitting, i.e. painted within twelve hours. But perhaps
the most wonderful instance of his rapid but sure and dexterous
brush-handling was "The Cavalier's Pets" (1845), the picture of two King
Charles's spaniels in the National Gallery, which was executed in two
days. Another remarkable feat consisted in drawing, simultaneously, a
stag's head with one hand and a head of a horse with the other. "Harvest
in the Highlands," and that masterpiece of humour, "Jack in Office,"
were exhibited in 1833. In 1834 a noble work of sentiment was given to
the world in "Suspense," which is now at South Kensington, and shows a
dog watching at the closed door of his wounded master. Many think this
to be Landseer's finest work, others prefer "The Old Shepherd's Chief
Mourner" (1837). The over-praised and unfortunate "Bolton Abbey in the
Olden Time," a group of portraits in character, was also shown in 1834,
and was the first picture for which the painter received £400. A few
years later he sold "Peace" and "War" for £1500, and for the copyrights
alone obtained £6000. In 1881 "Man proposes, God Disposes" (1864) was
resold for 6300 guineas, and a cartoon of "The Chase" (1866) fetched
5000 guineas. "A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society," a dog
reclining on a quay wall (1838), was succeeded by "Dignity and
Impudence" (1839). The "Lion Dog of Malta," and "Laying down the Law"
appeared in 1840. In 1842 was finished the capital "Highland Shepherd's
Home" (Sheepshanks Gift), together with the beautiful "Eos," a portrait
of Prince Albert's most graceful of greyhounds, to which Thomas Landseer
added an ineffable charm and solidity not in the painting. The "Rout of
Comus" was painted in the summerhouse of Buckingham Palace garden in
1843. The "Challenge" was accompanied (1844) by "Shoeing the Bay Mare"
(Bell Gift), and followed by "Peace" and "War," and the "Stag at Bay"
(1846). "Alexander and Diogenes," and a "Random Shot," a dead kid lying
in the snow, came forth in 1848. In 1850 Landseer received a national
commission to paint in the Houses of Parliament three subjects connected
with the chase. Although they would have been worth three times as much
money, the House of Commons refused to grant £1500 for these pictures,
and the matter fell through, more to the artist's profit than the
nation's gain. The famous "Monarch of the Glen" (1851) was one of these
subjects. "Night" and "Morning," romantic and pathetic deer subjects,
came in due order (1853). For "The Sanctuary" (1842) the Fine Arts jury
of experts awarded to the artist the great gold medal of the Exposition
Universelle, Paris, 1855.
The "Dialogue at Waterloo" (1850), which he afterwards regarded with
strong disapproval, showed how Landseer, like nearly all English artists
of original power and considerable fertility, owed nothing to French or
Italian training. In the same year he received the honour of knighthood.
Next came "Geneva" (1851), "Titania and Bottom" (1851), which comprises
a charming queen of the fairies, and the "Deer Pass" (1852), followed by
"The Children of the Mist" (1853), "Saved" (1856), "Braemar," a noble
stag, "Rough and Ready," and "Uncle Tom and his Wife for Sale" (1857).
"The Maid and the Magpie" (1858), the extraordinarily large cartoon
called "Deer Browsing" (1857), "The Twa Dogs" (1858), and one or two
minor paintings were equal to any previously produced by the artist.
Nevertheless, signs of failing health were remarked in "Doubtful Crumbs"
and a "Kind Star" (1859). The immense and profoundly dramatic picture
called "A Flood in the Highlands" (1860) more than reinstated the
painter before the public, but friends still saw ground for uneasiness.
Extreme nervous excitability manifested itself in many ways, and in the
choice (1864) of the dreadful subject of "Man Proposes, God Disposes,"
bears clumsily clambering among relics of Sir John Franklin's party,
there was occult pathos, which some of the artist's intimates suspected,
but did not avow. In 1862 and 1863 Landseer produced nothing; but "A
Piper and a Pair of Nutcrackers" (1864) revealed his old power. He
declined the presidentship of the Royal Academy in 1865, in succession
to Sir Charles Eastlake. In 1867 the four lions which he had modelled
for the base of the Nelson Monument in Trafalgar Square, London, were
unveiled, and with "The Swannery invaded by Eagles" (1869) he achieved
his last triumph. After four years more, full of suffering, mainly of
broken art and shattered mental powers, Sir Edwin Landseer died on the
1st of October 1873, and was buried, ten days later, in St Paul's
Cathedral. Those who would see the full strength of Landseer's brush
should examine his sketches and the like in the Victoria and Albert
Museum and similar works. In these he shows himself endowed with the
strength of Paul Potter.
See Algernon Graves's _Catalogue of the Works of the late Sir Edwin
Landseer_, R.A. (London, n.d.); Frederic G. Stephens's _Sir Edwin
Landseer_ (1880); W. Cosmo Monkhouse's _The Studies of Sir Edwin
Landseer, R.A., with a History of his Art-Life_ (London, n.d.); W. P.
Frith's _My Autobiography and Reminiscences_ (1887); Vernon Heath's
_Recollections_ (1892); and James A. Manson's "Sir Edwin Landseer,
R.A.," _The Makers of British Art_ (London, 1902).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] John Landseer died February 29, 1852, aged ninety-one (or
eighty-three, according to Cosmo Monkhouse). Sir Edwin's eldest
brother Thomas, an A.R.A. and a famous engraver, whose
interpretations of his junior's pictures have made them known
throughout the world, was born in 1795, and died January 20, 1880.
Charles Landseer, R.A., and Keeper of the Royal Academy, the second
brother, was born in 1799, and died July 22, 1879. John Landseer's
brother Henry was a painter of some reputation, who emigrated to
Australia.
LAND'S END, a promontory of Cornwall, forming the western most point of
England. It is a fine headland of granite, pierced by a natural arch, on
a coast renowned for its cliff scenery. Dangerous reefs lie off the
point, and one group a mile from the mainland is marked by the Longships
Lighthouse, in 50° 4´ N. 5° 43´ W. The Land's End is the westernmost of
the granite masses which rise at intervals through Cornwall from
Dartmoor. The phenomenon of a raised beach may be seen here, but
indications of a submerged forest have also been discovered in the
neighbourhood.
LANDSHUT, a town in the kingdom of Bavaria, on the right bank of the
Isar, 40 m. N.E. of Munich on the main line of railway to Regensburg.
Pop. (1905) 24,217. Landshut is still a quaint, picturesque place; it
consists of an old and a new town and of four suburbs, one part of it
lying on an island in the Isar. It contains a fine street, the Altstadt,
and several interesting medieval buildings. Among its eleven churches
the most noteworthy are those of St Martin, with a tower 432 ft. high,
of St Jodocus, and of the Holy Ghost, or the Hospital church, all three
begun before 1410. The former Dominican convent, founded in 1271, once
the seat of the university, is now used as public offices. The
post-office, formerly the meeting-house of the Estates, a building
adorned with old frescoes; the royal palace, which contains some very
fine Renaissance work; and the town-hall, built in 1446 and restored in
1860, are also noteworthy. The town has monuments to the Bavarian king,
Maximilian II., and to other famous men; it contains a botanical garden
and a public park. On a hill overlooking Landshut is the castle of
Trausnitz, called also Burg Landshut, formerly a stronghold of the dukes
of Lower Bavaria, whose burial-place was at Seligenthal also near the
town. The original building was erected early in the 13th century, but
the chapel, the oldest part now existing, dates from the 14th century.
The upper part of the castle has been made habitable. The industries of
Landshut are not important; they include brewing, tanning and spinning,
and the manufacture of tobacco and cloth. Market gardening and an
extensive trade in grain are also carried on.
Landshut was founded about 1204, and from 1255 to 1503 it was the
principal residence of the dukes of Lower Bavaria and of their
successors, the dukes of Bavaria-Landshut. During the Thirty Years' War
it was captured several times by the Swedes and in the 18th century by
the Austrians. In April 1809 Napoleon defeated the Austrians here and
the town was stormed by his troops. From 1800 to 1826 the university,
formerly at Ingolstadt and now at Munich, was located at Landshut. Owing
to the three helmets which form its arms the town is sometimes called
"Dreihelm Stadt."
See Staudenraus, _Chronik der Stadt Landshut_, (Landshut 1832);
Wiesend, _Topographische Geschichte von Landshut_ (Landshut, 1858);
Rosenthal, _Zur Rechtsgeschichte der Städte Landshut und Straubing_
(Würzberg, 1883); Kalcher, _Führer durch Landshut_ (Landshut, 1887);
Haack, _Die gotische Architektur und Plastik der Stadt Landshut_
(Munich, 1894); and _Geschichte der Stadt Landshut_ (Landshut, 1835).
LANDSKNECHT, a German mercenary foot-soldier of the 16th century. The
name (German for "man of the plains") was given to mark the contrast
between the force of these soldiers, formed by the emperor Maximilian
I. about the end of the 15th century, and the Swiss, the "men of the
mountains," at that time the typical mercenary infantry of Europe. After
the battles of Marignan and Pavia, where the military reputation of the
Swiss had been broken, the Swabian _landsknechte_ came to be considered
the best fighting troops in Europe. Though primarily a German force and
always the mainstay of imperial armies, they served in organized bodies
as mercenaries elsewhere in Europe; in France they fought for the League
and for the Protestants indiscriminately. In fact _landsknecht_, and
more particularly its French corruption _lansquenet_, became in western
Europe a general term for mercenary foot-soldiers. It is owing to the
_lange Spiesse_ (long pike or lance), the typical weapon with which they
were armed, that the corrupted French form, as well as a German form,
_lanzknecht_, and an English "lance-knight" came into use.
The landsknechts were raised by colonels (_Oberst_), to whom the emperor
issued recruiting commissions corresponding to the English "indents";
they were organized in regiments made up of a colonel, lieut.-colonel
and regimental staff, with a varying number of companies, "colours"
(_Fähnlein_), commanded by captains (_Hauptmann_); subaltern officers
were lieutenants and ensigns (_Fähnrich_). In thus defining the titles
and duties of each rank, and in almost every detail of regimental
customs and organization, discipline and interior economy, the
landsknechts may be considered as the founders of the modern military
system on a regimental basis (see further ARMY).
LANDSKRONA, a seaport of Sweden, on the east side of the Sound, 15 m.
N.E. of Copenhagen. Pop. (1900) 14,399. The harbour is excellent, giving
a depth of 35 ft., with 15 ft. beside the quays. The town is among the
first twelve manufacturing centres of Sweden in value of output, the
principal industries being tanning and sugar manufacture and refining
from beetroot. On the little island of Hven, immediately opposite the
town, Tycho Brahe built his famous subterranean observatory of
Uranienborg in the second half of the 16th century. Landskrona,
originally called Landora or Landör, owed its first importance to King
Erik XIII., who introduced a body of Carmelite monks from Germany in
1410, and bestowed on the place the privileges of a town. During the
wars of the 16th and 17th centuries it played too conspicuous a part for
its own prosperity. On the 24th of July 1677 a great naval battle was
fought in the neighbourhood in which the Swedes defeated the Danes.
LANDSTURM, the German equivalent of the _levée en masse_, or general
levy of all men capable of bearing arms and not included in the other
regularly organized forces, standing army or its second line formations,
of Continental nations.
LANDWEHR, a German word meaning "defence of the country"; but the term
as applied to an insurrectional militia is very ancient, and "lantveri"
are mentioned in _Baluzii Capitularia_, as quoted in Hallam's _Middle
Ages_, i. 262, 10th ed. The landwehr in Prussia was first formed by a
royal edict of the 17th of March 1813, which called up all men capable
of bearing arms between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, and not
serving in the regular army, for the defence of the country. After the
peace of 1815 this force was made an integral part of the Prussian army,
each brigade being composed of one line and one landwehr regiment. This,
however, retarded the mobilization and diminished the value of the first
line, and by the re-organization of 1859 the landwehr troops were
relegated to the second line. In Austria the landwehr is a totally
different organization. It is in reality a _cadre_ force existing
alongside the regular army, and to it are handed over such recruits as,
for want of vacancies, cannot be placed in the latter. In Switzerland
the landwehr is a second line force, in which all citizens serve for
twelve years, after passing twelve in the "Auszug" or field army.
LANE, EDWARD WILLIAM (1801-1876), English Arabic scholar, son of Dr
Theophilus Lane, prebendary of Hereford, was born on the 17th of
September 1801. He was educated at Bath and Hereford grammar schools,
where he showed marked mathematical ability, and was designed for
Cambridge and the church, but this purpose was abandoned, and for some
time he studied the art of engraving. Failure of health compelled him to
throw aside the burin, and in 1825 he started for Egypt, where he spent
three years, twice ascended the Nile, proceeding as far as the second
cataract, and composed a complete description of Egypt, with a portfolio
of one hundred and one drawings. This work was never published, but the
account of the modern Egyptians, which formed a part of it, was accepted
for separate publication by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge. To perfect this work Lane again visited Egypt in 1833-1835,
residing mainly in Cairo, but retiring to Luxor during the plague of
1835. Lane took up his residence in the Mahommedan quarter, and under
the name of Mansur Effendi lived the life of an Egyptian scholar. He was
fortunate in the time when he took up his work, for Cairo had not then
become a modern city, and he was thus able to describe aspects of
Arabian life that no longer exist there. Perfected by the additional
observations collected during these years, the _Modern Egyptians_
appeared in 1836, and at once took the place which it has never lost as
the best description of Eastern life and an Eastern country ever
written. It was followed from 1838 to 1840 by a translation of the
_Arabian Nights_, with notes and illustrations, designed to make the
book a sort of encyclopaedia of Eastern manners. The translation itself
is an admirable proof of scholarship, but is characterized by a somewhat
stilted mannerism, which is not equally appropriate to all parts of the
motley-coloured original. The character of some of the tales and the
tedious repetitions of the same theme in the Arabic collection induced
Lane to leave considerable parts of the work untranslated. The value of
his version is increased by the exhaustive notes on Mahommedan life and
customs. In 1840 Lane married a Greek lady. A useful volume of
_Selections from the Kur-an_ was published in 1843, but before it passed
through the press Lane was again in Egypt, where he spent seven years
(1842-1849) collecting materials for a great Arabic lexicon, which the
munificence of Lord Prudhoe (afterwards duke of Northumberland) enabled
him to undertake. The most important of the materials amassed during
this sojourn (in which he was accompanied by his wife and by his sister,
Mrs Poole, authoress of the _Englishwoman in Egypt_, with her two sons,
afterwards well known in Eastern letters) was a copy in 24 thick quarto
volumes of Sheikh Murtada's great lexicon, the _Taj el 'Arus_, which,
though itself a compilation, is so extensive and exact that it formed
the main basis of Lane's subsequent work. The author, who lived in Egypt
in the 18th century, used more than a hundred sources, interweaving what
he learned from them with the _al-Qamus_ of Fairuzabadi in the form of a
commentary. By far the larger part of this commentary was derived from
the _Lisan el 'Arab_ of Ibn Mokarram, a work of the 13th century, which
Lane was also able to use while in Cairo.
Returning to England in 1849, Lane devoted the remaining twenty-seven
years of his life to digesting and translating his Arabic material in
the form of a great thesaurus of the lexicographical knowledge of the
Arabs. In spite of weak health he continued this arduous task with
unflagging diligence till a few days before his death at Worthing on the
10th of August 1876. Five parts appeared during his lifetime
(1863-1874), and three posthumous parts were afterwards edited from his
papers by S. Lane-Poole. Even in its imperfect state the _Lexicon_ is an
enduring monument, the completeness and finished scholarship with which
it is executed making each article an exhaustive monograph. Two essays,
the one on Arabic lexicography and the other on Arabic pronunciation,
contributed to the magazine of the German Oriental Society, complete the
record of Lane's publications. His scholarship was recognized by many
learned European societies. He was a member of the German Oriental
Society, a correspondent of the French Institute, &c. In 1863 he was
awarded a small civil list pension, which was after his death continued
to his widow. Lane was not an original mind; his powers were those of
observation, industry and sound judgment. His personal character was
elevated and pure, his strong sense of religious and moral duty being of
the type that characterized the best circles of English evangelicalism
in the early part of the 19th century.
A Memoir, by his grand-nephew, S. Lane-Poole, was prefixed to part vi.
of the _Lexicon_. It was published separately in 1877.
LANE, GEORGE MARTIN (1823-1897), American scholar, was born at
Charlestown, Massachusetts, on the 24th of December 1823. He graduated
in 1846 at Harvard, and in 1847-1851 studied at the universities of
Berlin, Bonn, Heidelberg and Göttingen. In 1851 he received his doctor's
degree at Göttingen for his dissertation _Smyrnaeorum Res Gestae et
Antiquitates_, and on his return to America he was appointed University
Professor of Latin in Harvard College. From 1869 until 1894, when he
resigned and became professor emeritus, he was Pope Professor of Latin
in the same institution. His _Latin Pronunciation_, which led to the
rejection of the English method of Latin pronunciation in the United
States, was published in 1871. He died on the 30th of June 1897. His
_Latin Grammar_, completed and published by Professor M. H. Morgan in
the following year, is of high value. Lane's assistance in the
preparation of Harper's Latin lexicons was also invaluable. English
light verse he wrote with humour and fluency, and his song _Jonah_ and
the _Ballad of the Lone Fishball_ were famous.
LANE, JAMES HENRY (1814-1866), American soldier and politician, was born
at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, on the 22nd of June 1814. He was the son of
Amos Lane (1778-1849), a political leader in Indiana, a member of the
Indiana House of Representatives in 1816-1818 (speaker in 1817-1818), in
1821-1822 and in 1839-1840, and from 1833 to 1837 a Democratic
representative in Congress. The son received a common school education,
studied law and in 1840 was admitted to the bar. In the Mexican War he
served as a colonel under General Taylor, and then commanded the Fifth
Indiana regiment (which he had raised) in the Southern Campaign under
General Scott. Lane was lieutenant-governor of Indiana from 1849 to
1853, and from 1853 to 1855 was a Democratic representative in Congress.
His vote in favour of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill ruined his political
future in his own state, and he emigrated in 1855 to the Territory of
Kansas, probably as an agent of Stephen A. Douglas to organize the
Democratic party there. He soon joined the Free State forces, however,
was a member of the first general Free State convention at Big Springs
in September 1855, and wrote its "platform," which deprecated
abolitionism and urged the exclusion of negroes from the Territory; and
he presided over the Topeka Constitutional Convention, composed of Free
State men, in the autumn of 1855. Lane was second in command of the
forces in Lawrence during the "Wakarusa War"; and in the spring of 1856
was elected a United States senator under the Topeka Constitution, the
validity of which, however, and therefore the validity of his election,
Congress refused to recognize. In May 1856, with George Washington
Deitzler (1826-1884), Dr Charles Robinson, and other Free State leaders,
he was indicted for treason; but he escaped from Kansas, made a tour of
the northern cities, and by his fiery oratory aroused great enthusiasm
in behalf of the Free State movement in Kansas. Returning to the
Territory with John Brown in August 1856, he took an active part in the
domestic feuds of 1856-1857. After Kansas became a state, Lane was
elected in 1861 to the United States Senate as a Republican. Immediately
on reaching Washington he organized a company to guard the President;
and in August 1861, having gained the ear of the Federal authorities and
become intimate with President Lincoln, he went to Kansas with vague
military powers, and exercised them in spite of the protests of the
governor and the regular departmental commanders. During the autumn,
with a brigade of 1500 men, he conducted a devastating campaign on the
Missouri border, and in July 1862 he was appointed commissioner of
recruiting for Kansas, a position in which he rendered faithful service,
though he frequently came into conflict with the state authorities. At
this time he planned a chimerical "great Southern expedition" against
New Mexico, but this came to nothing. In 1864 he laboured earnestly for
the re-election of Lincoln. When President Johnson quarrelled with the
Radical Republicans, Lane deserted the latter and defended the
Executive. Angered by his defection, certain senators accused him of
being implicated in Indian contracts of a fraudulent character; and in a
fit of depression following this accusation he took his own life, dying
near Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on the 11th of July 1866, ten days after
he had shot himself in the head. Ambitious, unscrupulous, rash and
impulsive, and generally regarded by his contemporaries as an unsafe
leader, Lane was a man of great energy and personal magnetism, and
possessed oratorical powers of a high order.
See the article by L. W. Spring entitled "The Career of a Kansas
Politician," in vol. iv. (October 1898) of the _American Historical
Review_; and for the commoner view, which makes him not a coward as
does Spring, but a "grim chieftain" and a hero, see John Speer, _Life
of Gen. James H. Lane_, "_The Saviour of Kansas_," (Garden City,
Kansas, 1896).
Senator Lane should not be confused with James Henry Lane (1833-1907),
who served on the Confederate side during the Civil War, attaining the
rank of brigadier-general in 1862, and after the war was professor of
natural philosophy and military tactics in the Virginia Agricultural
and Mechanical College from 1872 to 1880, and professor of civil
engineering and drawing in the Alabama Polytechnic Institute from 1882
until his death.
LANESSAN, JEAN MARIE ANTOINE DE (1843- ), French statesman and
naturalist, was born at Sainte-André de Cubzac (Gironde) on the 13th of
July 1843. He entered the navy in 1862, serving on the East African and
Cochin-China stations in the medical department until the Franco-German
War, when he resigned and volunteered for the army medical service. He
now completed his studies, taking his doctorate in 1872. Elected to the
Municipal Council of Paris in 1879, he declared in favour of communal
autonomy and joined with Henri Rochefort in demanding the erection of a
monument to the Communards; but after his election to the Chamber of
Deputies for the 5th arrondissement of Paris in 1881 he gradually veered
from the extreme Radical party to the Republican Union, and identified
himself with the cause of colonial expansion. A government mission to
the French colonies in 1886-1887, in connexion with the approaching
Paris exhibition, gave him the opportunity of studying colonial
questions, on which, after his return, he published three works: _La
Tunisie_ (Paris, 1887); _L'Expansion coloniale de la France_ (_ib._,
1888), _L'Indo-Chine française_ (_ib._, 1889). In 1891 he was made civil
and military governor of French Indo-China, where his administration,
which involved him in open rupture with Admiral Fournier, was severely
criticized. Nevertheless he consolidated French influence in Annam and
Cambodia, and secured a large accession of territory on the Mekong river
from the kingdom of Siam. He was recalled in 1894, and published an
apology for his administration (_La Colonisation française en
Indo-Chine_) in the following year. In the Waldeck-Rousseau cabinet of
1899 to 1902 he was minister of marine, and in 1901 he secured the
passage of a naval programme intended to raise the French navy during
the next six years to a level befitting the place of France among the
great powers. At the general election of 1906 he was not re-elected. He
was political director of the _Siècle_, and president of the French
Colonization Society, and wrote, besides the books already mentioned,
various works on political and biological questions.
LANFRANC (d. 1089), archbishop of Canterbury, was a Lombard by
extraction. He was born in the early years of the 11th century at Pavia,
where his father, Hanbald, held the rank of a magistrate. Lanfranc was
trained in the legal studies for which northern Italy was then becoming
famous, and acquired such proficiency that tradition links him with
Irnerius of Bologna as a pioneer in the renaissance of Roman law. Though
designed for a public career Lanfranc had the tastes of a student. After
his father's death he crossed the Alps to found a school in France; but
in a short while he decided that Normandy would afford him a better
field. About 1039 he became the master of the cathedral school at
Avranches, where he taught for three years with conspicuous success. But
in 1042 he embraced the monastic profession in the newly founded house
of Bec. Until 1045 he lived at Bec in absolute seclusion. He was then
persuaded by Abbot Herluin to open a school in the monastery. From the
first he was celebrated (_totius Latinitatis magister_). His pupils were
drawn not only from France and Normandy, but also from Gascony,
Flanders, Germany and Italy. Many of them afterwards attained high
positions in the Church; one, Anselm of Badagio, became pope under the
title of Alexander II. In this way Lanfranc set the seal of intellectual
activity on the reform movement of which Bec was the centre. The
favourite subjects of his lectures were logic and dogmatic theology. He
was therefore naturally invited to defend the doctrine of
transubstantiation against the attacks of Berengar of Tours. He took up
the task with the greatest zeal, although Berengar had been his personal
friend; he was the protagonist of orthodoxy at the councils of Vercelli
(1050), Tours (1054) and Rome (1059). To his influence we may attribute
the desertion of Berengar's cause by Hildebrand and the more
broad-minded of the cardinals. Our knowledge of Lanfranc's polemics is
chiefly derived from the tract _De corpore et sanguine Domini_ which he
wrote many years later (after 1079) when Berengar had been finally
condemned. Though betraying no signs of metaphysical ability, his work
was regarded as conclusive and became a text-book in the schools. It is
the most important of the works attributed to Lanfranc; which,
considering his reputation, are slight and disappointing.
In the midst of his scholastic and controversial activities Lanfranc
became a political force. While merely a prior of Bec he led the
opposition to the uncanonical marriage of Duke William with Matilda of
Flanders (1053) and carried matters so far that he incurred a sentence
of exile. But the quarrel was settled when he was on the point of
departure, and he undertook the difficult task of obtaining the pope's
approval of the marriage. In this he was successful at the same council
which witnessed his third victory over Berengar (1059), and he thus
acquired a lasting claim on William's gratitude. In 1066 he became the
first abbot of St Stephen's at Caen, a house which the duke had been
enjoined to found as a penance for his disobedience to the Holy See.
Henceforward Lanfranc exercised a perceptible influence on his master's
policy. William adopted the Cluniac programme of ecclesiastical reform,
and obtained the support of Rome for his English expedition by assuming
the attitude of a crusader against schism and corruption. It was
Alexander II., the former pupil of Lanfranc, who gave the Norman
Conquest the papal benediction--a notable advantage to William at the
moment, but subsequently the cause of serious embarrassments.
Naturally, when the see of Rouen next fell vacant (1067), the thoughts
of the electors turned to Lanfranc. But he declined the honour, and he
was nominated to the English primacy as soon as Stigand had been
canonically deposed (1070). The new archbishop at once began a policy of
reorganization and reform. His first difficulties were with Thomas of
Bayeux, archbishop-elect of York, who asserted that his see was
independent of Canterbury and claimed jurisdiction over the greater part
of midland England. Lanfranc, during a visit which he paid the pope for
the purpose of receiving his pallium, obtained an order from Alexander
that the disputed points should be settled by a council of the English
Church. This was held at Winchester in 1072. Thanks to a skilful use of
forged documents, the primate carried the council's verdict upon every
point. Even if he were not the author of the forgeries he can scarcely
have been the dupe of his own partisans. But the political dangers to be
apprehended from the disruption of the English Church were sufficiently
serious to palliate the fraud. This was not the only occasion on which
Lanfranc allowed his judgment to be warped by considerations of
expediency. Although the school of Bec was firmly attached to the
doctrine of papal sovereignty, he still assisted William in maintaining
the independence of the English Church; and appears at one time to have
favoured the idea of maintaining a neutral attitude on the subject of
the quarrels between papacy and empire. In the domestic affairs of
England the archbishop showed more spiritual zeal. His grand aim was to
extricate the Church from the fetters of the state and of secular
interests. He was a generous patron of monasticism. He endeavoured to
enforce celibacy upon the secular clergy. He obtained the king's
permission to deal with the affairs of the Church in synods which met
apart from the Great Council, and were exclusively composed of
ecclesiastics. Nor can we doubt that it was his influence which shaped
the famous ordinance separating the ecclesiastical from the secular
courts (_c._ 1076). But even in such questions he allowed some weight to
political considerations and the wishes of his sovereign. He
acknowledged the royal right to veto the legislation of national synods.
In the cases of Odo of Bayeux (1082) and of William of St Calais, bishop
of Durham (1088), he used his legal ingenuity to justify the trial of
bishops before a lay tribunal. He accelerated the process of
substituting Normans for Englishmen in all preferments of importance;
and although his nominees were usually respectable, it cannot be said
that all of them were better than the men whom they superseded. For this
admixture of secular with spiritual aims there was considerable excuse.
By long tradition the primate was entitled to a leading position in the
king's councils; and the interests of the Church demanded that Lanfranc
should use his power in a manner not displeasing to the king. On several
occasions when William I. was absent from England Lanfranc acted as his
vicegerent; he then had opportunities of realizing the close connexion
between religious and secular affairs.
Lanfranc's greatest political service to the Conqueror was rendered in
1075, when he detected and foiled the conspiracy which had been formed
by the earls of Norfolk and Hereford. But this was not the only occasion
on which he turned to good account his influence with the native
English. Although he regarded them as an inferior race he was just and
honourable towards their leaders. He interceded for Waltheof's life and
to the last spoke of the earl as an innocent sufferer for the crimes of
others; he lived on terms of friendship with Bishop Wulfstan. On the
death of the Conqueror (1087) he secured the succession for William
Rufus, in spite of the discontent of the Anglo-Norman baronage; and in
1088 his exhortations induced the English militia to fight on the side
of the new sovereign against Odo of Bayeux and the other partisans of
Duke Robert. He exacted promises of just government from Rufus, and was
not afraid to remonstrate when the promises were disregarded. So long as
he lived he was a check upon the worst propensities of the king's
administration. But his restraining hand was too soon removed. In 1089
he was stricken with fever and he died on the 24th of May amidst
universal lamentations. Notwithstanding some obvious moral and
intellectual defects, he was the most eminent and the most disinterested
of those who had co-operated with William I. in riveting Norman rule
upon the English Church and people. As a statesman he did something to
uphold the traditional ideal of his office; as a primate he elevated the
standards of clerical discipline and education. Conceived in the
Hildebrandine spirit, his reforms led by a natural sequence to strained
relations between Church and State; the equilibrium which he established
was unstable, and depended too much upon his personal influence with the
Conqueror. But of all the Hildebrandine statesmen who applied their
teacher's ideas within the sphere of a particular national church he was
the most successful.
The chief authority is the _Vita Lanfranci_ by Milo Crispin, who was
precentor at Bec and died in 1149. Milo drew largely upon the _Vita
Herluini_, composed by Gilbert Crispin, abbot of Westminster. The
_Chronicon Beccensis abbatiae_, a 14th-century compilation, should
also be consulted. The first edition of these two sources, and of
Lanfranc's writings, is that of L. d'Achery, _Beati Lanfranci opera
omnia_ (Paris, 1648). Another edition, slightly enlarged, is that of
J. A. Giles, _Lanfranci opera_ (2 vols., Oxford, 1844). The
correspondence between Lanfranc and Gregory VII. is given in the
_Monumenta Gregoriana_ (ed. P. Jaffé, Berlin, 1865). Of modern works
A. Charma's _Lanfranc_ (Paris, 1849), H. Boehmer's _Die Fälschungen
Erzbischof Lanfranks von Canterbury_ (Leipzig, 1902), and the same
author's _Kirche und Staat in England und in der Normandie_ (Leipzig,
1899) are useful. See also the authorities cited in the articles on
WILLIAM I. and WILLIAM II. (H. W. C. D.)
LANFREY, PIERRE (1828-1877), French historian and politician, was born
at Chambéry (Savoie) on the 26th of October 1828. His father had been
one of Napoleon's officers. The son studied philosophy and history in
Paris and wrote historical works of an anti-clerical and rationalizing
tendency. These included _L'Église et les philosophes au XVIII^e siècle_
(1855; new edition, with a notice of the author by E. de Pressensé,
1879); _Essai sur la révolution française_ (1858); _Histoire politique
des papes_ (1860); _Lettres d Evérard_ (1860), a novel in the form of
letters; _Le Rétablissement de la Pologne_ (1863). His _magnum opus_ was
his _Histoire de Napoléon I^(er)_ (5 vols., 1867-1875 and 1886; Eng.
trans., 4 vols., 1871-1879), which ceased unfortunately at the end of
1811 with the preparations for the Russian campaign of 1812. This book,
based on the emperor's correspondence published in 1858-1870, attempted
the destruction of the legends which had grown up around his subject,
and sought by a critical examination of the documents to explain the
motives of his policy. In his desire to controvert current
misconceptions and exaggerations of Napoleon's abilities Lanfrey unduly
minimized his military and administrative genius. A stanch republican,
he was elected to the National Assembly in 1871, became ambassador at
Bern (1871-1873), and life senator in 1875. He died at Pau on the 15th
of November 1877.
His _Oeuvres complètes_ were published in 12 vols. (1879 seq.), and
his _Correspondance_ in 2 vols. (1885).
LANG, ANDREW (1844- ), British man of letters, was born on the 31st of
March 1844, at Selkirk, Scotland. He was educated at the Edinburgh
Academy, St Andrews University and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he
took a first class in the final classical schools in 1868, becoming a
fellow and subsequently honorary fellow of Merton College. As a
journalist, poet, critic and historian, he soon made a reputation as one
of the ablest and most versatile writers of the day. His first
publication was a volume of metrical experiments, _The Ballads and
Lyrics of Old France_ (1872), and this was followed at intervals by
other volumes of dainty verse, _xxii._ _Ballades in Blue China_ (1880,
enlarged edition, 1888), _Ballads and Verses Vain_ (1884), selected by
Mr Austin Dobson; _Rhymes à la Mode_ (1884), _Grass of Parnassus_
(1888), _Ban and Arrière Ban_ (1894), _New Collected Rhymes_ (1905). He
collaborated with S. H. Butcher in a prose translation (1879) of the
_Odyssey_, and with E. Myers and Walter Leaf in a prose version (1883)
of the _Iliad_, both of them remarkable for accurate scholarship and
excellence of style. As a Homeric scholar, of conservative views, he
took a high rank. His _Homer and the Epic_ appeared in 1893; a new prose
translation of _The Homeric Hymns_ in 1899, with essays literary and
mythological, in which parallels to the Greek myths are given from the
traditions of savage races; and his _Homer and his Age_ in 1906. His
purely journalistic activity was from the first of a varied description,
ranging from sparkling "leaders" for the _Daily News_ to miscellaneous
articles for the _Morning Post_, and for many years he was literary
editor of _Longman's Magazine_; no critic was in more request, whether
for occasional articles and introductions to new editions or as editor
of dainty reprints. To the study of Scottish history Mr Lang brought a
scholarly care for detail, a piquant literary style, and a gift for
disentangling complicated questions. The _Mystery of Mary Stuart_ (1901,
new and revised ed., 1904) was a consideration of the fresh light thrown
on Mary's history by the Lennox MSS. in the University library,
Cambridge, strengthening her case by restating the perfidy of her
accusers. He also wrote monographs on _The Portraits and Jewels of Mary
Stuart_ (1906) and _James VI. and the Gowrie Mystery_ (1902). The
somewhat unfavourable view of John Knox presented in his book _John Knox
and the Reformation_ (1905) aroused considerable controversy. He gave
new information about the continental career of the Young Pretender in
_Pickle the Spy_ (1897), an account of Alastair Ruadh Macdonell, whom he
identified with Pickle, a notorious Hanoverian spy. This was followed in
1898 by _The Companions of Pickle_, and in 1900 by a monograph on
_Prince Charles Edward_. In 1900 he began a _History of Scotland from
the Roman Occupation_, the fourth volume of which (1907) brought
Scottish history down to 1746. _The Valet's Tragedy_ (1903), which takes
its title from an essay on the "Man with the Iron Mask," (see IRON
MASK), collects twelve papers on historical mysteries, and _A Monk of
Fife_ (1896) is a fictitious narrative purporting to be written by a
young Scot in France in 1429-1431. Mr Lang's versatility was also shown
in his valuable works on folk-lore and on primitive religion. The
earliest of these works was _Custom and Myth_ (1884); in _Myth,
Literature and Religion_ (2 vols., 1887, French trans., 1896) he
explained the irrational elements of mythology as survivals from earlier
savagery; in _The Making of Religion_ (an idealization of savage
animism) he maintained the existence of high spiritual ideas among
savage races, and instituted comparisons between savage practices and
the occult phenomena among civilized races; he dealt with the origins of
totemism (q.v.) in _Social Origins_, printed (1903) together with J.
J. Atkinson's _Primal Law_. He was one of the founders of the study of
"Psychical Research," and his other writings on anthropology include
_The Book of Dreams and Ghosts_ (1897), _Magic and Religion_ (1901) and
_The Secret of the Totem_ (1905). He carried the humour and sub-acidity
of discrimination which marked his criticism of fellow folk-lorists into
the discussion of purely literary subjects in his _Books and Bookmen_
(1886), _Letters to Dead Authors_ (1886), _Letters on Literature_
(1889), &c. His _Blue Fairy Tale Book_ (1889), beautifully produced and
illustrated, was followed annually at Christmas by a book of fairy tales
and romances drawn from many sources. He edited _The Poems and Songs of
Robert Burns_ (1896), and was responsible for the _Life and Letters_
(1897) of J. G. Lockhart, and _The Life, Letters and Diaries_ (1890) of
Sir Stafford Northcote, first earl of Iddesleigh.
LANG, KARL HEINRICH, RITTER VON (1764-1835), German historian, was born
on the 7th of June 1764 at Balgheim, near Nördlingen. From the first he
was greatly attracted towards historical studies, and this was shown
when he began to attend the gymnasium of Oettingen, and in 1782, when he
went to the university of Altdorf, near Nuremberg. At the same time he
studied jurisprudence, and in 1782 became a government clerk at
Oettingen. About the same period began his activities as a journalist
and publicist. But Lang did not long remain an official. He was of a
restless, changeable character, which constantly involved him in
personal quarrels, though he was equally quick to retire from them. In
1788 he obtained a position as private tutor in Hungary, and in 1789
became private secretary to Baron von Bühler, the envoy of Württemberg
at Vienna. This led to further travels and to his entering the service
of the prince of Oettingen-Wallerstein. In 1792 Lang again betook
himself to a university, this time to Göttingen. Here he came under the
influence of the historian, Ludwig Timotheus Spittler, from whom, as
also from Johannes von Müller and Friedrich Schlegel, his historical
studies received a fresh impulse. At intervals from 1793 to 1801 Lang
was closely connected with the Prussian statesman Hardenberg, who
employed him as his private secretary and archivist, and in 1797 he was
present with Hardenberg at the congress of Rastadt as secretary to the
legation. He was occupied chiefly with affairs of the principalities of
Anspach and Bayreuth, newly acquired by Prussia, and especially in the
settlement of disputes with Bavaria as to their boundaries.
When in 1805 the principalities became part of Bavaria, Lang entered the
Bavarian service (1806), was ennobled in 1808 and from 1810 to 1817 held
the office of archivist in Munich. He again devoted himself with great
enthusiasm to historical studies, which naturally dealt chiefly with
Bavarian history. He evolved the theory, among other things, that the
boundaries of the old counties or _pagi_ (_Gaue_) were identical with
those of the dioceses. This theory was combated in later days, and
caused great confusion in the province of historical geography. For the
rest, Lang did great service to the study of the history of Bavaria,
especially by bringing fresh material from the archives to bear upon it.
He also kept up his activity as a publicist, in 1814 defending in a
detailed and somewhat biassed pamphlet the policy of the minister
Montgelas, and he undertook critical studies in the history of the
Jesuits. In 1817 Lang retired from active life, and until his death,
which took place on the 26th of March 1835, lived chiefly in Ansbach.
Lang is best known through his _Memoiren_, which appeared at Brunswick
in two parts in 1842, and were republished in 1881 in a second edition.
They contain much of interest for the history of the period, but have to
be used with the greatest caution on account of their pronounced
tendency to satire. Lang's character, as can be gathered especially from
a consideration of his behaviour at Munich, is darkened by many shadows.
He did not scruple, for instance, to strike out of the lists of
witnesses to medieval charters, before publishing them, the names of
families which he disliked.
Of his very numerous literary productions the following may be
mentioned: _Beiträge zur Kenntnis der natürlichen und politischen
Verfassung des oettingischen Vaterlandes_ (1786); _Ein Votum über den
Wucher von einem Manne sine voto_ (1791); _Historische Entwicklung der
deutschen Steuerverfassungen_ (1793); _Historische Prüfung des
vermeintlichen Alters der deutschen Landstände_ (1796); _Neuere
Geschichte des Fürstentums Bayreuth_ (1486-1603) (1798-1811);
_Tabellen über Flächeninhalt &c. und bevorstehende Verluste der
deutschen Reichsstände_. (On the occasion of the congress of Rastadt,
1798); _Der Minister Graf von Montgelas_ (1814); _Geschichte der
Jesuiten in Bayern_ (1819); and _Bayerns Gauen_ (Nuremberg, 1830).
See K. Th. v. Heigel, _Augsburger allgemeine Zeitung_ for 1878, p.
1969 et seq., 1986 et seq. (Beilage of the 14th and 15th of May); F.
Muncker, in _Allgemeine deutsche Biographie_, vol. xvii. (1883); F. X.
v. Wegele, _Geschichte der deutschen Historiographie_ (1885).
(J. Hn.)
LANGDELL, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (1826-1906), American jurist, was born in
New Boston, Hillsborough county, New Hampshire, on the 22nd of May 1826,
of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry. He studied at Phillips Exeter
Academy in 1845-1848, at Harvard College in 1848-1850 and in the Harvard
Law School in 1851-1854. He practised law in 1854-1870 in New York City,
but he was almost unknown when, in January 1870, he was appointed Dane
professor of law (and soon afterwards Dean of the Law Faculty) of
Harvard University, to succeed Theophilus Parsons, to whose _Treatise on
the Law of Contracts_ (1853) he had contributed as a student. He
resigned the deanship in 1895, in 1900 became Dane professor emeritus,
and on the 6th of July 1906 died in Cambridge. He received the degree of
LL.D. in 1875; in 1903 a chair in the law school was named in his
honour; and after his death one of the school's buildings was named
Langdell Hall. He made the Harvard Law School a success by remodelling
its administration and by introducing the "case" system of instruction.
Langdell wrote _Selection of Cases on the Law of Contracts_ (1870, the
first book used in the "case" system; enlarged, 1877); _Cases on
Sales_ (1872); _Summary of Equity Pleading_ (1877, 2nd ed., 1883);
_Cases in Equity Pleading_ (1883); and _Brief Survey of Equity
Jurisdiction_ (1905).
LANGDON, JOHN (1741-1819), American statesman, was born in Portsmouth,
New Hampshire, on the 25th of June 1741. After an apprenticeship in a
counting-house, he led a seafaring life for several years, and became a
shipowner and merchant. In December 1774, as a militia captain he
assisted in the capture of Fort William and Mary at New Castle, New
Hampshire, one of the first overt acts of the American colonists against
the property of the crown. He was elected to the House of
Representatives of the last Royal Assembly of New Hampshire and then to
the second Continental Congress in 1775, and was a member of the first
Naval Committee of the latter, but he resigned in 1776, and in June 1776
became Congress's agent of prizes in New Hampshire and in 1778
continental (naval) agent of Congress in this state, where he supervised
the building of John Paul Jones's "Ranger" (completed in June 1777), the
"America," launched in 1782, and other vessels. He was a judge of the
New Hampshire Court of Common Pleas in 1776-1777, a member (and speaker)
of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1776 until 1782, a
member of the state Constitutional Convention of 1778 and of the state
Senate in 1784-1785, and in 1783-1784 was again a member of Congress. He
contributed largely to raise troops in 1777 to meet Burgoyne; and he
served as a captain at Bennington and at Saratoga. He was president of
New Hampshire in 1785-1786 and in 1788-1789; a member of the Federal
Constitutional Convention in 1787, where he voted against granting to
Congress the power of issuing paper money; a member of the state
convention which ratified the Federal Constitution for New Hampshire; a
member of the United States Senate in 1789-1801, and its president _pro
tem_. during the first Congress and the second session of the second
Congress; a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in
1801-1805 and its speaker in 1803-1805; and governor of the state in
1805-1809 and in 1810-1812. He received nine electoral votes for the
vice-presidency in 1808, and in 1812 was an elector on the Madison
ticket. He died in Portsmouth on the 18th of September 1819. He was an
able leader during the Revolutionary period, when his wealth and social
position were of great assistance to the patriot party. In the later
years of his life in New Hampshire he was the most prominent of the
local Republican leaders and built up his party by partisan
appointments. He refused the naval portfolio in Jefferson's cabinet.
His elder brother, WOODBURY LANGDON (1739-1805), was a delegate to the
Continental Congress in 1779-1780, a member of the executive council of
New Hampshire in 1781-1784, judge of the Supreme Court of the state in
1782 and in 1786-1790 (although he had had no legal training), and a
state senator in 1784-1785.
Alfred Langdon Elwyn has edited _Letters by Washington, Adams,
Jefferson and Others, Written During and After the Revolution, to John
Langdon of New Hampshire_ (Philadelphia, 1880), a book of great
interest and value. See a biographical sketch of John Langdon by
Charles R. Corning in the _New England Magazine_, vol. xxii. (Boston,
1897).
LANGE, ANNE FRANÇOISE ELIZABETH (1772-1816), French actress, was born in
Genoa on the 17th of September 1772, the daughter of a musician and an
actress at the Comédie Italienne. She made her first appearance on the
stage at Tours in 1787 and a successful début at the Comédie Française
in 1788 in _L'Écossaise_ and _L'Oracle_. She followed Talma and the
others in 1791 to the Rue Richelieu, but returned after a few months to
the Comédie Française. Here her talent and beauty gave her an enormous
success in François de Neuchâteau's _Pamela_, the performance of which
brought upon the theatre the vials of wrath of the Committee of Safety.
With the author and the other members of the caste, she was arrested and
imprisoned. After the 9th Thermidor she rejoined her comrades at the
Feydeau, but retired on the 16th of December 1797, reappearing only for
a few performances in 1807. She had, meantime, married the son of a rich
Belgian named Simons. She died on the 25th of May 1816.
LANGE, ERNST PHILIPP KARL (1813-1899), German novelist, who wrote under
the pseudonym _Philipp Galen_, was born at Potsdam on the 21st of
December 1813. He studied medicine at Berlin (1835-1840), and on taking
his degree, in 1840, entered the Prussian army as surgeon. In this
capacity he saw service in the Schleswig-Holstein campaign of 1849. He
settled at Bielefeld as medical practitioner and here issued his first
novel, _Der Inselkönig_ (1852, 3rd ed., 1858), which enjoyed
considerable popularity. In Bielefeld he continued to work at his
profession and to write, until his retirement, with the rank of
_Oberstabsarzt_ (surgeon-general) to Potsdam in 1878; there he died on
the 20th of February 1899. Lange's novels are distinguished by local
colouring and pretty, though not powerful, descriptions of manners and
customs. He particularly favoured scenes of English life, though he had
never been in that country, and on the whole he succeeded well in his
descriptions. Chief among his novels are, _Der Irre von St James_ (1853,
5th ed., 1871), and _Emery Glandon_ (3rd ed., Leip., 1865), while of
those dealing with the Schleswig-Holstein campaign _Andreas Burns_
(1856) and _Die Tochter des Diplomaten_ (1865) commanded considerable
attention.
His _Gesammelte Schriften_ appeared in 36 vols. (1857-1866).
LANGE, FRIEDRICH ALBERT (1828-1875), German philosopher and sociologist,
was born on the 28th of September 1828, at Wald, near Solingen, the son
of the theologian, J. P. Lange (q.v.). He was educated at Duisburg,
Zürich and Bonn, where he distinguished himself by gymnastics as much as
by study. In 1852 he became schoolmaster at Cologne; in 1855
_privatdozent_ in philosophy at Bonn; in 1858 schoolmaster at Duisburg,
resigning when the government forbade schoolmasters to take part in
political agitation. Lange then entered on a career of militant
journalism in the cause of political and social reform. He was also
prominent in the affairs of his town, yet found leisure to write most of
his best-known books, _Die Leibesübungen_ (1863), _Die Arbeiterfrage_
(1865, 5th ed. 1894), _Geschichte des Materialismus und Kritik seiner
Bedeutung in der Gegenwart_ (1866; 7th ed. with biographical sketch by
H. Cohen, 1902; Eng. trans., E. C. Thomas, 1877), and _J. S. Mill's
Ansichten über die sociale Frage_ (1866). In 1866, discouraged by
affairs in Germany, he moved to Winterthur, near Zürich, to become
connected with the democratic newspaper, _Winterthurer Landbote_. In
1869 he was _Privatdozent at Zürich_, and next year professor. The
strong French sympathies of the Swiss in the Franco-German War led to
his speedy resignation. Thenceforward he gave up politics. In 1872 he
accepted a professorship at Marburg. Unhappily, his vigorous frame was
already stricken with disease, and, after a lingering illness, he died
at Marburg, on the 23rd of November 1875, diligent to the end. His
_Logische Studien_ was published by H. Cohen in 1877 (2nd ed., 1894).
His main work, the _Geschichte des Materialismus_, which is brilliantly
written, with wide scientific knowledge and more sympathy with English
thought than is usual in Germany, is rather a didactic exposition of
principles than a history in the proper sense. Adopting the Kantian
standpoint that we can know nothing but phenomena, Lange maintains that
neither materialism nor any other metaphysical system has a valid claim
to ultimate truth. For empirical phenomenal knowledge, however, which is
all that man can look for, materialism with its exact scientific methods
has done most valuable service. Ideal metaphysics, though they fail of
the inner truth of things, have a value as the embodiment of high
aspirations, in the same way as poetry and religion. In Lange's
_Logische Studien_, which attempts a reconstruction of formal logic, the
leading idea is that reasoning has validity in so far as it can be
represented in terms of space. His _Arbeiterfrage_ advocates an
ill-defined form of socialism. It protests against contemporary
industrial selfishness, and against the organization of industry on the
Darwinian principle of struggle for existence.
See O. A. Ellissen, _F. A. Lange_ (Leipzig, 1891), and in _Monatsch.
d. Comeniusgesell_. iii., 1894, 210 ff.; H. Cohen in _Preuss_.
_Jahrb._ xxvii., 1876, 353 ff.; Vaihinger, _Hartmann, Dühring und
Lange_ (Iserlohn, 1876); J. M. Bösch, _F. A. Lange und sein Standpunkt
d. Ideals_ (Frauenfeld, 1890); H. Braun, _F. A. Lange, als
Socialökonom_ (Halle, 1881). (H. St.)
LANGE, JOHANN PETER (1802-1884), German Protestant theologian, was of
peasant origin and was born at Sonneborn near Elberfeld on the 10th of
April 1802. He studied theology at Bonn (from 1822) under K. I. Nitzsch
and G. C. F. Lücke, held several pastorates, and eventually (1854)
settled at Bonn as professor of theology in succession to Isaac A.
Dorner, becoming also in 1860 counsellor to the consistory. He died on
the 9th of July 1884. Lange has been called the poetical theologian _par
excellence_: "It has been said of him that his thoughts succeed each
other in such rapid and agitated waves that all calm reflection and all
rational distinction become, in a manner, drowned" (F. Lichtenberger).
As a dogmatic writer he belonged to the school of Schleiermacher. His
_Christliche Dogmatik_ (3 vols., 1849-1852, new edition, 1870) "contains
many fruitful and suggestive thoughts, which, however, are hidden under
such a mass of bold figures and strange fancies, and suffer so much from
want of clearness of presentation, that they did not produce any lasting
effect" (Otto Pfleiderer).
His other works include Das Leben Jesu (3 vols., 1844-1847), _Das
apostolische Zeitalter_ (2 vols., 1853-1854). _Grundriss der
theologischen Enzyklopädie_ (1877). _Grundriss der christlichen Ethik_
(1878), and _Grundriss der Bibelkunde_ (1881). In 1857 he undertook
with other scholars a _Theologisch-homiletisches Bibelwerk_, to which
he contributed commentaries on the first four books of the Pentateuch,
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Revelation. The _Bibelwerk_
has been translated, enlarged and revised under the general editorship
of Dr Philip Schaff.
LANGEAIS, a town of west-central France in the department of
Indre-et-Loire, on the right bank of the Loire, 16 m. W.S.W. of Tours by
rail. Pop. (1906) town, 1755; commune, 3550. Langeais has a church of
the 11th, 12th and 15th centuries but is chiefly interesting for the
possession of a large château built soon after the middle of the 15th
century by Jean Bourré, minister of Louis XI. Here the marriage of
Charles VIII. and Anne of Brittany took place in 1491. In the park are
the ruins of a keep of late 10th-century architecture, built by Fulk
Nerra, count of Anjou.
LANGEN, JOSEPH (1837-1901), German theologian, was born at Cologne on
the 3rd of June 1837. He studied at Bonn, was ordained priest in 1859,
was nominated professor extraordinary at the university of Bonn in 1864,
and a professor in ordinary of the exegesis of the New Testament in
1867--an office which he held till his death. He was one of the able
band of professors who in 1870 supported Döllinger in his resistance to
the Vatican decrees, and was excommunicated with Ignaz v. Döllinger,
Johann Huber, Johann Friedrich, Franz Heinrich Reusch, Joseph Hubert
Reinkens and others, for refusing to accept them. In 1878, in
consequence of the permission given to priests to marry, he ceased to
identify himself with the Old Catholic movement, although he was not
reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church. Langen was more celebrated as
a writer than as a speaker. His first work was an inquiry into the
authorship of the Commentary on St Paul's Epistles and the Treatise on
Biblical Questions, ascribed to Ambrose and Augustine respectively. In
1868 he published an _Introduction to the New Testament_, a work of
which a second edition was called for in 1873. He also published works
on the _Last Days of the Life of Jesus_, on _Judaism in the Time of
Christ_, on _John of Damascus_ (1879) and an _Examination of the Vatican
Dogma in the Light of Patristic Exegesis of the New Testament_. But he
is chiefly famous for his _History of the Church of Rome to the
Pontificate of Innocent III._ (4 vols., 1881-1893), a work of sound
scholarship, based directly upon the authorities, the most important
sources being woven carefully into the text. He also contributed largely
to the _Internationale theologische Zeitschrift_, a review started in
1893 by the Old Catholics to promote the union of National Churches on
the basis of the councils of the Undivided Church, and admitting
articles in German, French and English. Among other subjects, he wrote
on the School of Hierotheus, on Romish falsifications of the Greek
Fathers, on Leo XIII., on Liberal Ultramontanism, on the Papal Teaching
in regard to Morals, on Vincentius of Lerins and he carried on a
controversy with Professor Willibald Beyschlag, of the German
Evangelical Church, on the respective merits of Protestantism and Old
Catholicism regarded as a basis for teaching the Christian faith. An
attack of apoplexy put an end to his activity as a teacher and hastened
his death, which occurred in July 1901. (J. J. L.*)
LANGENBECK, BERNHARD RUDOLF KONRAD VON (1810-1887), German surgeon, was
born at Horneburg on the 9th of November 1810, and received his medical
education at Göttingen, where he took his doctor's degree in 1835 with a
thesis on the structure of the retina. After a visit to France and
England, he returned to Göttingen as _Privatdozent_, and in 1842 became
professor of surgery and director of the Friedrichs Hospital at Kiel.
Six years later he succeeded J. F. Dieffenbach (1794-1847) as director
of the Clinical Institute for Surgery and Ophthalmology at Berlin, and
remained there till 1882, when failing health obliged him to retire. He
died at Wiesbaden on the 30th of September 1887. Langenbeck was a bold
and skilful operator, but was disinclined to resort to operation while
other means afforded a prospect of success. He devoted particular
attention to military surgery, and was a great authority in the
treatment of gunshot wounds. Besides acting as general field-surgeon of
the army in the war with Denmark in 1848, he saw active service in 1864,
1866, and again in the Franco-German campaign of 1870-71. He was in
Orleans at the end of 1870, after the city had been taken by the
Prussians, and was unwearied in his attentions, whether as operator or
consultant, to wounded men with whom every public building was packed.
He also utilized the opportunities for instruction that thus arose, and
the "Militär-Aerztliche Gesellschaft," which met twice a week for some
months, and in the discussions of which every surgeon in the city was
invited to take part, irrespective of nationality, was mainly formed by
his energy and enthusiasm. He was ennobled for his services in the
Danish War of 1864.
LANGENSALZA, a town in the Prussian province of Saxony, on the Salza,
about 20 m. N. W. from Erfurt. Pop. (1905) 12,545. Near it are the
remains of the old Benedictine monastery of Homburg or Hohenburg, where
the emperor Henry IV. defeated the Saxons in 1075. The manufacture of
cloth is the chief industry; lace, starch, machines, cigars and
chemicals are also produced, while spinning, dyeing, brewing and
printing are carried on. There is a sulphur bath in the neighbourhood,
situated in a pleasant park, in which there are monuments to those who
fell in the war of 1866. Langensalza became a town in 1211 and was
afterwards part of the electorate of Saxony. In 1815 it came into the
possession of Prussia. It is remarkable in history as the scene of three
battles: (1) the victory of the Prussians and English over the imperial
army on the 15th of February 1761; (2) that of the Prussians over the
Bavarians on the 17th of April 1813; and (3) the engagement on the 27th
of June 1866 between the Prussians and the Hanoverians, in which the
latter, though victorious in the field, were compelled to lay down their
arms on the arrival of overwhelming Prussian reinforcements.
See Göschel, _Chronik der Stadt Langensalza_ (Langensalza, 1818-1842);
G. and H. Schütz, _Chronik der Stadt Langensalza_ (Langensalza, 1901);
and Gutbier, _Schwefelbad Langensalza_ (Langensalza, 1900).
LANGHAM, SIMON (d. 1376), archbishop of Canterbury and cardinal, was
born at Langham in Rutland, becoming a monk in the abbey of St Peter at
Westminster, and later prior and then abbot of this house. In 1360 he
was made treasurer of England and in 1361 he became bishop of Ely; he
was appointed chancellor of England in 1363 and was chosen archbishop of
Canterbury in 1366. Perhaps the most interesting incident in his primacy
was when he drove the secular clergy from their college of Canterbury
Hall, Oxford, and filled their places with monks. The expelled head of
the seculars was a certain John de Wiclif, who has been identified with
the great reformer Wycliffe. Notwithstanding the part Langham as
chancellor had taken in the anti-papal measures of 1365 and 1366 he was
made a cardinal by Pope Urban V. in 1368. This step lost him the favour
of Edward III., and two months later he resigned his archbishopric and
went to Avignon. He was soon allowed to hold other although less exalted
positions in England, and in 1374 he was elected archbishop of
Canterbury for the second time; but he withdrew his claim and died at
Avignon on the 22nd of July 1376. Langham's tomb is the oldest monument
to an ecclesiastic in Westminster Abbey; he left the residue of his
estate--a large sum of money--to the abbey, and has been called its
second founder.
LANGHOLM, a burgh of barony and police burgh of Dumfriesshire, Scotland.
Pop. (1901) 3142. It is situated on both sides of the Esk, 16 m. N.E. of
Annan, the terminus of a branch line connecting with the North British
railway system at Riddings Junction. The Esk is crossed by a
three-arched stone bridge, uniting the old town on the left bank with
the new on the right, and a suspension bridge. Ewes Water, which falls
into the river, is spanned by a two-arched bridge, 1 m. N. of the town.
The public buildings include the town hall--a substantial edifice with a
tower rising in three tiers from the body of the structure, the Telford
library, and the Hope hospital for aged poor. Already famous for its
plaids and blankets, the prosperity of the burgh advanced when it took
up the manufacture of tweeds. Distilling, brewing, dyeing and tanning
are also important industries. The Esk and Liddel being favourite
fishing streams, Langholm is the headquarters of the association which
protects the rights of anglers. About 1 m. to the N.W. stands Langholm
Lodge, a seat of the duke of Buccleuch, and some 4 m. S.E. is Gilnockie
Tower, the peel-house that belonged to Johnny Armstrong, the freebooter,
who was executed by order of James V. in 1530.
LANGHORNE, JOHN (1735-1779), English poet and translator of Plutarch,
was born at Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland. He At first supported himself
as a private tutor and schoolmaster, and, having taken orders, was
appointed (1766) to the rectory of Blagdon, Somerset, where he died on
the 1st of April 1779. His poems (original and translations), and
sentimental tales, are now forgotten, but his translation of Plutarch's
_Lives_ (1770), in which he had the co-operation of his elder brother
William (1721-1772), is not yet superseded. It is far less vigorous than
Sir Thomas North's version (translated from Amyot) but is free from its
inaccuracies. His poems were published in 1804 by his son, J. T.
Langhorne, with a memoir of the author; they will also be found in R.
Anderson's _Poets of Great Britain_, xi. (1794) and A. Chalmers's
_English Poets_, xvi. (1810), with memoir. Of his poems, _The Country
Justice_, a plea for the neglected poor, and _The Fables of Flora_, were
the most successful; of his prose writings, _The Correspondence between
Theodosius and Constantia_, founded on a well-known story in the
_Spectator_ (No. 164).
LANGIEWICZ, MARYAN (1827-1887), Polish patriot, was born at Krotoszyn,
in the province of Posen, on the 5th of August 1827, his father being
the local doctor. Langiewicz was educated at Posen, Breslau and Prague,
and was compelled to earn his daily bread by giving lectures. He
subsequently entered the Prussian _Landwehr_ and served for a year in
the royal guard. In 1860 he migrated to Paris and was for a time
professor in the high school founded there by Mieroslawski. The same
year he took part in Garibaldi's Neapolitan campaign, and was then a
professor in the military school at Cuneo till the establishment was
closed. In 1862 he entered into communication with the central Polish
committee at Warsaw, and on the outbreak of the insurrection of the 22nd
of January 1863, took the command of the armed bands. He defeated the
Russians at Wachock and Slupia (February), capturing 1000 muskets and 8
cannon. This victory drew hundreds of young recruits to his standard,
till at last he had 12,000 men at his disposal. On the 23rd of February
he again defeated the Russians, at Malogoszcza, and captured 500 muskets
and 2 cannon. On the 10th of March he proclaimed himself dictator and
attempted to form a regular government; but either he had insufficient
organizing talent, or had not time enough to carry out his plans, and
after a fresh series of engagements his army was almost annihilated at
Zagosc (18th of March), whereupon he took refuge in Austrian territory
and was interned at Tarnow. He was subsequently transferred to the
fortress of Josephstadt, from which he was released in 1865. He then
lived at Solothurn as a citizen of the Swiss Republic, and subsequently
entered the Turkish service as Langie Bey. He died at Constantinople on
the 11th of May 1887.
See Boleslaw Limanowski, _The National Insurrection of 1863-64_ (Pol.)
(Lemberg, 1900); Paolo Mazzoleni, _I Bergamaschi in Polonia nel 1863_
(Bergamo, 1893); W. H. Bavink, _De Poolsche opstand 1863_, &c.
(Haarlem, 1864).
LANGLAND, WILLIAM (_c._ 1332-_c._ 1400), the supposed English poet,
generally regarded until recently as the single author of the remarkable
14th-century poem _Piers the Plowman_. Its full title is--_The Vision of
William concerning Piers the Plowman, together with Vita de Do-wel,
Do-bet, et Do-best, secundum Wit et Resoun_; usually given in Latin as
_Visio Willelmi de Petra Plowman, &c._; the whole work being sometimes
briefly described as _Liber de Petro Plowman_. We know nothing of
William Langland except from the supposed evidence of the MSS. of the
poem and the text itself, and it will be convenient first to give a
brief general description of them.
The poem exists in three forms. If we denote these by the names of
A-text (or Vernon), B-text (or Crowley), and C-text (or Whitaker), we
find, of the first, ten MSS., of the second fourteen, and of the third
seventeen, besides seven others of a mixed type. It will be seen that we
thus have abundance of material, a circumstance which proves the great
popularity of the poem in former times. Owing to the frequent
expressions which indicate a desire for reformation in religion, it was,
in the time of Edward VI., considered worthy of being printed. Three
impressions of the B-text were printed by Robert Crowley in 1550; and
one of these was badly reprinted by Owen Rogers in 1561. In 1813 the
best MS. of the C-text was printed by Dr E. Whitaker. In 1842 Mr Thomas
Wright printed an edition from an excellent MS. of the B-text in the
library of Trinity College, Cambridge (2nd ed., 1856, new ed., 1895). A
complete edition of all three texts was printed for the Early English
Text Society as edited by the Rev. W. W. Skeat, with the addition of
_Richard the Redeless_, and containing full notes to all three texts,
with a glossary and indexes, in 1867-1885. The Clarendon Press edition,
by the same editor, appeared in 1886.
The A-text contains a prologue and 12 passus or cantos (i.-iv., the
vision of the Lady Meed; v.-viii., the vision of Piers the Plowman;
ix.-xii., the vision of Do-wel, Do-bet and Do-best), with 2567 lines.
The B-text is much longer, containing 7242 lines, with additional passus
following after xi. of A, the earlier passus being altered in various
respects. The C-text, with 7357 lines, is a revision of B.
The general contents of the poem may be gathered from a brief
description of the C-text. This is divided into twenty-three passus,
nominally comprising four parts, called respectively Visio de Petro
Plowman, Visio de Do-wel, Visio de Do-bet and Visio de Do-best. Here
_Do-bet_ signifies "do better" in modern English; the explanation of the
names being that he who does a kind action _does well_, he who teaches
others to act kindly _does better_, whilst he who combines both practice
and theory, both doing good himself and teaching others to do the same,
_does best_. But the visions by no means closely correspond to these
descriptions; and Skeat divides the whole into a set of eleven visions,
which may be thus enumerated: (1) Vision of the Field Full of Folk, of
Holy Church, and of the Lady Meed (passus i.-v.); (2) Vision of the
Seven Deadly Sins, and of Piers the Plowman (pass. vi.-x.); (3) Wit,
Study, Clergy and Scripture (pass. xi., xii.); (4) Fortune, Nature,
Recklessness and Reason (pass. xiii., xiv.); (5) Vision of Imaginative
(pass. xv.); (6) Conscience, Patience and Activa-Vita (pass. xvi.,
xvii.); (7) Free-will and the Tree of Charity (pass. xviii., xix.); (8)
Faith, Hope and Charity (pass. xx.); (9) The Triumph of Piers the
Plowman, i.e. the Crucifixion, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
(pass. xxi.); (10) The Vision of Grace (pass. xxii.); (11) The Vision of
Antichrist (pass. xxiii.).
The bare outline of the C-text gives little idea of the real nature of
the poem. The author's object, as Skeat describes it, was to "afford
himself opportunities (of which he has amply availed himself) for
describing the life and manners of the poorer classes; for inveighing
against clerical abuses and the rapacity of the friars; for representing
the miseries caused by the great pestilences then prevalent and by the
hasty and ill-advised marriages consequent thereupon; and for denouncing
lazy workmen and sham beggars, the corruption and bribery then too
common in the law courts, and all the numerous forms of falsehood which
are at all time the fit subjects for satire and indignant exposure. In
describing, for example, the seven deadly sins, he gives so exact a
description of Glutton and Sloth that the reader feels them to be no
mere abstractions, but drawn from the life; and it becomes hardly more
difficult to realize Glutton than it is to realize Sir John Falstaff.
The numerous allegorical personages so frequently introduced, such as
Scripture, Clergy, Conscience, Patience and the like, are all
mouthpieces of the author himself, uttering for the most part his own
sentiments, but sometimes speaking in accordance with the character
which each is supposed to represent. The theological disquisitions which
are occasionally introduced are somewhat dull and tedious, but the
earnestness of the author's purpose and his energy of language tend to
relieve them, and there are not many passages which might have been
omitted without loss. The poem is essentially one of those which improve
on a second reading, and as a linguistic monument it is of very high
value. Mere extracts from the poem, even if rather numerous and of some
length, fail to give a fair idea of it. The whole deserves, and will
repay, a careful study; indeed, there are not many single works from
which a student of English literature and of the English language may
derive more substantial benefit.
"The metre is alliterative, and destitute of final rhyme. It is not very
regular, as the author's earnestness led him to use the fittest words
rather than those which merely served the purpose of rhythm. The chief
rule is that, in general, the same letter or combination of letters
should begin _three_ stressed syllables in the same line, as, for
example, in the line which may be modernized thus: 'Of all _m_anner of
_m_en, the _m_ean and the rich.' Sometimes there are but _two_ such
rhyme-letters, as: '_M_ight of the commons _m_ade him to reign.'
Sometimes there are _four_, as: 'In a summer season, when soft was the
sun.' There is invariably a pause, more or less distinct, in the middle
of each line" (_Ency. Brit._, 9th ed., art. LANGLAND).
The traditional view, accepted by such great authorities as Skeat and
Jusserand, that a single author--and that author Langland--was
responsible for the whole poem, in all its versions, has been so
recently disputed that it seems best to state it in Skeat's own words,
before giving briefly the alternative view, which propounds a theory of
composite authorship, denying any real existence to "William Langland."
The account of the single-author theory is repeated from Professor
Skeat's article in the 9th edition of this work, slightly revised by him
in 1905 for this edition.
"The author's name is not quite certain, and the facts concerning his
life are few and scanty. As to his Christian name we are sure, from
various allusions in the poem itself, and the title _Visio Willelmi_,
&c., in many MSS.; so that we may at once reject the suggestion that his
name may have been Robert. In no less than three MSS. [of the C-text;
one not later than 1427] occurs the following colophon: 'Explicit visio
Willelmi W. de Petro le Plowman.' What is here meant by W. it is
difficult to conjecture; but it is just possible that it may represent
Wychwood (of which more presently), or Wigornensis, i.e. of Worcester.
As to the surname, we find the note that 'Robert or William Langland
made pers ploughman,' in a handwriting of the 15th century, on the
fly-leaf of a MS. copy [of the B-text] formerly belonging to Lord
Ashburnham, and now in the British Museum; and in a Dublin MS. [of the
C-text] is the note [in a 15th-century hand]: 'Memorandum, quod Stacy de
Rokayle, pater Willielmi de Langlond, qui Stacius fuit generosus et
morabatur in Schiptone-under-Whicwode, tenens domini le Spenser in
comitatu Oxon., qui predictus Willielmus fecit librum qui vocatur Perys
Ploughman.' There is no trace of any Langland family in the midland
counties, while the Langley family were wardens of Wychwood forest in
Oxfordshire between the years 1278 and 1362; but this consideration can
hardly set aside the above statement. According to Bale, our author was
born at Cleobury Mortimer, which is quite consistent with the
supposition that his father may have removed from that place to Shipton
in Oxfordshire, as there seems to have been a real connexion between the
families in those places.
"The internal evidence concerning the author is fuller and more
satisfactory. By piecing together the various hints concerning himself
which the poet gives us, we may compile the following account. His name
was William (and probably Langland), and he was born about 1332, perhaps
at Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire. His father, who was doubtless a
franklin or farmer, and his other friends put him to school, made a
'clerk' or scholar of him, and taught him what Holy Writ meant. In 1362,
at the age of about thirty, he found himself wandering upon the Malvern
hills, and fell asleep beside a stream, and saw in a vision a field full
of folk, i.e. this present world, and many other remarkable sights
which he duly records. From this supposed circumstance he named his poem
_The Vision of William_, though it is really a succession of visions,
since he mentions several occasions on which he awoke, and afterwards
again fell asleep; and he even tells us of some adventures which befel
him in his waking moments. In some of these visions there is no mention
of Piers the Plowman, but in others he describes him as being the coming
reformer who was to remedy all abuses, and restore the world to a right
condition. It is remarkable that his conception of this reformer changes
from time to time, and becomes more exalted as the poem advances. At
first he is no more than a ploughman, one of the true and honest
labourers who are the salt of the earth; but at last he is identified
with the great reformer who has come already, the regenerator of the
world in the person of Jesus Christ; in the author's own
phrase--'Petrus est Christus.' If this be borne in mind, it will not be
possible to make the mistake into which so many have fallen, of speaking
of Piers the Plowman as being the author, not the subject, of the poem.
The author once alludes to the nickname of Long Will bestowed upon him
from his tallness of stature--just as the poet Gascoigne was familiarly
called Long George. Though there is mention of the Malvern hills more
than once near the beginning of the poem, it is abundantly clear that
the poet lived for 'many years in Cornhill (London), with his wife Kitte
and his daughter Calote.' He seems to have come to London soon after the
date of the first commencement of his work, and to have long continued
there. He describes himself as being a tall man, one who was loath to
reverence lords or ladies or persons in gay apparel, and not deigning to
say 'God save you' to the sergeants whom he met in the street, insomuch
that many people took him to be a fool. He was very poor, wore long
robes, and had a shaven crown, having received the clerical tonsure. But
he seems only to have taken minor orders, and earned a precarious living
by singing the _placebo_, _dirige_ and seven psalms for the good of
men's souls. The fact that he was married may explain why he never rose
in the church. But he had another source of livelihood in his ability to
write out legal documents, and he was extremely familiar with the law
courts at Westminster. His leisure time must have been entirely occupied
with his poem, which was essentially the work of his lifetime. He was
not satisfied with rewriting it once, but he actually re-wrote it twice;
and from the abundance of the MSS. which still exist we can see its
development from the earliest draught (A-text), written about 1362, to
its latest form (C-text), written about 1393.[1]
"In 1399, just before the deposition of Richard II., appeared a poem
addressed to the king, who is designated as 'Richard the Redeless,'
i.e. devoid of counsel. This poem, occurring in only one MS. [of the
B-text] in which it is incomplete, breaking off abruptly in the middle
of a page, may safely be attributed to Langland, who was then in
Bristol. As he was at that time about sixty-seven years of age, we may
be sure that he did not long survive the accession of Henry IV. It may
here be observed that the well-known poem, entitled _Pierce Ploughman's
Crede_, though excellently written, is certainly an imitation by another
hand; for the Pierce Ploughman of the _Crede_ is very different in
conception from the subject of 'William's Vision.'"
On the other hand, the view taken by Professor J. M. Manly, of Chicago,
which has recently obtained increasing acceptance among scholars, is
that the early popularity of the _Piers Plowman_ poems has resulted in
"the confusion of what is really the work of five different men," and
that Langland himself is "a mythical author." The argument for the
distinction in authorship rests on internal evidence, and on analysis of
the style, diction and "visualizing" quality within the different texts.
Whereas Skeat, regarding the three texts as due to the same author,
gives most attention to the later versions, and considers B the
intermediate form, as on the whole the best, Manly recognizes in A the
real poet, and lays special stress on the importance of attention to the
A-text, and particularly pass. i.-viii. In this A-text the two first
visions are regarded as by a single author of genius, but the third is
assigned to a continuator who tried to imitate him, the whole conclusion
of the 12th passus being, moreover, by a third author, whose name, John
But, is in fact given towards the end, but in a way leading Skeat only
to credit him with a few lines. The same process of analysis leads to
crediting the B-text and the C-text to separate and different authors, B
working over the three visions of the A-text and making additions of his
own, while C again worked over the B-text. The supposed references to
the original author A, introduced by B and C, are then to be taken as
part of the fiction. Who were the five authors? That question is left
unsolved. John But, according to Professor Manly, was "doubtless a
scribe" or "a minstrel." B, C and the continuator of A "seem to have
been clerics, and, from their criticisms of monks and friars, to have
been of the secular clergy," C being "a better scholar than either the
continuator of A or B." A, who "exempts from his satire no order of
society except monks," may have been himself a monk, but "as he exhibits
no special technical knowledge or interests" he "may have been a
layman." As regards Richard the Redeless, Professor Manly attributes
this to another imitator; he regards identity of authorship as out of
the question, in consequences of differences in style and thought, apart
altogether from the conclusion as to the authorship of _Piers the
Plowman_.
See the editions already referred to: _The Deposition of Richard II._,
ed. T. Wright (Camden Society), which is the same poem as _Richard the
Redeless_; Warton, _Hist. of Eng. Poetry_; Rev. H. H. Milman, _Hist.
of Latin Christianity_; G. P. Marsh, _Lectures on English_; H. Morley,
_English Writers_; B. ten Brink, _Early English Literature_; J. J.
Jusserand, _Observations sur la vision de P. P._ (Paris, 1879); _Les
Anglais au moyen âge: L'Épopée mystique de William Langland_ (1893,
Eng. trans. _Piers Plowman_, revised and enlarged by another 1894); J.
M. Manly in _Cambridge Hist. of English Lit._, vol. ii. and
bibliography. A long and careful summary of the whole poem is given in
Morley's _English Writers_, and is repeated in his _Illustrations of
English Religion_, ch. iii.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] According to Jusserand, 1398.
LANGLEY, SAMUEL PIERPONT (1834-1906), American physicist and astronomer,
was born at Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, on the 22nd of August 1834.
After acting for a short time as assistant in Harvard College
Observatory, he was appointed assistant professor of mathematics in the
U.S. Naval Academy in 1866, and in the following year became director of
the Allegheny Observatory at Pittsburg, a position which he held until
his selection in 1887 as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution at
Washington. His name is especially associated with two main branches of
investigation--aeronautics, and the exploration of the infra-red
portions of the solar spectrum. The study of the latter he took up as a
result of the publication in 1871 of an energy-curve of the spectrum by
S. I. Lamansky. The imperfections of the thermopile, with which he began
his work, led him, about 1880, to the invention of the bolometer, an
instrument of extraordinary delicacy, which in its most refined form is
believed to be capable of detecting a change of temperature amounting to
less than one-hundred-millionth of a degree Centigrade. Depending on the
fact that the electrical conductivity of a metallic conductor is
decreased by heat, it consists of two strips of platinum, arranged to
form the two arms of a Wheatstone bridge; one strip being exposed to a
source of radiation from which the other is shielded, the heat causes a
change in the resistance of one arm, the balance of the bridge is
destroyed, and a deflection is marked on the galvanometer. The platinum
strips are exceedingly minute, being in some cases only 1/250 in. in
width, and less than one-tenth of that amount in thickness. By the aid
of this instrument, Langley, working on Mount Whitney, 12,000 ft. above
sea-level, discovered in 1881 an entirely unsuspected extension of the
invisible infra-red rays, which he called the "new spectrum." The
importance of his achievement may be judged from the fact that, while
the visible spectrum includes rays having wave-lengths of from about 0.4
[mu] to 0.76 [mu], and no invisible heat-rays were known before 1881
having a wave-length greater than 1.8 [mu], he detected rays having a
wave-length of 5.3 [mu]. In addition, taking advantage of the accuracy
with which the bolometer can determine the position of a source of heat
by which it is affected, he mapped out in this infra-red spectrum over
700 dark lines or bands resembling the Fraunhofer lines of the visible
spectrum, with a probable accuracy equal to that of refined astronomical
observations. In aeronautics he succeeded in demonstrating the
practicability of mechanical flight. He first undertook a preliminary
inquiry into the principles upon which flight depends, and established
at Allegheny a huge "whirling table," the revolving arm of which could
be driven by a steam-engine at any circumferential speed up to 70 m. an
hour. The construction of a flying machine was next attempted. The first
difficulty was to make it sufficiently light in relation to the power
its machinery could develop; and several machines were built in which
trials were made of steam, and of compressed air and carbonic acid gas
as motive agents. About 1893 a satisfactory machine was ready, and a
new series of troubles had to be faced, for it had to be launched at a
certain initial speed, and in the face of any wind that might be
blowing. To enable these conditions to be fulfilled, as well as to
ensure that the machine, when it fell, should fall on water, the
experiments were carried out on the Potomac river, some 30 m. below
Washington. It was not till the autumn of 1894 that an efficient
launching apparatus was devised, and then the wings were found not to be
strong enough to bear the pressures to which they were subjected.
Various other delays and mishaps followed, but ultimately, on the 6th of
May 1896, a successful flight was made. On that day an aerodrome,
weighing about 30 lb. and about 16 ft. in length, with wings measuring
between 12 and 13 ft. from tip to tip, twice sustained itself in the air
for 1½ minutes (the full time for which it was supplied with fuel and
water), and traversed on each occasion a distance of over half a mile,
falling gently into the water when the engines stopped. Later in the
same year, on the 28th of November, a similar aerodrome flew about
three-quarters of a mile, attaining a speed of 30 m. an hour. In 1903 he
experimented with an aerodrome capable of carrying a man, but repeated
accidents prevented it from being launched, and finally through lack of
funds the experiments had to be abandoned without the machine ever
having been free in the air (see also FLIGHT AND FLYING). Langley died
on the 27th of February 1906.
LANGLOIS, HIPPOLYTE (1839- ), French general, was born at Besançon in
1839, and, after passing through the École Polytechnique, was appointed
to the artillery as sub-lieutenant in 1858, attaining the rank of
captain in 1866. He served in the army of Metz in the war of 1870. Eight
years later he became major, in 1887 lieutenant-colonel and in 1888
colonel. At this time he was appointed professor of artillery at the
École de Guerre, and in this post he devoted himself to working out the
tactical principles of the employment of field artillery under the new
conditions of armament of which he foresaw the advent. The public result
of his work was the great treatise _L'Artillerie de campagne_
(1891-1892), which may still be regarded as the classic of the arm. In
1894 he became general of brigade, and in 1898 general of division. For
two years after this he was the commandant of the École de Guerre at the
time that the modern French strategical and tactical "doctrine" was
being developed and taught. He was, however, regarded as a leader as
well as a theorist, and in 1901 he was selected to command the XX. Army
Corps on the German frontier, popularly called the "iron" corps. In 1902
he became a member of the Conseil supérieur de la Guerre, consisting of
senior generals marked out for the higher commands in war. He retired
from the active list in 1904 on reaching the age limit, and devoted
himself with the greatest energy to critical military literature. In
1907 he began the publication of a monthly journal of military art and
history, the _Revue militaire générale_. The most important of his other
works are _Enseignements de deux guerres recentes_ and _Conséquences
tactiques du progrès de l'armement_.
LANGPORT, a market town in the eastern parliamentary division of
Somersetshire, England, 13½ m. E. of Taunton by the Great Western
railway. Pop. (1901) 890. It lies on the right (east) bank of the river
Parret, near the point where that river debouches from the hills on to
the plain through which it flows to the Bristol Channel. The main street
leads up a slope from the river to the fine Perpendicular church of All
Saints. Close to this an archway crosses the road, bearing a
Perpendicular building known as the hanging chapel. After serving this
purpose it housed first the grammar-school (founded 1675), then the
Quekett museum, named after John Thomas Quekett (1815-1861) the
histologist, a native of the town, whose father was master of the
school. The hanging chapel afterwards became a masonic hall. Not far
distant is the church of Huish Episcopi, with one of the finest of the
Perpendicular towers for which Somersetshire is noted. Langport has a
considerable general and agricultural trade.
Langport (_Llongborth_, _Langeberga_, _Langeport_) owed its origin to
its defensible position on a hill, and its growth to its facilities
for trade on the chief river of Somerset. It occupies the site of the
British town of Llongborth, and was important during the Roman
occupation. It was a royal borough in Saxon times, and in 1086 had 34
resident burgesses. The first charter, given by Elizabeth in 1562,
recognized that Langport was a borough of great antiquity, which had
enjoyed considerable privileges, being governed by a portreve. It was
incorporated by James I. in 1617, but the corporation was abolished in
1883. Langport was represented in parliament in 1304 and 1306. The
charter of 1562 granted three annual fairs to Langport, on the 28th of
June, the 11th of November and the second Monday in Lent. One fair
only is now held, on the 3rd of September, which is a horse and cattle
fair. A Saturday market was held under the grant of 1562, but in the
19th century the market day was changed to Tuesday.
LANGREO, a town of northern Spain, in the province of Oviedo, in very
hilly country, on the left bank of the river Nalon, and on a branch
railway from Oviedo to Labiana. Pop. (1900) 18,714. In the neighbourhood
large quantities of wheat, hemp, fruit and cider are produced; and there
are important coal and iron mines, foundries, and factories for the
manufacture of coarse cloth.
LANGRES, a town of eastern France, capital of an arrondissement in the
department of Haute-Marne, 22 m. S.S.E. of Chaumont on the eastern
railway to Belfort. Pop. (1906) town, 6663; commune, 9803. Langres
stands at a height of some 1550 ft. on a jutting promontory of the
tableland known as the plateau de Langres, and overlooks eastward and
westward respectively the valleys of the Marne and its tributary the
Bonnelle. From the cathedral tower and the ramparts which surround the
town there is an extensive view over the valley of the Marne, the Vosges
and the Côte d'Or, and in clear weather Mt Blanc (160 m. distant) is
visible. The cathedral of St Mammès, for the most part in the
Transitional style of the 12th century, has a west front in the
Graeco-Roman style of the 18th century and a fine Renaissance chapel.
The church of St Martin (13th, 15th and 18th centuries) possesses a
figure of Christ of the 16th century, one of the finest wood carvings
known. The ramparts are protected by several towers, most of which date
from the 16th century. The Gallo-Roman gate, one of four entrances in
the Roman period, is preserved, but is walled up. The Porte des Moulins
(17th century) is the most interesting of the other gates. The town
possesses a museum rich in Gallo-Roman antiquities, a picture gallery
and an important library. The birth of Denis Diderot here is
commemorated by a statue. Langres is the seat of a bishop and a
sub-prefect, and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a
higher ecclesiastical seminary and communal colleges for both sexes. It
manufactures well-known cutlery and grind-stones. Trade is in grain and
other farm-produce, live stock, wine, &c.
Langres, the ancient _Andematunum_, was capital of the _Lingones_. Under
Roman rule it was at first to some extent autonomous, but was reduced to
the rank of colony after the revolt of the chief Sabinus in A.D. 71. The
bishopric was founded about 200 and in the middle ages its holders
became peers of the realm and enjoyed the temporal power in the town. In
301 the Alemanni were defeated at Langres by the Romans, but in the next
century it was burnt by the Vandals and by Attila.
The "plateau of Langres" appears frequently in the military history of
the 18th and 19th centuries as a dominant strategic point, though its
importance as such has appealed chiefly to the advocates of wars of
positions and passive defence. The modern fortifications of Langres,
which serves as a second line fortress, consist of (a) Fort St Menge
or Ligniville on high ground above the confluence of the Marne and the
Neuilly brook, about 5 m. N. by W. of the town; (b) the west front,
comprising Humes battery (2¼ m. N.W. of Langres), Fort de la Pointe de
Diamant, and the redoubts of Perrancey, Le Fays and Noidant (the last
4 m. S.W. of the town), overlooking the deep valley of the Mouche
brook (this front was attacked in the mock siege of August 1907); (c)
the south front, comprising Fort de la Bonnelle or Décrès (2 m. S.S.W.
of the town), a small work commanding the Chalon-Langres road, Le Mont
and Le Pailly batteries, Fort Vercingetorix, the last, 5 m. S.W. of
the place, standing on a steep and narrow spur of the main plateau,
and in second line the old fort de la Marnotte, and the large
bastioned citadel (the town enceinte is "déclassée"); (d) the east
front, marked by Forts Montlandon and Plesnoy at the north and south
ends respectively of a long steep ridge, 6 m. E. of Langres, the
bridges over the Marne leading to these works being commanded by Fort
Peigney, a work about half a mile east of the town; (e) Fort
Dampierre, 8 m. N.E. of the town, which commands all the main
approaches from the north, and completes the circle by crossing its
fire with that of Fort St Menge.
LANGTOFT, PETER (d. c. 1307), English chronicler, took his name from the
village of Langtoft in Yorkshire, and was a canon of the Augustinian
priory in Bridlington. His name is also given as Langetoft and
Langetost. He wrote in French verse a _Chronicle_ dealing with the
history of England from the earliest times to the death of Edward I. in
1307. It consists of three parts and contains about 9000 rhyming verses.
The earlier part of the _Chronicle_ is taken from Geoffrey of Monmouth
and other writers; for the period dealing with the reign of Edward I.
Langtoft is a contemporary and valuable authority, especially for
affairs in the north of England and in Scotland. Langtoft's _Chronicle_
seems to have enjoyed considerable popularity in the north, and the
latter part of it was translated into English by Robert Mannyng,
sometimes called Robert of Brunne, about 1330. It has been edited for
the Rolls Series by T. Wright (1866-1868).
See Wright's preface, and also O. Preussner, _Robert Mannyng of
Brunne's Übersetzung von Pierre de Langtofts Chronicle und ihr
Verhältniss zum Originale_ (Breslau, 1891).
LANGTON, JOHN (d. 1337), chancellor of England and bishop of Chichester,
was a clerk in the royal chancery, and became chancellor in 1292. He
obtained several ecclesiastical appointments, but owing to the
resistance of Pope Boniface VIII. he failed to secure the bishopric of
Ely in 1298, although he was supported by Edward I. and visited Rome to
attain his end. Resigning his office as chancellor in 1302, he was
chosen bishop of Chichester in 1305, and again became chancellor shortly
after the accession of Edward II. in 1307. Langton was one of the
"ordainers" elected in 1310, and it was probably his connexion with this
body that led to his losing the office of chancellor about this time. He
continued, however, to take part in public affairs; mediating between
the king and Earl Thomas of Lancaster in 1318, and attempting to do so
between Edward and his rebellious barons in 1321. He died in June or
July 1337. Langton built the chapterhouse at Chichester, and was a
benefactor of the university of Oxford.
LANGTON, STEPHEN (d. 1228), cardinal and archbishop of Canterbury, was
the son of English parents; but the date and place of his birth are
unknown. Since he became early in his career a prebendary of York, and
since his brother Simon (d. 1248) was elected[1] to that see in 1215, we
may suppose the family to have been of northern extraction. Stephen,
however, migrated to Paris, and having graduated in that university
became one of its most celebrated theologians. This was probably the
time when he composed his voluminous commentaries (many of which still
exist in manuscript) and divided the Bible into chapters. At Paris also
he contracted the friendship with Lothar of Segni, the future Innocent
III., which played so important a part in shaping his career. Upon
becoming pope, Innocent summoned Langton to Rome, and in 1206 designated
him as cardinal-priest of S. Chrysogonus. Immediately afterwards Langton
was drawn into the vortex of English politics.
Archbishop Hubert Walter had died in 1205, and the election of his
successor had raised thorny questions. The suffragans of Canterbury
claimed a share in choosing the new primate, although that right had
been exclusively reserved to the monks of Canterbury by a papal
privilege; and John supported the bishops since they were prepared to
give their votes for his candidate, John de Gray, bishop of Norwich. A
party of the younger monks, to evade the double pressure of the king and
bishops, secretly elected their sub-prior Reginald and sent him to Rome
for confirmation. The plot leaked out; the rest of the monks were
induced to elect John de Gray, and he too was despatched to Rome. After
hearing the case Innocent declared both elections void; and with John's
consent ordered that a new election should be made in his presence by
the representatives of the monks. The latter, having confessed that they
had given John a secret pledge to elect none but the bishop of Norwich,
were released from the promise by Innocent; and at his suggestion
elected Stephen Langton, who was consecrated by the pope on the 17th of
June 1207. On hearing the news the king banished the monks of Canterbury
and lodged a protest with the pope, in which he threatened to prevent
any English appeals from being brought to Rome. Innocent replied by
laying England under an interdict (March 1208), and excommunicating the
king (November 1209). As John still remained obstinate, the pope at
length invited the French king Philip Augustus to enter England and
depose him. It was this threat which forced John to sue for a
reconciliation; and the first condition exacted was that he should
acknowledge Langton as archbishop. During these years Langton had been
residing at Pontigny, formerly the refuge of Becket. He had addressed to
the English people a dignified protest against the king's conduct, and
had at last pressed the pope to take extreme measures. But he had
consistently adopted towards John as conciliatory an attitude as his
duty to the church would allow, and had more than once entered upon
negotiations for a peaceful compromise. Immediately after entering
England (July 1213) he showed his desire for peace by absolving the
king. But, unlike the pope, he gave ear to the popular cry for redress
of political grievances; and persisted in associating with the baronial
opposition, even after he was ordered by Innocent to excommunicate them
as disturbers of the peace. Langton encouraged the barons to formulate
their demands, and is said to have suggested that they should take their
stand upon the charter of Henry I. It is uncertain what further share he
took in drafting Magna Carta. At Runnymede he appeared as a commissioner
on the king's side, and his influence must therefore be sought in those
clauses of the Charter which differ from the original petitions of the
barons. Of these the most striking is that which confirms the
"liberties" of the church; and this is chiefly remarkable for its
moderation.
Soon after the issue of the charter the archbishop left England to
attend the Fourth Lateran Council. At the moment of his departure he was
suspended by the representatives of Innocent for not enforcing the papal
censures against the barons. Innocent confirmed the sentence, which
remained in force for two years. During this time the archbishop resided
at Rome. He was allowed to return in 1218, after the deaths of Innocent
and John. From that date till his death he was a tower of strength to
the royal party. Through his influence Pandulf was recalled to Rome
(1221) and Honorius III. promised that no legate should be sent to
reside in England during the archbishop's lifetime. In 1222, in a synod
held at Oseney, he promulgated a set of Constitutions still recognized
as forming a part of the law of the English Church. Beyond this little
is recorded of his latter years. He died on the 9th of July 1228, and
was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, where his tomb, unless tradition
errs, may still be seen.
The authorities are mainly those for the reign of John. No
contemporary biography has come down to us. Some letters, by Langton
and others, relating to the quarrel over his election are preserved in
a Canterbury Chronicle (ed. W. Stubbs in the "Rolls" edition of
_Gervase of Canterbury_, vol. ii.). There are many references to him
in the correspondence of Innocent III. (Migne's _Patrologia Latina_,
vols. ccxiv.-ccxvii.). Of modern works see F. Hurter, _Geschichte
Papst Innocenz III._ (Hamburg, 1841-1844); W. F. Hook, _Lives of the
Archbishops of Canterbury_ (London, 1860-1876), and W. Stubbs's
preface to the second volume of _Walter of Coventry_ ("Rolls" ed.),
which devotes special attention to Langton. The MSS. of Langton's
writings are noticed in J. Bale's _Index Britanniae scriptorum_ (ed.
R. L. Poole, 1902); his Constitutions are printed in D. Wilkin's
_Concilia_, vol. ii. (London, 1737). (H. W. C. D.)
Another English prelate who bore the name of Langton was THOMAS
LANGTON, bishop of Winchester, chaplain to Edward IV. In 1483 he was
chosen bishop of St Davids; in 1485 he was made bishop of Salisbury
and provost of Queen's College, Oxford, and he became bishop of
Winchester in 1493. In 1501 he was elected archbishop of Canterbury,
but he died on the 27th of January 1501, before his election had been
confirmed.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Pope Innocent, however, would not confirm this election, and the
disappointed candidate threw himself into the contest between the
English barons on the one side and King John and the pope on the
other. Later Simon made peace with Henry III. and was appointed
archdeacon of Canterbury; he was consulted by Pope Gregory IX. and
was sent to France on diplomatic business by Henry III.
LANGTON, WALTER (d. 1321), bishop of Lichfield and treasurer of England,
was probably a native of Langton West in Leicestershire. Appointed a
clerk in the royal chancery, he became a favourite servant of Edward I.,
taking part in the suit over the succession to the Scottish throne in
1292, and visiting France more than once on diplomatic business. He
obtained several ecclesiastical preferments, became treasurer in 1295,
and in 1296 bishop of Lichfield. Having become unpopular, the barons in
1301 vainly asked Edward to dismiss him; about the same time he was
accused of murder, adultery and simony. Suspended from his office, he
went to Rome to be tried before Pope Boniface VIII., who referred the
case to Winchelsea, archbishop of Canterbury; the archbishop, although
Langton's lifelong enemy, found him innocent, and this sentence was
confirmed by Boniface in 1303. Throughout these difficulties, and also
during a quarrel with the prince of Wales, afterwards Edward II., the
treasurer was loyally supported by the king. Visiting Pope Clement V. on
royal business in 1305, Langton appears to have persuaded Clement to
suspend Winchelsea; after his return to England he was the chief adviser
of Edward I., who had already appointed him the principal executor of
his will. His position, however, was changed by the king's death in July
1307. The accession of Edward II. and the return of Langton's enemy,
Piers Gaveston, were quickly followed by the arrest of the bishop and
his removal from office. His lands, together with a great hoard of
movable wealth, were seized, and he was accused of misappropriation and
venality. In spite of the intercession of Clement V. and even of the
restored archbishop, Winchelsea, who was anxious to uphold the
privileges of his order, Langton, accused again by the barons in 1309,
remained in prison after Edward's surrender to the "ordainers" in 1310.
He was released in January 1312 and again became treasurer; but he was
disliked by the "ordainers," who forbade him to discharge the duties of
his office. Excommunicated by Winchelsea, he appealed to the pope,
visited him at Avignon, and returned to England after the archbishop's
death in May 1313. He was a member of the royal council from this time
until his dismissal at the request of parliament in 1315. He died in
November 1321, and was buried in Lichfield cathedral, which was improved
and enriched at his expense. Langton appears to have been no relation of
his contemporary, John Langton, bishop of Chichester.
LANGTRY, LILLIE (1852- ), English actress, was the daughter of the Rev.
W. C. le Breton, dean of Jersey, and married in 1874 Edward Langtry (d.
1897). For many years she was famous as one of the most beautiful women
in England. It was not till 1881 that she definitely went on the stage,
appearing from that time under her own management both in London and in
America. In 1899 she married Sir Hugo de Bathe, Bart.
LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. _langage_, from _langue_, tongue, Lat.
_lingua_), the whole body of words and combinations of words as used in
common by a nation, people or race, for the purpose of expressing or
communicating their thoughts; also, more widely, the power of expressing
thought by verbal utterance. See generally under PHILOLOGY, PHONETICS,
VOICE, WRITING, GRAMMAR, &c.; and the articles on the various languages,
or under headings of countries and races.
LANGUEDOC, one of the old provinces of France, the name of which dates
from the end of the 13th century. In 1290 it was used to refer to the
country in whose tongue (_langue_) the word for "yes" was _oc_, as
opposed to the centre and north of France, the _langue d'oil_ (the _oui_
of to-day). Territorially Languedoc varied considerably in extent, but
in general from 1360 until the French Revolution it included the
territory of the following departments of modern France: part of Tarn et
Garonne, Tarn, most of Haute-Garonne, Ariège, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales,
Hérault, Gard, Lozère, part of Ardèche and Haute-Loire. The country had
no natural geographical unity. Stretching over the Cevennes into the
valleys of the upper Loire on the north and into that of the upper
Garonne on the west, it reached the Pyrenees on the south and the
rolling hills along the Rhone on the east. Its unity was entirely a
political creation, but none the less real, as it was the great state of
the Midi, the representative of its culture and, to some degree, the
defence of its peculiar civilization. Its climate, especially in Hérault
(Montpellier), is especially delightful in spring and early summer, and
the scenery still holds enough ruined remains of Roman and feudal times
to recall the romance and the tragedy of its history.
Although the name is of comparatively late medieval origin, the history
of Languedoc, which had little in common with that of northern France,
begins with the Roman occupation. Toulouse was an important place as
early as 119 B.C.; the next year Narbonne, the seaport, became a Roman
colony. By the time of Julius Caesar the country was sufficiently
Romanized to furnish him with men and money, and though at first
involved in the civil wars which followed, it prospered under Roman rule
as perhaps no other part of the empire did. While it corresponded
exactly to no administrative division of the Roman empire, it was
approximately the territory included in _Gallia Narbonensis_, one of the
seventeen provinces into which the empire was divided at the death of
Augustus. It was rich and flourishing, crowded with great and densely
populated towns, Nîmes, Narbonne, Béziers, Toulouse; with schools of
rhetoric and poetry still vigorous in the 5th century; theatres,
amphitheatres and splendid temples. In the 5th century this high culture
was an open prize for the barbarians; and after the passing of the
Vandals, Suebi and Visigoths into Spain, the Visigoths returned under
Wallia, who made his capital at Toulouse in 419. This was the foundation
of the Visigothic kingdom which Clovis dismembered in 507, leaving the
Visigoths only Septimania--the country of seven cities, Narbonne,
Carcassonne, Elne, Béziers, Maguelonne, Lodève and Agde--that is, very
nearly the area occupied later by the province of Languedoc. At the
council of Narbonne in 589 five races are mentioned as living in the
province, Visigoths, Romans, Jews--of whom there were a great
many--Syrians and Greeks. The repulse of the Arabs by Charles Martel in
732 opened up the country for the Frankish conquest, which was completed
by 768. Under the Carolingians Septimania became part of the kingdom of
Aquitaine, but became a separate duchy in 817.
Until the opening of the 13th century there is no unity in the history
of Languedoc, the great houses of Toulouse and Carcassonne and the swarm
of warlike counts and barons practically ignoring the distant king of
France, and maintaining a chronic state of civil war. The feudal régime
did not become at all universal in the district, as it tended to become
in the north of France. Allodial tenures survived in sufficient numbers
to constitute a considerable class of non-vassal subjects of the king,
with whose authority they were little troubled. By the end of the 11th
century the house of the counts of Toulouse began to play the
predominant rôle; but their court had been famous almost a century
before for its love of art and literature and its extravagance in dress
and fashions, all of which denoted its wealth. Constance, wife of King
Robert II. and daughter of the count of Toulouse, gave great offence to
the monks by her following of gallant gentlemen. They owed their tastes,
not only to their Roman blood, and the survival of their old love for
rhetoric and poetry, but also to their intercourse with the Mahommedans,
their neighbours and enemies, and their friends when they were not
fighting. Under Raymond of Saint Gilles, at the end of the 11th century,
the county of Toulouse began its great career, but Raymond's ambition to
become an Oriental prince, which led him--and the hundred thousand men
who, according to the chroniclers, followed him--away on the first
crusade, left a troubled heritage to his sons Bertrand and Alphonse
Jourdain. The latter successfully beat off William IX., duke of
Aquitaine, and won from the count of Barcelona that part of Provence
between the Drôme and the Durance. The reign of Alphonse lasted from
1109 to 1148. By the opening of the 13th century the sovereignty of the
counts of Toulouse was recognized through about half of Provence, and
they held the rich cities of the most cultured and wealthiest portion of
France, cities which had a high degree of local independence. Their
local governments, with their consuls at the head, show, at least in
name, the influence of Roman ideas. It is still an open question how
much of their autonomy had remained untouched by the barbarian invasions
from the Roman period. The citizens of these free cities were in
continual intercourse with Saracens of Palestine and Moors of Spain;
they had never entirely abandoned pagan customs; their poetry--the
poetry of the troubadours--taught them the joys of life rather than the
fear of death, the licence of their chivalry with its courts of love led
to the other extreme of asceticism in such as were of religious
temperament; all things combined to make Languedoc the proper soil for
heresy. The Church never had the hold upon the country that it had in
the north, the people of the Midi were always lukewarm in the faith;
there was no noteworthy ecclesiastical literature in Languedoc from the
end of the Carolingian period until after the Albigensian crusade, no
theological centre like Paris, Bec or Laon. Yet Languedoc furnished the
most heroic martyrs for the ascetic Manichaean creed. The era of heresy
began with the preaching of Peter de Brueys and his follower, Henry of
Lausanne, who emptied the churches and taught contempt for the clergy.
Saint Bernard himself was able to make but temporary headway against
this rebellion from a sacramental and institutionalized Christianity. In
the first decade of the 13th century came the inevitable conflict. The
whole county of Toulouse, with its fiefs of Narbonne, Béziers, Foix,
Montpellier and Quercy, was in open and scornful secession from the
Catholic Church, and the suppression of this Manichaean or Cathar
religion was the end of the brilliant culture of Languedoc. (See
ALBIGENSES, CATHARS, INQUISITION.) The crusade against the Albigenses,
as the Cathars were locally termed, in 1209, resulted in the union to
the crown of France in 1229 of all the country from Carcassonne to the
Rhone, thus dividing Languedoc into two. The western part left to
Raymond VII., by the treaty of 1229, included the Agenais, Quercy,
Rouergue, the Toulousain and southern Albigeois. He had as well the
Venaissin across the Rhone. From 1229 to his death in 1249 Raymond VII.
worked tirelessly to bring back prosperity to his ruined country,
encouraging the foundation of new cities, and attempting to gain
reconciliation with the Church. He left only a daughter, Jeanne, who was
married to Alphonse of Poitiers. Alphonse, a sincere Catholic, upheld
the Inquisition, but, although ruling the country from Paris, maintained
peace. Jeanne died without heirs four days after her husband, upon their
return from the crusade in Africa, in 1271, and although she attempted
by will to prevent the reversion of her lands to the crown, they were
promptly seized by King Philip III., who used the opposition of Roger
Bernard, count of Foix, as an excuse to appear with a formidable army,
which had little to do to secure entire submission. Thus the county of
Toulouse passed to the crown, though Philip III. turned over the Agenais
to Edward I. of England in 1279. In 1274 he ceded the county of
Venaissin to Pope Gregory X., the papacy having claimed it, without
legal grounds, since the Albigensian crusade (see AVIGNON).
Such was the fate of the reduced county of Toulouse. At the division of
Languedoc in 1229 Louis IX. was given all the country from Carcassonne
to the Rhone. This royal Languedoc was at first subject to much trickery
on the part of northern speculators and government officials. In 1248
Louis IX. sent royal _enquêteurs_, much like Charlemagne's _missi
dominici_, to correct all abuses, especially to inquire concerning
peculation by royal agents. On the basis of their investigations the
king issued royal edicts in 1254 and 1259 which organized the
administration of the province. Two _sénéchaussées_ were created--one at
Nîmes, the other at Carcassonne--each with its lesser divisions of
_vigueries_ and _bailliages_. During the reign of Philip III. the
_enquêteurs_ were busily employed securing justice for the conquered,
preventing the seizure of lands, and in 1279 a supreme court of justice
was established at Toulouse. In 1302 Philip IV. convoked the estates of
Languedoc, but in the century which followed they were less an
instrument for self-government than one for securing money, thus aiding
the _enquêteurs_, who during the Hundred Years' War became mere revenue
hunters for the king. In 1355 the Black Prince led a savage plundering
raid across the country to Narbonne. After the battle of Poitiers,
Languedoc supported the count of Armagnac, but there was no enthusiasm
for a national cause. Under Charles V., Louis of Anjou, the king's
brother, was governor of Languedoc, and while an active opponent of the
English, he drained the country of money. But his extortions were
surpassed by those of another brother, the duc de Berry, after the death
of Charles V. In 1382 and 1383 the infuriated peasantry, abetted by some
nobles, rose in a rebellion--known as the Tuchins--which was put down
with frightful butchery, while still greater sums were demanded from the
impoverished country. In the anarchy which followed brigandage
increased. Redress did not come until 1420, when the dauphin, afterwards
Charles VII., came to Languedoc and reformed the administration. Then
the country he saved furnished him with the means for driving out the
English in the north. For the first time, in the climax of its miseries,
Languedoc was genuinely united to France. But Charles VII. was not able
to drive out the brigands, and it was not until after the English were
expelled in 1453 that Languedoc had even comparative peace. Charles VII.
united Comminges to the crown; Louis XI. Roussillon and Cerdagne, both
of which were ceded to Aragon by Charles VIII. as the price of its
neutrality during his expedition into Italy. From the reign of Louis XI.
until 1523 the governorship of Languedoc was held by the house cf
Bourbon. After the treason of the constable Bourbon it was held by the
Montmorency family with but slight interruption until 1632.
The Reformation found Languedoc orthodox. Persecution had succeeded. The
Inquisition had had no victims since 1340, and the cities which had been
centres of heresy were now strongly orthodox. Toulouse was one of the
most fanatically orthodox cities in Europe, and remained so in
Voltaire's day. But Calvinism gained ground rapidly in the other parts
of Languedoc, and by 1560 the majority of the population was Protestant.
It was, however, partly a political protest against the misrule of the
Guises. The open conflict came in 1561, and from that until the edict of
Nantes (1598) there was intermittent civil war, accompanied with
iconoclasm on the one hand, massacres on the other and ravages on both.
The main figure in this period is that of Henri de Montmorency, seigneur
de Damville, later duc de Montmorency, governor of the province from
1563, who was, at first, hostile to the Protestants, then from 1574 to
1577, as leader of the "_Politiques_," an advocate of compromise. But
peace was hardly ever established, although there was a yearly truce for
the ploughing. By the edict of Nantes, the Protestants were given ten
places of safety in Languedoc; but civil strife did not come to an end,
even under Henry IV. In 1620 the Protestants in Languedoc rose under
Henri, duc de Rohan (1579-1638), who for two years defied the power of
Louis XIII. When Louis took Montpellier in 1622, he attempted to
reconcile the Calvinists by bribes of money and office, and left
Montauban as a city of refuge. Richelieu's extinction of Huguenotism is
less the history of Languedoc than of the Huguenots (q.v.). By 1629
Protestantism was crushed in the Midi as a political force. Then
followed the tragic episode of the rebellion of Henri II., duc de
Montmorency, son of the old governor of Languedoc. As a result,
Languedoc lost its old provincial privilege of self-assessment until
1649, and was placed under the governorship of Marshal Schomberg. During
Louis XIV.'s reign Languedoc prospered until the revocation of the edict
of Nantes. Industries and agriculture were encouraged, roads and bridges
were built, and the great canal giving a water route from the Atlantic
to the Mediterranean increased the trade of its cities. Colbert
especially encouraged its manufactures. The religious persecutions which
accompanied the revocation of the edict of Nantes bore hardest on
Languedoc, and resulted in a guerilla warfare known as the rebellion of
the Camisards (q.v.). On the eve of the Revolution some of the
brightest scenes of contentment and prosperity which surprised Arthur
Young, the English traveller in France, were those of the grape harvests
in Languedoc vineyards.
In 1790 Languedoc disappeared from the map of France, with the other old
provinces; and the departments mentioned took its place. But the
peculiar characteristics of the men of the Midi remain as clearly
distinct from those of the north as the Scottish type is distinct from
the English. The "peaceful insurrection" of the Languedoc vine-growers
in the summer of 1907 revealed to the astonished Parisians the same
spirit of independence as had underlain the resistance to Simon de
Montfort and Richelieu.
The one monumental history of Languedoc is that of the Benedictines,
Dom Claude Devic and Dom J. J. Vaissete, _Histoire générale de la
province de Languedoc_ (5 vols., Paris, 1730-1745). This has been
re-edited, and continued and increased by the addition of important
monographs, to 15 volumes (Toulouse, 1872-1892). It is the great
library of sources, critical apparatus and bibliographies concerning
Languedoc, and carries the history up to 1790. The fine article
"Languedoc" in _La Grande Encyclopédie_ is by A. Molinier, perhaps the
greatest modern authority on Languedoc. (J. T. S.*)
LANGUET, HUBERT (1518-1581), French Huguenot writer and diplomat, was
born at Vitteaux in Burgundy, of which town his father was governor. He
received his early education from a distinguished Hellenist, Jean
Perelle, and displayed remarkable ability in Greek and Latin. He studied
law, theology and science at the university of Poitiers from 1536 to
1539; then, after some travel, attended the universities of Bologna and
Padua, receiving the doctorate from the latter in 1548. At Bologna he
read Melanchthon's _Loci communes theologiae_ and was so impressed by it
that in 1549 he went to Wittenberg to see the author, and shortly
afterwards became a Protestant. He made his headquarters at Wittenberg
until the death of Melanchthon in 1560, although during that period, as
well as throughout the rest of his life, he travelled extensively in
France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, and even Finland and Lapland. In
1557 he declined the invitation of Gustavus I. to enter the service of
Sweden, but two years later accepted a similar invitation of Augustus
I., elector of Saxony. He showed great ability in diplomacy,
particularly in organizing the Protestants. He represented the elector
at the French court from 1561 to 1572 except when the religious and
political troubles in France occasionally compelled him temporarily to
withdraw. He performed many minor diplomatic missions for the elector,
and in 1567 accompanied him to the siege of Gotha. He delivered a
violent harangue before Charles IX. of France in 1570 on behalf of the
Protestant princes, and escaped death on St Bartholomew's Day (1572)
only through the intervention of Jean de Morvilliers, the moderate and
influential bishop of Orleans. He represented the elector of Saxony at
the imperial court from 1573 to 1577. Financial embarrassment and
disgust at the Protestant controversies in which he was forced to
participate caused him to seek recall from the imperial court. His
request being granted, Languet spent the last years of his life mainly
in the Low Countries, and though nominally still in the service of the
elector, he undertook a mission to England for John Casimir of Bavaria
and was a valuable adviser to William the Silent, prince of Orange.
Languet died at Antwerp on the 30th of September 1581.
His correspondence is important for the history of the 16th century.
Three hundred and twenty-nine letters to Augustus of Saxony dating
from the 17th of November 1565 to the 8th of September 1581, and one
hundred and eleven letters to the chancellor Mordeisen dating from
November 1559 to the summer of 1565, are preserved in MS. in the Saxon
archives, and were published by Ludovicus at Halle in 1699 under the
title _Arcana seculi decimi sexti_. One hundred and eight letters to
Camerarius were published at Groningen in 1646 under the title
_Langueti Epistolae ad Joach. Camerarium, patrem et filium_; and
ninety-six to his great friend Sir Philip Sidney, dating from the 22nd
of April 1573 to the 28th of October 1580, appeared at Frankfort in
1633 and have been translated into English by S. A. Pears (London,
1845). The _Historica Descriptio_ of the siege and capture of Gotha
appeared in 1568 and has been translated into French and German. The
authorship of the work by which Languet is best known has been
disputed. It is entitled _Vindiciae contra tyrannos, sive de principis
in populum populique in principem legitima potestate, Stephano Junio
Bruto Celta auctore_, and is thought to have been published at Basel
(1579) although it bears the imprint of Edinburgh. It has been
attributed to Beza, Hotman, Casaubon and Duplessis-Mornay, by divers
writers on various grounds--to the last-named on the very respectable
authority of Grotius. The authorship of Languet was supported by Peter
Bayle (for reasons stated in the form of a supplement to the
_Dictionnaire_) and confirmed by practically all later writers. The
work has been frequently reprinted, the Leipzig edition (1846)
containing a life of Languet by Treitschke. A French translation
appeared in 1581 and an English translation in 1689. The work upholds
the doctrine of resistance, but affirms that resistance must come from
properly constituted authorities and objects to anything which savours
of anabaptism or other extreme views. The _Apologie ou défence du très
illustre Prince Guillaume contre le ban et l'édit du roi d'Espagne_
(Leiden, 1581) is sometimes attributed to Languet. There seems little
doubt, however, that it was really the work of the prince himself,
with the help either of Languet (Groen van Prinsterer, _Archives_) or
of Pierre de Villiers (Motley, _Rise of the Dutch Republic_; and Blok,
_History of the People of the Netherlands_).
See Ph. de la Mare, _Vie d'Hubert Languet_ (Halle, 1700); E. and E.
Haag, _La France protestante_; H. Chevreul, _Hubert Languet_ (Paris,
1852); J. Blasel, _Hubert Languet_ (Breslau, 1872); O. Scholz, _Hubert
Languet als kursächsischer Berichterstatter u. Gesandter in Frankreich
während 1560-1572_ (Halle, 1875); G. Touchard, _De politica Huberti
Langueti_ (Paris, 1898). There is a good article on Languet by P.
Tschackert in Hauck's _Real-Encyklopädie_, 3rd ed., xi. 274-280.
LANGUR, one of the two Hindu names (the other being _hanuman_) of the
sacred Indian monkey scientifically known as _Semnopithecus entellus_,
and hence sometimes called the entellus monkey. A prodigiously long
tail, beetling eyebrows with long black hairs, black ears, face, feet
and hands, and a general greyish-brown colour of the fur are the
distinctive characteristics of the langur. These monkeys roam at will in
the bazaars of Hindu cities, where they help themselves freely from the
stores of the grain-dealers, and they are kept in numbers at the great
temple in Benares. In a zoological sense the term is extended to embrace
all the monkeys of the Asiatic genus _Semnopithecus_, which includes a
large number of species, ranging from Ceylon, India and Kashmir to
southern China and the Malay countries as far east as Borneo and
Sumatra. These monkeys are characterized by their lank bodies, long
slender limbs and tail, well-developed thumbs, absence of cheek-pouches,
and complex stomachs. They feed on leaves and young shoots. (R. L.*)
LANG VON WELLENBURG, MATTHÄUS (1469-1540), German statesman and
ecclesiastic, was the son of a burgher of Augsburg. He afterwards
assumed the name of Wellenburg from a castle that came into his
possession. After studying at Ingolstadt, Vienna and Tübingen he entered
the service of the emperor Frederick III. and quickly made his way to
the front. He was also one of the most trusted advisers of Frederick's
son and successor Maximilian I., and his services were rewarded in 1500
with the provostship of the cathedral at Augsburg and in the following
year with the bishopric of Gurk. In 1511 he was made a cardinal by Pope
Julius II., and in 1514 he became coadjutor to the archbishop of
Salzburg, whom he succeeded in 1519. He also received the bishopric of
Cartagena in Murcia in 1521, and that of Albano in 1535. Lang's
adherence to the older faith, together with his pride and arrogance,
made him very unpopular in his diocese of Salzburg; in 1523 he was
involved in a serious struggle with his subjects, and in 1525, during
the Peasants' War, he had again to fight hard to hold his own. He was
one of the chief ministers of Charles V.; he played an important part in
the tangled international negotiations of his time; and he was always
loyal to his imperial masters. Not without reason has he been compared
with Cardinal Wolsey. He died on the 30th of March 1540.
LANIER, SIDNEY (1842-1881), American poet, was born at Macon, Georgia,
on the 3rd of February 1842. He was of Huguenot descent on his father's
side, and of Scottish and Virginian on his mother's. From childhood he
was passionately fond of music. His subsequent mastery of the flute
helped to support him and greatly increased his reputation. At the age
of fourteen he entered Oglethorpe College, where, after graduating with
distinction, he held a tutorship. He enlisted in the Confederate army in
April 1861, serving first in Virginia, and finding opportunities to
continue his studies. After the Seven Days' battles around Richmond, he
was transferred to the signal service. About this time the first
symptoms of consumption appeared. He subsequently served in a
blockade-runner, but his vessel was captured, and he was confined for
five months in a Federal prison, his flute proving the best of
companions. Exchanged early in 1865, he started home on foot, arriving
in a state of exhaustion that led to a severe illness. In 1867 he
visited New York in connexion with his novel _Tiger Lilies_--an immature
work, dealing in part with his war experiences, and now difficult to
obtain. Later in the same year he took charge of a country school in
Alabama, and was married to Miss Mary Day of his native town. The next
year he returned to Macon in low health, and began to study and practise
law with his father. In 1872 he went to Texas for his health, but was
forced to return, and he secured an engagement as first flute in the
Peabody concerts at Baltimore (December 1873). He wrote a guide-book to
Florida (1876), and tales for boys from Froissart, Malory, the
Mabinogion and Percy's _Reliques_ (1878-1882). He now made congenial
friends, such as Bayard Taylor, his reputation gradually increased, and
he was enabled to study music and literature, especially Anglo-Saxon
poetry. In 1876 he wrote his ambitious cantata for the Centennial
Exhibition, and brought his family north. A small volume of verse
appeared in the next year. In 1879 he was made lecturer on English
literature at Johns Hopkins University. His lectures became the basis of
his _Science of English Verse_ (1880)--his most important prose work,
and an admirable discussion of the relations of music and poetry--and
also of his _English Novel_ (New York, 1883), which, devoted largely to
George Eliot, is suggestive, but one-sided. Work had to be abandoned on
account of growing feebleness, and in the spring of 1881 he was carried
to Lynn, North Carolina, to try camp life, and died there on the 7th of
September. Since his death his fame has grown steadily and greatly, an
enlarged and final edition (1884) of his poems, prepared by his wife,
his _Letters, 1866-1881_ (1899), and several volumes of miscellaneous
prose having assisted in keeping his name before the public. A
posthumous work on _Shakspere and his Forerunners_ (London, 2 vols.,
1902) was edited by H. W. Lanier. Among his more noteworthy poems are
"Corn," "The Revenge of Hamish," "Song of the Chattahoochee" and "The
Marshes of Glynn." By some his genius is regarded as musical rather than
poetic, and his style is considered hectic; by others he is held to be
one of the most original and most talented of modern American poets. He
is considered the leading writer of the New South, the greatest Southern
poet since Poe, and a man of heroic and exquisite character.
See a "Memorial," by William Hayes Ward, prefixed to the _Poems_
(1884); _Letters of Sidney Lanier 1866-1881_ (1899), edited by H. W.
Lanier and Mrs Sidney Lanier; E. Mims, _Sidney Lanier_ (1905). There
is a bibliography of Lanier's scattered writings in _Select Poems_
(New York, 1896; Toronto, 1900) edited by Morgan Callaway.
(W. P. T.)
LANJUINAIS, JEAN DENIS, COMTE (1753-1827), French politician, was born
at Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) on the 12th of March 1753. After a brilliant
college career, which made him doctor of laws and a qualified barrister
at nineteen, he was appointed counsel to the Breton estates and in 1775
professor of ecclesiastical law at Rennes. At this period he wrote two
important works which, owing to the distracted state of public affairs,
remained unpublished, _Institutiones juris ecclesiastici_ and
_Praelectiones juris ecclesiastici_. He had begun his career at the bar
by pleading against the feudal _droit du colombier_, and when he was
sent by his fellow-citizens to the states-general of 1789 he demanded
the abolition of nobility and the substitution of the title of king of
the French and the Navarrese for king of France and Navarre, and helped
to establish the civil constitution of the clergy. Returned to the
Convention in September 1792 he developed moderate, even reactionary
views, becoming one of the fiercest opponents of the Mountain, though he
never wavered in his support of republican principles. He refused to
vote for the death of Louis XVI., alleging that the nation had no right
to despatch a vanquished prisoner. His daily attacks on the Mountain
resulted, on the 15th of April 1793, in a demand by the commune for his
exclusion from the assembly, but, undaunted, when the Parisian populace
invaded the Chamber on the 2nd of June, Lanjuinais renewed his defiance
of the victorious party. Placed under arrest with the Girondins, he
escaped to Rennes where he drew up a pamphlet denouncing the
constitution of 1793 under the curious title _Le Dernier Crime de
Lanjuinais_ (Rennes, 1793). Pursued by J. B. Carrier, who was sent to
stamp out resistance in the west, he lay hidden until some time after
the revolution of Thermidor (July 1794), but he was readmitted to the
Convention on the 8th of March 1795. He maintained his liberal and
independent attitude in the Conseil des Anciens, the Senate and the
Chamber of Peers, being president of the upper house during the Hundred
Days. Together with G. J. B. Target, J. E. M. Portalis and others he
founded under the empire an academy of legislation in Paris, himself
lecturing on Roman law. Closely associated with oriental scholars, and a
keen student of oriental religions, he entered the Academy of
Inscriptions in 1808. After the Bourbon restoration Lanjuinais
consistently defended the principles of constitutional monarchy, but
most of his time was given to religious and political subjects. Besides
many contributions to periodical literature he wrote, among other works,
_Constitutions de la nation française_ (1819); _Appréciation du projet
de loi relatif aux trois concordats_ (1806, 6th ed. 1827), in defence of
Gallicanism; and _Études biographiques et littéraires sur Antoine
Arnauld, P. Nicole et Jacques Necker_ (1823). He died in Paris on the
13th of January 1827.
His son, VICTOR AMBROISE, VICOMTE DE LANJUINAIS (1802-1869), was also a
politician, becoming a deputy in 1838. His interests lay chiefly in
financial questions and in 1849 he became minister of commerce and
agriculture in the cabinet of Odilon Barrot. He wrote a _Notice
historique sur la vie et les ouvrages du comte de Lanjuinais_, which was
prefixed to an edition of his father's _Oeuvres_ (4 vols., 1832).
For the life of the comte de Lanjuinais see also A. Robert and G.
Cougny, _Dictionnaire des parlementaires_, vol. ii. (1890); and F. A.
Aulard, _Les Orateurs de la Législative et de la Convention_ (Paris,
1885-1886). For a bibliography of his works see J. M. Quérard, _La
France littéraire_, vol. iii. (1829).
LANMAN, CHARLES ROCKWELL (1850- ), American Sanskrit scholar, was born
in Norwich, Connecticut, on the 8th of July 1850. He graduated at Yale
in 1871, was a graduate student there (1871-1873) under James Hadley and
W. D. Whitney, and in Germany (1873-1876) studied Sanskrit under Weber
and Roth and philology under Georg Curtius and Leskien. He was professor
of Sanskrit at Johns Hopkins University in 1876-1880 and subsequently at
Harvard University. In 1889 he travelled in India and bought for Harvard
University Sanskrit and Prakrit books and manuscripts, which, with those
subsequently bequeathed to the university by Fitzedward Hall, make the
most valuable collection of its kind in America, and made possible the
_Harvard Oriental Series_, edited by Professor Lanman. In 1879-1884 he
was secretary and editor of the _Transactions_, and in 1889-1890
president of the American Philological Association, and in 1884-1894 he
was corresponding secretary of the American Oriental Society, in
1897-1907 vice-president, and in 1907-1908 president. In the _Harvard
Oriental Series_ he translated (vol. iv.) into English Rajaçekhara's
Karpura-Mañjari (1900), a Prakrit drama, and (vols. vii. and viii.)
revised and edited Whitney's translation of, and notes on, the
_Atharva-Veda Samhita_ (2 vols., 1905); he published _A Sanskrit Reader,
with Vocabulary and Notes_ (2 vols., 1884-1888); and he wrote on early
Hindu pantheism and contributed the section on Brahmanism to _Messages
of the World's Religions_.
LANNES, JEAN, duke of Montebello (1769-1809), marshal of France, was
born at Lectoure (Gers) on the 11th of April 1769. He was the son of a
livery stables keeper, and was apprenticed to a dyer. He had had little
education, but his great strength and proficiency in all manly sports
caused him in 1792 to be elected sergeant-major of the battalion of
volunteers of Gers, which he had joined on the breaking out of war
between Spain and the French republic. He served through the campaigns
in the Pyrenees in 1793 and 1794, and rose by distinguished conduct to
the rank of _chef de brigade_. However, in 1795, on the reform of the
army introduced by the Thermidorians, he was dismissed from his rank. He
re-enlisted as a simple volunteer in the army of Italy, and in the
famous campaign of 1796 he again fought his way up to high rank, being
eventually made a general of brigade by Bonaparte. He was distinguished
in every battle, and was wounded at Arcola. He was chosen by Bonaparte
to accompany him to Egypt as commander of one of Kléber's brigades, in
which capacity he greatly distinguished himself, especially on the
retreat from Syria. He went with Bonaparte to France, assisted at the
18th Brumaire, and was appointed general of division, and commandant of
the consular guard. He commanded the advanced guard in the crossing of
the Alps in 1800, was instrumental in winning the battle of Montebello,
from which he afterwards took his title, and bore the brunt of the
battle of Marengo. In 1801 Napoleon sent him as ambassador to Portugal.
Opinions differ as to his merits in this capacity; Napoleon never made
such use of him again. On the establishment of the empire he was created
a marshal of France, and commanded once more the advanced guard of a
great French army in the campaign of Austerlitz. At Austerlitz he had
the left of the Grand Army. In the 1806-07 campaign he was at his best,
commanding his corps with the greatest credit in the march through the
Thuringian Forest, the action of Saalfeld (which is studied as a model
to-day at the French Staff College) and the battle of Jena. His
leadership of the advanced guard at Friedland was even more conspicuous.
He was now to be tried as a commander-in-chief, for Napoleon took him to
Spain in 1808, and gave him a detached wing of the army, with which he
won a victory over Castaños at Tudela on November 22. In January 1809 he
was sent to attempt the capture of Saragossa, and by February 21, after
one of the most stubborn defences in history, was in possession of the
place. Napoleon then created him duc de Montebello, and in 1809, for the
last time, gave him command of the advanced guard. He took part in the
engagements around Eckmühl and the advance on Vienna. With his corps he
led the French army across the Danube, and bore the brunt, with Masséna,
of the terrible battle of Aspern-Essling (q.v.). On the 22nd of May he
had to retreat. During the retreat Lannes exposed himself as usual to
the hottest fire, and received a mortal wound, to which he succumbed at
Vienna on the 31st of May. As he was being carried from the field to
Vienna he met the emperor hurrying to the front. It was reported that
the dying man reproached Napoleon for his ambition, but this rests on
little evidence save the fact that Lannes was the most blunt and
outspoken of all Napoleon's marshals. He was one of the few men for whom
the emperor felt a real and deep affection, and at this their last
meeting Napoleon gave way to a passionate burst of grief, even in the
midst of the battle. His eldest son was made a peer of France by Louis
XVIII.
Lannes ranks with Davout and Masséna as the ablest of all Napoleon's
marshals, and consciously or unconsciously was the best exponent of
the emperor's method of making war. Hence his constant employment in
tasks requiring the utmost resolution and daring, and more especially
when the emperor's combinations depended upon the vigour and
self-sacrifice of a detachment or fraction of the army. It was thus
with Lannes at Friedland and at Aspern as it was with Davout at
Austerlitz and Auerstädt, and Napoleon's estimate of his subordinates'
capacities can almost exactly be judged by the frequency with which he
used them to prepare the way for his own shattering blow. Routine
generals with the usual military virtue, or careful and exact troop
leaders like Soult and Macdonald, Napoleon kept under his own hand for
the final assault which he himself launched, but the long hours of
preparatory fighting against odds of two to one, which alone made the
final blow possible, he entrusted only to men of extraordinary courage
and high capacity for command. In his own words, he found Lannes a
pigmy, and lost him a giant. Lannes's place in his affections was
never filled.
See R. Périn, _Vie militaire de Jean Lannes_ (Paris, 1809).
LANNION, a town of north-western France, capital of an arrondissement in
the department of Côtes-du-Nord, on the right bank of the Léguer, 45 m.
W.N.W. of St Brieuc by rail. Pop. (1906) 5336. Lannion is 5 m. in direct
line from the mouth of the Léguer; its port does a small trade (exports
of agricultural produce, imports of wine, salt, timber, &c.), and there
is an active fishing industry. The town contains many houses of the
15th and 16th centuries and other old buildings, the chief of which is
the church of St Jean-du-Baly (16th and 17th centuries). On an eminence
close to Lannion is the church of Brélevenez of the 12th century,
restored in the 15th or 16th century; it has an interesting 16th-century
Holy Sepulchre.
Some 6 m. S.E. of the town are the imposing ruins of the château of
Tonquédec (_c._ 1400) styled the "Pierrefonds of Brittany," and there
are other buildings of antiquarian interest in the vicinity. The coast
north of Lannion at Trégastel and Ploumanac presents curious rock
formations.
Lannion is the seat of a subprefect and has a tribunal of first instance
and a communal college. Its industries include saw-milling, tanning and
the manufacture of farm implements. The town was taken in 1346 by the
English; it was defended against them by Geoffroy de Pontblanc whose
valour is commemorated by a cross close to the spot where he was slain.
LANNOY, GUILLEBERT DE (1386-1462), Flemish diplomatist, was chamberlain
to the duke of Burgundy, governor of the fort of Sluys, and a knight of
the Golden Fleece. He discharged several diplomatic missions in France,
England, Prussia, Poland and Lithuania, and was one of the negotiators
of the treaty of Troyes (1420). In 1421 he was sent by Henry V. of
England to Palestine to inquire into the possibility of reviving the
kingdom of Jerusalem, and wrote an account of his travels, _Les
Pèlerinages de Surye et de Egipte_, which was published in 1826 and
again in 1842.
LANOLIN (Lat. _lana_, wool, and _oleum_, oil), the commercial name of
the preparation styled _adeps lanae hydrosus_ in the British
Pharmacopoeia, and which consists of 7 oz. of neutral wool-fat (_adeps
lanae_) mixed with 3 fluid oz. of water. The wool-fat is obtained by
purification of the "brown grease," "recovered grease" or dégras
extracted from raw sheep's wool in the process of preparing it for the
spinner. It is a translucent unctuous substance which has the property
of taking up large quantities of water and forming emulsions which are
very slow to separate into their constituents. Owing to the ease with
which it penetrates the skin, wool-fat both in the anhydrous form and as
lanolin, sometimes mixed with such substances as vaseline or fatty oils,
is largely employed as a basis for ointments. It is slightly antiseptic
and does not become rancid.
LA NOUE, FRANÇOIS DE (1531-1591), called Bras-de-Fer, one of the
Huguenot captains of the 16th century, was born near Nantes in 1531, of
an ancient Breton family. He served in Italy under Marshal Brissac, and
in the first Huguenot war, but his first great exploit was the capture
of Orleans at the head of only fifteen cavaliers in 1567, during the
second war. At the battle of Jarnac in March 1569 he commanded the
rearguard, and at Moncontour in the following October he was taken
prisoner; but he was exchanged in time to resume the governorship of
Poitou, and to inflict a signal defeat on the royalist troops before
Rochefort. At the siege of Fontenay (1570) his left arm was shattered by
a bullet; but a mechanic of Rochelle made him an iron arm (hence his
sobriquet) with a hook for holding his reins. When peace was made in
France in the same year, La Noue carried his sword against the Spaniards
in the Netherlands, but was taken at the recapture of Mons by the
Spanish in 1572. Permitted to return to France, he was commissioned by
Charles IX., after the massacre of St Bartholomew, to reconcile the
inhabitants of La Rochelle, the great stronghold of the Huguenots, to
the king. But the Rochellois were too much alarmed to come to terms; and
La Noue, perceiving that war was imminent, and knowing that his post was
on the Huguenot side, gave up his royal commission, and from 1574 till
1578 acted as general of La Rochelle. When peace was again concluded La
Noue once more went to aid the Protestants of the Low Countries. He took
several towns and captured Count Egmont in 1580; but a few weeks
afterwards he fell into the hands of the Spaniards. Thrust into a
loathsome prison at Limburg, La Noue, the admiration of all, of whatever
faith, for his gallantry, honour and purity of character, was kept
confined for five years by a powerful nation, whose reluctance to set
him free is one of the sincerest tributes to his reputation. It was in
captivity that he wrote his celebrated _Discours politiques et
militaires_, a work which was published at Basel in 1587 [republished at
La Rochelle 1590, Frankfurt on Main (in German) 1592 and 1612; and
London (in English) 1597] and had an immense influence on the soldiers
of all nations. The abiding value of La Noue's "Discourses" lies in the
fact that he wrote of war as a human drama, before it had been
elaborated and codified. At length, in June 1585, La Noue was exchanged
for Egmont and other prisoners of consideration, while a heavy ransom
and a pledge not to bear arms against his Catholic majesty were also
exacted from him. Till 1589 La Noue took no part in public matters, but
in that year he joined Henry of Navarre against the Leaguers. He was
present at both sieges of Paris, at Ivry and other battles. At the siege
of Lamballe in Brittany he received a wound of which he died at
Moncontour on the 4th of August 1591.
He wrote, besides the Discourses, _Déclaration pour prise d'armes et
la défense de Sedan et Jamets_ (1588); _Observations sur l'histoire de
Guicciardini_ (2 vols., 1592); and notes on _Plutarch's Lives_. His
_Correspondance_ was published in 1854. See _La Vie de François,
seigneur de La Noue_, by Moyse Amirault (Leiden, 1661); Brantôme's
_Vies des Capitaines français_; C. Vincens' _Les Héros de la Réforme.
Fr. de La Noue_ (1875); and Hauser, _François de La Noue_ (Paris,
1892).
LANSDOWNE, WILLIAM PETTY FITZMAURICE, 1ST MARQUESS OF (1737-1805),
British statesman, better known under his earlier title of earl of
Shelburne, was born at Dublin on the 20th of May 1737. He was a
descendant of the lords of Kerry (dating from 1181), and his grandfather
Thomas Fitzmaurice, who was created earl of Kerry (1723), married the
daughter of Sir William Petty (q.v.). On the death without issue of
Sir William Petty's sons, the first earls of Shelburne, the estates
passed to his nephew John Fitzmaurice (advanced in 1753 to the earldom
of Shelburne), who in 1751 took the additional name of Petty. His son
William spent his childhood "in the remotest parts of the south of
Ireland," and, according to his own account, when he entered Christ
Church, Oxford, in 1755, he had both "everything to learn and everything
to unlearn." From a tutor whom he describes as "narrow-minded" he
received advantageous guidance in his studies, but he attributes his
improvement in manners and in knowledge of the world chiefly to the fact
that, as was his "fate through life," he fell in "with clever but
unpopular connexions." Shortly after leaving the university he served in
Wolfe's regiment during the Seven Years' War, and so distinguished
himself at Minden and Kloster-Kampen that he was raised to the rank of
colonel and appointed aide-de-camp to the king (1760). Being thus
brought into near communication with Lord Bute, he was in 1761 employed
by that nobleman to negotiate for the support of Henry Fox, Lord
Holland. He was returned to the House of Commons as member for Wycombe,
but in 1761 he succeeded his father as earl of Shelburne in the Irish
peerage, and Baron Wycombe in the peerage of Great Britain (created
1760). Though he declined to take office under Bute he undertook
negotiations to induce C. J. Fox to gain the consent of the Commons to
the peace of 1763. Fox affirmed that he had been duped, and, although
Shelburne always asserted that he had acted in thorough good faith, Bute
spoke of the affair as a "pious fraud." Shelburne joined the Grenville
ministry in 1763 as president of the Board of Trade, but, failing in his
efforts to replace Pitt in the cabinet, he in a few months resigned
office. Having moreover on account of his support of Pitt on the
question of Wilkes's expulsion from the House of Commons incurred the
displeasure of the king, he retired for a time to his estate. After
Pitt's return to power in 1766 he became secretary of state, but during
Pitt's illness his conciliatory policy towards America was completely
thwarted by his colleagues and the king, and in 1768 he was dismissed
from office. In 1782 he consented to take office under the marquess of
Rockingham on condition that the king would recognize the United States.
On the death of Lord Rockingham in the same year he became premier; but
the secession of Fox and his supporters led to the famous coalition of
Fox with North, which caused his resignation in the following February,
his fall being perhaps hastened by his plans for the reform of the
public service. He had also in contemplation a bill to promote free
commercial intercourse between England and the United States. When Pitt
acceded to office in 1784, Shelburne, instead of receiving a place in
the cabinet, was created marquess of Lansdowne. Though giving a general
support to the policy of Pitt, he from this time ceased to take an
active part in public affairs. He died on the 7th of May 1805. During
his lifetime he was blamed for insincerity and duplicity, and he
incurred the deepest unpopularity, but the accusations came chiefly from
those who were dissatisfied with his preference of principles to party,
and if he had had a more unscrupulous regard to his personal ambition,
his career as a statesman would have had more outward success. He was
cynical in his estimates of character, but no statesman of his time
possessed more enlightened political views, while his friendship with
those of his contemporaries eminent in science and literature must be
allowed considerable weight in qualifying our estimate of the moral
defects with which he has been credited. He was twice married, first to
Lady Sophia (1745-1771), daughter of John Carteret, Earl Granville,
through whom he obtained the Lansdowne estates near Bath, and secondly
to Lady Louisa (1755-1789), daughter of John Fitzpatrick, 1st earl of
Upper Ossory. John Henry Petty Fitzmaurice (1765-1809), his son by the
first marriage, succeeded as 2nd marquess, after having sat in the House
of Commons for twenty years as member for Chipping Wycombe.
HENRY PETTY FITZMAURICE, 3rd marquess of Lansdowne (1780-1863), son of
the 1st marquess by his second marriage, was born on the 2nd of July
1780 and educated at Edinburgh University and at Trinity College,
Cambridge. He entered the House of Commons in 1802 as member for the
family borough of Calne and quickly showed his mettle as a politician.
In February 1806, as Lord Henry Petty, he became chancellor of the
exchequer in the ministry of "All the Talents," being at this time
member for the university of Cambridge; but he lost both his seat and
his office in 1807. In 1809 he became marquess of Lansdowne; and in the
House of Lords and in society he continued to play an active part as one
of the Whig leaders. His chief interest was perhaps in the question of
Roman Catholic emancipation, a cause which he consistently championed,
but he sympathized also with the advocates of the abolition of the
slave-trade and with the cause of popular education. Lansdowne, who had
succeeded his cousin, Francis Thomas Fitzmaurice, as 4th earl of Kerry
in 1818, took office with Canning in May 1827 and was secretary for home
affairs from July of that year until January 1828; he was lord president
of the council under Earl Grey and then under Lord Melbourne from
November 1830 to August 1841, with the exception of the few months in
1835 when Sir Robert Peel was prime minister. He held the same office
during the whole of Lord John Russell's ministry (1846-1852), and,
having declined to become prime minister, sat in the cabinets of Lord
Aberdeen and of Lord Palmerston, but without office. In 1857 he refused
the offer of a dukedom, and he died on the 31st of January 1863.
Lansdowne's social influence and political moderation made him one of
the most powerful Whig statesmen of the time; he was frequently
consulted by Queen Victoria on matters of moment, and his long official
experience made his counsel invaluable to his party. He married Louisa
(1785-1851), daughter of the 2nd earl of Ilchester, and was succeeded by
his son Henry, the 4th marquess (1816-1866). The latter, who was member
of parliament for Calne for twenty years and chairman of the Great
Western railway, married for his second wife Emily (1819-1895), daughter
of the comte de Flahaut de la Billarderie, a lady who became Baroness
Nairne in her own right in 1867. By her he had two sons, the 5th
marquess and Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice (Baron Fitzmaurice of Leigh).
HENRY CHARLES KEITH PETTY FITZMAURICE, 5th marquess of Lansdowne (b.
1845), was educated at Balliol, Oxford, where he became one of Jowett's
favourite pupils. In 1869 he married the daughter of the 1st duke of
Abercorn. As a member of the Liberal party he was a lord of the treasury
(1869-1872), under-secretary of war (1872-1874), and under-secretary of
India (1880); in 1883 he was appointed governor-general of Canada, and
from 1888 to 1893 he was viceroy of India. He joined the Liberal
Unionist party when Mr Gladstone proposed home rule for Ireland, and on
returning to England became one of its most influential leaders. He was
secretary of state for war from 1895 to 1900, and foreign secretary from
1900 to 1906, becoming leader of the Unionist party in the House of
Lords on Lord Salisbury's death.
His brother EDMOND GEORGE FITZMAURICE, Baron Fitzmaurice (b. 1846), was
educated at Trinity, Cambridge, where he took a first class in classics.
Unlike Lord Lansdowne, he remained a Liberal in politics and followed Mr
Gladstone in his home rule policy. As Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice he entered
the House of Commons in 1868, and was under-secretary for foreign
affairs from 1882 to 1885. He then had no seat in parliament till 1898,
when he was elected for the Cricklade division of Wilts, and retiring in
1905, he was created Baron Fitzmaurice of Leigh in 1906, and made
under-secretary for foreign affairs in Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's
ministry. In 1908 he became chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster and a
member of the Liberal cabinet, but resigned his post in 1909. He devoted
much time to literary work, and was the author of excellent biographies
of the 1st marquess, of Sir William Petty (1895), and of Lord Granville
(1905), under whom he had served at the foreign office.
For the 1st marquess, see Lord Fitzmaurice, _Life of William, Earl of
Shelburne_ (3 vols., London, 1875-1876).
LANSDOWNE, a hill cantonment in India, in Garhwal district of the United
Provinces, about 6000 ft. above the sea, 19 m. by cart road from the
station of Kotdwara on the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway. Pop. (1901)
3943. The cantonment, founded in 1887, extends for more than 3 m.
through pine and oak forests, and can accommodate three Gurkha
battalions.
LANSING, the capital of Michigan, U.S.A., in Ingham county, at the
confluence of the Grand and Cedar rivers, about 85 m. W.N.W. of Detroit
and about 64 m. E.S.E. of Grand Rapids. Pop. (1900) 16,485, of whom 2397
were foreign-born; (1910 census) 31,229. It is served by the Michigan
Central, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, the Grand Trunk and the
Père Marquette railways, and by interurban electric lines. The Grand
river on its way through the city makes a horse-shoe bend round a
moderately elevated plateau; this is the commercial centre of the city,
and here, in a square covering 10 acres, is the State Capitol, erected
in 1873-1878 and containing the State library. On the opposite side of
the river, farther N., and also extending across the southern portion of
the city, are districts devoted largely to manufacturing. Lansing has a
public library and a city hospital. About 3 m. E. of the city, at East
Lansing, is the State Agricultural College (coeducational), the oldest
agricultural college in the United States, which was provided for by the
state constitution of 1850, was organized in 1855 and opened in 1857.
Its engineering course was begun in 1885; a course in home economics for
women was established in 1896; and a forestry course was opened in 1902.
In connexion with the college there is an agricultural experiment
station. Lansing is the seat of the Michigan School for the Blind, and
of the State Industrial School for Boys, formerly the Reform School. The
city has abundant water-power and is an important manufacturing centre.
The value of the factory products increased from $2,942,306 in 1900 to
$6,887,415 in 1904, or 134.1%. The municipality owns and operates the
water-works and the electric-lighting plant. The place was selected as
the site for the capital in 1847, when it was still covered with
forests, and growth was slow until 1862, when the railways began to
reach it. Lansing was chartered as a city in 1859 and rechartered in
1893.
LANSING MAN, the term applied by American ethnologists to certain human
remains discovered in 1902 during the digging of a cellar near Lansing,
Kansas, and by some authorities believed to represent a prehistoric
type of man. They include a skull and several large adult bones and a
child's jaw. They were found beneath 20 ft. of undisturbed silt, in a
position indicating intentional burial. The skull is preserved in the U.
S. National Museum at Washington. It is similar in shape to those of
historic Indians of the region. Its ethnological value as indicating the
existence of man on the Missouri in the glacial period is very doubtful,
it being impossible accurately to determine the age of the deposits.
See _Handbook of American Indians_ (Washington, 1907).
LANSQUENET, the French corrupted form of the German _Landsknecht_
(q.v.), a mercenary foot-soldier of the 16th century. It is also the
name of a card game said to have been introduced into France by the
_Landsknechte_. The pack of 52 cards is cut by the player at the
dealer's right. The dealer lays the two first cards face upwards on the
table to his left; the third he places in front of him and the fourth,
or _réjouissance_ card, in the middle of the table. The players, usually
called (except in the case of the dealer) _punters_, stake any sum
within the agreed limit upon this réjouissance card; the dealer, who is
also the banker, covers the bets and then turns up the next card. If
this fails to match any of the cards already exposed, it is laid beside
the réjouissance card and then punters may stake upon it. Other cards
not matching are treated in the same manner. When a card is turned which
matches the réjouissance card, the banker wins everything staked on it,
and in like manner he wins what is staked on any card (save his own)
that is matched by the card turned. The banker pays all stakes, and the
deal is over as soon as a card appears that matches his own; excepting
that should the two cards originally placed at his left both be matched
before his own, he is then entitled to a second deal. In France matching
means winning, not losing, as in Great Britain. There are other
variations of play on the continent of Europe.
LANTARA, SIMON MATHURIN (1729-1778), French landscape painter, was born
at Oncy on the 24th of March 1729. His father was a weaver, and he
himself began life as a herdboy; but, having attracted the notice of
Gille de Reumont, a son of his master, he was placed under a painter at
Versailles. Endowed with great facility and real talent, his powers
found ready recognition; but he found the constraint of a regular life
and the society of educated people unbearably tiresome; and as long as
the proceeds of the last sale lasted he lived careless of the future in
the company of obscure workmen. Rich amateurs more than once attracted
him to their houses, only to find that in ease and high living Lantara
could produce nothing. He died in Paris on the 22nd of December 1778.
His works, now much prized, are not numerous; the Louvre has one
landscape, "Morning," signed and dated 1761. Bernard, Joseph Vernet, and
others are said to have added figures to his landscapes and sea-pieces.
Engravings after Lantara will be found in the works of Lebas, Piquenot,
Duret, Mouchy and others. In 1809 a comedy called _Lantara, or the
Painter in the Pothouse_, was brought out at the Vaudeville with great
success.
See E. Bellier de la Chavignerie, _Recherches sur le peintre Lantara_
(Paris, 1852).
LANTERN (an adaptation of the Fr. _lanterne_ from Lat. _lanterna_ or
_laterna_, supposed to be from Gr. [Greek: lamptêr], a torch or lamp,
[Greek: lampein], to shine, cf. "lamp"; the 16th- and 17th-century form
"lanthorn" is due to a mistaken derivation from "horn," as a material
frequently used in the making of lanterns), a metal case filled in with
some transparent material, and used for holding a light and protecting
it from rain or wind. The appliance is of two kinds--the hanging lantern
and the hand lantern--both of which are ancient. At Pompeii and
Herculaneum have been discovered two cylindrical bronze lanterns, with
ornamented pillars, to which chains are attached for carrying or hanging
the lantern. Plates of horn surrounded the bronze lamp within, and the
cover at the top can be removed for lighting and for the escape of
smoke. The hanging lantern for lighting rooms was composed of ornamental
metal work, of which iron and brass were perhaps most frequently used.
Silver, and even gold, were, however, sometimes employed, and the
artificers in metal of the 17th and 18th centuries produced much
exceedingly artistic work of this kind. Oriental lanterns in open-work
bronze were often very beautiful. The early lantern had sides of horn,
talc, bladder or oiled paper, and the primitive shape remains in the
common square stable lantern with straight glass sides, to carry a
candle. The hand lantern was usually a much more modest appliance than
the hanging lantern, although in great houses it was sometimes richly
worked and decorated. As glass grew cheaper it gradually ousted all
other materials, but the horn lantern which was already ancient in the
13th century was still being used in the early part of the 19th. By the
end of the 18th century lanterns in rooms had been superseded by the
candlestick. The collapsible paper lanterns of China and Japan, usually
known as Chinese lanterns, are globular or cylindrical in shape, and the
paper is pleated and when not in use folds flat. For illuminative and
decorative purposes they are coloured with patterns of flowers, &c. The
lanterns carried by the ordinary foot passenger are made of oiled paper.
In China the "Feast of Lanterns" takes place early in the New Year and
lasts for four days. In Japan the festival of Bon is sometimes known as
the "feast of lanterns." It is then that the spirits of the dead
ancestors return to the household altar. The festival takes place in
July. The "bull's-eye" lantern has a convex lens which concentrates the
light and allows it to be thrown in the shape of a diverging cone. The
"dark lantern" has a shutter or slide arrangement by which the light can
be shut off at will. Ships' lanterns are used as masthead or other
signal lights. On Trajan's column is a representation of a heavy
poop-lantern on a ship. The ships' lanterns of the 16th and 17th
centuries were highly ornamental, especially when placed on the poop. At
the Armeria Real in Madrid is a collection of these 16th-century ships'
lanterns. The protected cages which contain the lights used in
lighthouses are also known as "lanterns" (see LIGHTHOUSES).
In architecture a lantern is primarily a framework of timber, with
windows all round, to admit ample light, placed on the top of a roof. In
a broader sense, it is applied to those portions of buildings which are
largely perforated with windows, and more especially to the upper part
of the towers of cathedrals and churches, as in the octagon of Ely
cathedral, or the tower of Boston church, Lincolnshire. The term is also
applied to the entire church, as in the case of Bath Abbey church, which
was called the "lantern of England," from the number of its windows, and
St John's Priory at Kilkenny, the "lantern of Ireland," on account of
the window on the south side of the choir which was 54 ft. long. In the
Renaissance style the lantern was looked upon as a decorative feature
surmounting the dome, as in St Peter's, Rome, the Invalides, Paris, and
St Paul's, London.
_Magic or Optical Lantern._
The magic or optical lantern is an instrument for projecting on a white
wall or screen largely magnified representations of transparent pictures
painted or photographed on glass, or of objects--crystals, animals,
&c.--carried on glass slides or in glass vessels. If the light traverses
the object, the projection is said to be diascopic, if by reflected
light, episcopic.
The invention of the magic lantern is usually attributed to Athanasius
Kircher, who described it in the first edition (1646) of his _Ars magna
lucis et umbrae_, but it is very probably of earlier discovery. For a
long period the magic lantern was used chiefly to exhibit comic
pictures, or in the hands of so-called wizards to summon up ghosts and
perform other tricks, astonishing to those ignorant of the simple
optical principles employed. Within recent years, however, the optical
lantern has been greatly improved in construction, and its use widely
extended. By its means finely executed photographs on glass can be shown
greatly magnified to large audiences, thus saving the trouble and
expense of preparing large diagrams. When suitably constructed, it can
be used in the form of a microscope to exhibit on a screen the forms and
movements of minute living organisms, or to show to an audience delicate
physical and chemical experiments which could otherwise be seen only by
a few at a time Another application of the optical lantern is found in
the cinematograph (q.v.).
The optical lantern, in its simpler forms, consists of the following
parts: (1) the lantern body, (2) a source of light, (3) an optical
system for projecting the images. The lantern body is a rectangular
casing usually made of Russian iron, but sometimes covered with wood
(which must be protected by asbestos at parts liable to damage by
heat), provided with the openings necessary to the insertion of the
source of light, windows for viewing the same, a chimney for conveying
away the products of combustion, fittings to carry the slides and the
optical system. In the earlier and simpler lanterns, oil lamps were
commonly used, and in the toy forms either an oil flame or an ordinary
gas jet is still employed. Natural petroleum burnt in a specially
constructed lamp by means of two or three parallel wicks set edgeways
to the lenses was employed in the sciopticon, an improved lantern
invented in America which gave well-defined pictures 6 to 10 ft. in
diameter. The Argand gas burner also found application. A great
improvement attended the introduction of lime-light, i.e. the light
emitted by a block of lime made incandescent by an impinging
oxyhydrogen or oxygen-coal-gas flame, and the readiness with which
hydrogen and oxygen can be prepared and rendered available by
compression in steel cylinders and the increased commercial supply of
coal-gas greatly popularized these illuminants. Many improvements have
been made on the original apparatus. The lime-cylinders are specially
prepared to withstand better the disintegrating effects of the flame,
and are mounted on a rotating pin in order that fresh surfaces may be
brought into play. Cones of zirconia are also used in the same way; or
a thorium mantle in conjunction with alcohol vapour may be employed.
Two types of burner are in use: (1) the "blow-through jet," in which
the oxygen is forced through the jet of the burning gas (this is the
safest type), and (2) where the gases are mixed before combustion
(this is the more dangerous but also the more powerful type). Ether
burners are also in use. In one type the oxygen supply is divided into
two streams, one of which passes through a chamber containing cotton
wool soaked with ether, and then rejoins the undiverted stream at the
jet. The application of the incandescent gas mantle is limited by the
intensity of the heat emitted and the large area of the source. Of
electrical illuminants the platinum and carbon filament lamps are not
much used, the Nernst lamp (in which the preliminary heating is
effected by a spirit lamp and not by an auxiliary coil) being
preferred. But the arc light is undoubtedly the best illuminant for
use in the projecting lantern. The actual size of the source is
comparatively small, and hence it is necessary to mount the carbons so
that the arc remains at one point on the axis of the optical system.
It is also advisable to set back the carbons relatively to one another
and to tilt them, so that the brightest part of the "crater" faces the
lens.
_Optical System._--In the ordinary (or vertically) projecting lantern
the rays are transmitted through a lens termed the "condenser," then
through the object, and finally through another lens termed the
"objective." In the horizontally projecting types the light, after
passing through the condenser, is reflected vertically by a plane
mirror inclined at 45° to the direction of the light; it then
traverses another lens, then the object, then the objective, and is
finally projected horizontally by a plane mirror inclined at 45°, or
by a right angled glass prism, the hypothenuse face of which is
silvered. In episcopic projection, the light, having traversed the
condenser, is reflected on to the object, placed horizontally, by an
inclined mirror. The rays reflecting the object then traverse the
objective, and are then projected horizontally by a mirror or prism.
This device inverts the object; a convenient remedy is to place an
erecting prism before the lens. The object of the condenser is to
collect as much light as possible from the source, and pass it through
the object in a uniform beam. For this purpose the condenser should
subtend as large an angle as possible at the source of light. To
secure this, it should be tolerably large, and its distance from the
light, that is, its focal length, small. Since effective single lenses
of large diameter are necessarily of long focus, a really good
condenser of considerable diameter and yet of short focus must be a
combination of two or more lenses. It is essential that the condenser
be white and limpid and free from defects or striae.
In the earlier lanterns, as still in the cheaper forms, only a single
plano-convex lens or bull's-eye was employed as a condenser. A good
compound condenser for ordinary work is that proposed by Herschel,
consisting of a biconvex lens and a meniscus mounted together with the
concave side of the meniscus next the light. Other types employ two
plano-convex lenses, the curved surfaces nearly in contact; or a
concavo-convex and a plano-convex lens. Or it may be a triple
combination, the object always being to increase the aperture. The
focus must not be so short as to bring the lens too near the light,
and render it liable to crack from the intense heat. In some lanterns
this is guarded against by placing a plate of thin glass between the
condenser and the light. If the source of light be broad, an iris
diaphragm may be introduced so as to eliminate inequalities in
illumination.
The function of the objective is to produce a magnified inverted image
of the picture on the screen. In toy lanterns it is a simple
double-convex lens of short focus. This, however, can only produce a
small picture, and that not very distinct at the edges. The best
objective is the portrait combination lens usually of the Petzval type
as used in ordinary photographic cameras. These are carefully
corrected both for spherical and chromatic aberration, which is
absolutely essential in the objective, although not so necessary in
the condenser.
_Objects._--The commonest objects used for exhibiting with the optical
lantern are named "slides" and consist of pictures printed on
transparent surfaces. Solid objects mounted on glass after the
ordinary manner of mounting microscopic objects are also possible of
exhibition, and hollow glass tanks containing organisms or substances
undergoing some alteration are also available for use with the
lantern. If it be necessary to eliminate the heat rays, which may act
deleteriously on the object, a vessel is introduced containing either
water or a 5% solution of ferric chloride. In the ordinary slide the
pictures are painted with transparent water or oil colours, or
photographed on pieces of glass. If parts of the picture are to be
movable, two disks of glass are employed, the one movable in front of
the other, the fixed part of the picture being painted on the fixed
disk and the movable part on the other. By means of a lever the latter
disk is moved in its own plane; and in this way a cow, for instance,
can be represented drinking, or a donkey cutting amusing capers. In
the chromatrope slide two circular disks of glass are placed face to
face, each containing a design radiating from the centre, and painted
with brilliant transparent colours. By a small pinion gearing in
toothed wheels or endless bands the disks are made to move in opposite
directions in their own plane. The effect produced is a singularly
beautiful change of design and colour. In astronomical slides the
motions of the heavenly bodies, eclipses, the phases of the moon or
the like are similarly represented by mechanical means.
_Dissolving Views._--For this purpose two magic lanterns are
necessary, arranged either side by side or the one on the top of the
other. The fronts of the lanterns are slightly inclined to each other
so as to make the illuminated disks on the screen due to each lantern
coincide. By means of a pair of thin metallic shutters terminating in
comb-like teeth, and movable by a rack or lever, the light from either
lantern can be gradually cut off at the same time that the light from
the other is allowed gradually to fall on the screen. In this way one
view appears to melt or dissolve into another. This arrangement was
first adopted by Childe in 1811.
_Phantasmagoria._--In this arrangement the pictures on the screen
appear gradually to increase or diminish in size and brightness. To
effect this a semi-transparent screen of cotton or other material is
used, the lantern being behind and the audience in front. The lantern
is mounted on wheels so that it can be rapidly moved up to or
withdrawn from the screen; and an automatic arrangement is provided
whereby simultaneously with this the objective is made to approach or
recede from the slide so as to focus the picture on the screen in any
position of the lantern. In this way a very small picture appears
gradually to grow to enormous dimensions.
See L. Wright, _Optical Projection_ (1891); E. Trutat, _Traité des
Projections_ (Paris, 1897 and 1901); P. E. Liesegang, _Die
Projektions-Kunst_ (Leipzig, 1909).
LANTERN-FLY, the name given to insects belonging to the homopterous
division of the Hemiptera, and referable to the genus _Fulgora_ and
allied forms. They are mostly of large size, with a superficial
resemblance to lepidoptera due to their brilliant and varied coloration.
Characteristic of the group is the presence on the front of the head of
a hollow process, simulating a snout, which is sometimes inflated and as
large as the rest of the insect, sometimes elongated, narrow and
apically upturned. It was believed, mainly on the authority of Marie
Sibylle de Mérian, that this process, the so-called "lantern," was
luminous at night. Linnaeus adopted the statement without question and
made use of a number of specific names, such as _lanternaria_,
_phosphorea_, _candelaria_, &c., to illustrate the supposed fact, and
thus aided in disseminating a belief which subsequent observations have
failed to establish and which is now generally rejected.
LANTERNS OF THE DEAD, the architectural name for the small towers in
stone, found chiefly in the centre and west of France, pierced with
small openings at the top, where a light was exhibited at night to
indicate the position of a cemetery. These towers were usually circular,
with a small entrance in the lower part giving access to the interior,
so as to raise the lamps by a pulley to the required height. One of the
most perfect in France is that at Cellefrouin (Charente), which consists
of a series of eight attached semicircular shafts, raised on a pedestal,
and is crowned with a conical roof decorated with fir cones; it has only
one aperture, towards the main road. Other examples exist at Ciron
(Indre) and Antigny (Vienne).
[Illustration: Lantern of the Dead at Cellefrouin (Charente).]
LANTHANUM [symbol La, atomic weight 139.0 (O = 16)] one of the metals of
the cerium group of rare earths. Its name is derived from the Gr.
[Greek: lanthanein], to lie hidden. It was first isolated in 1839 by C.
G. Mosander from the "cerium" of J. Berzelius. It is found in the
minerals gadolinite, cerite, samarskite and fergusonite, and is usually
obtained from cerite. For details of the complex process for the
separation of the lanthanum salts from cerite, see R. Bunsen (_Pogg.
Ann._, 1875, 155, p. 377); P. T. Cleve (_Bull. de la soc. chim._, 1874,
21, p. 196); and A. v. Welsbach (_Monats. f. Chem._, 1884, 5, p. 508).
The metal was obtained by Mosander on heating its chloride with
potassium, and by W. F. Hillebrand and T. Norton (_Pogg. Ann._, 1875,
156, p. 466) on electrolysis of the fused chloride, while C. Winkler
(_Ber._, 1890, 23, p. 78) prepared it by heating the oxide with a
mixture of magnesium and magnesia. Muthmann and Weiss (_Ann._, 1904,
331, p. 1) obtained it by electrolysing the anhydrous chloride. It may
be readily hammered, but cannot be drawn. Its specific gravity is
6.1545, and it melts at 810°. It decomposes cold water slowly, but hot
water violently. It burns in air, and also in chlorine and bromine, and
is readily oxidized by nitric acid.
_Lanthanum oxide_, La2O3, is a white powder obtained by burning the
metal in oxygen, or by ignition of the carbonate, nitrate or sulphate.
It combines with water with evolution of heat, and on heating with
magnesium powder in an atmosphere of hydrogen forms a hydride of
probable composition La2H3 (C. Winkler, _Ber._ 1891, 24, p. 890).
_Lanthanum hydroxide_, La(OH)3, is a white amorphous powder formed by
precipitating lanthanum salts by potassium hydroxide. It decomposes
ammonium salts. _Lanthanum chloride_, LaCl3, is obtained in the
anhydrous condition by heating lanthanum ammonium chloride or,
according to C. Matignon (_Compt. rend._, 1905, 40, p. 1181), by the
action of chlorine or hydrochloric acid on the residue obtained by
evaporating the oxide with hydrochloric acid. It forms a deliquescent
crystalline mass. By evaporation of a solution of lanthanum oxide in
hydrochloric acid to the consistency of a syrup, and allowing the
solution to stand, large colourless crystals of a hydrated chloride of
the composition 2LaCl3·15H2O are obtained. _Lanthanum sulphide_,
La2S3, is a yellow powder, obtained when the oxide is heated in the
vapour of carbon bisulphide. It is decomposed by water, with evolution
of sulphuretted hydrogen. _Lanthanum sulphate_, La2(SO4)3·9H2O, forms
six-sided prisms, isomorphous with those of the corresponding cerium
salt. By careful heating it may be made to yield the anhydrous salt.
_Lanthanum nitrate_, La(NO3)3·6H2O, is obtained by dissolving the
oxide in nitric acid. It crystallizes in plates, and is soluble in
water and alcohol. _Lanthanum carbide_, LaC2, is prepared by heating
the oxide with carbon in the electric furnace (H. Moissan, _Compt.
rend._, 1896, 123, p. 148). It is decomposed by water with the
formation of acetylene, methane, ethylene, &c. _Lanthanum carbonate_,
La2CO3·8H2O, occurs as the rare mineral lanthanite, forming
greyish-white, pink or yellowish rhombic prisms. The atomic weight of
lanthanum has been determined by B. Brauner (_Proc. Chem. Soc._, 1901,
17, p. 63) by ignition of lanthanum sulphate at 500° C., the value
obtained being 139 (O = 16).
LANUVIUM (more frequently _Lanivium_ in imperial times, mod. _Civita
Lavinia_), an ancient city of Latium, some 19 m. S.E. of Rome, a little
S.W. of the Via Appia. It was situated on an isolated hill projecting S.
from the main mass of the Alban Hills, and commanding an extensive view
over the low country between it and the sea. It was one of the members
of the Latin League, and remained independent until conquered by Rome in
338 B.C. At first it did not enjoy the right of Roman citizenship, but
acquired it later; and even in imperial times its chief magistrate and
municipal council kept the titles of _dictator_ and _senatus_
respectively. It was especially famous for its rich and much venerated
temple of Juno Sospes, from which Octavian borrowed money in 31 B.C.,
and the possessions of which extended as far as the sea-coast (T. Ashby
in _Mélanges de l'école française_, 1905, 203). It possessed many other
temples, repaired by Antoninus Pius, who was born close by, as was also
Commodus. Remains of the ancient theatre and of the city walls exist in
the modern village, and above it is an area surrounded by a portico, in
_opus reticulatum_, upon the north side of which is a rectangular
building in _opus quadratum_, probably connected with the temple of
Juno. Here archaic decorative terra-cottas were discovered in
excavations carried on by Lord Savile. The acropolis of the primitive
city was probably on the highest point above the temple to the north.
The neighbourhood, which is now covered with vineyards, contains remains
of many Roman villas, one of which is traditionally attributed to
Antoninus Pius.
See _Notizie degli Scavi, passim._ (T. As.)
LANZA, DOMENICO GIOVANNI GIUSEPPE MARIA (1810-1882), Italian politician,
was born at Casale, Piedmont, on the 15th of February 1810. He studied
medicine at Turin, and practised for some years in his native place. He
was one of the promoters of the agrarian association in Turin, and took
an active part in the rising of 1848. He was elected to the Piedmontese
parliament in that year, and attached himself to the party of Cavour,
devoting his attention chiefly to questions of economy and finance. He
became minister of public instruction in 1855 in the cabinet of Cavour,
and in 1858 minister of finance. He followed Cavour into his temporary
retirement in July 1859 after the peace of Villafranca, and for a year
(1860-1861) was president of the Chamber. He was minister of the
interior (1864-1865) in the La Marmora cabinet, and arranged the
transference of the capital to Florence. He maintained a resolute
opposition to the financial policy of Menabrea, who resigned when Lanza
was a second time elected, in 1869, president of the Chamber. Lanza
formed a new cabinet in which he was himself minister of the interior.
With Quintino Sella as minister of finance he sought to reorganize
Italian finance, and resigned office when Sella's projects were rejected
in 1873. His cabinet had seen the accomplishment of Italian unity and
the installation of an Italian government in Rome. He died in Rome on
the 9th of March 1882.
See Enrico Tavallini, _La Vita ed i tempi di Giovanni Lanza_ (2 vols.,
Turin and Naples, 1887).
LANZAROTE, an island in the Atlantic Ocean, forming part of the Spanish
archipelago of the Canary Islands (q.v.). Pop. (1900) 17,546; area,
326 sq. m. Lanzarote, the most easterly of the Canaries, has a length of
31 m. and a breadth varying from 5 to 10 m. It is naked and mountainous,
bearing everywhere marks of its volcanic origin. Montaña Blanca, the
highest point (2000 ft.), is cultivated to the summit. In 1730 the
appearance of half the island was altered by a volcanic outburst. A
violent earthquake preceded the catastrophe, by which nine villages
were destroyed. In 1825 another volcanic eruption took place accompanied
by earthquakes, and two hills were thrown up. The port of Naos on the
south-east of the island affords safe anchorage. It is protected by two
forts. A short distance inland is the town of Arrecife (pop. 3082). The
climate is hot and dry. There is only a single spring of fresh water on
the island, and that in a position difficult of access. From the total
failure of water the inhabitants were once compelled to abandon the
island. Dromedaries are used as beasts of burden. Teguise (pop. 3786),
on the north-west coast, is the residence of the local authorities. A
strait about 6 m. in width separates Lanzarote from Fuerteventura.
Graciosa, a small uninhabited island, is divided from the north-eastern
extremity of Lanzarote by a channel 1 m. in width, which affords a
capacious and safe harbour for large ships; but basaltic cliffs, 1500
ft. high, prevent intercourse with the inhabited part of Lanzarote. A
few persons reside on the little island Allegranza, a mass of lava and
cinders ejected at various times from a now extinct volcano, the crater
of which has still a well-defined edge.
LANZI, LUIGI (1732-1810), Italian archaeologist, was born in 1732 and
educated as a priest. In 1773 he was appointed keeper of the galleries
of Florence, and thereafter studied Italian painting and Etruscan
antiquities and language. In the one field his labours are represented
by his _Storia Pittorica della Italia_, the first portion of which,
containing the Florentine, Sienese, Roman and Neapolitan schools,
appeared in 1792, the rest in 1796. The work is translated by Roscoe. In
archaeology his great achievement was _Saggio di lingua Etrusca_ (1789),
followed by _Saggio delle lingue Ital. antiche_ (1806). In his memoir on
the so-called Etruscan vases (_Dei vasi antichi dipinti volgarmente
chiamati Etruschi_, 1806) Lanzi rightly perceived their Greek origin and
characters. What was true of the antiquities would be true also, he
argued, of the Etruscan language, and the object of the _Saggio di
lingua Etrusca_ was to prove that this language must be related to that
of the neighbouring peoples--Romans, Umbrians, Oscans and Greeks. He was
allied with E. Q. Visconti in his great but never accomplished plan of
illustrating antiquity altogether from existing literature and
monuments. His notices of ancient sculpture and its various styles
appeared as an appendix to the _Saggio di lingua Etrusca_, and arose out
of his minute study of the treasures then added to the Florentine
collection from the Villa Medici. The abuse he met with from later
writers on the Etruscan language led Corssen (_Sprache der Etrusker_, i.
p. vi.) to protest in the name of his real services to philology and
archaeology. Among his other productions was an edition of Hesiod's
_Works and Days_, with valuable notes, and a translation in _terza
rima_. Begun in 1785, it was recast and completed in 1808. The list of
his works closes with his _Opere sacre_, a series of treatises on
spiritual subjects. Lanzi died on the 30th of March 1810. He was buried
in the church of the Santa Croce at Florence by the side of
Michelangelo.
LAOAG, a town, port for coasting vessels, and capital of the province of
Ilocos Norte, Luzon, Philippine Islands, on the Laoag river, about 5 m.
from its mouth, and in the N.W. part of the island. Pop. (1903) 34,454;
in 1903, after the census had been taken, the municipality of San
Nicolás (pop. 1903, 10,880) was added to Laoag. Laoag is on an extensive
coast plain, behind which is a picturesque range of hills; it is well
built and is noted for its fine climate, the name "Laoag" signifying
"clear." It is especially well equipped for handling rice, which is
shipped in large quantities; Indian corn, tobacco and sugar are also
shipped. Cotton is grown in the vicinity, and is woven by the women into
fabrics, which find a ready sale among the pagan tribes of the
mountains. The language is Ilocano.
LAOCOON, in Greek legend a brother of Anchises, who had been a priest of
Apollo, but having profaned the temple of the god he and his two sons
were attacked by serpents while preparing to sacrifice a bull at the
altar of Poseidon, in whose service Laocoon was then acting as priest.
An additional motive for his punishment consisted in his having warned
the Trojans against the wooden horse left by the Greeks. But, whatever
his crime may have been, the punishment stands out even among the
tragedies of Greek legend as marked by its horror--particularly so as it
comes to us in Virgil (_Aeneid_, ii. 199 sq.), and as it is represented
in the marble group, the Laocoon, in the Vatican. In the oldest existing
version of the legend--that of Arctinus of Miletus, which has so far
been preserved in the excerpts of Proclus--the calamity is lessened by
the fact that only one of the two sons is killed; and this, as has been
pointed out (_Arch. Zeitung_, 1879, p. 167), agrees with the
interpretation which Goethe in his _Propylaea_ had put on the marble
group without reference to the literary tradition. He says: "The younger
son struggles and is powerless, and is alarmed; the father struggles
ineffectively, indeed his efforts only increase the opposition; the
elder son is least of all injured, he feels neither anguish nor pain,
but he is horrified at what he sees happening to his father, and he
screams while he pushes the coils of the serpent off from his legs. He
is thus an observer, witness, and participant in the incident, and the
work is then complete." Again, "the gradation of the incident is this:
the father has become powerless among the coils of the serpent; the
younger son has still strength for resistance but is wounded; the elder
has a prospect of escape." Lessing, on the other hand, maintained the
view that the marble group illustrated the version of the legend given
by Virgil, with such differences as were necessary from the different
limits of representation imposed on the arts of sculpture and of poetry.
These limits required a new definition, and this he undertook in his
still famous work, _Laokoon_ (see the edition of Hugo Blümner, Berlin,
1876, in which the subsequent criticism is collected). The date of the
Laocoon being now fixed (see AGESANDER) to 40-20 B.C., there can be no
question of copying Virgil. The group represents the extreme of a
pathetic tendency in sculpture (see GREEK ART, Plate I. fig. 52).
LAODICEA, the name of at least eight cities, founded or renovated in the
later Hellenic period. Most of them were founded by the Seleucid kings
of Syria. Seleucus, founder of the dynasty, is said by Appian to have
named five cities after his mother Laodice. Thus in the immense realm of
the Seleucidae from the Aegean Sea to the borders of India we find
cities called Laodicea, as also Seleucia (q.v.). So long as Greek
civilization held its ground, these were the commercial and social
centres. The chief are Laodicea _ad Lycum_ (see below); _Combusta_ on
the borders of Phrygia, Lycaonia and Pisidia; a third in Pontus; a
fourth, _ad mare_, on the coast of Syria; a fifth, _ad Libanum_, beside
the Lebanon mountains; and three others in the far east--Media, Persia
and the lower Tigris valley. In the latter countries Greek civilization
was short-lived, and the last three cities disappeared; the other five
continued great throughout the Greek and Roman period, and the second,
third and fourth retain to the present day the ancient name under the
pronunciation Ladik, Ladikiyeh or Latakia (q.v.).
LAODICEA AD LYCUM (mod. _Denizli_, q.v.) was founded probably by
Antiochus II. Theos (261-46 B.C.), and named after his wife Laodice. Its
site is close to the station of Gonjeli on the Anatolian railway. Here
was one of the oldest homes of Christianity and the seat of one of the
seven churches of the Apocalypse. Pliny states (v. 29) that the town was
called in older times Diospolis and Rhoas; but at an early period
Colossae, a few miles to the east, and Hierapolis, 6 m. to the north,
were the great cities of the neighbourhood, and Laodicea was of no
importance till the Seleucid foundation (Strabo, p. 578). A favourable
site was found on some low hills of alluvial formation, about 2 m. S. of
the river Lycus (Churuk Su) and 9 m. E. of the confluence of the Lycus
and Maeander. The great trade route from the Euphrates and the interior
passed to it through Apamea. There it forked, one branch going down the
Maeander valley to Magnesia and thence north to Ephesus, a distance of
about 90 m., and the other branch crossing the mountains by an easy pass
to Philadelphia and the Hermus valley, Sardis, Thyatira and at last
Pergamum. St Paul (Col. iv. 15) alludes to the situation of Laodicea
beside Colossae and Hierapolis; and the order in which the last five
churches of the Apocalypse are enumerated (Rev. i. 11) is explained by
their position on the road just described. Placed in this situation, in
the centre of a very fertile district, Laodicea became a rich city. It
was famous for its money transactions (Cic. _Ad Fam._ ii. 17, iii. 5),
and for the beautiful soft wool grown by the sheep of the country
(Strabo 578). Both points are referred to in the message to the church
(Rev. iii. 17, 18).
Little is known of the history of the town. It suffered greatly from a
siege in the Mithradatic war, but soon recovered its prosperity under
the Roman empire. The Zeus of Laodicea, with the curious epithet Azeus
or Azeis, is a frequent symbol on the city coins. He is represented
standing, holding in the extended right hand an eagle, in the left a
spear, the _hasta pura_. Not far from the city was the temple of Men
Karou, with a great medical school; while Laodicea itself produced
some famous Sceptic philosophers, and gave origin to the royal family
of Polemon and Zenon, whose curious history has been illustrated in
recent times (W. H. Waddington, _Mélanges de Numism._ ser. ii.; Th.
Mommsen, _Ephem. Epigraph._ i. and ii.; M. G. Rayet, _Milet et le
Golfe Latmique_, chap. v.). The city fell finally into decay in the
frontier wars with the Turkish invaders. Its ruins are of wide extent,
but not of great beauty or interest; there is no doubt, however, that
much has been buried beneath the surface by the frequent earthquakes
to which the district is exposed (Strabo 580; Tac. _Ann._ xiv. 27).
See W. M. Ramsay, _Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia_, i.-ii. (1895);
_Letters to the Seven Churches_ (1904); and the beautiful drawings of
Cockerell in the _Antiquities of Ionia_, vol. iii. pl. 47-51.
(A. H. S.)
LAODICEA, SYNOD OF, held at Laodicea ad Lycum in Phrygia, some time
between 343 and 381 (so Hefele; but Baronius argues for 314, and others
for a date as late as 399), adopted sixty canons, chiefly disciplinary,
which were declared ecumenical by the council of Chalcedon, 451. The
most significant canons are those directly affecting the clergy, wherein
the clergy appear as a privileged class, far above the laity, but with
sharply differentiated and carefully graded orders within itself. For
example, the priests are not to be chosen by the people; penitents are
not to be present at ordinations (lest they should hear the failings of
candidates discussed); bishops are to be appointed by the metropolitan
and his suffragan; sub-deacons may not distribute the elements of the
Eucharist; clerics are forbidden to leave a diocese without the bishop's
permission. Other canons treat of intercourse with heretics, admission
of penitent heretics, baptism, fasts, Lent, angel-worship (forbidden as
idolatrous) and the canonical books, from which the Apocrypha and
Revelation are wanting.
See Mansi ii. 563-614; Hardouin i. 777-792; Hefele, 2nd ed., i.
746-777 (Eng. trans. ii. 295-325). (T. F. C.)
LAOMEDON, in Greek legend, son of Ilus, king of Troy and father of
Podarces (Priam). The gods Apollo and Poseidon served him for hire,
Apollo tending his herds, while Poseidon built the walls of Troy. When
Laomedon refused to pay the reward agreed upon, Apollo visited the land
with a pestilence, and Poseidon sent up a monster from the sea, which
ravaged the land. According to the oracle, the wrath of Poseidon could
only be appeased by the sacrifice of one of the king's daughters. The
lot fell upon Hesione, who was chained to a rock to await the monster's
coming. Heracles, on his way back from the land of the Amazons, offered
to slay the monster and release Hesione, on condition that he should
receive the wonderful horses presented by Zeus to Tros, the father of
Ganymede, to console him for the loss of his son. Again Laomedon broke
his word; whereupon Heracles returned with a band of warriors, attacked
Troy, and slew Laomedon and all his sons except Priam. According to
Diodorus Siculus, Laomedon aggravated his offence by imprisoning
Iphiclus and Telamon, who had been sent by Heracles to demand the
surrender of the horses. Laomedon was buried near the Scaean gate, and
it was said that so long as his grave remained undisturbed, so long
would the walls of Troy remain impregnable.
See Homer, _Iliad_, v. 265, 640, vii. 452, xxi. 443; Apollodorus ii.
5. 9 and 6. 4; Diod. Sic. iv. 32, 42, 49; Hyginus, _Fab._ 89; Horace,
_Odes_ iii. 3, 22; Ovid, _Metam._ xi. 194.
LAON, a town of northern France, capital of the department of Aisne, 87
m. N.E. of Paris on the Northern railway. Pop. (1906), town, 9787,
commune (including troops) 15,288. It is situated on an isolated ridge,
forming two sides of a triangle, which rises some 330 ft. above the
surrounding plain and the little river of Ardon. The suburbs of St
Marcel and Vaux extend along the foot of the ridge to the north. From
the railway station, situated in the plain to the north, a straight
staircase of several hundred steps leads to the gate of the town, and
all the roads connecting Laon with the surrounding district are cut in
zigzags on the steep slopes, which are crowned by promenades on the site
of the old ramparts. The 13th-century gates of Ardon, Chenizelles and
Soissons, the latter in a state of ruin, have been preserved. At the
eastern extremity of the ridge rises the citadel; at its apex is the
parade-ground of St Martin, and at the southern end stands the ancient
abbey of St Vincent. The deep depression between the arms of the ridge,
known as the Cuve St Vincent, has its slopes covered with trees,
vegetable gardens and vineyards. From the promenade along the line of
the ramparts there is an extensive view northward beyond St Quentin,
westward to the forest of St Gobain, and southward over the wooded hills
of the Laonnais and Soissonnais.
The cathedral of Laon (see ARCHITECTURE, Romanesque and Gothic
Architecture in France) is one of the most important creations of the
art of the 12th and 13th centuries. It took the place of the old
cathedral, burned at the beginning of the communal struggles mentioned
below. The building is cruciform, and the choir terminates in a straight
wall instead of in an apse. Of the six towers flanking the façades, only
four are complete to the height of the base of the spires, two at the
west front with huge figures of oxen beneath the arcades of their upper
portion, and one at each end of the transept. A square central tower
forms a lantern within the church. The west front, with three porches,
the centre one surmounted by a fine rose window, ranks next to that of
Notre-Dame at Paris in purity. The cathedral has stained glass of the
13th century and a choir grille of the 18th century. The chapter-house
and the cloister contain beautiful specimens of the architecture of the
beginning of the 13th century. The old episcopal palace, contiguous to
the cathedral, is now used as a court-house. The front, flanked by
turrets, is pierced by great pointed windows. There is also a Gothic
cloister and an old chapel of two storeys, of a date anterior to the
cathedral. The church of St Martin dates from the middle of the 12th
century. The old abbey buildings of the same foundation are now used as
the hospital. The museum of Laon had collections of sculpture and
painting. In its garden there is a chapel of the Templars belonging to
the 12th century. The church of the suburb of Vaux near the railway
station dates from the 11th and 12th centuries. Numerous cellars of two
or three storeys have taken the place of the old quarries in the
hill-side. Laon forms with La Fère and Reims a triangle of important
fortresses. Its fortifications consist of an inner line of works on the
eminence of Laon itself, and two groups of detached forts, one some 2½
m. S.E. about the village of Bruyères, the other about 3 m. W.S.W., near
Laniscourt. To the S.S.W. forts Malmaison and Condé connect Laon with
the Aisne and with Reims.
Laon is the seat of a prefect and a court of assizes, and possesses a
tribunal of first instance, a lycée for boys, a college for girls, a
school of agriculture and training colleges. Sugar-making and
metal-founding are carried on, but neither industry nor trade, which is
in grain and wine, are of much importance.
The hilly district of Laon (Laudunum) has always had some strategic
importance. In the time of Caesar there was a Gallic village where the
Remi (inhabitants of the country round Reims) had to meet the onset of
the confederated Belgae. Whatever may have been the precise locality
of that battlefield, Laon was fortified by the Romans, and
successively checked the invasions of the Franks, Burgundians,
Vandals, Alani and Huns. St Remigius, the archbishop of Reims who
baptized Clovis, was born in the Laonnais, and it was he who, at the
end of the 5th century, instituted the bishopric of the town.
Thenceforward Laon was one of the principal towns of the kingdom of
the Franks, and the possession of it was often disputed. Charles the
Bald had enriched its church with the gift of very numerous domains.
After the fall of the Carolingians Laon took the part of Charles of
Lorraine, their heir, and Hugh Capet only succeeded in making himself
master of the town by the connivance of the bishop, who, in return
for this service, was made second ecclesiastical peer of the kingdom.
Early in the 12th century the communes of France set about
emancipating themselves, and the history of the commune of Laon is one
of the richest and most varied. The citizens had profited by a
temporary absence of Bishop Gaudry to secure from his representatives
a communal charter, but he, on his return, purchased from the king of
France the revocation of this document, and recommenced his
oppressions. The consequence was a revolt, in which the episcopal
palace was burnt and the bishop and several of his partisans were put
to death. The fire spread to the cathedral, and reduced it to ashes.
Uneasy at the result of their victory, the rioters went into hiding
outside the town, which was anew pillaged by the people of the
neighbourhood, eager to avenge the death of their bishop. The king
alternately interfered in favour of the bishop and of the inhabitants
till 1239. After that date the liberties of Laon were no more
contested till 1331, when the commune was abolished. During the
Hundred Years' War it was attacked and taken by the Burgundians, who
gave it up to the English, to be retaken by the French after the
consecration of Charles VII. Under the League Laon took the part of
the Leaguers, and was taken by Henry IV. During the campaign of 1814
Napoleon tried in vain to dislodge Blücher from it. In 1870 an
engineer blew up the powder magazine of the citadel at the moment when
the German troops were entering the town. Many lives were lost; and
the cathedral and the old episcopal palace were damaged. At the
Revolution Laon permanently lost its rank as a bishopric.
LAOS, a territory of French Indo-China, bounded N. by the Chinese
province of Yun-nan, W. by the British Shan states and Siam, S. by
Cambodia and Annam, E. by Annam and N.E. by Tongking. Northern Laos is
traversed by the Mekong (q.v.) which from Chieng-Khan to a point below
Stung-Treng forms the boundary between Laos (on the left bank) and Siam
and Cambodia (on the right). French Laos constitutes a strip of
territory between 700 and 800 m. in length with an average breadth of
155 m., an approximate area of 88,780 sq. m., and a population of about
550,000. Its northern region between the Mekong and Tongking is covered
by a tangle of mountain chains clothed with dense forests and traversed
by the Nam-Hou, the Nam-Ta and other tributaries of the Mekong. The
culminating point exceeds 6500 ft. in height. South of this is the
extensive wooded plateau of Tran-Ninh with an average altitude of
between 3000 and 5000 ft. Towards the 18th degree of latitude this
mountain system narrows into a range running parallel to and closely
approaching the coast of the China Sea as it descends south. The
boundary between Laos and Annam follows the crest-line of this range,
several peaks of which exceed 6500 ft. (Pu-Atwat, over 8000 ft.). On the
west its ramifications extend to the Mekong enclosing wide plains
watered by the affluents of that river.
Laos is inhabited by a mixed population falling into three main
groups--the Thais (including the Laotions (see below)); various
aboriginal peoples classed as Khas; and the inhabitants of neighbouring
countries, e.g. China, Annam, Cambodia, Siam, Burma, &c.
Laos has a rainy season lasting from June to October and corresponding
to the S.W. monsoon and a dry season coinciding with the N.E. monsoon
and lasting from November to May. Both in northern and southern Laos the
heat during April and May is excessive, the thermometer reaching 104° F.
and averaging 95° F. With the beginning of the rains the heat becomes
more tolerable. December, January and February are cool months, the
temperature in south Laos (south of 19°) averaging 77°, in north Laos
from 50° to 53°. The plateau of Tran-Ninh and, in the south, that of the
Bolovens are distinguished by the wholesomeness of their climate.
The forests contain bamboo and many valuable woods amongst which only
the teak of north Laos and rattan are exploited to any extent; other
forest products are rubber, stick lac, gum, benjamin, cardamoms, &c.
Rice and maize, and cotton, indigo, tobacco, sugar-cane and cardamoms
are among the cultivated plants. Elephants are numerous and the forests
are inhabited by tigers, panthers, bears, deer and buffalo. Hunting and
fishing are leading occupations of the inhabitants. Many species of
monkeys, as well as peacocks, pheasants and woodcock are found, and the
reptiles include crocodiles, turtles, pythons and cobras.
Scarcity of labour and difficulty of communication hinder the working
of the gold, tin, copper, argentiferous lead, precious stones and other
minerals of the country and the industries in general are of a primitive
kind and satisfy only local needs.
The buffalo, the ox, the horse and the elephant are domesticated, and
these together with cardamoms, rice, tobacco and the products of the
forests form the bulk of the exports. Swine are reared, their flesh
forming an important article of diet. Imports are inconsiderable,
comprising chiefly cotton fabrics, garments and articles for domestic
use. Trade is chiefly in the hands of the Chinese and is carried on for
the most part with Siam. The Mekong is the chief artery of transit;
elsewhere communication is afforded by tracks sometimes passable only
for pedestrians. Luang-Prabang (q.v.) is the principal commercial
town. Before the French occupation of Laos, it was split up into small
principalities (_muongs_) of which the chief was that of Vien-Tiane.
Vien-Tiane was destroyed in 1828 by the Siamese who annexed the
territory. In 1893 they made it over to the French, who grouped the
_muongs_ into provinces. Of these there are twelve each administered by
a French commissioner and, under his surveillance, by native officials
elected by the people from amongst the members of an hereditary
nobility. At the head of the administration there is a resident-superior
stationed at Savannaket. Up till 1896 Laos had no special budget, but
was administered by Cochin-China, Annam and Tongking. The budget for
1899 showed receipts £78,988 and expenditure £77,417. For 1904 the
budget figures were, receipts £82,942, expenditure £76,344. The chief
sources of revenue are the direct taxes (£15,606 in 1904), especially
the poll-tax, and the contribution from the general budget of Indo-China
(£54,090 in 1904). The chief items of expenditure in 1904 were
Government house, &c., £22,558, transport, £19,191, native guard,
£17,327.
See M. J. F. Garnier, _Voyage d'exploration en Indo-Chine_ (Paris,
1873); C. Gosselin, _Le Laos et le protectorat français_ (Paris,
1900); L. de Reinach, _Le Laos_ (Paris, 1902) and _Notes sur le Laos_
(Paris, 1906); and bibliography under INDO-CHINA, FRENCH.
LAOS, or LAOTIONS, an important division of the widespread Thai or Shan
race found throughout Indo-China from 28° N. and the sources of the
Irrawaddy as far as Cambodia and 7° N. in the Malay Peninsula. This Thai
family includes the Shans proper, and the Siamese. The name Lao, which
appears to mean simply "man," is the collective Siamese term for all the
Thai peoples subject to Siam, while Shan, said to be of Chinese origin,
is the collective Burmese term for those subject to Burma. Lao is
therefore rather a political than an ethnical title, and the people
cordially dislike the name, insisting on their right to be called Thai.
Owing to the different circumstances which have attended their
migrations, the Thai peoples have attained to varying degrees of
civilization. The Lao, who descended from the mountain districts of
Yunnan, Szechuen and Kweichow to the highland plains of upper
Indo-China, and drove the wilder Kha peoples whom they found in
possession into the hills, mostly adopted Buddhism, and formed small
settled communities or states in which laws were easy, taxes light and a
very fair degree of comfort was attained. There are two main divisions,
the Lao Pong Dam ("Black Paunch Laos"), so-called from their habit of
tattooing the body from the waist to the knees, and the Lao Pong Kao
("White Paunch Laos") who do not tattoo. Lao tattooing is of a most
elaborate kind. The Lao Pong Dam now form the western branch of the Lao
family, inhabiting the Siamese Lao states of Chieng Mai Lapaun, 'Tern
Pre and Nan, and reaching as far south as 17° N. Various influences have
contributed to making the Lao the pleasant, easy-going, idle fellow that
he is. The result is that practically all the trade of these states is
in the hands of Bangkok Chinese firms, of a certain number of European
houses and others, while most of the manual labour connected with the
teak industry is done by Ka Mus, who migrate in large numbers from the
left bank of the Mekong. The Lao Pong Kao, or eastern branch, appear to
have migrated southwards by the more easterly route of the Nam-u and the
Mekong valley. In contradistinction to the Lao Pong Dam, who have
derived their written language from the Burmese character, the eastern
race has retained what appears to be the early form of the present
Siamese writing, from which it differs little. They formed important
settlements at various points on the Mekong, notably Luang Prabang,
Wieng Chan (Vien-Tiane) Ubon and Bassac; and, heading inland as far as
Korat on the one side and the Annamite watershed in the east, they drove
out the less civilized Kha peoples, and even the Cambodians, as the Lao
Pong Dam did on the west. Vien-Tiane during the 18th century was the
most powerful of the Lao principalities, and was feared and respected
throughout Indo-China. It was destroyed by the Siamese in 1828. The
inhabitants, in accordance with the Indo-Chinese custom of the day, were
transported to Lower Siam. The Lao Pong Kao below 18° N. are a less
merry and less vivacious people, and are for the most part shorter and
more thick-set than those of Luang Prabang and the north. If possible,
they are as a race lazier than the western Lao, as they are certainly
more musical. The "khen," or mouth organ, which is universal among them,
is the sweetest-toned of eastern instruments.
After 1828 the Laos became entirely subject to Siam, and were governed
partly by khiao, or native hereditary princes, partly by mandarins
directly nominated by the Bangkok authorities. The khiao were invested
by a gold dish, betel-box, spittoon and teapot, which were sent from
Bangkok and returned at their death or deposition. Of all the khiao the
most powerful was the prince of Ubon (15° N., 105° E.), whose
jurisdiction extended nearly from Bassac on the Mekong northwards to the
great southern bend of that river. Nearly all the Laos country is now
divided between France and Siam, and only a few tribes retain a nominal
independence.
The many contradictory accounts of the Laos are due to the fact that the
race has become much mixed with the aboriginal inhabitants. The
half-castes sprung from alliances with the wild tribes of Caucasic stock
present every variety between that type and the Mongolian. But the pure
Laos are still distinguished by the high cheek-bones, small flat nose,
oblique eyes, wide mouth, black lank hair, sparse beard, and yellow
complexion of the Thai and other branches of the Mongol family. In
disposition the Laos are an apathetic, peace-loving, pleasant-mannered
race. Though the women have to work, they are free and well treated, and
polygamy is rare. The Laos are very superstitious, believe in
wer-wolves, and that all diseases are caused by evil spirits. Their
chief food is rice and fish. Men, women and children all smoke tobacco.
The civilized Laos were long addicted to slave-hunting, not only with
the sanction but even with the co-operation of their rulers, the Lao
mandarins heading regular expeditions against the wilder tribes.
Closely allied with the Lao are a number of tribes found throughout
the hill regions of the upper Mekong, between Yunnan and Kwangsi in
China and the upper waters of the Menam in Siam. They have all within
recent times been partakers in the general movement towards the
south-west from the highland districts of southern China, which has
produced so many recruits for the peopling of the Indo-Chinese
peninsula. Of this group of people, among whom may be named the Yao,
Yao Yin, Lanten, Meo, Musur (or Muhso) and Kaw, perhaps the best known
and most like the Lao are the Lu--both names meaning originally
"man"--who have in many cases adopted a form of Buddhism (flavoured
strongly by their natural respect for local spirits as well as
tattooing) and other relatively civilized customs, and have forsaken
their wandering life among the hills for a more settled village
existence. Hardy, simple and industrious, fond of music, kind-hearted,
and with a strangely artistic taste in dress, these people possess in
a wonderful degree the secret of cheerful contentment.
AUTHORITIES.--M. J. F. Garnier, _Voyage d'exploration en Indo-Chine_;
A. H. Mouhot, _Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China, Cambodia
and Laos_ (1864); Holt S. Hallett, _A Thousand Miles on an Elephant in
the Shan States_ (1890); A. R. Colquhoun, _Amongst the Shâns_ (1885);
Lord Lamington, _Proc. R.G.S._ vol. xiii. No. 12; Archer, _Report on a
Journey in the Mekong Valley_; Prince Henri d'Orléans, _Around Tonkin
and Siam_ (1894); M'Carthy, _Report on a Survey in Siam_ (1894);
Bulletins, Paris Geographical Society: H. Warington Smyth, _Notes of a
Journey on the Upper Mekong_ (1895); _Five Years in Siam_ (1898);
Harmand, _Le Laos et les populations sauvages de l'Indo-Chine_ (1880).
See also bibliography to preceding article.
LÂO-TSZE, or LAOU-TSZE, the designation of the Chinese author of the
celebrated treatise called _Tâo Teh King_, and the reputed founder of
the religion called _Tâoism_. The Chinese characters composing the
designation may mean either "the Old Son," which commonly assumes with
foreigners the form of "the Old Boy," or "the Old Philosopher." The
latter significance is attached to them by Dr Chalmers in his
translation of the treatise published in 1868 under the title of _The
Speculations on Metaphysics, Polity and Morality of "the Old
Philosopher," Lâo-tsze_. The former is derived from a fabulous account
of Lâo-tsze in the _Shan Hsien Chwan_; "The Account of Spirits and
Immortals," of Ko Hung in the 4th century A.D. According to this, his
mother, after a supernatural conception, carried him in her womb
sixty-two years (or seventy-two, or eighty-one--ten years more or fewer
are of little importance in such a case), so that, when he was born at
last, his hair was white as with age, and people might well call him
"the old boy." The other meaning of the designation rests on better
authority. We find it in the _Kiâ Yü_, or "Narratives of the Confucian
School," compiled in the 3rd century A.D. from documents said to have
been preserved among the descendants of Confucius, and also in the brief
history of Lâo-tsze given in the historical records of Sze-ma Ch'ien
(about 100 B.C.). In the latter instance the designation is used by
Confucius, and possibly it originated with him. It should be regarded
more as an epithet of respect than of years, and is equivalent to "the
Venerable Philosopher."
All that Ch'ien tells us about Lâo-tsze goes into small compass. His
surname was Lî, and his name Urh. He was a native of the state of
Ch'û, and was born in a hamlet not far from the present prefectural
city of Kwei-te in Ho-nan province. He was one of the recorders or
historiographers at the court of Chow, his special department being
the charge of the whole or a portion of the royal library. He must
thus have been able to make himself acquainted with the history of his
country. Ch'ien does not mention the year of his birth, which is often
said, though on what Chinese authority does not appear, to have taken
place in the third year of King Phing, corresponding to 604 B.C. That
date cannot be far from the truth. That he was contemporary with
Confucius is established by the concurrent testimony of the _Lî Kî_
and the _Kiâ Yü_ on the Confucian side, and of Chwang-tsze and Sze-ma
Ch'ien on the Tâoist. The two men whose influence has been so great on
all the subsequent generations of the Chinese people--Kung-tsze
(Confucius) and Lâo-tsze--had at least one interview, in 517 B.C.,
when the former was in his thirty-fifth year. The conversation between
them was interesting. Lâo was in a mocking mood; Kung appears to the
greater advantage. If it be true that Confucius, when he was fifty-one
years old, visited Lâo-tsze as Chwang-tsze says (in the _Thien Yun_,
the fourteenth of his treatises), to ask about the _Tâo_, they must
have had more than one interview. Dr Chalmers, however, has pointed
out that both Chwang-tsze and Lieh-tsze (a still earlier Tâoist
writer) produce Confucius in their writings, as the lords of the
Philistines did the captive Samson on their festive occasions, "to
make sport for them." Their testimony is valueless as to any matter of
fact. There may have been several meetings between the two in 517
B.C., but we have no evidence that they were together in the same
place after that time. Ch'ien adds:--"Lâo-tsze cultivated the _Tâo_
and virtue, his chief aim in his studies being how to keep himself
concealed and unknown. He resided at (the capital of) Chow; but after
a long time, seeing the decay of the dynasty, he left it, and went
away to the Gate (leading from the royal domain into the regions
beyond--at the entrance of the pass of Han-kû, in the north-west of
Ho-nan). Yin Hsî, the warden of the Gate, said to him, 'You are about
to withdraw yourself out of sight; I pray you to compose for me a book
(before you go).' On this Lâo-tsze made a writing, setting forth his
views on the _tâo_ and virtue, in two sections, containing more than
5000 characters. He then went away, and it is not known where he
died." The historian then mentions the names of two other men whom
some regarded as the true Lâo-tsze. One of them was a Lâo Lâi, a
contemporary of Confucius, who wrote fifteen treatises (or sections)
on the practices of the school of _Tâo_. Subjoined to the notice of
him is the remark that Lâo-tsze was more than one hundred and sixty
years old, or, as some say, more than two hundred, because by the
cultivation of the _Tâo_ he nourished his longevity. The other was "a
grand historiographer" of Chow, called Tan, one hundred and
twenty-nine (? one hundred and nineteen) years after the death of
Confucius. The introduction of these disjointed notices detracts from
the verisimilitude of the whole narrative in which they occur.
Finally, Ch'ien states that "Lâo-tsze was a superior man, who liked to
keep in obscurity," traces the line of his posterity down to the 2nd
century B.C., and concludes with this important statement:--"Those who
attach themselves to the doctrine of Lâo-tsze condemn that of the
literati, and the literati on their part condemn Lâo-tsze, thus
verifying the saying, 'Parties whose principles are different cannot
take counsel together.' Lî Urh taught that transformation follows, as
a matter of course, the doing nothing (to bring it about), and
rectification ensues in the same way from being pure and still."
Accepting the _Tâo Teh King_ as the veritable work of Lâo-tsze, we may
now examine its contents. Consisting of not more than between five and
six thousand characters, it is but a short treatise--not half the size
of the Gospel of St Mark. The nature of the subject, however, the want
of any progress of thought or of logical connexion between its different
parts, and the condensed style, with the mystic tendencies and poetical
temperament of the author, make its meaning extraordinarily obscure.
Divided at first into two parts, it has subsequently and conveniently
been subdivided into chapters. One of the oldest, and the most common,
of these arrangements makes the chapters eighty-two.
Supposed harmony with Biblical teaching.
Some Roman Catholic missionaries, two centuries ago, fancied that they
found a wonderful harmony between many passages and the teaching of the
Bible. Montucci of Berlin ventured to say in 1808: "Many things about a
Triune God are so clearly expressed that no one who has read this book
can doubt that the mystery of the Holy Trinity was revealed to the
Chinese five centuries before the coming of Jesus Christ." Even Rémusat,
the first occupant of a Chinese chair in Europe, published at Paris in
1823 his _Mémoire sur la vie et les opinions de Lâo-tsze_, to vindicate
the view that the Hebrew name Yahweh was phonetically represented in the
fourteenth chapter by Chinese characters. These fancies were exploded by
Stanislas Julien, when he issued in 1842 his translation of the whole
treatise as _Le Livre de la voie et de la vertu_.
The most important thing is to determine what we are to understand by
the _Tâo_, for _Teh_ is merely its outcome, especially in man, and is
rightly translated by "virtue." Julien translated _Tâo_ by "la voie."
Chalmers leaves it untranslated. "No English word," he says (p. xi.),
"is its exact equivalent. Three terms suggest themselves--the way,
reason and the word; but they are all liable to objection. Were we
guided by etymology, 'the way' would come nearest the original, and in
one or two passages the idea of a way seems to be in the term; but this
is too materialistic to serve the purpose of a translation. 'Reason,'
again, seems to be more like a quality or attribute of some conscious
being than _Tâo_ is. I would translate it by 'the Word,' in the sense of
the Logos, but this would be like settling the question which I wish to
leave open, viz. what resemblance there is between the Logos of the New
Testament and this Chinese Tâo." Later Sinologues in China have employed
"nature" as our best analogue of the term. Thus Watters (_Lâo-tsze, A
Study in Chinese Philosophy_, p. 45) says:--"In the _Tâo Teh King_ the
originator of the universe is referred to under the names Non-Existence,
Existence, Nature (_Tâo_) and various designations--all which, however,
represent one idea in various manifestations. It is in all cases Nature
(_Tâo_) which is meant." This view has been skilfully worked out; but it
only hides the scope of "the Venerable Philosopher." "Nature" cannot be
accepted as a _translation_ of _Tâo_. That character was, primarily, the
symbol of a way, road or path; and then, figuratively, it was used, as
we also use _way_, in the senses of means and method--the _course_ that
we pursue in passing from one thing or concept to another as its end or
result. It is the name of a quality. Sir Robert Douglas has well said
(_Confucianism and Tâoism_, p. 189): "If we were compelled to adopt a
single word to represent the _Tâo_ of Lâo-tsze, we should prefer the
sense in which it is used by Confucius, 'the way,' that is, [Greek:
methodos]."
The doctrine of "the way."
What, then, was the quality which Lâo-tsze had in view, and which he
thought of as the _Tâo_--there in the library of Chow, at the pass of
the valley of Han, and where he met the end of his life beyond the
limits of the civilized state? It was the simplicity of spontaneity,
action (which might be called non-action) without motive, free from all
selfish purpose, resting in nothing but its own accomplishment. This is
found in the phenomena of the material world. "All things spring up
without a word spoken, and grow without a claim for their production.
They go through their processes without any display of pride in them;
and the results are realized without any assumption of ownership. It is
owing to the absence of such assumption that the results and their
processes do not disappear" (chap. ii.). It only needs the same quality
in the arrangements and measures of government to make society beautiful
and happy. "A government conducted by sages would free the hearts of the
people from inordinate desires, fill their bellies, keep their ambitions
feeble and strengthen their bones. They would constantly keep the people
without knowledge and free from desires; and, where there were those who
had knowledge, they would have them so that they would not dare to put
it in practice" (chap. iii.). A corresponding course observed by
individual man in his government of himself becoming again "as a little
child" (chaps. x. and xxviii.) will have corresponding results. "His
constant virtue will be complete, and he will return to the primitive
simplicity" (chap. xxviii.).
Such is the subject matter of the _Tâo Teh King_--the operation of this
method or _Tâo_, "without striving or crying," in nature, in society and
in the individual. Much that is very beautiful and practical is
inculcated in connexion with its working in the individual character.
The writer seems to feel that he cannot say enough on the virtue of
humility (chap. viii., &c.). There were three things which he prized and
held fast--gentle compassion, economy and the not presuming to take
precedence in the world (chap. lxvii.). His teaching rises to its
highest point in chap. lxiii.:--"It is the way of _Tâo_ not to act from
any personal motive, to conduct affairs without feeling the trouble of
them, to taste without being aware of the flavour, to account the great
as small and the small as great, to recompense injury with kindness."
This last and noblest characteristic of the _Tâo_, the requiting "good
for evil," is not touched on again in the treatise; but we know that it
excited general attention at the time, and was the subject of
conversation between Confucius and his disciples (_Confucian Analects_,
xiv. 36).
What is said in the _Tâo_ on government is not, all of it, so
satisfactory. The writer shows, indeed, the benevolence of his heart. He
seems to condemn the infliction of capital punishment (chaps. lxxiii.
and lxxiv.), and he deplores the practice of war (chap. lxix.); but he
had no sympathy with the progress of society or with the culture and
arts of life. He says (chap. lxv.):--"Those who anciently were skilful
in practising the _Tâo_ did not use it to enlighten the people; their
object rather was to keep them simple. The difficulty in governing the
people arises from their having too much knowledge, and therefore he who
tries to govern a state by wisdom is a scourge to it, while he who does
not try to govern thereby is a blessing." The last chapter but one is
the following:--"In a small state with a few inhabitants, I would so
order it that the people, though supplied with all kinds of implements,
would not (care to) use them; I would give them cause to look on death
as a most grievous thing, while yet they would not go away to a distance
to escape from it. Though they had boats and carriages, they should have
no occasion to ride in them. Though they had buff-coats and sharp
weapons, they should not don or use them. I would make them return to
the use of knotted cords (instead of written characters). They should
think their coarse food sweet, their plain clothing beautiful, their
poor houses places of rest and their common simple ways sources of
enjoyment. There should be a neighbouring state within sight, and the
sound of the fowls and dogs should be heard from it to us without
interruption, but I would make the people to old age, even to death,
have no intercourse with it."
On reading these sentiments, we must judge of Lâo-tsze that, with all
his power of thought, he was only a dreamer. But thus far there is no
difficulty arising from his language in regard to the _Tâo_. It is
simply a quality, descriptive of the style of character and action,
which the individual should seek to attain in himself, and the ruler to
impress on his administration. The language about the _Tâo_ in nature is
by no means so clear. While Sir Robert Douglas says that "the way" would
be the best translation of _Tâo_, he immediately adds:--"But _Tâo_ is
more than the way. It is the way and the way-goer. It is an eternal
road; along it all beings and things walk; but no being made it, for it
is being itself; it is everything, and nothing and the cause and effect
of all. All things originate from _Tâo_, conform to _Tâo_ and to _Tâo_
at last they return."
The Tâo and the Deity.
Some of these representations require modification; but no thoughtful
reader of the treatise can fail to be often puzzled by what is said on
the point in hand. Julien, indeed, says with truth (p. xiii.) that "it
is impossible to take _Tâo_ for the primordial Reason, for the sublime
Intelligence, which has created and governs the world"; but many of
Lâo-tsze's statements are unthinkable if there be not behind the _Tâo_
the unexpressed recognition of a personal creator and ruler. Granted
that he does not affirm positively the existence of such a Being, yet
certainly he does not deny it, and his language even implies it. It has
been said, indeed, that he denies it, and we are referred in proof to
the fourth chapter:--"_Tâo_ is like the emptiness of a vessel; and the
use of it, we may say, must be free from all self-sufficiency. How deep
and mysterious it is, as if it were the author of all things! We should
make our sharpness blunt, and unravel the complications of things; we
should attemper our brightness, and assimilate ourselves to the
obscurity caused by dust. How still and clear is _Tâo_, a phantasm with
the semblance of permanence! I do not know whose son it is. It might
appear to have been before God (_Ti_)."
The reader will not overlook the cautious and dubious manner in which
the predicates of _Tâo_ are stated in this remarkable passage. The
author does not say that it was before God, but that "it might appear"
to have been so. Nowhere else in his treatise does the nature of _Tâo_
as a method or style of action come out more clearly. It has no positive
existence of itself; it is but like the emptiness of a vessel, and the
manifestation of it by men requires that they endeavour to free
themselves from all self-sufficiency. Whence came it? It does not shock
Lâo-tsze to suppose that it had a father, but he cannot tell whose son
it is. And, as the feeling of its mysteriousness grows on him, he
ventures to say that "it might appear to have been before God."
There is here no denial but express recognition of the existence of God,
so far as it is implied in the name _Tî_, which is the personal name for
the concept of heaven as the ruling power, by means of which the fathers
of the Chinese people rose in prehistoric time to the idea of God. Again
and again Lâo-tsze speaks of heaven just as "we do when we mean thereby
the Deity who presides over heaven and earth." These last words are
taken from Watters (p. 81); and, though he adds, "We must not forget
that this heaven is inferior and subsequent to the mysterious _Tâo_, and
was in fact produced by it," it has been shown how rash and unwarranted
is the ascription of such a sentiment to "the Venerable Philosopher." He
makes the _Tâo_ prior to heaven and earth, which is a phrase denoting
what we often call "nature," but he does not make it prior to heaven in
the higher and immaterial usage of that name. The last sentence of his
treatise is:--"It is the _Tâo_--the way--of Heaven to benefit and not
injure; it is the _Tâo_--the way--of the sage to do and not strive."
Since Julien laid the _Tâo Teh King_ fairly open to Western readers in
1842, there has been a tendency to overestimate rather than to
underestimate its value as a scheme of thought and a discipline for
the individual and society. There are in it lessons of unsurpassed
value, such as the inculcation of simplicity, humility and
self-abnegation, and especially the brief enunciation of the divine
duty of returning good for ill; but there are also the regretful
representations of a primitive society when men were ignorant of the
rudiments of culture, and the longings for its return.
When it was thought that the treatise made known the doctrine of the
Trinity, and even gave a phonetic representation of the Hebrew name
for God, it was natural, even necessary, to believe that its author
had had communication with more western parts of Asia, and there was
much speculation about visits to India and Judaea, and even to Greece.
The necessity for assuming such travels has passed away. If we can
receive Sze-mâ Ch'ien's histories as trustworthy, Lâo-tsze might have
heard, in the states of Chow and among the wild tribes adjacent to
them, views about society and government very like his own. Ch'ien
relates how an envoy came in 624 B.C.--twenty years before the date
assigned to the birth of Lâo-tsze--to the court of Duke Mû of Ch'in,
sent by the king of some rude hordes on the west. The duke told him of
the histories, poems, codes of rites, music and laws which they had
in the middle states, while yet rebellion and disorder were of
frequent occurrence, and asked how good order was secured among the
wild people, who had none of those appliances. The envoy smiled, and
replied that the troubles of China were occasioned by those very
things of which the duke vaunted, and that there had been a gradual
degeneration in the condition of its states, as their professed
civilization had increased, ever since the days of the ancient sage,
Hwang Tî, whereas in the land he came from, where there was nothing
but the primitive simplicity, their princes showed a pure virtue in
their treatment of the people, who responded to them with loyalty and
good faith. "The government of a state," said he in conclusion, "is
like a man's ruling his own single person. He rules it, and does not
know how he does so; and this was indeed the method of the sages."
Lâo-tsze did not need to go further afield to find all that he has
said about government.
The Tâoism of to-day
We have confined ourselves to the Tâoism of the _Tâo Teh King_ without
touching on the religion Tâoism now existing in China, but which did
not take shape until more than five hundred years after the death of
Lâo-tsze, though he now occupies the second place in its trinity of
"The three Pure or Holy Ones." There is hardly a word in his treatise
that savours either of superstition or religion. In the works of
Lieh-tsze and Chwang-tsze, his earliest followers of note, we find
abundance of grotesque superstitions; but their beliefs (if indeed we
can say that they had beliefs) had not become embodied in any
religious institutions. When we come to the Ch'in dynasty (221-206
B.C.), we meet with a Tâoism in the shape of a search for the fairy
islands of the eastern sea, where the herb of immortality might be
gathered. In the 1st century A.D. a magician, called Chang Tâo-ling,
comes before us as the chief professor and controller of this Tâoism,
preparing in retirement "the pill" which renewed his youth, supreme
over all spirits, and destroying millions of demons by a stroke of his
pencil. He left his books, talismans and charms, with his sword and
seal, to his descendants, and one of them, professing to be animated
by his soul, dwells on the Lung-hû mountain in Kiang-si, the
acknowledged head or pope of Tâoism. But even then the system was not
yet a religion, with temples or monasteries, liturgies and forms of
public worship. It borrowed all these from Buddhism, which first
obtained public recognition in China between A.D. 65 and 70, though at
least a couple of centuries passed before it could be said to have
free course in the country.
Even still, with the form of a religion, Tâoism is in reality a
conglomeration of base and dangerous superstitions. Alchemy, geomancy
and spiritualism have dwelt and dwell under its shadow. Each of its
"three Holy Ones" has the title of _Thien Tsun_, "the Heavenly and
Honoured," taken from Buddhism, and also of _Shang Ti_ or God, taken
from the old religion of the country. The most popular deity, however,
is not one of them, but has the title of _Yü Wang Shang Tî_, "God, the
Perfect King." But it would take long to tell of all its "celestial
gods," "great gods," "divine rulers" and others. It has been doubted
whether Lâo-tsze acknowledged the existence of God at all, but modern
Tâoism is a system of the wildest polytheism. The science and religion
of the West meet from it a most determined opposition. The "Venerable
Philosopher" himself would not have welcomed them; but he ought not to
bear the obloquy of being the founder of the Tâoist religion.
(J. Le.)
LA PAZ, a western department of Bolivia, bounded N. by the national
territories of Caupolican and El Beni, E. by El Beni and Cochabamba, S.
by Cochabamba and Oruro and W. by Chile and Peru. Pop. (1900) 445,616,
the majority of whom are Indians. Area 53,777 sq. m. The department
belongs to the great Bolivian plateau, and its greater part to the cold,
bleak, _puna_ climatic region. The Cordillera Real crosses it N.W. to
S.E. and culminates in the snow-crowned summits of Sorata and Illimani.
The west of the department includes a part of the Titicaca basin with
about half of the lake. This elevated plateau region is partially barren
and inhospitable, its short, cold summers permitting the production of
little besides potatoes, quinoa (_Chenopodium quinoa_) and barley, with
a little Indian corn and wheat in favoured localities. Some attention is
given to the rearing of llamas, and a few cattle, sheep and mules are to
be seen south of Lake Titicaca. There is a considerable Indian
population in this region, living chiefly in small hamlets on the
products of their own industry. In the lower valleys of the eastern
slopes, where climatic conditions range from temperate to tropical,
wheat, Indian corn, oats and the fruits and vegetables of the temperate
zone are cultivated. Farther down, coffee, cacao, coca, rice, sugar
cane, tobacco, oranges, bananas and other tropical fruits are grown, and
the forests yield cinchona bark and rubber. The mineral wealth of La Paz
includes gold, silver, tin, copper and bismuth. Tin and copper are the
most important of these, the principal tin mines being in the vicinity
of the capital and known under the names of Huayna-Potosi, Milluni and
Chocoltaga. The chief copper mines are the famous Corocoro group, about
75 m. S.S.E. of Lake Titicaca by the Desaguadero river, the principal
means of transport. The output of the Corocoro mines, which also
includes gold and silver, finds its way to market by boat and rail to
Mollendo, and by pack animals to Tacna and rail to Arica. There are no
roads in La Paz worthy of the name except the 5 m. between the capital
and the "Alto," though stagecoach communication with Oruro and Chililaya
has been maintained by the national government. The railway opened in
1905 between Guaqui and La Paz (54 m.) superseded the latter of these
stage lines, and a railway is planned from Viacha to Oruro to supersede
the other. The capital of the department is the national capital La Paz.
Corocoro, near the Desaguadero river, about 75 m. S.S.E. of Lake
Titicaca and 13,353 ft. above sea-level, has an estimated population
(1906) of 15,000, chiefly Aymará Indians.
LA PAZ (officially LA PAZ DE AYACUCHO), the capital of Bolivia since
1898, the see of a bishopric created in 1605 and capital of the
department of La Paz, on the Rio de la Paz or Rio Chuquiapo, 42 m. S.E.
of Lake Titicaca (port of Chililaya) in 16° 30´ S., 68° W. Pop. (1900)
54,713, (1906, estimate) 67,235. The city is built in a deeply-eroded
valley of the Cordillera Real which is believed to have formed an outlet
of Lake Titicaca, and at this point descends sharply to the S.E., the
river making a great bend southward and then flowing northward to the
Beni. The valley is about 10 m. long and 3 m. wide, and is singularly
barren and forbidding. Its precipitous sides, deeply gullied by
torrential rains and diversely coloured by mineral ores, rise 1500 ft.
above the city to the margin of the great plateau surrounding Lake
Titicaca, and above these are the snow-capped summits of Illimani and
other giants of the Bolivian Cordillera. Below, the valley is fertile
and covered with vegetation, first of the temperate and then of the
tropical zone. The elevation of La Paz is 12,120 ft. above sea-level,
which places it within the _puna_ climatic region, in which the summers
are short and cold. The mean annual temperature is a little above the
_puna_ average, which is 54° F., the extremes ranging from 19° to 75°.
Pneumonia and bronchial complaints are common, but consumption is said
to be rare. The surface of the valley is very uneven, rising sharply
from the river on both sides, and the transverse streets of the city are
steep and irregular. At its south-eastern extremity is the Alameda, a
handsome public promenade with parallel rows of exotic trees, shrubs and
flowers, which are maintained with no small effort in so inhospitable a
climate. The trees which seem to thrive best are the willow and
eucalyptus. The streets are generally narrow and roughly paved, and
there are numerous bridges across the river and its many small
tributaries. The dwellings of the poorer classes are commonly built with
mud walls and covered with tiles, but stone and brick are used for the
better structures. The cathedral, which was begun in the 17th century
when the mines of Potosi were at the height of their productiveness, was
never finished because of the revolutions and the comparative poverty of
the city under the republic. It faces the Plaza Mayor and is
distinguished for the finely-carved stonework of its façade. Facing the
same plaza are the government offices and legislative chambers. Other
notable edifices and institutions are the old university of San Andrés,
the San Francisco church, a national college, a seminary, a good public
library and a museum rich in relics of the Inca and colonial periods. La
Paz is an important commercial centre, being connected with the Pacific
coast by the Peruvian railway from Mollendo to Puno (via Arequipa), and
a Bolivian extension from Guaqui to the Alto de La Paz (Heights of La
Paz)--the two lines being connected by a steamship service across Lake
Titicaca. An electric railway 5 m. long connects the Alto de La Paz with
the city, 1493 ft. below. This route is 496 m. long, and is expensive
because of trans-shipments and the cost of handling cargo at Mollendo.
The vicinity of La Paz abounds with mineral wealth; most important are
the tin deposits of Huayna-Potosi, Milluni and Chocoltaga. The La Paz
valley is auriferous, and since the foundation of the city gold has been
taken from the soil washed down from the mountain sides.
La Paz was founded in 1548 by Alonzo de Mendoza on the site of an
Indian village called Chuquiapu. It was called the Pueblo Nuevo de
Nuestra Señora de la Paz in commemoration of the reconciliation
between Pizarro and Almagro, and soon became an important colony. At
the close of the war of independence (1825) it was rechristened La Paz
de Ayacucho, in honour of the last decisive battle of that protracted
struggle. It was made one of the four capitals of the republic, but
the revolution of 1898 permanently established the seat of government
here because of its accessibility, wealth, trade and political
influence.
LA PÉROUSE, JEAN-FRANÇOIS DE GALAUP, COMTE DE (1741-_c._ 1788), French
navigator, was born near Albi, on the 22nd of August 1741. His family
name was Galaup, and La Pérouse or La Peyrouse was an addition adopted
by himself from a small family estate near Albi. As a lad of eighteen he
was wounded and made prisoner on board the "Formidable" when it was
captured by Admiral Hawke in 1759; and during the war with England
between 1778 and 1783 he served with distinction in various parts of the
world, more particularly on the eastern coasts of Canada and in Hudson's
Bay, where he captured Forts Prince of Wales and York (August 8th and
21st, 1782). In 1785 (August 1st) he sailed from Brest in command of the
French government expedition of two vessels ("La Boussole" under La
Pérouse himself, and "L'Astrolabe," under de Langle) for the discovery
of the North-West Passage, vainly essayed by Cook on his last voyage,
from the Pacific side. He was also charged with the further exploration
of the north-west coasts of America, and the north-east coasts of Asia,
of the China and Japan seas, the Solomon Islands and Australia; and he
was ordered to collect information as to the whale fishery in the
southern oceans and as to the fur trade in North America. He reached
Mount St Elias, on the coast of Alaska, on the 23rd of June 1786. After
six weeks, marked by various small discoveries, he was driven from these
regions by bad weather; and after visiting the Hawaiian Islands, and
discovering Necker Island (November 5th, 1786), he crossed over to Asia
(Macao, January 3rd, 1787). Thence he passed to the Philippines, and so
to the coasts of Japan, Korea and "Chinese Tartary," where his best
results were gained. Touching at Quelpart, he reached De Castries Bay,
near the modern Vladivostok, on the 28th of July 1787; and on the 2nd of
August following discovered the strait, still named after him, between
Sakhalin and the Northern Island of Japan. On the 7th of September he
put in at Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka, where he was well received by
special order of the Russian empress, Catherine II.; thence he sent home
Lesseps, overland, with the journals, notes, plans and maps recording
the work of the expedition. He left Avacha Bay on the 29th of September,
and arrived at Mauna in the Samoan group on the 8th of December; here de
Langle and ten of the crew of the "Astrolabe" were murdered. He quitted
Samoa on the 14th of December, touched at the Friendly Islands and
Norfolk Island and arrived in Botany Bay on the 26th of January 1788.
From this place, where he interchanged courtesies with some of the
English pioneers in Australia, he wrote his last letter to the French
Ministry of Marine (February 7th). After this no more was heard of him
and his squadron till in 1826 Captain Peter Dillon found the wreckage of
what must have been the "Boussole" and the "Astrolabe" on the reefs of
Vanikoro, an island to the north of the New Hebrides. In 1828 Dumont
d'Urville visited the scene of the disaster and erected a monument
(March 14th).
See Milet Mureau, _Voyage de la Pérouse autour du monde_ (Paris, 1797)
4 vols.; Gérard, _Vies ... des ... marins français_ (Paris, 1825),
197-200; Peter Dillon, _Narrative ... of a Voyage in the South Seas
for the Discovery of the Fate of La Pérouse_ (London, 1829), 2 vols.;
Dumont d'Urville, _Voyage pittoresque autour du monde_; Quoy and Paul
Gaimard, _Voyage de ... l'Astrolabe_; Domeny de Rienzi, _Océanie_; Van
Tenac, _Histoire général de la marine_, iv. 258-264; _Moniteur
universel_, 13th of February 1847.
LAPIDARY, and GEM CUTTING (Lat. _lapidarius, lapis_, a stone). The
earliest examples of gem cutting and carving known (see also GEM) are
the ancient engraved seals, which are of two principal types, the
cylindrical or "rolling" seals of Babylonia and Assyria, suggested by a
joint of the bamboo or the central whorl of a conch-like shell, and the
peculiar scarabaeoid seals of Egypt. Recent researches make it appear
that both these types were in use as far back as 4500 B.C., though with
some variations. The jewels of Queen Zer, and other jewels consisting of
cut turquoise, lapis lazuli and amethyst, found by the French mission,
date from 4777 B.C. to 4515 B.C. Until about 2500 B.C., the cylinder
seals bore almost wholly animal designs; then cuneiform inscriptions
were added. In the 6th century B.C., the scarabaeoid type was introduced
from Egypt, while the rolling seals began to give place to a new form,
that of a tall cone. These, in a century or two, were gradually
shortened; the hole by which they were suspended was enlarged until it
could admit the finger, and in time they passed into the familiar form
of seal-rings. This later type, which prevailed for a long period,
usually bore Persian or Sassanian inscriptions. The scarabaeoid seals
were worn as rings in Egypt apparently from the earliest times.
The most ancient of the cylinder seals were cut at first from shell,
then largely from opaque stones such as diorite and serpentine. After
2500 B.C., varieties of chalcedony and milky quartz were employed,
translucent and richly coloured; sometimes even rock crystal, and also
frequently a beautiful compact haematite. Amazone stone, amethyst and
fossil coral were used, but no specimen is believed to be known of ruby,
sapphire, emerald, diamond, tourmaline or spinel.
The date of about 500 B.C. marks the beginning of a period of great
artistic taste and skill in gem carving, which extended throughout the
ancient civilized world, and lasted until the 3rd or 4th century A.D.
Prior to this period, all the work appears to have been done by hand
with a sapphire point, or else with a bow-drill; thenceforward the wheel
came to be largely employed. The Greek cutters, in their best period,
the 5th and 6th centuries B.C., knew the use of disks and drills, but
preferred the sapphire point for their finest work, and continued to use
it for two or three hundred years. Engraving by the bow-drill was
introduced in Assyrian and Babylonian work as early as perhaps 3000
B.C., the earlier carving being all done with the sapphire point, which
was secured in a handle for convenient application. This handwork
demanded the utmost skill and delicacy of touch in the artist. The
bow-drill consisted of a similar point fastened in the end of a stick,
which could be rotated by means of a horizontal cross-bar attached at
each end to a string wound around the stick; as the cross-bar was moved
up and down, the stick was made to rotate alternately in opposite
directions. This has been a frequent device for such purposes among many
peoples, both ancient and modern, civilized and uncivilized. The point
used by hand, and the bow-drill, were afterwards variously combined in
executing such work. Another modification was the substitution for the
point, in either process, of a hollow tube or drill, probably in most
cases the joint of a hollow reed, whereby very accurate circles could be
made, as also crescent figures and the like. This process, used with
fine hard sand, has also been widely employed among many peoples. It may
perhaps have been suggested by the boring of other shells by carnivorous
molluscs of the _Murex_ type, examples of which may be picked up on any
sea-beach. It is possible that the cylinder seals were drilled in this
way out of larger pieces by means of a hollow reed or bamboo, the
cylinder being left as the core.
The Egyptian scarabs were an early and very characteristic type of seal
cutting. The Greek gem cutters modified them by adding Greek and
Etruscan symbols and talismanic signs; many of them also worked in Egypt
and for Egyptians. Phoenician work shows a mixture of Assyrian and
Egyptian designs; and Cypriote seals, principally on the agate gems, are
known that are referred to the 9th century B.C.
Scarabs are sometimes found that have been sliced in two, and the new
flat faces thus produced carved with later inscriptions and set in
rings. This secondary work is of many kinds. An Assyrian cylinder in the
Metropolitan Museum, New York, referred to 3000 B.C., bears such a
cutting of Mediterranean character, of the 2nd or 3rd century B.C. In
the early Christian era, also, many Greek and Roman gems were recut with
Gnostic and other peculiar and obscure devices.
In the later Roman period, the 3rd and 4th centuries, a great decline in
the art is seen--so great that Castellani terms it "the idiotic age."
Numbers of gems of this kind have been found together, as though they
were the product of a single manufacturer, carved in the crudest manner,
both in design and execution. Yet remarkable results are sometimes
produced in these by a few touches of the drill, which under the glass
appear very crude but nevertheless yield strong effects. The same thing
may be seen now in many of the Japanese sketches and lacquer designs,
where a whole landscape is depicted, or rather suggested, by a few
simple but powerful strokes. It is now thought that some of these seals
may be of earlier origin than has been supposed, and also that they may
have been worn by the poorer classes, who could not afford the more
finished work. They must have been made by the hundred thousand. The
decline of the art went on until in the Byzantine period, especially the
6th century, it had reached a very low point. Most of the gems of this
period show drill-work of poor quality, although hand-work is
occasionally seen.
With the Renaissance, the art of gem carving revived, and the engravers
from that time and onward have produced results that equal the best
Greek and Roman work; copies of ancient gem carvings made by some of the
18th-century masters are only distinguishable from true antiques by
experts of great proficiency. It is in fact extremely difficult to judge
positively as to the age of engraved gems. The materials of which they
are made are hard and resistant to any change through time, and there
are many ingenious devices for producing the appearances usually
believed to indicate great age, such as slightly dulled or scratched
surfaces and the like. There are also the gems with secondary carving,
already alluded to, and the ancient gems that have been partially recut
by modern engravers for the purpose of fraudulently enhancing their
price. All these elements enter into the problem and make it an almost
hopeless one for any but a person of great experience in the study of
such objects; and even he may not be able in all cases to decide.
Until the 14th century, almost all the gems were cut _en cabochon_--that
is, smoothly rounded, as carbuncles and opals are still--or else in the
form of beads drilled from both sides for suspension or attachment, the
two perforations often meeting but imperfectly. These latter may be of
Asiatic origin, brought into Europe by commerce during the Crusades.
Some of the finest gems in the Austrian, Russian and German crowns are
stones of this perforated or bead type. An approach, or transition, to
the modern facetting is seen in a style of cutting often used for
rock-crystal in the 10th and 11th centuries: an oval cabochon was
polished flat, and the sides of the dome were also trimmed flat, with a
rounded back, and the upper side with a ridge in the centre, tapering
off to the girdle of the stone below.
The plane facetted cutting is altogether modern; and hence the pictures
which represent the breastplate of the ancient Jewish high-priest as set
with facetted stones are wholly imaginary and probably incorrect, as we
have no exact knowledge of the forms of the gems. The Orientals polish
gems in all sorts of irregular, rounded shapes, according to the form of
the piece as found, and with the one object of preserving as much of its
original size and colour as possible. The greatest ingenuity is used to
make a speck of colour, as in a sapphire, tone up an entire gem, by
cutting it so that there is a point of high colour at the lower side of
the gem.
In later times a few facets are sometimes cut upon a generally rounded
stone. The _cabochon_ method is still used for opaque or translucent
stones, as opal, moonstone, turquoise, carbuncle, &c.; but for
transparent gems the facetted cutting is almost always employed, on
account of its fine effect in producing brilliancy, by reflection or
refraction of light from the under side of the gem. Occasionally the
ancients used natural crystals with polished faces, or perhaps at times
polished these to some extent artificially. This use of crystals was
frequent with prisms of emerald, which were drilled and suspended as
drops. Those the French call "primes d'émeraudes." These were often
natural crystals from Zaborah, Egypt or the Tirol Mountains, drilled
through the height of the prism, and with little or no polishing. In
rare instances perfect and brilliant crystals may now be seen mounted as
gems.
The modern method is that of numerous facets, geometrically disposed to
bring out the beauty of light and colour to the best advantage. This is
done at the sacrifice of material, often to the extent of half the stone
or even more--the opposite of the Oriental idea. There are various forms
of such cutting, but three are specially employed, known as the
brilliant, the rose and the table-cut. The last, generally made from
cleavage pieces, usually square or oblong, with a single facet or edge
on each side, and occasionally four or more facets on the lower side of
the stone, is used chiefly for emeralds, rubies and sapphires; the two
former for diamonds in particular. The brilliant is essentially a low,
double cone, its top truncated to form a large flat eight-sided face
called the table, and its basal apex also truncated by a very small face
known as the _culette_ or _cullet_. The upper and lower slopes are cut
into a series of triangular facets, 32 above the girdle, in four rows of
eight, and 24 below, in three rows, making 56 facets in all. The rose
form is used for diamonds not thick enough to cut as brilliants; it is
flat below and has 12 to 24, or sometimes 32, triangular facets above,
in three rows, meeting in a point. Stones thus cut are also known as
"roses couronnées"; others with fewer facets, twelve or even six, are
called "roses d'Anvers," and are a specialty, as their name implies, at
Antwerp. These, however, are only cut from very thin or shallow stones.
None of the rose-cut diamonds is equal in beauty to the brilliants.
There are several other forms, among which are the "briolette,"
"marquise," oval and pear-shaped stones, &c., but they are of minor
importance. The pear-shaped brilliant is a facetted ball or drop, being
a brilliant in style of cutting, although the form of the gem is
elongated or drop-shaped. The "marquise" or "navette" form is an
elliptical brilliant of varying width in proportion to its length. The
"rondelle" form consists of flat, circular gems with smooth sides
pierced, like shallow beads, with facetted edges, and is sometimes used
between pearls, or gem beads, and in the coloured gems, such as rubies,
sapphires, emeralds, &c. The mitred gems fitted to a gauge are much used
and are closely set together, forming a continuous line of colour.
Modern gem cutting and engraving are done by means of the lathe, which
can be made to revolve with extreme rapidity, carrying a point or small
disk of soft iron, with diamond-dust and oil. The disks vary in diameter
from that of a pin-head to a quarter of an inch. Better than the lathe,
also, is the S. S. White dental engine, which the present writer was the
first to suggest for this use. The flexibility and sensitiveness of this
machine enables it to respond to the touch of the artist and to impart a
personal quality to his work not possible with the mechanical action of
the lathe, and more like the hand-work with the sapphire point. The
diamond-dust and oil, thus applied, will carve any stone softer than the
diamond itself with comparative ease.
We may now review some of the special forms of cutting and working gems
and ornamental stones that have been developed in Europe since the
period of the Renaissance.
Garnets (q.v.) have been used and worked from remote antiquity; but in
modern times the cutting of them has been carried on chiefly in
Bohemia, in the region around Merowitz and Dlaskowitch. The stones
occur in a trap rock, and are weathered out by its decomposition and
gathered from gravels and beds of streams. They are of the rich red
variety known as pyrope (q.v.), or Bohemian garnet; it is generally
valued as a gem-stone. Such are the so-called "Cape rubies," of South
Africa, found in considerable quantity in German East Africa, and the
beautiful garnets known as the "Arizona rubies." Garnets are so
abundant in Bohemia as to constitute an important industry, employing
some five hundred miners, an equal number of cutters and as many as
three thousand dealers. Extensive garnet cutting is also done in
India, especially at Jeypore, where there are large works employing
natives who have been taught by Europeans. The Indian garnets,
however, are mostly of another variety, the almandine (q.v.); it is
equally rich in colour, though inclining more to a violet cast than
the pyrope, and can be obtained in larger pieces. The ancient garnets,
from Etruscan and Byzantine remains, some of which are flat plates set
in gold, or carved with mythological designs, were probably obtained
from India or perhaps from the remarkable locality for large masses of
garnet in German East Africa. Many are cut with the portraits of
Sassanian kings with their characteristic pearl earrings. The East
Indians carve small dishes out of a single garnet.
The carving of elegant objects from transparent quartz, or rock
crystal, has been carried on since the 16th century, first in Italy,
by the greatest masters of the time, and afterwards in Prague, under
Rudolph II., until the Thirty Years' War, when the industry was wiped
out. Splendid examples of this work are in the important museums of
Europe. Many of these are reproduced now in Vienna, and fine examples
are included in some American museums. Among them are rock-crystal
dishes several inches across, beautifully engraved in intaglio and
mounted in silver with gems. Other varieties of quartz minerals, such
as agate, jasper, &c., and other ornamental stones of similar
hardness, are likewise wrought into all manner of art objects.
Caskets, vases, ewers, coupés and animal and other fanciful forms, are
familiar in these opaque and semi-transparent stones, either carved
out of single masses or made of separate pieces united with gold,
silver or enamel in the most artistic manner. Cellini, and other
masters in the 16th and 17th centuries, vied with each other in such
work.
The greatest development of agate (q.v.), however, has been seen in
Germany, at Waldkirch in Breisgau, and especially at Idar and
Oberstein on the Nahe, in Oldenburg. The industry began in the 14th
century, at the neighbouring town of Freiburg, but was transferred to
Waldkirch, where it is still carried on, employing about 120 men and
women, the number of workmen having increased nearly threefold since
the middle of the 19th century. The Idar and Oberstein industry was
founded somewhat later, but is much more extensive. Mills run by
water-power line the Nahe river for over 30 m., from above Kreuznach
to below Idar, and gave employment in 1908 to some 5000 people--1625
lapidaries, 160 drillers, 100 engravers, 2900 cutters, &c., besides
300 jewellers and 300 dealers. The industry began here in consequence
of the abundance of agates in the amygdaloid rocks of the vicinity;
and it is probable that many of the Cinque Cento gems, and perhaps
even some of the Roman ones, were obtained in this region. By the
middle of the 18th century the best material was about exhausted, but
the industry had become so firmly established that it has been kept up
and increased by importing agates. In 1540 there were only three
mills; in 1740, twenty-five; in 1840, fifty; in 1870, one hundred and
eighty-four. Agents and prospectors are sent all over the world to
procure agates and other ornamental stones, and enormous quantities
are brought there and stored. The chief source of agate supply has
been in Uruguay, but much has been brought from other distant lands.
It was estimated that fifty thousand tons were stored at Salto in
Uruguay at one time.
The grinding is done on large, horizontal wheels like grindstones,
some 6 ft. in diameter and one-fourth as thick, run by water-wheels.
The faces of some of these grindstones are made with grooves of
different sizes so that round objects or convex surfaces can be ground
very easily and rapidly. An agate ball or marble, for instance, is
made from a piece broken to about the right size and held in one of
these semicircular grooves until one-half of it is shaped, and then
turned over and the other half ground in the same way. The polishing
is done on wooden wheels, with tripoli found in the vicinity; any
carving or ornamentation is then put on with a wheel-edge or a drill
by skilled workmen.
In the United States the Drake Company at Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
has done cutting and polishing in hard materials on a grand scale. It
is here, and here only, that the agatized wood from Chalcedony Park,
Arizona, has been cut and polished, large sections of tree-trunks
having been made into table-tops and columns of wonderful beauty, with
a polish like that of a mirror.
Much of the finest lapidary work, both on a large and a small scale,
is done in Russia. Catherine II. sought to develop the precious stone
resources of the Ural region, and sent thither two Italian lapidaries.
This led to the founding of an industry which now employs at least a
thousand people. The work is done either at the great imperial
lapidary establishment at Ekaterinburg, or in the vicinity of the
mines by lapidary masters, as they are called, each of whom has his
peculiar style. The products are sold to dealers at the great Russian
fairs at Nizhniy Novgorod, Moscow and Ekaterinburg. The imperial works
at the last-named place have command of an immense water-power, and
are on such a scale that great masses of hard stones can be worked as
marble is in other countries. Much of the machinery is primitive, but
the applications are ingenious and the results unsurpassed anywhere.
The work done is of several classes, ranging from the largest and most
massive to the smallest and most delicate. There is (1) the cutting of
facetted gems, as topaz, aquamarine, amethyst, &c., from the mines of
the Ural, and of other gem-stones also; this is largely done by means
of the cadrans, a small machine held in the hand, by which the angle
of the facets can be adjusted readily when once the stone has been
set, and which produces work of great beauty and accuracy. Then there
is (2) a vast variety of ornamental objects, large and small, some
weighing 2000 lb. and over, and requiring years to complete; they are
made from the opaque minerals of the Ural and Siberia--malachite,
rhodonite, lapis-lazuli, aventurine and jasper. A peculiar type of
work is (3) the production of beautiful groups of fruit, flowers and
leaves, in stones selected to match exactly the colour of each object
represented. These are chosen with great care and skill, somewhat as
in the Florentine mosaics, not to produce a flat inlaid picture,
however, but a perfect reproduction of form, size and colour. These
groups are carved and polished from hard stones, whereas the
Florentine mosaic work includes many substances that are much softer,
as glass, shell, &c.
Enormous masses of material are brought to these works; the supply of
rhodonite, jade, jaspers of various colours, &c., sometimes amounting
to hundreds of tons. One mass of Kalkansky jasper weighed nearly 9
tons, and a mass of rhodonite above 50 tons; the latter required a
week of sledging, with ninety horses, to bring it from the quarry,
only 14 m. from the works. About seventy-five men are employed, at
twenty-five roubles a month (£2, 11s. 6d.), and ten boys, who earn
from two to ten roubles (4s. to £1). A training school is connected
with the works, where over fifty boys are pupils; on graduating they
may remain as government lapidaries or set up on their own account.
There are two other great Russian imperial establishments of the same
kind. One of these, founded by Catherine II., is at Peterhof, a short
distance from the capital; it is a large building fitted up with
imperial elegance. Here are made all the designs and models for the
work done at Ekaterinburg; these are returned and strictly preserved.
In the Peterhof works are to be seen the largest and most remarkable
achievements of the lapidarian art, vases and pedestals and columns of
immense size, made from the hardest and most elegant stones, often
requiring the labour of years for their completion. The third great
establishment is at Kolyvan, in Siberia, bearing a like relation to
the minerals and gem-stones of the Altai region that the works of
Ekaterinburg do to the Ural. The three establishments are conducted at
large expense, from the private revenue of the tsar. The Russian
emperors have always taken special interest in lapidary work, and the
products of these establishments have made that country famous
throughout the world. The immense monolithic columns of the Hermitage
and of St Isaac's Cathedral, of polished granite and other hard and
elegant stones, are among the triumphs of modern architectural work;
and the Alexander column at St Petersburg is a single polished shaft,
13 ft. in diameter and 82 ft. in height, of the red Finland granite.
The finest lapidary work of modern France is done at Moulin la
Vacherie Saint Simon, Seine-et-Marne, where some seventy-five of the
most skilful artisans are engaged. The products are all manner of
ornamental objects of every variety of beautiful stone, all finished
with absolute perfection of detail. Columns and other ornaments of
porphyry and the like, of ancient workmanship, are brought hither from
Egypt and elsewhere, and recut into smaller objects for modern
artistic tastes. Here, too, are made spheres of transparent
quartz--"crystal balls"--up to 6 in. in diameter, the material for
which is obtained in Madagascar.
A few words may be said, by way of comparison and contrast, about the
lapidary art of Japan and China, especially in relation to the crystal
balls, now reproduced in France and elsewhere. The tools are the
simplest, and there is no machinery; but the lack of it is made up by
time and patience, and by hereditary pride, as a Japanese artisan can
often trace back his art through many generations continuously. To
make a quartz ball, a large crystal or mass is chipped or broken into
available shape, and then the piece is trimmed into a spherical form
with a small steel hammer. The polishing is effected by grinding with
emery and garnet-powder and plenty of water, in semi-cylindrical
pieces of cast iron, of sizes varying with that of the ball to be
ground, which is kept constantly turning as it is rubbed. Small balls
are fixed in the end of a bamboo tube, which the worker continually
revolves. The final brilliant polish is given by the hand, with
rouge-powder (haematite). This process is evidently very slow, and
only the cheapness of labour prevents the cost from being too great.
The spheres are now made quite freely but very differently in France,
Germany and the United States. They are ground in semicircular grooves
in a large horizontal wheel of hard stone, such as is used for
grinding garnets at Oberstein and Idar, or else by gradually revolving
them on a lathe and fitting them into hollow cylinders. Plenty of
water must be used, to prevent heating and cracking. The polishing is
effected on a wooden wheel with tripoli. Work of this kind is now done
in the United States, in the production of the spheres and carved
ornaments of rock-crystal, that is equal to any in the world. But most
of the material for these supposed Japanese balls now comes from
Brazil or Madagascar, and the work is done in Germany or France.
The cutting of amber is a special branch of lapidary work developed
along the Baltic coast of Germany, where amber is chiefly obtained.
The amber traffic dates back to prehistoric times; but the cutting
industry in northern Europe cannot be definitely traced further back
than the 14th century, when gilds of amber-workers were known at
Bruges and Lübeck. Fine carving was also done at Königsberg as early
as 1399. The latter city and Danzig have become the chief seats of the
amber industry, and the business has increased immensely within a
recent period. Articles are made there, not only for all the civilized
world, but for exportation to half-civilized and even barbarous
nations, in great variety of shapes, styles and colours.
DIAMOND CUTTING.--On account of its extreme hardness, the treatment of
the diamond in preparation for use in jewelry constitutes a separate and
special branch of the lapidary's art. Any valuable gem must first be
trimmed, cleaved or sawed into suitable shape and size, then cut into
the desired form, and finally polished upon the faces which have been
cut. The stages in diamond working are, therefore, (1) cleavage or
division; (2) cutting; (3) polishing; but in point of fact there are
four processes, as the setting of the stone for cutting is a somewhat
distinct branch, and the workers are classed in four groups--cleavers,
setters, cutters and polishers.
1. _Cleaving or Dividing._--Diamonds are always found as crystals,
usually octahedral in form, though often irregular or distorted. The
problem involved in each case is twofold: (1) to obtain the largest
perfect stone possible, and (2) to remove any portions containing flaws
or defects. These ends are generally met by cleaving the crystal, i.e.
causing it to split along certain natural planes of structural weakness,
which are parallel with the faces of the octahedron. This process
requires the utmost judgment, care and skill on the part of the
operator, as any error would cause great loss of valuable material;
hence expert cleavers command very high wages. The stone is first
examined closely, to determine the directions of the cleavage planes,
which are recognizable only by an expert. The cleaver then cuts a narrow
notch at the place selected, with another diamond having a sharp point;
a rather dull iron or steel edge is then laid on this line, and a smart
blow struck upon it. If all has been skilfully done, the diamond divides
at once in the direction desired. De Boot in 1609 mentions knowing some
one who could part a diamond like mica or talc. In this process, each of
the diamonds is fixed in cement on the end of a stick or handle, so that
they can be held firmly while one is applied to the other.
When the stone is large and very valuable, the cleaving is a most
critical process. Wollaston in 1790 made many favourable transactions by
buying very poor-looking flawed stones and cleaving off the good parts.
In the case of the immense Excelsior diamond of 971 carats, which was
divided at Amsterdam in 1904, and made into ten splendid stones, the
most elaborate study extending over two months was given to the work
beforehand, and many models were made of the very irregular stone and
divided in different ways to determine those most advantageous. This
process was in 1908 applied to the most remarkable piece of work of the
kind ever undertaken--the cutting of the gigantic Cullinan diamond of
3025¾ English carats. The stone was taken to Amsterdam to be treated by
the old-fashioned hand method, with innumerable precautions of every
kind at every step, and the cutting was successfully accomplished after
nine months' work (see _The Times_, Nov. 10, 1908). The two principal
stones obtained (see DIAMOND), one a pendeloque or drop brilliant, and
the other a square brilliant, were given 72 and 64 facets respectively
(exclusive of the table and cullet) instead of the normal 56.
This process of cleavage is the old-established one, still used to a
large extent, especially at Amsterdam. But a different method has
recently been introduced, that of sawing,[1] which is now generally
employed in Antwerp. The stone is placed in a small metal receptacle
which is filled with melted aluminium; thus embedded securely, with only
the part to be cut exposed, it is pressed firmly against the edge of a
metallic disk or thin wheel, 4 or 5 in. in diameter, made of copper,
iron or phosphor bronze, which is charged with diamond dust and oil, and
made to revolve with great velocity. This machine was announced as an
American invention, but the form now principally employed at Antwerp was
invented by a Belgian diamond cutter in the United States, and is
similar to slitting wheels used by gem cutters for centuries. Two
patents were taken out, however, by different parties, with some
distinctions of method. The process is much slower than hand-cleavage,
but greatly diminishes the loss of material involved. It is claimed that
not only can flaws or defective portions be thus easily taken off, but
that any well-formed crystal of the usual octahedral shape (known in the
trade as "six-point") can be divided in half very perfectly at the
"girdle," making two stones, in each of which the sawed face can be used
with advantage to form the "table" of a brilliant. By another method the
stone is sawed at a tangent with the octahedron, and then each half into
three pieces; for this Wood method a total saving of 5% is claimed.
Occasionally the finest material is only a small spot in a large mass of
impure material, and this is taken out by most skilful cleaving.
After the cleaving or sawing, however, the diamond is rarely yet in a
form for cutting the facets, and requires considerable shaping. This
rough "blocking-out" of the final form it is to assume, by removing
irregularities and making it symmetrical, is called "brutage."
Well-shaped and flawless crystals, indeed may not require to be cleaved,
and then the brutage is the first process. Here again, the old hand
methods are beginning to give place to mechanism. In either case two
diamonds are taken, each fixed in cement on the end of a handle or
support, and are rubbed one against the other until the irregularities
are ground away and the general shape desired is attained. The old
method was to do this by hand--an extremely tedious and laborious
process. The machine method, invented about 1885 and first used by Field
and Morse of Boston, is now used at Antwerp exclusively. In this, one
diamond is fixed at the centre of a rotating apparatus, and the other,
on an arm or handle, is placed so as to press steadily against the other
stone at the proper angle. The rotating diamond thus becomes rounded and
smoothed; the other one is then put in its place at the centre and their
mutual action reversed.
At Amsterdam a hand-process is employed, which lies between the cleavage
and the brutage. This consists in cutting or trimming away angles and
irregularities all over the stone by means of a sharp-edged or pointed
diamond, both being mounted in cement on pear-shaped handles for firm
holding. This work is largely done by women. In all these processes the
dust and fragments are caught and carefully saved.
2. _Cutting and Setting._--The next process is that of cutting the
facets; but an intervening step is the fixing or "setting" of the stone
for that purpose. This is done by embedding it in a fusible alloy,
melting at 440° Fahr., in a little cup-shaped depression on the end of a
handle, the whole being called a "dop." Only the portion to be ground
off is left exposed; and two such mounted diamonds are then rubbed
against each other until a face is produced. This is the work of the
cutter; it is very laborious, and requires great care and skill. The
hands must be protected with leather gloves. The powder produced is
carefully saved, as in the former processes, for use in the final
polishing. When one face has been produced, the alloy is softened by
heating, and the stone re-set for grinding another surface; and as this
process is necessary for every face cut, it must be repeated many times
for each stone. An improved dop has lately been devised in which the
diamond is held by a system of claws so that all this heating and
resetting can, it is claimed, be obviated, and the cutting completed
with only two changes.
3. _Polishing._--The faces having thus been cut, the last stage is the
polishing. This is done upon horizontal iron wheels called "skaifs,"
made to rotate up to 2500 revolutions per minute. The diamond-powder
saved in the former operations, and also made by crushing very inferior
diamonds, here comes into use as the only material for polishing. It is
applied with oil, and the stones are fixed in a "dop" in much the same
way as in the cutting process. Again, the utmost skill and watchfulness
are necessary, as the angles of the faces must be mathematically exact,
in order to yield the best effects by refraction and reflection of
light, and their sizes must be accurately regulated to preserve the
symmetry of the stone. In this process, also, the old hand method is
already replaced in part by an improved device whereby the diamond is
held by adjustable claws, on a base that can be rotated, so as to apply
it in any desired position. By this means the time and trouble of
repeated re-setting in the dop are saved, as well as the liability to
injury from the heating and cooling; the services of special "setters"
are also made needless.
The rapid development of mechanical devices for the several stages of
diamond cutting has already greatly influenced the art. A very
interesting comparison was brought out in the thirteenth report of the
American Commissioner of Labour, as to the aspects and relations of
hand-work and machinery in this branch of industry. It appeared from the
data gathered that the advantage lay with machinery as to time and with
hand-work as to cost, in the ratios respectively of 1 to 3.38 and 1.76
to 1. In other words, about half the gain in time is lost by increased
expense in the use of machine methods. A great many devices and
applications have been developed within the last few years, owing to the
immense increase in the production of diamonds from the South African
mines, and their consequent widespread use.
_History of Diamond Cutting._--The East Indian diamonds, many of which
are doubtless very ancient, were polished in the usual Oriental
fashion by merely rounding off the angles. Among church jewels in
Europe are a few diamonds of unknown age and source, cut four-sided,
with a table above and a pyramid below. Several cut diamonds are
recorded among the treasures of Louis of Anjou in the third quarter of
the 14th century. But the first definite accounts of diamond polishing
are early in the century following, when one Hermann became noted for
such work in Paris. The modern method of "brilliant" cutting, however,
is generally ascribed to Louis de Berquem, of Bruges, who in 1475 cut
several celebrated diamonds sent to him by Charles the Bold, duke of
Burgundy. He taught this process to many pupils, who afterwards
settled in Antwerp and Amsterdam, which have been the chief centres of
diamond cutting ever since. Peruzzi was the artist who worked out the
theory of the well-proportioned brilliant of 58 facets. Some very fine
work was done early in London also, but most of the workmen were Jews,
who, being objectionable in England, finally betook themselves to
Amsterdam and Antwerp. Efforts have been lately made to re-establish
the art in London, where, as the great diamond mart of the world, it
should peculiarly belong.
The same unwise policy was even more marked in Portugal. That nation
had its colonial possessions in India, following the voyages and
discoveries of Da Gama, and thus became the chief importer of diamonds
into Europe. Early in the 18th century, also, the diamond-mines were
discovered in Brazil, which was then likewise a Portuguese possession;
thus the whole diamond product of the world came to Portugal, and
there was naturally developed in Lisbon an active industry of cutting
and polishing diamonds. But in time the Jews were forced away, and
went to Holland and Belgium, where diamond cutting has been
concentrated since the middle of the 18th century.
It is of interest to trace the recent endeavours to establish diamond
cutting in the United States. The pioneer in this movement was Henry
D. Morse of Boston, associated with James W. Yerrington of New York.
He opened a diamond-cutting establishment about 1860 and carried it on
for some years, training a number of young men and women, who became
the best cutters in the country. But the chief importance of his work
lay in its superior quality. So long had it been a monopoly of the
Dutch and Belgians that it was declining into a mere mechanical trade.
Morse studied the diamond scientifically and taught his pupils how
important mathematical exactitude in cutting was to the beauty and
value of the gem. He thus attained a perfection rarely seen before,
and gave a great stimulus to the art. Shops were opened in London as
well, in consequence of Morse's success; and many valuable diamonds
were recut in the United States after his work became known. This fact
in turn reacted upon the cutter abroad, especially in France and
Switzerland; and thus the general standard of the art was greatly
advanced.
Diamond cutting in the United States is now a well-established
industry. From 1882 to 1885 a number of American jewelers undertook
such work, but for various reasons it was not found practicable then.
Ten years later, however, there were fifteen firms engaged in diamond
cutting, giving employment to nearly 150 men in the various processes
involved. In the year 1894 a number of European diamond workers came
over; some foreign capital became engaged; and a rapid development of
diamond cutting took place. This movement was caused by the low tariff
on uncut diamonds as compared with that on cut stones. It went so far
as to be felt seriously abroad; but in a year or two it declined,
owing partly to strikes and partly to legal questions as to the
application of some of the tariff provisions. At the close of 1895,
however, there were still some fourteen establishments in and near New
York, employing about 500 men. Since then the industry has gradually
developed. Many of the European diamond workers who came over to
America remained and carried on their art; and the movement then begun
has become permanent. New York is now recognized as one of the chief
diamond-cutting centres; there are some 500 cutters, and the quality
of work done is fully equal, if not superior, to any in the Old World.
So well is this fact established that American-cut diamonds are
exported and sold in Europe to a considerable and an increasing
extent.
In the Brazilian diamond region of Minas Geraes an industry of cutting
has grown up since 1875. Small mills are run by water power, and the
machinery, as well as the methods, are from Holland. This Brazilian
diamond work is done both well and cheaply, and supplies the local
market.
The leading position in diamond working still belongs to Amsterdam,
where the number of persons engaged in the industry has trebled since
about 1875, in consequence of the enormous increase in the world's
supply of diamonds. The number now amounts to 15,000, about one-third
of whom are actual cleavers, cutters, polishers, &c. The number of
cutting establishments in Amsterdam is about seventy, containing some
7000 mills.
Antwerp comes next with about half as many mills and a total of some
4500 persons engaged in all departments, including about seventy
women. These are distributed among thirty-five or forty
establishments. A majority of the workers are Belgians, but there are
many Dutch, Poles and Austro-Hungarians, principally Jews. Among these
numerous employees there is much opportunity for dishonesty, and but
little surveillance, actual or possible; yet losses from this cause
are almost unknown. The wages paid are good, averaging from £2, 9s.
6d. to £2, 17s. 6d. a week. Sorters receive from 28s. to £2; cutters
from £2, 9s. 6d to £3, 6s., and cleavers from £3, 14s. upwards.
With the recent introduction of electricity in diamond cutting there
has been a revolution in that industry. Whereas formerly wheels were
made to revolve by steam, they are now placed in direct connexion with
electric motors, although there is not a motor to each machine. The
saws for slitting the diamond can thus be made to revolve much more
rapidly, and there is a cleanliness and a speed about the work never
before attained. (G. F. K.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] _The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure_ for 1749
states that diamond dust, "well ground and diluted with water and
vinegar, is used in the sawing of diamonds, which is done with an
iron or brass wire, as fine as a hair."--Ed.
LAPILLI (pl. of Ital. _lapillo_, from Lat. _lapillus_, dim. of _lapis_,
a stone), a name applied to small fragments of lava ejected from a
volcano. They are generally subangular in shape and vesicular in
structure, varying in size from a pea to a walnut. In the Neapolitan
dialect the word becomes _rapilli_--a form sometimes used by English
writers on volcanoes. (See VOLCANOES.)
LAPIS LAZULI, or azure stone,[1] a mineral substance valued for
decorative purposes in consequence of the fine blue colour which it
usually presents. It appears to have been the sapphire of ancient
writers: thus Theophrastus describes the [Greek: sappheiros] as being
spotted with gold-dust, a description quite inappropriate to modern
sapphire, but fully applicable to lapis lazuli, for this stone
frequently contains disseminated particles of iron-pyrites of gold-like
appearance. Pliny, too, refers to the _sapphirus_ as a stone sprinkled
with specks of gold; and possibly an allusion to the same character may
be found in Job xxviii. 6. The Hebrew _sappir_, denoting a stone in the
High Priest's breastplate, was probably lapis lazuli, as acknowledged in
the Revised Version of the Bible. With the ancient Egyptians lapis
lazuli was a favourite stone for amulets and ornaments such as scarabs;
it was also used to a limited extent by the Assyrians and Babylonians
for cylinder seals. It has been suggested that the Egyptians obtained it
from Persia in exchange for their emeralds. When the lapis lazuli
contains pyrites, the brilliant spots in the deep blue matrix invite
comparison with the stars in the firmament. The stone seems to have been
sometimes called by ancient writers [Greek: kyanos]. It was a favourite
material with the Italians of the _Cinquecento_ for vases, small busts
and other ornaments. Magnificent examples of the decorative use of lapis
lazuli are to be seen in St Petersburg, notably in the columns of St
Isaac's cathedral. The beautiful blue colour of lapis lazuli led to its
employment, when ground and levigated, as a valuable pigment known as
ultramarine (q.v.), a substance now practically displaced by a
chemical product (artificial ultramarine).
Lapis lazuli occurs usually in compact masses, with a finely granular
structure; and occasionally, but only as a great rarity, it presents
the form of the rhombic dodecahedron. Its specific gravity is 2.38 to
2.45, and its hardness about 5.5, so that being comparatively soft it
tends, when polished, to lose its lustre rather readily. The colour is
generally a fine azure or rich Berlin blue, but some varieties exhibit
green, violet and even red tints, or may be altogether colourless. The
colour is sometimes improved by heating the stone. Under artificial
illumination the dark-blue stones may appear almost black. The mineral
is opaque, with only slight translucency at thin edges.
Analyses of lapis lazuli show considerable variation in composition, and
this led long ago to doubt as to its homogeneity. This doubt was
confirmed by the microscopic studies of L. H. Fischer, F. Zirkel and H.
P. J. Vogelsang, who found that sections showed bluish particles in a
white matrix; but it was reserved for Professor W. C. Brögger and H.
Bäckström, of Christiania, to separate the several constituents and
subject them to analysis, thus demonstrating the true constitution of
lapis lazuli, and proving that it is a rock rather than a definite
mineral species. The essential part of most lapis lazuli is a blue
mineral allied to sodalite and crystallized in the cubic system, which
Brögger distinguishes as lazurite, but this is intimately associated
with a closely related mineral which has long been known as haüyne, or
haüynite. The lazurite, sometimes regarded as true lapis lazuli, is a
sulphur-bearing sodium and aluminium silicate, having the formula:
Na4(NaS3Al) Al2(SiO4)3. As the lazurite and the haüynite seem to occur
in molecular intermixture, various kinds of lapis lazuli are formed; and
it has been proposed to distinguish some of them as lazurite-lapis and
haüyne-lapis, according as one or the other mineral prevails. The
lazurite of lapis lazuli is to be carefully distinguished from lazulite,
an aluminium-magnesium phosphate, related to turquoise. In addition to
the blue cubic minerals in lapis lazuli, the following minerals have
also been found: a non-ferriferous diopside, an amphibole called, from
the Russian mineralogist, koksharovite, orthoclase, plagioclase, a
muscovite-like mica, apatite, titanite, zircon, calcite and pyrite. The
calcite seems to form in some cases a great part of the lapis; and the
pyrite, which may occur in patches, is often altered to limonite.
Lapis lazuli usually occurs in crystalline limestone, and seems to be a
product of contact metamorphism. It is recorded from Persia, Tartary,
Tibet and China, but many of the localities are vague and some doubtful.
The best known and probably the most important locality is in Badakshan.
There it occurs in limestone, in the valley of the river Kokcha, a
tributary to the Oxus, south of Firgamu. The mines were visited by Marco
Polo in 1271, by J. B. Fraser in 1825, and by Captain John Wood in
1837-1838. The rock is split by aid of fire. Three varieties of the
lapis lazuli are recognized by the miners: _nili_ of indigo-blue colour,
_asmani_ sky-blue, and _sabzi_ of green tint. Another locality for lapis
lazuli is in Siberia near the western extremity of Lake Baikal, where it
occurs in limestone at its contact with granite. Fine masses of lapis
lazuli occur in the Andes, in the vicinity of Ovalle, Chile. In Europe
lapis lazuli is found as a rarity in the peperino of Latium, near Rome,
and in the ejected blocks of Monte Somma, Vesuvius. (F. W. R.*)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The Med. Gr. [Greek: lazourion], Med. Lat. _lazurius_ or
_lazulus_, as the names of this mineral substance, were adaptations
of the Arab. _al-lazward_, Pers. _lajward_, blue colour, lapis
lazuli. The same word appears in Med. Lat. as _azura_, whence O.F.
azur, Eng. "azure," blue, particularly used of that colour in
heraldry (q.v.) and represented conventionally in black and white by
horizontal lines.
LAPITHAE, a mythical race, whose home was in Thessaly in the valley of
the Peneus. The genealogies make them a kindred race with the Centaurs,
their king Peirithoüs being the son, and the Centaurs the grandchildren
(or sons) of Ixion. The best-known legends with which they are connected
are those of Ixion (q.v.) and the battle with the Centaurs (q.v.). A
well-known Lapith was Caeneus, said to have been originally a girl named
Caenis, the favourite of Poseidon, who changed her into a man and made
her invulnerable (Ovid, _Metam._ xii. 146 ff). In the Centaur battle,
having been crushed by rocks and trunks of trees, he was changed into a
bird; or he disappeared into the depths of the earth unharmed. According
to some, the Lapithae are representatives of the giants of fable, or
spirits of the storm; according to others, they are a semi-legendary;
semi-historical race, like the Myrmidons and other Thessalian tribes.
The Greek sculptors of the school of Pheidias conceived of the battle of
the Lapithae and Centaurs as a struggle between mankind and mischievous
monsters, and symbolical of the great conflict between the Greeks and
Persians. Sidney Colvin (_Journ. Hellen. Stud._ i. 64) explains it as a
contest of the physical powers of nature, and the mythical expression of
the terrible effects of swollen waters.
LA PLACE (Lat. _Placaeus_), JOSUÉ DE (1606?-1665), French Protestant
divine, was born in Brittany. He studied and afterwards taught
philosophy at Saumur. In 1625 he became pastor of the Reformed Church at
Nantes, and in 1632 was appointed professor of theology at Saumur, where
he had as his colleagues, appointed at the same time, Moses Amyraut and
Louis Cappell. In 1640 he published a work, _Theses theologicae de statu
hominis lapsi ante gratiam_, which was looked upon with some suspicion
as containing liberal ideas about the doctrine of original sin. The view
that the original sin of Adam was not imputed to his descendants was
condemned at the synod of Charenton (1645), without special reference
being made to La Place, whose position perhaps was not quite clear. As a
matter of fact La Place distinguished between a direct and indirect
imputation, and after his death his views, as well as those of Amyraut,
were rejected in the _Formula consensus of_ 1675. He died on the 17th of
August 1665.
La Place's defence was published with the title _Disputationes
academicae_ (3 vols., 1649-1651; and again in 1665); his work _De
imputatione primi peccati Adami_ in 1655. A collected edition of his
works appeared at Franeker in 1699, and at Aubencit in 1702.
LAPLACE, PIERRE SIMON, MARQUIS DE (1749-1827), French mathematician and
astronomer, was born at Beaumont-en-Auge in Normandy, on the 28th of
March 1749. His father was a small farmer, and he owed his education to
the interest excited by his lively parts in some persons of position.
His first distinctions are said to have been gained in theological
controversy, but at an early age he became mathematical teacher in the
military school of Beaumont, the classes of which he had attended as an
extern. He was not more than eighteen when, armed with letters of
recommendation, he approached J. B. d'Alembert, then at the height of
his fame, in the hope of finding a career in Paris. The letters remained
unnoticed, but Laplace was not crushed by the rebuff. He wrote to the
great geometer a letter on the principles of mechanics, which evoked an
immediate and enthusiastic response. "You," said d'Alembert to him,
"needed no introduction; you have recommended yourself; my support is
your due." He accordingly obtained for him an appointment as professor
of mathematics in the École Militaire of Paris, and continued zealously
to forward his interests.
Laplace had not yet completed his twenty-fourth year when he entered
upon the course of discovery which earned him the title of "the Newton
of France." Having in his first published paper[1] shown his mastery of
analysis, he proceeded to apply its resources to the great outstanding
problems in celestial mechanics. Of these the most conspicuous was
offered by the opposite inequalities of Jupiter and Saturn, which the
emulous efforts of L. Euler and J. L. Lagrange had failed to bring
within the bounds of theory. The discordance of their results incited
Laplace to a searching examination of the whole subject of planetary
perturbations, and his maiden effort was rewarded with a discovery which
constituted, when developed and completely demonstrated by his own
further labours and those of his illustrious rival Lagrange, the most
important advance made in physical astronomy since the time of Newton.
In a paper read before the Academy of Sciences, on the 10th of February
1773 (_Mém. présentés par divers savans_, tom, vii., 1776), Laplace
announced his celebrated conclusion of the invariability of planetary
mean motions, carrying the proof as far as the cubes of the
eccentricities and inclinations. This was the first and most important
step in the establishment of the stability of the solar system. It was
followed by a series of profound investigations, in which Lagrange and
Laplace alternately surpassed and supplemented each other in assigning
limits of variation to the several elements of the planetary orbits. The
analytical tournament closed with the communication to the Academy by
Laplace, in 1787, of an entire group of remarkable discoveries. It
would be difficult, in the whole range of scientific literature, to
point to a memoir of equal brilliancy with that published (divided into
three parts) in the volumes of the Academy for 1784, 1785 and 1786. The
long-sought cause of the "great inequality" of Jupiter and Saturn was
found in the near approach to commensurability of their mean motions; it
was demonstrated in two elegant theorems, independently of any except
the most general considerations as to mass, that the mutual action of
the planets could never largely affect the eccentricities and
inclinations of their orbits; and the singular peculiarities detected by
him in the Jovian system were expressed in the so-called "laws of
Laplace." He completed the theory of these bodies in a treatise
published among the Paris _Memoirs_ for 1788 and 1789; and the striking
superiority of the tables computed by J. B. J. Delambre from the data
there supplied marked the profit derived from the investigation by
practical astronomy. The year 1787 was rendered further memorable by
Laplace's announcement on the 19th of November (_Memoirs_, 1786), of the
dependence of lunar acceleration upon the secular changes in the
eccentricity of the earth's orbit. The last apparent anomaly, and the
last threat of instability, thus disappeared from the solar system.
With these brilliant performances the first period of Laplace's
scientific career may be said to have closed. If he ceased to make
striking discoveries in celestial mechanics, it was rather their
subject-matter than his powers that failed. The general working of the
great machine was now laid bare, and it needed a further advance of
knowledge to bring a fresh set of problems within reach of
investigation. The time had come when the results obtained in the
development and application of the law of gravitation by three
generations of illustrious mathematicians might be presented from a
single point of view. To this task the second period of Laplace's
activity was devoted. As a monument of mathematical genius applied to
the celestial revolutions, the _Mécanique céleste_ ranks second only to
the _Principia_ of Newton.
The declared aim of the author[2] was to offer a complete solution of
the great mechanical problem presented by the solar system, and to
bring theory to coincide so closely with observation that empirical
equations should no longer find a place in astronomical tables. His
success in both respects fell little short of his lofty ideal. The
first part of the work (2 vols. 4to, Paris, 1799) contains methods for
calculating the movements of translation and rotation of the heavenly
bodies, for determining their figures, and resolving tidal problems;
the second, especially dedicated to the improvement of tables,
exhibits in the third and fourth volumes (1802 and 1805) the
application of these formulae; while a fifth volume, published in
three instalments, 1823-1825, comprises the results of Laplace's
latest researches, together with a valuable history of progress in
each separate branch of his subject. In the delicate task of
apportioning his own large share of merit, he certainly does not err
on the side of modesty; but it would perhaps be as difficult to
produce an instance of injustice, as of generosity in his estimate of
others. Far more serious blame attaches to his all but total
suppression in the body of the work--and the fault pervades the whole
of his writings--of the names of his predecessors and contemporaries.
Theorems and formulae are appropriated wholesale without
acknowledgment, and a production which may be described as the
organized result of a century of patient toil presents itself to the
world as the offspring of a single brain. The _Mécanique céleste_ is,
even to those most conversant with analytical methods, by no means
easy reading. J. B. Biot, who assisted in the correction of its proof
sheets, remarked that it would have extended, had the demonstrations
been fully developed, to eight or ten instead of five volumes; and he
saw at times the author himself obliged to devote an hour's labour to
recovering the dropped links in the chain of reasoning covered by the
recurring formula. "Il est aisé à voir."[3]
The _Exposition du système du monde_ (Paris, 1796) has been styled by
Arago "the _Mécanique céleste_ disembarrassed of its analytical
paraphernalia." Conclusions are not merely stated in it, but the methods
pursued for their attainment are indicated. It has the strength of an
analytical treatise, the charm of a popular dissertation. The style is
lucid and masterly, and the summary of astronomical history with which
it terminates has been reckoned one of the masterpieces of the language.
To this linguistic excellence the writer owed the place accorded to him
in 1816 in the Academy, of which institution he became president in the
following year. The famous "nebular hypothesis" of Laplace made its
appearance in the _Système du monde_. Although relegated to a note
(vii.), and propounded "Avec la défiance que doit inspirer tout ce qui
n'est point un résultat de l'observation ou du calcul," it is plain,
from the complacency with which he recurred to it[4] at a later date,
that he regarded the speculation with considerable interest. That it
formed the starting-point, and largely prescribed the course of thought
on the subject of planetary origin is due to the simplicity of its
assumptions, and the clearness of the mechanical principles involved,
rather than to any cogent evidence of its truth. It is curious that
Laplace, while bestowing more attention than they deserved on the crude
conjectures of Buffon, seems to have been unaware that he had been, to
some extent, anticipated by Kant, who had put forward in 1755, in his
_Allgemeine Naturgeschichte_, a true though defective nebular cosmogony.
The career of Laplace was one of scarcely interrupted prosperity.
Admitted to the Academy of Sciences as an associate in 1773, he became a
member in 1785, having, about a year previously, succeeded E. Bezout as
examiner to the royal artillery. During an access of revolutionary
suspicion, he was removed from the commission of weights and measures;
but the slight was quickly effaced by new honours. He was one of the
first members, and became president of the Bureau of Longitudes, took a
prominent place at the Institute (founded in 1796), professed analysis
at the École Normale, and aided in the organization of the decimal
system. The publication of the _Mécanique céleste_ gained him world-wide
celebrity, and his name appeared on the lists of the principal
scientific associations of Europe, including the Royal Society. But
scientific distinctions by no means satisfied his ambition. He aspired
to the rôle of a politician, and has left a memorable example of genius
degraded to servility for the sake of a riband and a title. The ardour
of his republican principles gave place, after the 18th Brumaire, to
devotion towards the first consul, a sentiment promptly rewarded with
the post of minister of the interior. His incapacity for affairs was,
however, so flagrant that it became necessary to supersede him at the
end of six weeks, when Lucien Bonaparte became his successor. "He
brought into the administration," said Napoleon, "the spirit of the
infinitesimals." His failure was consoled by elevation to the senate, of
which body he became chancellor in September 1803. He was at the same
time named grand officer of the Legion of Honour, and obtained in 1813
the same rank in the new order of Reunion. The title of count he had
acquired on the creation of the empire. Nevertheless he cheerfully gave
his voice in 1814 for the dethronement of his patron, and his
"suppleness" merited a seat in the chamber of peers, and, in 1817, the
dignity of a marquisate. The memory of these tergiversations is
perpetuated in his writings. The first edition of the _Système du monde_
was inscribed to the Council of Five Hundred; to the third volume of the
_Mécanique céleste_ (1802) was prefixed the declaration that, of all the
truths contained in the work, that most precious to the author was the
expression of his gratitude and devotion towards the "pacificator of
Europe"; upon which noteworthy protestation the suppression in the
editions of the _Théorie des probabilités_ subsequent to the
restoration, of the original dedication to the emperor formed a fitting
commentary.
During the later years of his life, Laplace lived much at Arcueil, where
he had a country-place adjoining that of his friend C. L. Berthollet.
With his co-operation the Société d'Arcueil was formed, and he
occasionally contributed to its _Memoirs_. In this peaceful retirement
he pursued his studies with unabated ardour, and received with uniform
courtesy distinguished visitors from all parts of the world. Here, too,
he died, attended by his physician, Dr Majendie, and his mathematical
coadjutor, Alexis Bouvard, on the 5th of March 1827. His last words
were: "Ce que nous connaissons est peu de chose, ce que nous ignorons
est immense."
Expressions occur in Laplace's private letters inconsistent with the
atheistical opinions he is commonly believed to have held. His
character, notwithstanding the egotism by which it was disfigured, had
an amiable and engaging side. Young men of science found in him an
active benefactor. His relations with these "adopted children of his
thought" possessed a singular charm of affectionate simplicity; their
intellectual progress and material interests were objects of equal
solicitude to him, and he demanded in return only diligence in the
pursuit of knowledge. Biot relates that, when he himself was beginning
his career, Laplace introduced him at the Institute for the purpose of
explaining his supposed discovery of equations of mixed differences, and
afterwards showed him, under a strict pledge of secrecy, the papers,
then yellow with age, in which he had long before obtained the same
results. This instance of abnegation is the more worthy of record that
it formed a marked exception to Laplace's usual course. Between him and
A. M. Legendre there was a feeling of "more than coldness," owing to his
appropriation, with scant acknowledgment, of the fruits of the other's
labours; and Dr Thomas Young counted himself, rightly or wrongly,
amongst the number of those similarly aggrieved by him. With Lagrange,
on the other hand, he always remained on the best of terms. Laplace left
a son, Charles Emile Pierre Joseph Laplace (1789-1874), who succeeded to
his title, and rose to the rank of general in the artillery.
It might be said that Laplace was a great mathematician by the original
structure of his mind, and became a great discoverer through the
sentiment which animated it. The regulated enthusiasm with which he
regarded the system of nature was with him from first to last. It can be
traced in his earliest essay, and it dictated the ravings of his final
illness. By it his extraordinary analytical powers became strictly
subordinated to physical investigations. To this lofty quality of
intellect he added a rare sagacity in perceiving analogies, and in
detecting the new truths that lay concealed in his formulae, and a
tenacity of mental grip, by which problems, once seized, were held fast,
year after year, until they yielded up their solutions. In every branch
of physical astronomy, accordingly, deep traces of his work are visible.
"He would have completed the science of the skies," Baron Fourier
remarked, "had the science been capable of completion."
It may be added that he first examined the conditions of stability of
the system formed by Saturn's rings, pointed out the necessity for
their rotation, and fixed for it a period (10^h 33^m) virtually
identical with that established by the observations of Herschel; that
he detected the existence in the solar system of an invariable plane
such that the sum of the products of the planetary masses by the
projections upon it of the areas described by their radii vectores in
a given time is a maximum; and made notable advances in the theory of
astronomical refraction (_Méc. cél._ tom. iv. p. 258), besides
constructing satisfactory formulae for the barometrical determination
of heights (_Méc. cél._ tom. iv. p. 324). His removal of the
considerable discrepancy between the actual and Newtonian velocities
of sound,[5] by taking into account the increase of elasticity due to
the heat of compression, would alone have sufficed to illustrate a
lesser name. Molecular physics also attracted his notice, and he
announced in 1824 his purpose of treating the subject in a separate
work. With A. Lavoisier he made an important series of experiments on
specific heat (1782-1784), in the course of which the "ice
calorimeter" was invented; and they contributed jointly to the
_Memoirs_ of the Academy (1781) a paper on the development of
electricity by evaporation. Laplace was, moreover, the first to offer
a complete analysis of capillary action based upon a definite
hypothesis--that of forces "sensible only at insensible distances";
and he made strenuous but unsuccessful efforts to explain the
phenomena of light on an identical principle. It was a favourite idea
of his that chemical affinity and capillary attraction would
eventually be included under the same law, and it was perhaps because
of its recalcitrance to this cherished generalization that the
undulatory theory of light was distasteful to him.
The investigation of the figure of equilibrium of a rotating fluid
mass engaged the persistent attention of Laplace. His first memoir was
communicated to the Academy in 1773, when he was only twenty-four, his
last in 1817, when he was sixty-eight. The results of his many papers
on this subject--characterized by him as "un des points les plus
intéressans du système du monde"--are embodied in the _Mécanique
céleste_, and furnish one of the most remarkable proofs of his
analytical genius. C. Maclaurin, Legendre and d'Alembert had furnished
partial solutions of the problem, confining their attention to the
possible figures which would satisfy the conditions of equilibrium.
Laplace treated the subject from the point of view of the gradual
aggregation and cooling of a mass of matter, and demonstrated that the
form which such a mass would ultimately assume must be an ellipsoid of
revolution whose equator was determined by the primitive plane of
maximum areas.
The related subject of the attraction of spheroids was also signally
promoted by him. Legendre, in 1783, extended Maclaurin's theorem
concerning ellipsoids of revolution to the case of any spheroid of
revolution where the attracted point, instead of being limited to the
axis or equator, occupied any position in space; and Laplace, in his
treatise _Théorie du mouvement et de la figure elliptique des
planètes_ (published in 1784), effected a still further generalization
by proving, what had been suspected by Legendre, that the theorem was
equally true for any confocal ellipsoids. Finally, in a celebrated
memoir, _Théorie des attractions des sphéroides et de la figure des
planètes_, published in 1785 among the Paris _Memoirs_ for the year
1782, although written after the treatise of 1784, Laplace treated
exhaustively the general problem of the attraction of any spheroid
upon a particle situated outside or upon its surface.
These researches derive additional importance from having introduced
two powerful engines of analysis for the treatment of physical
problems, Laplace's coefficients and the potential function. By his
discovery that the attracting force in any direction of a mass upon a
particle could be obtained by the direct process of differentiating a
single function, Laplace laid the foundations of the mathematical
sciences of heat, electricity and magnetism. The expressions
designated by Dr Whewell, Laplace's coefficients (see SPHERICAL
HARMONICS) were definitely introduced in the memoir of 1785 on
attractions above referred to. In the figure of the earth, the theory
of attractions, and the sciences of electricity and magnetism this
powerful calculus occupies a prominent place. C. F. Gauss in
particular employed it in the calculation of the magnetic potential of
the earth, and it received new light from Clerk Maxwell's
interpretation of harmonics with reference to poles on the sphere.
Laplace nowhere displayed the massiveness of his genius more
conspicuously than in the theory of probabilities. The science which
B. Pascal and P. de Fermat had initiated he brought very nearly to
perfection; but the demonstrations are so involved, and the omissions
in the chain of reasoning so frequent, that the _Théorie analytique_
(1812) is to the best mathematicians a work requiring most arduous
study. The theory of probabilities, which Laplace described as common
sense expressed in mathematical language, engaged his attention from
its importance in physics and astronomy; and he applied his theory,
not only to the ordinary problems of chances, but also to the inquiry
into the causes of phenomena, vital statistics and future events.
The device known as the method of least squares, for reducing numerous
equations of condition to the number of unknown quantities to be
determined, had been adopted as a practically convenient rule by Gauss
and Legendre; but Laplace first treated it as a problem in
probabilities, and proved by an intricate and difficult course of
reasoning that it was also the most advantageous, the mean of the
probabilities of error in the determination of the elements being
thereby reduced to a minimum.
Laplace published in 1779 the method of generating functions, the
foundation of his theory of probabilities, and the first part of his
_Théorie analytique_ is devoted to the exposition of its principles,
which in their simplest form consist in treating the successive values
of any function as the coefficients in the expansion of another
function with reference to a different variable. The latter is
therefore called the generating function of the former. A _direct_ and
an _inverse_ calculus is thus created, the object of the former being
to determine the coefficients from the generating function, of the
latter to discover the generating function from the coefficients. The
one is a problem of interpolation, the other a step towards the
solution of an equation in finite differences. The method, however, is
now obsolete owing to the more extended facilities afforded by the
calculus of operations.
The first formal proof of Lagrange's theorem for the development in a
series of an implicit function was furnished by Laplace, who gave to
it an extended generality. He also showed that every equation of an
even degree must have at least one real quadratic factor, reduced the
solution of linear differential equations to definite integrals, and
furnished an elegant method by which the linear partial differential
equation of the second order might be solved. He was also the first to
consider the difficult problems involved in equations of mixed
differences, and to prove that an equation in finite differences of
the first degree and the second order might always be converted into a
continued fraction.
In 1842, the works of Laplace being nearly out of print, his widow was
about to sell a farm to procure funds for a new impression, when the
government of Louis Philippe took the matter in hand. A grant of
40,000 francs having been obtained from the chamber, a national
edition was issued in seven 4to vols., bearing the title _Oeuvres de
Laplace_ (1843-1847). The _Mécanique céleste_ with its four
supplements occupies the first 5 vols., the 6th contains the _Système
du monde_, and the 7th the _Th. des probabilités_, to which the more
popular _Essai philosophique_ forms an introduction. Of the four
supplements added by the author (1816-1825) he tells us that the
problems in the last were contributed by his son. An enumeration of
Laplace's memoirs and papers (about one hundred in number) is rendered
superfluous by their embodiment in his principal works. The _Th. des
prob._ was first published in 1812, the _Essai_ in 1814; and both
works as well as the _Système du monde_ went through repeated
editions. An English version of the _Essai_ appeared in New York in
1902. Laplace's first separate work, _Théorie du mouvement et de la
figure elliptique des planètes_ (1784), was published at the expense
of President Bochard de Saron. The _Précis de l'histoire de
l'astronomie_ (1821), formed the fifth book of the 5th edition of the
_Système du monde_. An English translation, with copious elucidatory
notes, of the first 4 vols. of the _Mécanique céleste_, by N.
Bowditch, was published at Boston, U.S. (1829-1839), in 4 vols. 4to.;
a compendium of certain portions of the same work by Mrs Somerville
appeared in 1831, and a German version of the first 2 vols. by
Burckhardt at Berlin in 1801. English translations of the _Système du
monde_ by J. Pond and H. H. Harte were published, the first in 1809,
the second in 1830. An edition entitled _Les Oeuvres complètes de
Laplace_ (1878), &c., which is to include all his memoirs as well as
his separate works, is in course of publication under the auspices of
the Academy of Sciences. The thirteenth 4to volume was issued in 1904.
Some of Laplace's results in the theory of probabilities are
simplified in S. F. Lacroix's _Traité élémentaire du calcul des
probabilités_ and De Morgan's _Essay_, published in Lardner's _Cabinet
Cyclopaedia_. For the history of the subject see _A History of the
Mathematical Theory of Probability_, by Isaac Todhunter (1865).
Laplace's treatise on specific heat was published in German in 1892 as
No. 40 of W. Ostwald's _Klassiker der exacten Wissenschaften_.
AUTHORITIES.--Baron Fourier's _Éloge, Mémoires de l'institut_, x.
lxxxi. (1831); _Revue encyclopédique_, xliii. (1829); S. D. Poisson's
Funeral Oration (_Conn. des Temps_, 1830, p. 19); F. X. von Zach,
_Allg. geographische Ephemeriden_, iv. 70 (1799); F. Arago, _Annuaire
du Bureau des Long_. 1844, p. 271, translated among Arago's
Biographies of Distinguished Men (1857); J. S. Bailly, _Hist. de
l'astr. moderne_, t. iii.; R. Grant, _Hist. of Phys. Astr._ p. 50,
&c.; A. Berry, _Short Hist. of Astr._ p. 306; Max Marie, _Hist. des
sciences_ t. x. pp. 69-98; R. Wolf, _Geschichte der Astronomie_; J.
Mädler, _Gesch. der Himmelskunde_, i. 17; W. Whewell, _Hist. of the
Inductive Sciences_, ii. _passim_; J. C. Poggendorff, _Biog-lit.
Handwörterbuch._ (A. M. C.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "Recherches sur le calcul intégral," _Mélanges de la Soc. Roy. de
Turin_ (1766-1769).
[2] "Plan de l'Ouvrage," _Oeuvres_, tom. i. p 1.
[3] Journal des savants (1850).
[4] _Méc. cél._, tom. v. p. 346.
[5] _Annales de chimie et de physique_ (1816), tom. iii. p. 238.
LAPLAND, or LAPPLAND, a name used to indicate the region of northern
Europe inhabited by the Lapps, though not applied to any administrative
district. It covers in Norway the division (amter) of Finmarken and the
higher inland parts of Tromsö and Nordland; in Russian territory the
western part of the government of Archangel as far as the White Sea and
the northern part of the Finnish district of Uleåborg; and in Sweden the
inland and northern parts of the old province of Norrland, roughly
coincident with the districts (_län_) of Norbotten and Vesterbotten, and
divided into five divisions--Torne Lappmark, Lule Lappmark, Pite
Lappmark, Lycksele Lappmark and Åsele Lappmark. The Norwegian portion is
thus insignificant; of the Russian only a little lies south of the
Arctic circle, and the whole is less accessible and more sparsely
populated than the Swedish, the southern boundary of which may be taken
arbitrarily at about 64° N., though scattered families of Lapps occur
much farther south, even in the Hardanger Fjeld in Norway.
The Scandinavian portion of Lapland presents the usual characteristics
of the mountain plateau of that peninsula--on the west side the bold
headlands and fjords, deeply-grooved valleys and glaciers of Norway, on
the east the long mountain lakes and great lake-fed rivers of Sweden.
Russian Lapland is broadly similar to the lower-lying parts of Swedish
Lapland, but the great lakes are more generally distributed, and the
valleys are less direct. The country is low and gently undulating,
broken by detached hills and ridges not exceeding in elevation 2500 ft.
In the uplands of Swedish Lapland, and to some extent in Russian
Lapland, the lakes afford the principal means of communication; it is
almost impossible to cross the forests from valley to valley without a
native guide. In Sweden the few farms of the Swedes who inhabit the
region are on the lake shores, and the traveller must be rowed from one
to another in the typical boats of the district, pointed at bow and
stern, unusually low amidships, and propelled by short sculls or
paddles. Sailing is hardly ever practised, and squalls on the lakes are
often dangerous to the rowing-boats. On a few of the lakes wood-fired
steam-launches are used in connexion with the timber trade, which is
considerable, as practically the whole region is forested. Between the
lakes all journeying is made on foot. The heads of the Swedish valleys
are connected with the Norwegian fjords by passes generally traversed
only by tracks; though from the head of the Ume a driving road crosses
to Mo on Ranen Fjord. Each principal valley has a considerable village
at or near the tail of the lake-chain, up to which a road runs along the
valley. The village consists of wooden cottages with an inn
(_gästgifvaregård_), a church, and frequently a collection of huts
without windows, closed in summer, but inhabited by the Lapps when they
come down from the mountains to the winter fairs. Sometimes there is
another church and small settlement in the upper valley, to which, once
or twice in a summer, the Lapps come from great distances to attend
service. To these, too, they sometimes bring their dead for burial,
bearing them if necessary on a journey of many days. Though Lapland
gives little scope for husbandry, a bad summer being commonly followed
by a winter famine, it is richly furnished with much that is serviceable
to man. There are copper-mines at the mountain of Sulitelma, and the
iron deposits in Norrland are among the most extensive in the world.
Their working is facilitated by the railway from Stockholm to Gellivara,
Kirunavara and Narvik on the Norwegian coast, which also connects them
with the port of Luleå on the Gulf of Bothnia. The supply of timber
(pine, fir, spruce and birch) is unlimited. Though fruit-trees will not
bear there is an abundance of edible berries; the rivers and lakes
abound with trout, perch, pike and other fish, and in the lower waters
with salmon; and the cod, herring, halibut and Greenland shark in the
northern seas attract numerous Norwegian and Russian fishermen.
The climate is thoroughly Arctic. In the northern parts unbroken
daylight in summer and darkness in winter last from two to three months
each; and through the greater part of the country the sun does not rise
at mid-winter or set at midsummer. In December and January in the far
north there is little more daylight than a cold glimmer of dawn; by
February, however, there are some hours of daylight; in March the heat
of the sun is beginning to modify the cold, and now and in April the
birds of passage begin to appear. In April the snow is melting from the
branches; spring comes in May; spring flowers are in blossom, and grain
is sown. At the end of this month or in June the ice is breaking up on
the lakes, woods rush into leaf, and the unbroken daylight of the
northern summer soon sets in. July is quite warm; the great rivers come
down full from the melting snows in the mountains. August is a rainy
month, the time of harvest; night-frosts may begin already about the
middle of the month. All preparations for winter are made during
September and October, and full winter has set in by November.
_The Lapps._--The Lapps (Swed. _Lappar_; Russian _Lopari_; Norw.
_Finner_) call their country _Sabme_ or _Same_, and themselves
_Samelats_--names almost identical with those employed by the Finns for
their country and race, and probably connected with a root signifying
"dark." Lapp is almost certainly a nickname imposed by foreigners,
although some of the Lapps apply it contemptuously to those of their
countrymen whom they think to be less civilized than themselves.[1]
In Sweden and Finland the Lapps are usually divided into fisher,
mountain and forest Lapps. In Sweden the first class includes many
impoverished mountain Lapps. As described by Laestadius (1827-1832),
their condition was very miserable; but since his time matters have
improved. The principal colony has its summer quarters on the Stora-Lule
Lake, possesses good boats and nets, and, besides catching and drying
fish, makes money by the shooting of wild fowl and the gathering of
eggs. When he has acquired a little means it is not unusual for the
fisher to settle down and reclaim a bit of land. The mountain and forest
Lapps are the true representatives of the race. In the wandering life of
the mountain Lapp his autumn residence, on the borders of the forest
district, may be considered as the central point; it is there that he
erects his _njalla_, a small wooden storehouse raised high above the
ground by one or more piles. About the beginning of November he begins
to wander south or east into the forest land, and in the winter he may
visit, not only such places as Jokkmokk and Arjepluog, but even Gefle,
Upsala or Stockholm. About the beginning of May he is back at his
njalla, but as soon as the weather grows warm he pushes up to the
mountains, and there throughout the summer pastures his herds and
prepares his store of cheese. By autumn or October he is busy at his
njalla killing the surplus reindeer bulls and curing meat for the
winter. From the mountain Lapp the forest (or, as he used to be called,
the spruce-fir) Lapp is mainly distinguished by the narrower limits
within which he pursues his nomadic life. He never wanders outside of a
certain district, in which he possesses hereditary rights, and maintains
a series of camping-grounds which he visits in regular rotation. In May
or April he lets his reindeer loose, to wander as they please; but
immediately after midsummer, when the mosquitoes become troublesome, he
goes to collect them. Catching a single deer and belling it, he drives
it through the wood; the other deer, whose instinct leads them to gather
into herds for mutual protection against the mosquitoes, are attracted
by the sound. Should the summer be very cool and the mosquitoes few, the
Lapp finds it next to impossible to bring the creatures together. About
the end of August they are again let loose, but they are once more
collected in October, the forest Lapp during winter pursuing the same
course of life as the mountain Lapp.
In Norway there are three classes--the sea Lapps, the river Lapps and
the mountain Lapps, the first two settled, the third nomadic. The
mountain Lapps have a rather ruder and harder life than the same class
in Sweden. About Christmas those of Kautokeino and Karasjok are usually
settled in the neighbourhood of the churches; in summer they visit the
coast, and in autumn they return inland. Previous to 1852, when they
were forbidden by imperial decree, they were wont in winter to move
south across the Russian frontiers. It is seldom possible for them to
remain more than three or four days in one spot. Flesh is their
favourite, in winter almost their only food, though they also use
reindeer milk, cheese and rye or barley cakes. The sea Lapps are in some
respects hardly to be distinguished from the other coast dwellers of
Finmark. Their food consists mainly of cooked fish. The river Lapps,
many of whom, however, are descendants of Finns proper, breed cattle,
attempt a little tillage and entrust their reindeer to the care of
mountain Lapps.
In Finland there are comparatively few Laplanders, and the great bulk of
them belong to the fisher class. Many are settled in the neighbourhood
of the Enare Lake. In the spring they go down to the Norwegian coast and
take part in the sea fisheries, returning to the lake about midsummer.
Formerly they found the capture of wild reindeer a profitable
occupation, using for this purpose a palisaded avenue gradually
narrowing towards a pitfall.
The Russian Lapps are also for the most part fishers, as is natural in a
district with such an extent of coast and such a number of lakes, not to
mention the advantage which the fisher has over the reindeer keeper in
connexion with the many fasts of the Greek Church. They maintain a half
nomadic life, very few having become settlers in the Russian villages.
It is usual to distinguish them according to the district of the coast
which they frequent, as Murman (Murmanski) and Terian (Terski) Lapps. A
separate tribe, the Filmans, i.e. Finnmans, wander about the Pazyets,
Motov and Pechenga tundras, and retain the peculiar dialect and the
Lutheran creed which they owe to a former connexion with Sweden. They
were formerly known as the "twice and thrice tributary" Lapps, because
they paid to two or even three states--Russia, Denmark and Sweden.
The Lapps within the historical period have considerably recruited
themselves from neighbouring races. Shortness of stature[2] is their
most obvious characteristic, though in regard to this much exaggeration
has prevailed. Düben found an average of 4.9 ft. for males and a little
less for females; Mantegazza, who made a number of anthropological
observations in Norway in 1879, gives 5 ft. and 4.75 ft., respectively
(_Archivio per l'antrop._, 1880). Individuals much above or much below
the average are rare. The body is usually of fair proportions, but the
legs are rather short, and in many cases somewhat bandy. Dark, swarthy,
yellow, copper-coloured are all adjectives employed to describe their
complexion--the truth being that their habits of life do not conduce
either to the preservation or display of the natural colour of their
skin, and that some of them are really fair, and others, perhaps the
majority, really dark. The colour of the hair ranges from blonde and
reddish to a bluish or greyish black; the eyes are black, hazel, blue or
grey. The shape of the skull is the most striking peculiarity of the
Lapp. He is the most brachycephalous type of man in Europe, perhaps in
the world.[3] According to Virchow, the women in width of face are more
Mongolian in type than the men, but neither in men nor women does the
opening of the eye show any true obliquity. In children the eye is
large, open and round. The nose is always low and broad, more markedly
retroussé among the females than the males. Wrinkled and puckered by
exposure to the weather, the faces even of the younger Lapps assume an
appearance of old age. The muscular system is usually well developed,
but there is deficiency of fatty tissue, which affects the features
(particularly by giving relative prominence to the eyes) and the general
character of the skin. The thinness of the skin, indeed, can but rarely
be paralleled among other Europeans. Among the Lapps, as among other
lower races, the index is shorter than the ring finger.
The Lapps are a quiet, inoffensive people. Crimes of violence are almost
unknown, and the only common breach of law is the killing of tame
reindeer belonging to other owners. In Russia, however, they have a bad
reputation for lying and general untrustworthiness, and drunkenness is
well-nigh a universal vice. In Scandinavia laws have been directed
against the importation of intoxicating liquors into the Lapp country
since 1723.
Superficially at least the great bulk of the Lapps have been
Christianized--those of the Scandinavian countries being Protestants,
those of Russia members of the Greek Church. Although the first attempt
to convert the Lapps to Christianity seems to have been made in the 11th
century, the worship of heathen idols was carried on openly in Swedish
Lappmark as late as 1687, and secretly in Norway down to the first
quarter of the 18th century, while the practices of heathen rites
survived into the 19th century, if indeed they are extinct even yet.
Lapp graves, prepared in the heathen manner, have been discovered in
upper Namdal (Norway), belonging to the years 1820 and 1826. In
education the Scandinavian Lapps are far ahead of their Russian
brethren, to whom reading and writing are arts as unfamiliar as they
were to their pagan ancestors. The general manner of life is
patriarchal. The father of the family has complete authority over all
its affairs; and on his death this authority passes to the eldest son.
Parents are free to disinherit their children; and, if a son separates
from the family without his father's permission, he receives no share of
the property except a gun and his wife's dowry.[4]
The Lapps are of necessity conservative in most of their habits, many of
which can hardly have altered since the first taming of the reindeer.
But the strong current of mercantile enterprise has carried a few
important products of southern civilization into their huts. The lines
in which James Thomson describes their simple life--
The reindeer form their riches: these their tents,
Their robes, their beds, and all their homely wealth
Supply; their wholesome fare and cheerful cups--
are still applicable in the main to the mountain Lapps; but even they
have learned to use coffee as an ordinary beverage and to wear stout
Norwegian cloth (_vadmal_).
Language.
Linguistically the Lapps belong to the Finno-Ugrian group (q.v.); the
similarity of their speech to Finnish is evident though the phonetics
are different and more complicated. It is broken up into very distinct
and even mutually unintelligible dialects, the origin of several of
which is, however, easily found in the political and social
dismemberment of the people. Düben distinguishes four leading
dialects; but a much greater number are recognizable. In Russian
Lapland alone there are three, due to the influence of Norwegian,
Karelian and Russian (Lönnrot, _Acta Soc. Sci. Fennicae_, vol. iv.).
"The Lapps," says Castren, "have had the misfortune to come into close
contact with foreign races while their language was yet in its
tenderest infancy, and consequently it has not only adopted an endless
number of foreign words, but in many grammatical aspects fashioned
itself after foreign models." That it began at a very early period to
enrich itself with Scandinavian words is shown by the use it still
makes of forms belonging to a linguistic stage older even than that of
Icelandic. Düben has subjected the vocabulary to a very interesting
analysis for the purpose of discovering what stage of culture the
people had reached before their contact with the Norse. Agricultural
terms, the names of the metals and the word for smith are all of
Scandinavian origin, and the words for "taming" and "milk" would
suggest that the southern strangers taught the Lapps how to turn the
reindeer to full account. The important place, however, which this
creature must always have held in their estimation is evident from the
existence of more than three hundred native words in connexion with
reindeer.
The Lapp tongue was long ago reduced to writing by the missionaries;
but very little has been printed in it except school-books and
religious works. A number of popular tales and songs, indeed, have
been taken down from the lips of the people. The songs are similar to
those of the Finns, and a process of mutual borrowing seems to have
gone on. In one of the saga-like pieces--Pishan-Peshan's son--there
seems to be a mention of the Baikal Lake, and possibly also of the
Altai Mountains. The story of Njavvisena, daughter of the Sun, is full
of quaint folk-lore about the taming of the reindeer. Giants, as well
as a blind or one-eyed monster, are frequently introduced, and the
Aesopic fable is not without its representatives. Many of the Lapps
are able to speak one or even two of the neighbouring tongues.
Witchcraft.
The reputation of the Laplanders for skill in magic and divination is
of very early date, and in Finland is not yet extinct. When Erik
Blood-axe, son of Harold Haarfager, visited Bjarmaland in 922, he
found Gunhild, daughter of Asur Tote, living among the Lapps, to whom
she had been sent by her father for the purpose of being trained in
witchcraft; and Ivan the Terrible of Russia sent for magicians from
Lapland to explain the cause of the appearance of a comet. One of the
powers with which they were formerly credited was that of raising
winds. "They tye three knottes," says old Richard Eden, "on a strynge
hangyng at a whyp. When they lose one of these they rayse tollerable
wynds. When they lose an other the wynde is more vehement; but by
losing the thyrd they rayse playne tempestes as in old tyme they were
accustomed to rayse thunder and lyghtnyng" (_Hist. of Trauayle_,
1577). Though we are familiar in English with allusions to "Lapland
witches," it appears that the art, according to native custom, was in
the hands of the men. During his divination the wizard fell into a
state of trance or ecstasy, his soul being held to run at large to
pursue its inquiries. Great use was made of a curious divining-drum,
oval in shape and made of wood, 1 to 4 ft. in length. Over the upper
surface was stretched a white-dressed reindeer skin, and at the
corners (so to speak) hung a variety of charms--tufts of wool, bones,
teeth, claws, &c. The area was divided into several spaces, often into
three, one for the celestial gods, one for the terrestrial and one for
man. A variety of figures and conventional signs were drawn in the
several compartments: the sun, for instance, is frequently represented
by a square and a stroke from each corner, Thor by two hammers placed
crosswise; and in the more modern specimens symbols for Christ, the
Virgin, and the Holy Ghost are introduced. An _arpa_ or divining-rod
was laid on a definite spot, the drum beaten by a hammer, and
conclusions drawn from the position taken up by the arpa. Any Lapp who
had attained to manhood could in ordinary circumstances consult the
drum for himself, but in matters of unusual moment the professional
wizard (_naid_, _noide_ or _noaide_) had to be called in.
_History._--The Lapps have a dim tradition that their ancestors lived in
a far eastern land, and they tell rude stories of conflicts with
Norsemen and Karelians. But no answer can be obtained from them in
regard to their early distribution and movements. It has been maintained
that they were formerly spread over the whole of the Scandinavian
peninsula, and they have even been considered the remnants of that
primeval race of cave-dwellers which hunted the reindeer over the
snow-fields of central and western Europe. But much of the evidence
adduced for these theories is highly questionable. The contents of the
so-called Lapps' graves found in various parts of Scandinavia are often
sufficient in themselves to show that the appellation must be a
misnomer, and the syllable Lap or Lapp found in many names of places can
often be proved to have no connexion with the Lapps.[5] They occupied
their present territory when they are first mentioned in history.
According to Düben the name first occurs in the 13th century--in the
_Fundinn Noregr_, composed about 1200, in Saxo Grammaticus, and in a
papal bull of date 1230; but the people are probably to be identified
with those Finns of Tacitus whom he describes as wild hunters with skins
for clothing and rude huts as only means of shelter, and certainly with
the Skrithiphinoi of Procopius (_Goth._ ii. 15), the Scritobini of
Paulus Warnefridus, and the Scridifinni of the geographer of Ravenna.
Some of the details given by Procopius, in regard for instance to the
treatment of infants, show that his informant was acquainted with
certain characteristic customs of the Lapps.
In the 9th century the Norsemen from Norway began to treat their
feeble northern neighbours as a subject race. The wealth of Ottar,
"northmost of the northmen," whose narrative has been preserved by
King Alfred, consisted mainly of six hundred of those "deer they call
hrenas" and in tribute paid by the natives; and the Eigils saga tells
how Brynjulf Bjargulfson had his right to collect contributions from
the Finns (i.e. the Lapps) recognized by Harold Haarfager. So much
value was attached to this source of wealth that as early as 1050
strangers were excluded from the fur-trade of Finmark, and a kind of
coast-guard prevented their intrusion. Meantime the Karelians were
pressing on the eastern Lapps, and in the course of the 11th century
the rulers of Novgorod began to treat them as the Norsemen had treated
their western brethren. The ground-swell of the Tatar invasion drove
the Karelians westward in the 13th century, and for many years even
Finmark was so unsettled that the Norsemen received no tribute from
the Lapps. At length in 1326 a treaty was concluded between Norway and
Russia by which the supremacy of the Norwegians over the Lapps was
recognized as far east as Voljo beyond Kandalax on the White Sea, and
the supremacy of the Russians over the Karelians as far as Lyngen and
the Målself. The relations of the Lapps to their more powerful
neighbours were complicated by the rivalry of the different
Scandinavian kingdoms. After the disruption of the Calmar Union (1523)
Sweden began to assert its rights with vigour, and in 1595 the treaty
of Teusina between Sweden and Russia decreed "that the Lapps who dwell
in the woods between eastern Bothnia and Varanger shall pay their dues
to the king of Sweden." It was in vain that Christian IV. of Denmark
visited Kola and exacted homage in 1599, and every year sent
messengers to protest against the collection of his tribute by the
Swedes (a custom which continued down to 1806). Charles of Sweden took
the title of "king of the Kajans and Lapps," and left no means untried
to establish his power over all Scandinavian Lapland. By the peace of
Knäröd (1613) Gustavus Adolphus gave up the Swedish claim to Finmark;
and in 1751 mutual renunciations brought the relations of Swedish and
Norwegian (Danish) Lapland to their present position. Meanwhile
Russian influence had been spreading westward; and in 1809, when
Alexander I. finally obtained the cession of Finland, he also added to
his dominions the whole of Finnish Lapland to the east of the Muonio
and the Köngämä. It may be interesting to mention that Lapps, armed
with bows and arrows, were attached to certain regiments of Gustavus
Adolphus in Germany during the Thirty Years' War.
The Lapps have had the ordinary fate of a subject and defenceless
people; they have been utilized with little regard to their own
interest or inclinations. The example set by the early Norwegians was
followed by the Swedes: a peculiar class of adventurers known as the
Birkarlians (from _Bjark_ or _Birk_, "trade") began in the 13th
century to farm the Lapps, and, receiving very extensive privileges
from the kings, grew to great wealth and influence. In 1606 there were
twenty-two Birkarlians in Tornio, seventeen in Lule, sixteen in Pite,
and sixty-six in Ume Lappmark. They are regularly spoken of as having
or owning Lapps, whom they dispose of as any other piece of property.
In Russian Lapland matters followed much the same course. The very
institutions of the Solovets monastery, intended by St Tryphon for the
benefit of the poor neglected pagans, turned out the occasion of much
injustice towards them. By a charter of Ivan Vasilivitch (November
1556), the monks are declared masters of the Lapps of the Motoff and
Petchenga districts, and they soon sought to extend their control over
those not legally assigned to them (Ephimenko). Other monasteries were
gifted with similar proprietary rights; and the supplication of the
patriarch Nikon to Alexis Mikhaelovitch, for example, shows clearly
the oppression to which the Lapps were subjected.
It is long, however, since these abuses were abolished; and in
Scandinavia more especially the Lapps of the present day enjoy the
advantages resulting from a large amount of philanthropic legislation
on the part of their rulers. There seems to be no fear of their
becoming extinct, except it may be by gradual amalgamation with their
more powerful neighbours. In Norway the total number of Lapps was
20,786 in 1891, and in Sweden in 1904 it was officially estimated that
there were 7000. Add to these some 3000 for Russian Lapland, and the
total Lapp population approximates to 30,000. In Sweden the Lapps are
gradually abandoning their nomadic habits and becoming merged in the
Swedish population. The majority of the Norwegian Lapps lead a
semi-nomadic existence; but the number of inveterate nomads can
scarcely reach 1500 at the present day. In Sweden there are about 3500
nomads.
AUTHORITIES.--G. von Düben, _Om Lappland och Lapparne_ (Stockholm,
1873), with list of over 200 authorities; C. Rabot, "La Laponie
suédoise d'après les récentes explorations de MM. Svenonius et
Hamberg," _La Géographie_, Soc. Géog. de Paris VII. (1903); S.
Passarge, _Fahrten in Schweden, besonders in Nordschweden und
Lappland_ (Berlin, 1897); Bayard Taylor, _Northern Travel_ (London,
1858); E. Rae, _The White Sea Peninsula_ (London, 1882), and _Land of
the North Wind_ (London, 1875); P. B. du Chaillu, _Land of the
Midnight Sun_ (London, 1881); S. Tromholt, _Under the Rays of the
Aurora Borealis_ (London, 1885); Y. Nielsen, _Det Norske geogr.
Selskabs Aarbog_ (1891); H. H. Reusch, _Folk og natur i Finmarken_
(1895); K. B. Wicklund, _De Svenska nomadlapparnas flyttningar till
Norge i älore och nyare tid_ (Upsala, 1908); see also SWEDEN. Among
older works may be mentioned Scheffer, _Lapponia_ (Frankfurt, 1673,
English trans. Oxford, 1674); Regnard, _Voyage de Laponie_, English
version in Pinkerton's _Voyages_, vol. i.; Leem, _Beskrivelse over
Finmarkens Lapper_ (Copenhagen, 1767), in Danish and Latin; see also
Pinkerton, loc. cit.; Sir A. de C. Brooke, _A Winter in Lapland_
(London, 1827); Laestadius, _Journal_ (1831).
As to the language, J. A. Friis, professor of Lapp in the university
of Christiania, has published _Lappiske Sprogprover: en samling lapp.
eventyr, ordsprog, og gåder_ (Christiania, 1856), and _Lappisk
mythologi eventyr og folkesagn_ (Christiania, 1871). See also G.
Donner, _Lieder der Lappen_ (Helsingfors, 1876); Poestion,
_Lappländische Märchen_, &c. (Vienna, 1885). Grammars of the Lapp
tongue have been published by Fjellström (1738), Leem (1748), Rask
(1832), Stockfleth (1840); lexicons by Fjellström (1703), Leem
(1768-1781), Lindahl (1780), Stockfleth (1852). Among more recent
works may be mentioned a dictionary (1885), by J. A. Friis; a reader,
with German translations (1888), by J. Qvigstad; a dictionary (1890)
and two grammars (1891 and 1897) of the Luleå dialect, and a
chrestomathy of Norwegian Lappish (1894), by K. B. Wiklund; a
dictionary of Russian Lappish, or the Kola dialect (1891), by A.
Genetz; readers of different dialects (1885-1896), by J. Halász; and a
grammar of Norwegian Lappish (1882), by S. Nielsen; further, a
comparative study of Lappish and Finnish by Qvigstad in the _Acts of
the Finnish Academy of Science_, vol. xii., 1883; the same author's
_Nordische Lehnwörter im Lappischen_ (1893); Wiklund, _Entwurf einer
urlappischen Lautlehre_ (1896); see also various articles by these
writers, Paasonen and others in the _Journal de la Société
Finno-Ougrienne_ and the _Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen_; Qvigstad and
Wiklund, _Bibliographie der lappischen Literatur_ (1900).
The older literature on the Lapps received a notable addition by the
discovery in 1896, among the letters of Linnaeus preserved in the
British Museum, of a MS. diary of a journey made in 1695 to the north
of Swedish Lappmark by Olof Rudbeck the younger. On missionary work
see Stockfleth, _Dagbog over mine missions Reiser_ (1860); E. Haller,
_Svenska Kyrkans mission i Lappmarken_ (1896). It was not until 1840
that the New Testament was translated into Norwegian Lappish, and not
until 1895 that the entire Bible was printed in the same dialect. In
the Russian dialect of Lappish there exist only two versions of St
Matthew's gospel.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The most probable etymology is the Finnish _lappu_, and in this
case the meaning would be the "land's end folk."
[2] Hence they have been supposed by many to be the originals of the
"little folk" of Scandinavian legend.
[3] Bertillon found in one instance a cephalic index of 94. The
average obtained by Pruner Bey was 84.7, by Virchow 82.5.
[4] A valuable paper by Ephimenko, on "The Legal Customs of the
Lapps, especially in Russian Lapland," appeared in vol. viii. of the
_Mem. of Russ. Geog. Soc._, Ethnog. Section, 1878.
[5] The view that the Lapps at one time occupied the whole of the
Scandinavian peninsula, and have during the course of centuries been
driven back by the Swedes and Norwegians is disproved by the recent
investigations of Yngvar Nielsen, K. B. Wiklund and others. The fact
is, the Lapps are increasing in numbers, as well as pushing their way
farther and farther south. In the beginning of the 16th century their
southern border-line in Norway ran on the upper side of 64° N. In
1890 they forced their way to the head of the Hardanger Fjord in 60°
N. In Sweden the presence of Lapps as far south as Jämtland (or
Jemtland) is first mentioned in 1564. In 1881 they pushed on into the
north of Dalecarlia, about 61° 45´ N.
LA PLATA, a city of Argentina and capital of the province of Buenos
Aires, 5 m. inland from the port of Ensenada, or La Plata, and about 31
m. S.E. of the city of Buenos Aires, with which it is connected by rail.
Pop. (1895) 45,609; (1907, estimate) 84,000. La Plata was founded in
1882, two years after Buenos Aires had been constituted a federal
district and made the national capital. This necessitated the selection
of another provincial capital, which resulted in the choice of an open
plain near the former port of Ensenada de Barragán, on which a city was
laid out after the plan of Washington. The streets are so wide that they
seem out of proportion to the low brick buildings. The principal public
buildings, constructed of brick and stucco, are the government-house,
assembly building, treasury, municipal hall, cathedral, courts of
justice, police headquarters, provincial museum and railway station. The
museum, originally presented by Dr Moreno, has become one of the most
important in South America, its palaeontological and anthropological
collections being unique. There are also a university, national college,
public library, astronomical observatory, several churches, two
hospitals and two theatres. A noteworthy public park is formed by a
large plantation of eucalyptus trees, which have grown to a great height
and present an imposing appearance on the level, treeless plain.
Electricity is in general use for public and private lighting, and
tramways are laid down in the principal streets and extend eastward to
the port. The harbour of the port of La Plata consists of a large
artificial basin, 1450 yds. long by 150 yds. wide, with approaches, in
addition to the old port of Ensenada, which are capable of receiving the
largest vessels that can navigate the La Plata estuary. Up to the
opening of the new port works of Buenos Aires a large part of the
ocean-going traffic of Buenos Aires passed through the port of La Plata.
It has good railway connexions with the interior, and exports cattle and
agricultural produce.
LAPORTE, ROLAND (1675-1704), Camisard leader, better known as "Roland,"
was born at Mas Soubeyran (Gard) in a cottage which has become the
property of the Société de l'Histoire du Protestantisme français, and
which contains relics of the hero. He was a nephew of Laporte, the
Camisard leader who was hunted down and shot in October 1702, and he
himself became the leader of a band of a thousand men which he formed
into a disciplined army with magazines, arsenals and hospitals. For
daring in action and rapidity of movement he was second only to
Cavalier. These two leaders in 1702 secured entrance to the town of
Sauve under the pretence of being royal officers, burnt the church and
carried off provisions and ammunition for their forces. Roland, who
called himself "general of the children of God," terrorized the country
between Nîmes and Alais, burning churches and houses, and slaying those
suspected of hostility against the Huguenots, though without personally
taking any part of the spoil. Cavalier was already in negotiation with
Marshal Villars when Roland cut to pieces a Catholic regiment at
Fontmorte in May 1704. He refused to lay down his arms without definite
assurance of the restoration of the privileges accorded by the Edict of
Nantes. Villars then sought to negotiate, offering Roland the command of
a regiment on foreign service and liberty of conscience, though not the
free exercise of their religion, for his co-religionists. This parley
had no results, but Roland was betrayed to his enemies, and on the 14th
of August 1704 was shot while defending himself against his captors. The
five officers who were with him surrendered, and were broken on the
wheel at Nîmes. Roland's death put an end to the effective resistance of
the Cévenols.
See A. Court, _Histoire des troubles des Cévennes_ (Villefranche,
1760); H. M. Baird, _The Huguenots and the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes_ (2 vols., London, 1895), and other literature dealing with the
Camisards.
LA PORTE, a city and the county seat of La Porte county, Indiana,
U.S.A., 12 m. S. of Lake Michigan and about 60 m. S.E. of Chicago. Pop.
(1890) 7126; (1900) 7113 (1403 foreign-born); (1910) 10,525. It is
served by the Lake Erie & Western, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern,
the Père Marquette, the Chicago, South Bend & Northern Indiana
(electric), and the Chicago-New York Electric Air Line railways. La
Porte lies in the midst of a fertile agricultural region, and the
shipment of farm and orchard products is one of its chief industries.
There are also numerous manufactures. La Porte's situation in the heart
of a region of beautiful lakes (including Clear, Pine and Stone lakes)
has given it a considerable reputation as a summer resort. The lakes
furnish a large supply of clear ice, which is shipped to the Chicago
markets. La Porte was settled in 1830, laid out in 1833, incorporated as
a town in 1835, and first chartered as a city in 1852.
LAPPA, an island directly opposite the inner harbour of Macao, the
distance across being from 1 to 1½ m. It is a station of the Chinese
imperial maritime customs which collects duties on vessels trading
between China and the Portuguese colony of Macao. The arrangement is
altogether abnormal, and was consented to by the Portuguese government
in 1887 to assist the Chinese authorities in the suppression of opium
smuggling. A similar arrangement prevails at the British colony of
Hong-Kong, where the Chinese customs station is Kowloon. In both cases
the customs stations levy duties on vessels entering and leaving the
foreign port in lieu of levying them, as ought to be done, on entering
or leaving a Chinese port.
LAPPARENT, ALBERT AUGUSTE COCHON DE (1839-1908), French geologist, was
born at Bourges on the 30th of December 1839. After studying at the
École Polytechnique from 1858 to 1860 he became _ingénieur au corps des
mines_, and took part in drawing up the geological map of France; and in
1875 he was appointed professor of geology and mineralogy at the
Catholic Institute, Paris. In 1879 he prepared an important memoir for
the geological survey of France on _Le Pays de Bray_, a subject on which
he had already published several memoirs, and in 1880 he served as
president of the French Geological Society. In 1881-1883 he published
his _Traité de géologie_ (5th ed., 1905), the best European text-book of
stratigraphical geology. His other works include _Cours de minéralogie_
(1884, 3rd ed., 1899), _La Formation des combustibles minéraux_ (1886),
_Le Niveau de la mer et ses variations_ (1886), _Les Tremblements de
terre_ (1887), _La Géologie en chemin de fer_ (1888), _Précis de
minéralogie_ (1888), _Le Siècle du fer_ (1890), _Les Anciens Glaciers_
(1893), _Leçons de géographie physique_ (1896), _Notions générales sur
l'écorce terrestre_ (1897), _Le Globe terrestre_ (1899), and _Science et
apologétique_ (1905). With Achille Delesse he was for many years editor
of the _Révue de géologie_ and contributed to the _Extraits de
géologie_, and he joined with A. Potier in the geological surveys
undertaken in connexion with the Channel Tunnel proposals. He died in
Paris on the 5th of May 1908.
LAPPENBERG, JOHANN MARTIN (1794-1865), German historian, was born on the
30th of July 1794 at Hamburg, where his father, Valentin Anton
Lappenberg (1759-1819), held an official position. He studied medicine,
and afterwards history, at Edinburgh. He continued to study history in
London, and at Berlin and Göttingen, graduating as doctor of laws at
Göttingen in 1816. In 1820 he was sent by the Hamburg senate as resident
minister to the Prussian court. In 1823 he became keeper of the Hamburg
archives; an office in which he had the fullest opportunities for the
laborious and critical research work upon which his reputation as an
historian rests. He retained this post until 1863, when a serious
affection of the eyes compelled him to resign. In 1850 he represented
Hamburg in the German parliament at Frankfort, and bis death took place
at Hamburg on the 28th of November 1865. Lappenberg's most important
work is his _Geschichte von England_, which deals with the history of
England from the earliest times to 1154, and was published in two
volumes at Hamburg in 1834-1837. It has been translated into English by
B. Thorpe as _History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings_ (London
1845, and again 1881), and _History of England under the Norman Kings_
(Oxford, 1857), and has been continued in three additional volumes from
1154 to 1509 by R. Pauli. His other works deal mainly with the history
of Hamburg, and include _Hamburgische Chroniken in Niedersächsischer
Sprache_ (Hamburg, 1852-1861); _Geschichtsquellen des Erzstiftes und der
Stadt Bremen_ (Bremen, 1841); _Hamburgisches Urkundenbuch_ (Hamburg,
1842); _Urkundliche Geschichte des Hansischen Stahlhofes zu London_
(Hamburg, 1851); _Hamburgische Rechtsalterthümer_ (Hamburg, 1845); and
_Urkundliche Geschichte des Ursprunges der deutschen Hanse_ (Hamburg,
1830), a continuation of the work of G. F. Sartorius. For the _Monumenta
Germaniae historica_ he edited the _Chronicon_ of Thietmar of Merseburg,
the _Gesta Hammenburgensis ecclesiae pontificum_ of Adam of Bremen and
the _Chronica Slavorum_ of Helmold, with its continuation by Arnold of
Lübeck. Lappenberg, who was a member of numerous learned societies in
Europe, wrote many other historical works.
See E. H. Meyer, _Johann Martin Lappenberg_ (Hamburg, 1867); and R.
Pauli in the _Allgemeine deutsche Biographie_, Band xvii. (Leipzig,
1883).
LAPRADE, PIERRE MARTIN VICTOR RICHARD DE (1812-1883), known as VICTOR DE
LAPRADE, French poet and critic, was born on the 13th of January 1812 at
Montbrison, in the department of the Loire. He came of a modest
provincial family. After completing his studies at Lyons, he produced in
1839 a small volume of religious verse, _Les Parfums de Madeleine_. This
was followed in 1840 by _La Colère de Jésus_, in 1841 by the religious
fantasy of _Psyché_, and in 1844 by _Odes et poèmes_. In 1845 Laprade
visited Italy on a mission of literary research, and in 1847 he was
appointed professor of French literature at Lyons. The French Academy,
by a single vote, preferred Émile Augier at the election in 1857, but in
the following year Laprade was chosen to fill the chair of Alfred de
Musset. In 1861 he was removed from his post at Lyons owing to the
publication of a political satire in verse (_Les Muses d'État_), and in
1871 took his seat in the National Assembly on the benches of the Right.
He died on the 13th of December 1883. A statue has been raised by his
fellow-townsmen at Montbrison. Besides those named above, Laprade's
poetical works include _Poèmes évangéliques_ (1852), _Idylles héroïques_
(1858), _Les Voix de silence_ (1864), _Pernette_ (1868), _Poèmes
civiles_ (1873), _Le Livre d'un père_ (1877), _Varia_ and _Livre des
adieux_ (1878-1879). In prose he published, in 1840, _Des habitudes
intellectuelles de l'avocat_. _Questions d'art et de morale_ appeared in
1861, succeeded by _Le Sentiment de la nature, avant le Christianisme_
in 1866, and _Chez les modernes_ in 1868, _Éducation libérale_ in 1873.
The material for these books had in some cases been printed earlier,
after delivery as a lecture. He also contributed articles to the _Revue
des deux mondes_ and the _Revue de Paris_. No writer represents more
perfectly than Laprade the admirable genius of French provincial life,
its homely simplicity, its culture, its piety and its sober patriotism.
As a poet he belongs to the school of Chateaubriand and Lamartine.
Devoted to the best classical models, inspired by a sense of the ideal,
and by worship of nature as revealing the divine--gifted, too, with a
full faculty of expression--he lacked only fire and passion in the
equipment of a romantic poet. But the want of these, and the pressure of
a certain chilly facility and of a too conscious philosophizing have
prevented him from reaching the first rank, or from even attaining the
popularity due to his high place in the second. Only in his patriotic
verse did he shake himself clear from these trammels. Speaking
generally, he possessed some of the qualities, and many of the defects,
of the English Lake School. Laprade's prose criticisms must be ranked
high. Apart from his classical and metaphysical studies, he was widely
read in the literatures of Europe, and built upon the groundwork of a
naturally correct taste. His dislike of irony and scepticism probably
led him to underrate the product of the 18th century, and there are
signs of a too fastidious dread of Philistinism. But a constant love of
the best, a joy in nature and a lofty patriotism are not less evident
than in his poetry. Few writers of any nation have fixed their minds so
steadily on whatsoever things are pure, and lovely and of good report.
See also Edmond Biré, _Victor de Laprade, sa vie et ses oeuvres_. (C.)
LAPSE (Lat. _lapsus_, a slip or departure), in law, a term used in
several senses. (1) In ecclesiastical law, when a patron has neglected
to present to a void benefice within six months next after the
avoidance, the right of presentation is said to lapse. In such case the
patronage or right of presentation devolves from the neglectful patron
to the bishop as ordinary, to the metropolitan as superior and to the
sovereign as patron paramount. (2) The failure of a testamentary
disposition in favour of any person, by reason of the decease of its
object in the testator's lifetime, is termed a lapse. See LEGACY, WILL.
LAPWING (O.Eng. _hleápewince_ = "one who turns about in running or
flight"),[1] a bird, the _Tringa vanellus_ of Linnaeus and the _Vanellus
vulgaris_ or _V. cristatus_ of modern ornithologists. In the temperate
parts of the Old World this species is perhaps the most abundant of the
plovers, _Charadriidae_, breeding in almost every suitable place from
Ireland to Japan--the majority migrating towards winter to southern
countries, as the Punjab, Egypt and Barbary--though in the British
Islands some are always found at that season. As a straggler it has
occurred within the Arctic Circle (as on the Varanger Fjord in Norway),
as well as in Iceland and even Greenland; while it not unfrequently
appears in Madeira and the Azores. Conspicuous as the strongly
contrasted colours of its plumage and its very peculiar flight make it,
it is remarkable that it maintains its ground when so many of its allies
have been almost exterminated, for the lapwing is the object perhaps of
greater persecution than any other European bird that is not a
plunderer. Its eggs are the well-known "plovers' eggs" of commerce,[2]
and the bird, wary and wild at other times of the year, in the
breeding-season becomes easily approachable, and is shot to be sold in
the markets for "golden plover." Its growing scarcity in Great Britain
was very perceptible until the various acts for the protection of wild
birds were passed. It is now abundant and is of service both for the
market and to agriculture. What seems to be the secret of the lapwing
holding its position is the adaptability of its nature to various kinds
of localities. It will find sustenance equally on the driest of soils as
on the fattest pastures; upland and fen, arable and moorland, are alike
to it, provided only the ground be open enough. The wailing cry[3] and
the frantic gestures of the cock bird in the breeding-season will tell
any passer-by that a nest or brood is near; but, unless he knows how to
look for it, nothing save mere chance will enable him to find it. The
nest is a slight hollow in the ground, wonderfully inconspicuous even
when deepened, as is usually the case, by incubation, and the
black-spotted olive eggs (four in number) are almost invisible to the
careless or untrained eye. The young when first hatched are clothed with
mottled down, so as closely to resemble a stone, and to be overlooked as
they squat motionless on the approach of danger. At a distance the
plumage of the adult appears to be white and black in about equal
proportions, the latter predominating above; but on closer examination
nearly all the seeming black is found to be a bottle-green gleaming with
purple and copper; the tail-coverts, both above and below, are of a
bright bay colour, seldom visible in flight. The crest consists of six
or eight narrow and elongated feathers, turned slightly upwards at the
end, and is usually carried in a horizontal position, extending in the
cock beyond the middle of the back; but it is capable of being erected
so as to become nearly vertical. Frequenting parts of the open country
so very divergent in character, and as remarkable for the peculiarity of
its flight as for that of its cry, the lapwing is far more often
observed in nearly all parts of the British Islands than any other of
the group Limicolae. The peculiarity of its flight seems due to the wide
and rounded wings it possesses, the steady and ordinarily somewhat slow
flapping of which impels the body at each stroke with a manifest though
easy jerk. Yet on occasion, as when performing its migrations, or even
its almost daily transits from one feeding-ground to another, and still
more when being pursued by a falcon, the speed with which it moves
through the air is very considerable. On the ground this bird runs
nimbly, and is nearly always engaged in searching for its food, which is
wholly animal.
Allied to the lapwing are several forms that have been placed by
ornithologists in the genera _Hoplopterus_, _Chettusia_, _Lobivanellus_,
_Defilippia_. In some of them the hind toe, which has already ceased to
have any function in the lapwing, is wholly wanting. In others the wings
are armed with a tubercle or even a sharp spur on the carpus. Few have
any occipital crest, but several have the face ornamented by the
outgrowth of a fleshy lobe or lobes. With the exception of North
America, they are found in most parts of the world, but perhaps the
greater number in Africa. Europe has three species--_Hoplopterus
spinosus_, the spur-winged plover, and _Chettusia gregaria_ and _C.
leucura_; but the first and last are only stragglers from Africa and
Asia. (A. N.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Skeat, _Etym_. Dict. (1898), _s.v_. Caxton in 1481 has
"lapwynches" (_Reynard the Fox_, cap. 27). The first part of the word
is from _hleápan_, to leap; the second part is "wink" (O.H.G.
_winchan_, Ger. _wanken_, to waver). Popular etymology has given the
word its present form, as if it meant "wing-flapper," from "lap," a
fold or flap of a garment.
[2] There is a prevalent belief that many of the eggs sold as
"plovers'" are those of rooks, but no notion can be more absurd,
since the appearance of the two is wholly unlike. Those of the
redshank, of the golden plover (to a small extent), and enormous
numbers of those of the black-headed gull, and in certain places of
some of the terns are, however, sold as lapwings', having a certain
similarity of shell to the latter, and a difference of flavour only
to be detected by a fine palate.
[3] This sounds like _pee-weet_, with some variety of intonation.
Hence the names peewit, peaseweep and teuchit, commonly applied in
some parts of Britain to this bird--though the first is that by which
one of the smaller gulls, _Larus ridibundus_ (see GULL), is known in
the districts it frequents. In Sweden _Vipa_, in Germany _Kiebitz_,
in Holland _Kiewiet_, and in France _Dixhuit_, are names of the
lapwing, given to it from its usual cry. Other English names are
green plover and hornpie--the latter from its long hornlike crest and
pied plumage. The lapwing's conspicuous crest seems to have been the
cause of a common blunder among English writers of the middle ages,
who translated the Latin word _Upupa_, property hoopoe, by lapwing,
as being the crested bird with which they were best acquainted. In
like manner other writers of the same or an earlier period latinized
lapwing by _Egrettides_ (plural), and rendered that again into
English as egrets--the tuft of feathers misleading them also. The
word _Vanellus_ is from _vannus_, the fan used for winnowing corn,
and refers to the audible beating of the bird's wings.
LAPWORTH, CHARLES (1842- ), English geologist, was born at Faringdon in
Berkshire on the 30th of September 1842. He was educated partly in the
village of Buckland in the same county, and afterwards in the training
college at Culham, near Oxford (1862-1864). He was then appointed master
in a school connected with the Episcopal church at Galashiels, where he
remained eleven years. Geology came to absorb all his leisure time, and
he commenced to investigate the Silurian rocks of the Southern Uplands,
and to study the graptolites and other fossils which mark horizons in
the great series of Lower Palaeozoic rocks. His first paper on the Lower
Silurian rocks of Galashiels was published in 1870, and from that date
onwards he continued to enrich our knowledge of the southern uplands of
Scotland until the publication by the Geological Society of his masterly
papers on _The Moffat Series_ (1878) and _The Girvan Succession_ (1882).
Meanwhile in 1875 he became an assistant master in the Madras College,
St Andrews, and in 1881 professor of geology and mineralogy (afterwards
geology and physiography) in the Mason College, now University of
Birmingham. In 1882 he started work in the Durness-Eriboll district of
the Scottish Highlands, and made out the true succession of the rocks,
and interpreted the complicated structure which had baffled most of the
previous observers. His results were published in "The Secret of the
Highlands" (_Geol. Mag._, 1883). His subsequent work includes papers on
the Cambrian rocks of Nuneaton and the Ordovician rocks of Shropshire.
The term Ordovician was introduced by him in 1879 for the strata between
the base of the Lower Llandovery formation and that of the Lower Arenig;
and it was intended to settle the confusion arising from the use by some
writers of Lower Silurian and by others of Upper Cambrian for the same
set of rocks. The term Ordovician is now generally adopted. Professor
Lapworth was elected F.R.S. in 1888, he received a royal medal in 1891,
and was awarded the Wollaston medal by the Geological Society in 1899.
He was president of the Geological Society, 1902-1904. His _Intermediate
Text-book of Geology_ was published in 1899.
See article, with portrait and bibliography, in _Geol. Mag._ (July
1901).
LAR, a city of Persia, capital of Laristan, in 27° 30´ N., 53° 58´ E.,
180 m. from Shiraz and 75 from the coast at Bander Lingah. It stands at
the foot of a mountain range in an extensive plain covered with palm
trees, and was once a flourishing place, but a large portion is in
ruins, and the population which early in the 18th century numbered
50,000 is reduced to 8000. There are still some good buildings, of which
the most prominent are the old bazaar consisting of four arcades each
180 ft. long, 14 broad and 22 high, radiating from a domed centre 30 ft.
high, an old stone mosque and many cisterns. The crest of a steep
limestone hill immediately behind the town and rising 150 ft. above the
plain is crowned by the ruins of a castle formerly deemed impregnable.
Just below the castle is a well sunk 200 ft. in the rock. The
tower-flanked mud wall which surrounds the town is for the most part in
ruins.
LARA, western state of Venezuela, lying in the angle formed by the
parting of the N. and N.E. ranges of the Cordillera de Mérida and
extending N.E. with converging frontiers to the Caribbean. Pop. (1905
estimate) 272,252. The greater part of its surface is mountainous, with
elevated fertile valleys which have a temperate climate. The Tocuyo
river rises in the S.W. angle of the state and flows N.E. to the
Caribbean with a total length of 287 m. A narrow-gauge railway, the
"South-western," owned by British capitalists, runs from the port of
Tucacas 55 m. S.W. to Barquisimeto by way of the Aroa copper-mining
district. Lara produces wheat and other cereals, coffee, sugar, tobacco,
neat cattle, sheep and various mineral ores, including silver, copper,
iron, lead, bismuth and antimony. The capital, Barquisimeto, is one of
the largest and most progressive of the inland cities of Venezuela.
Carora is also prominent as a commercial centre. Tocuyo (pop. in 1891,
15,383), 40 m. S.W. of Barquisimeto, is an important commercial and
mining town, over 2000 ft. above sea-level, in the midst of a rich
agricultural and pastoral region. Yaritagua (pop. about 12,000), 20 m.
E. of Barquisimeto, and 1026 ft. above the sea, is known for its cigar
manufactories.
LARAISH (_El Araish_), a port in northern Morocco on the Atlantic coast
in 35° 13´ N., 6° 9´ W., 43 m. by sea S. by W. of Tangier, picturesquely
situated on the left bank of the estuary of the Wad Lekkus. Pop. 6000 to
7000. The river, being fairly deep inside the bar, made this a favourite
port for the Salli rovers to winter in, but the quantity of alluvial
soil brought down threatens to close the port. The town is well situated
for defence, its walls are in fair condition, and it has ten forts, all
supplied with old-fashioned guns. Traces of the Spanish occupation from
1610-1689 are to be seen in the towers whose names are given by Tissot
as those of St Stephen, St James and that of the Jews, with the Castle
of Our Lady of Europe, now the kasbah or citadel. The most remarkable
feature of Laraish is its fine large market-place inside the town with a
low colonnade in front of very small shops. The streets, though narrow
and steep, are generally paved. Its chief exports are oranges, millet,
dra and other cereals, goat-hair and skins, sheepskins, wool and
fullers' earth. The wool goes chiefly to Marseilles. The annual value of
the trade is from £400,000 to £500,000.
In 1780 all the Europeans in Laraish were expelled by Mohammed XVI.,
although in 1786 the monopoly of its trade had been granted to Holland,
even its export of wheat. In 1787 the Moors were still building pirate
vessels here, the timber for which came from the neighbouring forest of
M'amora. Not far from the town are the remains of what is believed to be
a Phoenician city, Shammish, mentioned by Idrisi, who makes no allusion
to Laraish. It is not, however, improbable from a passage in Scylax that
the site of the present town was occupied by a Libyan settlement.
Tradition also connects Laraish with the garden of the Hesperides,
'_Arasi_ being the Arabic for "pleasure-gardens," and the "golden
apples" perhaps the familiar oranges.
LARAMIE, a city and the county-seat of Albany county, Wyoming, U.S.A.,
on the Laramie river, 57 m. by rail N.W. of Cheyenne. Pop. (1900) 8207,
of whom 1280 were foreign-born; (1905) 7601; (1910) 8237. It is served
by the Union Pacific and the Laramie, Hahn's Peak & Pacific railways,
the latter extending from Laramie to Centennial (30 m.). The city is
situated on the Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7165 ft., and is
hemmed in on three sides by picturesque mountains. It has a public
library, a United States Government building and hospitals, and is the
seat of the university of Wyoming and of a Protestant Episcopal
missionary bishopric. There is a state fish hatchery in the vicinity.
The university (part of the public school system of the state) was
founded in 1886, was opened in 1887, and embraces a College of Liberal
Arts and Graduate School, a Normal School, a College of Agriculture and
the Mechanic Arts, an Agricultural Experiment Station (established by a
Federal appropriation), a College of Engineering, a School of Music, a
Preparatory School and a Summer School. Laramie is a supply and
distributing centre for a live-stock raising and mining
region--particularly coal mining, though gold, silver, copper and iron
are also found. The Union Pacific Railroad Company has machine shops,
repair shops and rolling mills at Laramie, and, a short distance S. of
the city, ice-houses and a tie-preserving plant. The manufactures
include glass, leather, flour, plaster and pressed brick, the brick
being made from shale obtained in the vicinity. The municipality owns
and operates the water-works; the water is obtained from large springs
about 2½ m. distant. Laramie was settled in 1868, by people largely from
New England, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa, and was named in honour of
Jacques Laramie, a French fur trader. It was first chartered as a city
in 1868 by the legislature of Dakota, and was rechartered by the
legislature of Wyoming in 1873.
LARBERT, a parish and town of Stirlingshire, Scotland. Pop. of parish
(1901) 6500, of town, 1442. The town is situated on the Carron, 8 m. S.
by E. of Stirling by the North British and Caledonian railways, the
junction being an important station for traffic from the south by the
West Coast route. Coal-mining is the chief industry. The principal
buildings are the church, finely placed overlooking the river, the
Stirling district asylum and the Scottish National Institution for
imbecile children. In the churchyard is a monument to James Bruce, the
Abyssinian traveller, who was born and died at Kinnaird House, 2½ m.
N.E. Two m. N. by W. are the ruins of Torwood Castle and the remains of
Torwood forest, to which Sir William Wallace retired after his defeat at
Falkirk (1298). Near "Wallace's oak," in which the patriot concealed
himself, Donald Cargill (1619-1681), the Covenanter, excommunicated
Charles II. and James, duke of York, in 1680. The fragment of an old
round building is said to be the relic of one of the very few "brochs,"
or round towers, found in the Lowlands.
LARCENY (an adaptation of Fr. _larcin_, O. Fr. _larrecin_, from Lat.
_latrocinium_, theft, _latio_, robber), the unlawful taking and carrying
away of things personal, with intent to deprive the rightful owner of
the same. The term _theft_, sometimes used as a synonym of larceny, is
in reality a broader term, applying to all cases of depriving another of
his property whether by removing or withholding it, and includes
larceny, robbery, cheating, embezzlement, breach of trust, &c.
Larceny is, in modern legal systems, universally treated as a crime, but
the conception of it as a crime is not one belonging to the earliest
stage of law. To its latest period Roman law regarded larceny or theft
(_furtum_) as a delict _prima facie_ pursued by a civil remedy--the
_actio furti_ for a penalty, the _vindicatio_ or _condictio_ for the
stolen property itself or its value. In later times, a criminal remedy
to meet the graver crimes gradually grew up by the side of the civil,
and in the time of Justinian the criminal remedy, where it existed, took
precedence of the civil (_Cod._ iii. 8. 4). But to the last criminal
proceedings could only be taken in serious cases, e.g. against stealers
of cattle (_abigei_) or the clothes of bathers (_balnearii_). The
punishment was death, banishment, or labour in the mines or on public
works. In the main the Roman law coincides with the English law. The
definition as given in the _Institutes_ (iv. 1. 1) is "furtum est
contrectatio rei fraudulosa, vel ipsius rei, vel etiam ejus usus
possessionisve," to which the _Digest_ (xlvii. 2. 1, 3) adds "lucri
faciendi gratia." The earliest English definition, that of Bracton
(150b), runs thus: "furtum est secundum leges contrectatio rei alienae
fraudulenta cum animo furandi invito illo domino cujus res illa fuerit."
Bracton omits the "lucri faciendi gratia" of the Roman definition,
because in English law the motive is immaterial,[1] and the "usus ejus
possessionisve," because the definition includes an intent to deprive
the owner of his property permanently. The "animo furandi" and "invito
domino" of Bracton's definition are expansions for the sake of greater
clearness. They seem to have been implied in Roman law. _Furtum_ is on
the whole a more comprehensive term than larceny. This difference no
doubt arises from the tendency to extend the bounds of a delict and to
limit the bounds of a crime. Thus it was _furtum_ (but it would not be
theft at English common law) to use a deposit of pledge contrary to the
wishes of the owner, to retain goods found, or to steal a human being,
such as a slave or _filius familias_ (a special form of _furtum_ called
_plagium_). The latter would be in English law an abduction under
certain circumstances but not a theft. One of two married persons could
not commit _furtum_ as against the other, but larceny may be so
committed in England since the Married Women's Property Act 1882. As a
_furtum_ was merely a delict, the _obligatio ex delicto_ could be
extinguished by agreement between the parties; this cannot be done in
England. In another direction English law is more considerate of the
rights of third parties than was Roman. The thief can give a good title
to stolen goods; in Roman law he could not do so, except in the single
case of a _hereditas_ acquired by _usucapio_. The development of the law
of _furtum_ at Rome is historically interesting, for even in its latest
period is found a relic of one of the most primitive theories of law
adopted by courts of justice: "They took as their guide the measure of
vengeance likely to be exacted by an aggrieved person under the
circumstances of the case" (Maine, _Ancient Law_, ch. x.). This explains
the reason of the division of _furtum_ into _manifestum_ and _nec
manifestum_. The manifest thief was one taken red-handed--"taken with
the manner," in the language of old English law. The Twelve Tables
denounced the punishment of death against the manifest thief, for that
would be the penalty demanded by the indignant owner in whose place the
judge stood. The severity of this penalty was afterwards mitigated by
the praetor, who substituted for it the payment of quadruple the value
of the thing stolen. The same penalty was also given by the praetor in
case of theft from a fire or a wreck, or of prevention of search. The
Twelve Tables mulcted the non-manifest thief in double the value of the
thing stolen. The actions for penalties were in addition to the action
for the stolen goods themselves or their value. The quadruple and double
penalties still remain in the legislation of Justinian. The search for
stolen goods, as it existed in the time of Gaius, was a survival of a
period when the injured person was, as in the case of summons (_in jus
vocatio_), his own executive officer. Such a search, by the Twelve
Tables, might be conducted in the house of the supposed thief by the
owner in person, naked except for a cincture, and carrying a platter in
his hand, safeguards apparently against any possibility of his making a
false charge by depositing some of his own property on his neighbour's
premises. This mode of search became obsolete before the time of
Justinian. Robbery (_bona vi rapta_) was violence added to _furtum_. By
the _actio vi bonorum raptorum_ quadruple the value could be recovered
if the action were brought within a year, only the value if brought
after the expiration of a year. The quadruple value included the stolen
thing itself, so that the penalty was in effect only a triple one. It
was inclusive, and not cumulative, as in _furtum_.
In England theft or larceny appears to have been very early regarded by
legislators as a matter calling for special attention. The pre-Conquest
compilations of laws are full of provisions on the subject. The earlier
laws appear to regard it as a delict which may be compounded for by
payment. Considerable distinctions of person are made, both in regard to
the owner and the thief. Thus, by the laws of Æthelberht, if a freeman
stole from the king he was to restore ninefold, if from a freeman or
from a dwelling, threefold. If a theow stole, he had only to make a
twofold reparation. In the laws of Alfred ordinary theft was still only
civil, but he who stole in a church was punished by the loss of his
hand. The laws of Ina named as the penalty death or redemption according
to the wer-gild of the thief. By the same laws the thief might be slain
if he fled or resisted. Gradually the severity of the punishment
increased. By the laws of Æthelstan death in a very cruel form was
inflicted. At a later date the _Leges Henrici Primi_ placed a thief in
the king's mercy, and his lands were forfeited. Putting out the eyes and
other kinds of mutilation were sometimes the punishment. The principle
of severity continued down to the 19th century, and until 1827 theft or
larceny of certain kinds remained capital. Both before and after the
Conquest local jurisdiction over thieves was a common franchise of lords
of manors, attended with some of the advantages of modern summary
jurisdiction.
Under the common law larceny was a felony. It was affected by numerous
statutes, the main object of legislation being to bring within the law
of larceny offences which were not larcenies at common law, either
because they were thefts of things of which there could be no larceny
at common law, e.g. beasts _ferae naturae_, title deeds or choses in
action, or because the common law regarded them merely as delicts for
which the remedy was by civil action, e.g. fraudulent breaches of
trust. The earliest act in the statutes of the realm dealing with
larceny appears to be the _Carta Forestae_ of 1225, by which fine or
imprisonment was inflicted for stealing the king's deer. The next act
appears to be the statute of Westminster the First (1275), dealing
again with stealing deer. It seems as though the beginning of
legislation on the subject was for the purpose of protecting the
chases and parks of the king and the nobility. A very large number of
the old acts are named in the repealing act of 1827. An act of the
same date removed the old distinction between grand and petit
larceny.[2] The former was theft of goods above the value of twelve
pence, in the house of the owner, not from the person, or by night,
and was a capital crime. It was petit larceny where the value was
twelve pence or under, the punishment being imprisonment or whipping.
The gradual depreciation in the value of money afforded good ground
for Sir Henry Spelman's sarcasm that, while everything else became
dearer, the life of man became continually cheaper. The distinction
between grand and petit larceny first appears in statute law in the
Statute of Westminster the First, c. 15, but it was not created for
the first time by that statute. It is found in some of the
pre-Conquest codes, as that of Æthelstan, and it is recognized in the
_Leges Henrici Primi_. A distinction between simple and compound
larceny is still found in the books. The latter is larceny accompanied
by circumstances of aggravation, as that it is in a dwelling-house or
from the person. The law of larceny is now contained chiefly in the
Larceny Act 1861 (which extends to England and Ireland), a
comprehensive enactment including larceny, embezzlement, fraud by
bailees, agents, bankers, factors, and trustees, sacrilege, burglary,
housebreaking, robbery, obtaining money by threats or by false
pretences, and receiving stolen goods, and prescribing procedure, both
civil and criminal. There are, however, other acts in force dealing
with special cases of larceny, such as an act of Henry VIII. as to
stealing the goods of the king, and the Game, Post-Office and Merchant
Shipping Acts. There are separate acts providing for larceny by a
partner of partnership property, and by a husband or wife of the
property of the other (Married Women's Property Act 1882). Proceedings
against persons subject to naval or military law depend upon the Naval
Discipline Act 1866 and the Army Act 1881. There are several acts,
both before and after 1861, directing how the property is to be laid
in indictments for stealing the goods of counties, friendly societies,
trades unions, &c. The principal conditions which must exist in order
to constitute larceny are these: (1) there must be an actual taking
into the possession of the thief, though the smallest removal is
sufficient; (2) there must be an intent to deprive the owner of his
property for an indefinite period, and to assume the entire dominion
over it, an intent often described in Bracton's words as _animus
furandi_; (3) this intent must exist at the time of taking; (4) the
thing taken must be one capable of larceny either at common law or by
statute. One or two cases falling under the law of larceny are of
special interest. It was held more than once that a servant taking
corn to feed his master's horses, but without any intention of
applying it for his own benefit, was guilty of larceny. To remedy this
hardship, the Misappropriation of Servants Act 1863 was passed to
declare such an act not to be felony. The case of appropriation of
goods which have been found has led to some difficulty. It now seems
to be the law that in order to constitute a larceny of lost goods
there must be a felonious intent at the time of finding, that is, an
intent to deprive the owner of them, coupled with reasonable means at
the same time of knowing the owner. The mere retention of the goods
when the owner has become known to the finder does not make the
retention criminal. Larceny of money may be committed when the money
is paid by mistake, if the prisoner took it _animo furandi_. In two
noteworthy cases the question was argued before a very full court for
crown cases reserved, and in each case there was a striking difference
of opinion. In _R._ v. _Middleton_, 1873, L.R. 2 C.C.R., 38, the
prisoner, a depositor in a post-office savings bank, received by the
mistake of the clerk a larger sum that he was entitled to. The jury
found that he had the _animus furandi_ at the time of taking the
money, and that he knew it to be the money of the postmaster-general.
The majority of the court held it to be larceny. In a case in 1885
(_R._ v. _Ashwell_, L.R. 16 Q.B.D. 190), where the prosecutor gave the
prisoner a sovereign believing it to be a shilling, and the prisoner
took it under that belief, but afterwards discovered its value and
retained it, the court was equally divided as to whether the prisoner
was guilty of larceny at common law, but held that he was not guilty
of larceny as a bailee. Legislation has considerably affected the
procedure in prosecutions for larceny. The inconveniences of the
common law rules of interpretation of indictments led to certain
amendments of the law, now contained in the Larceny Act, for the
purpose of avoiding the frequent failures of justice owing to the
strictness with which indictments were construed. Three larcenies of
property of the same person within six months may now be charged in
one indictment. On an indictment for larceny the prisoner may be found
guilty of embezzlement, and _vice versa_; and if the prisoner be
indicted for obtaining goods by false pretences, and the offence turn
out to be larceny, he is not entitled to be acquitted of the
misdemeanour. A count for receiving may be joined with the count for
stealing. In many cases it is unnecessary to allege or prove ownership
of the property the subject of the indictment. The act also contains
numerous provisions as to venue and the apprehension of offenders. In
another direction the powers of courts of Summary Jurisdiction (q.v.)
have been extended, in the case of charges of larceny, embezzlement
and receiving stolen goods, against children and young persons and
against adults pleading guilty or waiving their right to trial by
jury. The maximum punishment for larceny is fourteen years' penal
servitude, but this can only be inflicted in certain exceptional
cases, such as horse or cattle stealing and larceny by a servant or a
person in the service of the crown or the police. The extreme
punishment for simple larceny after a previous conviction for felony
is ten years' penal servitude. Whipping may be part of the sentence on
boys under sixteen.
_Scotland._--A vast number of acts of the Scottish parliament dealt with
larceny. The general policy of the acts was to make larceny what was not
larceny at common law, e.g. stealing fruit, dogs, hawks or deer, and to
extend the remedies, e.g. by giving the justiciar authority throughout
the kingdom, by making the master in the case of theft by the servant
liable to give the latter up to justice, or by allowing the use of
firearms against thieves. The general result of legislation in England
and Scotland has been to assimilate the law of larceny in both kingdoms.
As a rule, what would be larceny in one would be larceny in the other.
_United Stales._--The law depends almost entirely upon state
legislation, and is in general accordance with that of England. The only
acts of Congress bearing on the subject deal with larceny in the army
and navy, and with larceny and receiving on the high seas or in any
place under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, e.g.
Alaska.
_Alaska._--Stealing any goods, chattels, government note, bank note,
or other thing in action, books of account, &c., is larceny:
punishment, imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years
if the property stolen is in value over $35. Larceny in any
dwelling-house, warehouse, steamship, church, &c., is punishable by
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than seven years. Larceny
of a horse, mule, ass, bull, steer, cow or reindeer is punishable by
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than fifteen years.
Wilfully altering or defacing marks or brands on such animals is
larceny (Pen. Code Alaska, § 45, 1899).
_Arizona._--Appropriating property found without due inquiry for the
owner is larceny (Penal Code, § 442). "Dogs are property and of the
value of _one dollar each_ within the meaning of the terms 'property'
and 'value' as used in this chapter" (_id._ § 448). Property includes
a passage ticket though never issued. Persons stealing property in
another state or county, or who receive it knowing it to be stolen and
bring it into Arizona, may be convicted and punished as if the offence
was committed there (_id._ § 454). Stealing gas or water from a main
is a misdemeanour.
_Iowa._--It is larceny to steal electricity, gas or water from wires,
meters or mains (L. 1903, ch. 132).
_New York._--Larceny as defined by § 528 of the Penal Code includes
also embezzlement, obtaining property by false pretences, and
felonious breach of trust (_People_ v. _Dumar_, 106 N.Y. 508), but the
method of proof required to establish these offences has not been
changed. Grand larceny in the _first degree_ is (a) stealing property
of any value in the night time; (b) of $25 in value or more at night
from a dwelling house, vessel or railway car; (c) of the value of more
than $500 in any manner; in the _second degree_ (a) stealing in any
manner property of the value of over $25 and under $500; (b) taking
from the person property of any value; (c) stealing any record of a
court or other record filed with any public officer. Every other
larceny is petit larceny. "Value" of any stock, bond or security
having a market value is the amount of money due thereon or what, in
any contingency, might be collected thereon; of any passenger ticket
the price it is usually sold at. The value of anything else not fixed
by statute is its market value. Grand larceny, in the first degree, is
punishable by imprisonment not exceeding ten years; in the second
degree, not exceeding five years. Petit larceny is a misdemeanour
(Penal Code, §§ 530-535). Bringing stolen goods into the state knowing
them to be stolen is punishable as larceny within the state (_id._ §
540). A "pay ticket" for removing a load of snow may be the subject of
larceny and its value the amount to be paid on it. (_People_ v.
_Fletcher_ [1906] 110 App. D. 231).
_Kansas._--The owner of goods who takes them from a railroad company
with intent to defeat its lien for transportation charges is guilty of
larceny. (_Atchison Co._ v. _Hinsdell_ [1907] 90 Pac. Rep. 800).
_Massachusetts._--Larceny includes embezzlement and obtaining money by
false pretences. (Rev. L. 1902, ch. 218, § 40.) The failing to restore
to or to notify the owner of property removed from premises on fire is
larceny (_id._ ch. 208, § 22). It is larceny to purchase property
(payment for which is to be made on or before delivery) by means of a
false pretence as to means or ability to pay, provided such pretence
is signed by the person to be charged. Indictment for stealing a will
need not contain an allegation of value (_id._ § 29). A person
convicted either as accessory or principal of three distinct larcenies
shall be adjudged "a common and notorious thief" and may be imprisoned
for not more than twenty years (_id._ 31). On second conviction for
larceny of a bicycle, the thief may be imprisoned for not more than
five years. Larceny of things annexed to realty is punishable as if it
were a larceny of personal property (_id._ §§ 33, 35).
_Ohio._--Stealing "anything of value" is larceny (Bates Stats. §
6856). Tapping gas pipes is punishable by fine or imprisonment for not
more than thirty days. Stealing timber having "timber dealers'" trade
mark, or removing it from a stream, is punishable by a fine of not
less than $20.
_Utah._--It is grand larceny to alter the mark or brand on an animal
(L. 1905, ch. 38).
_Wyoming._--For branding or altering or defacing the brand on cattle
with intent to steal, the penalty is imprisonment for not more than
five years. It is larceny for a bailee to convert with intent to steal
goods left with or found by him (Rev. Stats. §§ 4986, 4989).
_Washington._--A horse not branded, but under Code § 6861 an "outlaw,"
the owner being unknown, can be the subject of a larceny, having been
held to be property of the state. (_State_ v. _Eddy_ [1907], 90 Pac.
Rep. 641). For the third offence of such a larceny the penalty is
imprisonment for _life_ (L. 1903, ch. 86).
See also EMBEZZLEMENT; CHEATING; FALSE PRETENCES; ROBBERY; STOLEN
GOODS.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Thus destruction of a letter by a servant, with a view of
suppressing inquiries into his or her character, makes the servant
guilty of larceny in English law.
[2] This provision was most unnecessarily repeated in the Larceny Act
of 1861.
LARCH (from the Ger. _Lärche_, M.H.G. _Lerche_, Lat. _larix_), a name
applied to a small group of coniferous trees, of which the common larch
of Europe is taken as the type. The members of the genus _Larix_ are
distinguished from the firs, with which they were formerly placed, by
their deciduous leaves, scattered singly, as in _Abies_, on the young
shoots of the season, but on all older branchlets growing in whorl-like
tufts, each surrounding the extremity of a rudimentary or abortive
branch; they differ from cedars (_Cedrus_), which also have the
fascicles of leaves on arrested branchlets, not only in the deciduous
leaves, but in the cones, the scales of which are thinner towards the
apex, and are persistent, remaining attached long after the seeds are
discharged. The trees of the genus are closely allied in botanic
features, as well as in general appearance, so that it is sometimes
difficult to assign to them determinate specific characters, and the
limit between species and variety is not always very accurately defined.
Nearly all are natives of Europe, or the northern plains and mountain
ranges of Asia and North America, though one (_Larix Griffithii_) occurs
only on the Himalayas.
The common larch (_L. europaea_) is, when grown in perfection, a stately
tree with tall erect trunk, gradually tapering from root to summit, and
horizontal branches springing at irregular intervals from the stem, and
in old trees often becoming more or less drooping, but rising again
towards the extremities; the branchlets or side shoots, very slender and
pendulous, are pretty thickly studded with the spurs each bearing a
fascicle of thirty or more narrow linear leaves, of a peculiar bright
light green when they first appear in the spring, but becoming of a
deeper hue when mature. The yellow stamen-bearing flowers are in
sessile, nearly spherical catkins; the fertile ones vary in colour, from
red or purple to greenish-white, in different varieties; the erect
cones, which remain long on the branches, are above an inch in length
and oblong-ovate in shape, with reddish-brown scales somewhat waved on
the edges, the lower bracts usually rather longer than the scales. The
tree flowers in April or May, and the winged seeds are shed the
following autumn. When standing in an open space, the larch grows of a
nearly conical shape, with the lower branches almost reaching the
ground, while those above gradually diminish in length towards the top
of the trunk, presenting a very symmetrical form; but in dense woods the
lower parts become bare of foliage, as with the firs under similar
circumstances. When springing up among rocks or on ledges, the stem
sometimes becomes much curved, and, with its spreading boughs and
pendent branchlets, often forms a striking and picturesque object in
alpine passes and steep ravines. In the prevalent European varieties the
bark is reddish-grey, and rather rough and scarred in old trees, which
are often much lichen-covered. The trunk attains a height of from 80 to
140 ft., with a diameter of from 3 to 5 ft. near the ground, but in
close woods is comparatively slender in proportion to its altitude. The
larch abounds on the Alps of Switzerland, on which it flourishes at an
elevation of 5000 ft., and also on those of Tirol and Savoy, on the
Carpathians, and in most of the hill regions of central Europe; it is
not wild on the Apennine chain, or the Pyrenees, and in the wild state
is unknown in the Spanish peninsula. It forms extensive woods in Russia,
but does not extend to Scandinavia, where its absence is somewhat
remarkable, as the tree grows freely in Norway and Sweden where planted,
and even multiplies itself by self-sown seed, according to F. C.
Schübeler, in the neighbourhood of Trondhjem. In the north-eastern parts
of Russia, in the country towards the Petchora river, and on the Ural, a
peculiar variety prevails, regarded by some as a distinct species (_L.
sibirica_); this form is abundant nearly throughout Siberia, extending
to the Pacific coast of Kamchatka and the hills of the Amur region. The
Siberian larch has smooth grey bark and smaller cones, approaching in
shape somewhat to those of the American hackmatack; it seems even
hardier than the Alpine tree, growing up to latitude 68°, but, as the
inclement climate of the polar shores is neared, dwindling down to a
dwarf and even trailing bush.
[Illustration: Branchlet of Larch (_Larix europaea_).]
The larch, from its lofty straight trunk and the high quality of its
wood, is one of the most important of coniferous trees; its growth is
extremely rapid, the stem attaining a large size in from sixty to eighty
years, while the tree yields good useful timber at forty or fifty; it
forms firm heartwood at an early age, and the sapwood is less perishable
than that of the firs, rendering it more valuable in the young state.
The wood of large trees is compact in texture, in the best varieties
of a deep reddish colour varying to brownish-yellow, but apt to be
lighter in tint, and less hard in grain, when grown in rich soils or
in low sheltered situations. It is remarkably tough, resisting a
rending strain better than any of the fir or pine woods in common use,
though not as elastic as some; properly seasoned, it is as little
liable to shrink as to split; the boughs being small compared to the
trunk, the timber is more free from large knots, and the small knots
remain firm and undecayed. The only drawback to these good qualities
is a certain liability to warp and bend, unless very carefully
seasoned; for this purpose it is recommended to be left floating in
water for a year after felling, and then allowed some months to dry
slowly and completely before sawing up the logs; barking the trunk in
winter while the tree is standing, and leaving it in that state till
the next year, has been often advised with the larch as with other
timber, but the practical inconveniences of the plan have prevented
its adoption on any large scale. When well prepared for use, larch is
one of the most durable of coniferous woods. Its strength and
toughness render it valuable for naval purposes, to which it is
largely applied; its freedom from any tendency to split adapts it for
clinker-built boats. It is much employed for house-building; most of
the picturesque log-houses in Vaud and the adjacent cantons are built
of squared larch trunks, and derive their fine brown tint from the
hardened resin that slowly exudes from the wood after long exposure to
the summer sun; the wooden shingles, that in Switzerland supply the
place of tiles, are also frequently of larch. In Germany it is much
used by the cooper as well as the carpenter, while the form of the
trunk admirably adapts it for all purposes for which long straight
timber is needed. It answers well for fence-posts and river piles;
many of the foundations of Venice rest upon larch, the lasting
qualities of which were well known and appreciated, not only in
medieval times, but in the days of Vitruvius and Pliny. The harder and
darker varieties are used in the construction of cheap solid
furniture, being fine in grain and taking polish better than many more
costly woods. A peculiarity of larch wood is the difficulty with which
it is ignited, although so resinous; and, coated with a thin layer of
plaster, beams and pillars of larch might probably be found to justify
Caesar's epithet "igni impenetrabile lignum"; even the small branches
are not easily kept alight, and a larch fire in the open needs
considerable care. Yet the forests of larch in Siberia often suffer
from conflagration. When these fires occur while the trees are full of
sap, a curious mucilaginous matter is exuded from the half-burnt
stems; when dry it is of pale reddish colour, like some of the coarser
kinds of gum-arabic, and is soluble in water, the solution resembling
gum-water, in place of which it is sometimes used; considerable
quantities are collected and sold as "Orenburg gum"; in Siberia and
Russia it is occasionally employed as a semi-medicinal food, being
esteemed an antiscorbutic. For burning in close stoves and furnaces,
larch makes tolerably good fuel, its value being estimated by Hartig
as only one-fifth less than that of beech; the charcoal is compact,
and is in demand for iron-smelting and other metallurgic uses in some
parts of Europe.
In the trunk of the larch, especially when growing in climates where
the sun is powerful in summer, a fine clear turpentine exists in great
abundance; in Savoy and the south of Switzerland, it is collected for
sale, though not in such quantity as formerly, when, being taken to
Venice for shipment, it was known in commerce as "Venice turpentine."
Old trees are selected, from the bark of which it is observed to ooze
in the early summer; holes are bored in the trunk, somewhat inclined
upward towards the centre of the stem, in which, between the layers of
wood, the turpentine is said to collect in small lacunae; wooden
gutters placed in these holes convey the viscous fluid into little
wooden pails hung on the end of each gutter; the secretion flows
slowly all through the summer months, and a tree in proper condition
yields from 6 to 8 lb. a year, and will continue to give an annual
supply for thirty or forty years, being, however, rendered quite
useless for timber by subjection to this process. In Tirol, a single
hole is made near the root of the tree in the spring; this is stopped
with a plug, and the turpentine is removed by a scoop in the autumn;
but each tree yields only from a few ounces to ½ lb. by this process.
Real larch turpentine is a thick tenacious fluid, of a deep yellow
colour, and nearly transparent; it does not harden by time; it
contains 15% of the essential oil of turpentine, also resin, succinic,
pinic and sylvic acids, and a bitter extractive matter. According to
Pereira, much sold under the name of Venice turpentine is a mixture of
common resin and oil of turpentine. On the French Alps a sweet
exudation is found on the small branchlets of young larches in June
and July, resembling manna in taste and laxative properties, and known
as _Manna de Briançon_ or _Manna Brigantina_; it occurs in small
whitish irregular granular masses, which are removed in the morning
before they are too much dried by the sun; this manna seems to differ
little in composition from the sap of the tree, which also contains
_mannite_; its cathartic powers are weaker than those of the manna of
the manna ash (_Fraximus ornus_), but it is employed in France for the
same purposes.
The bark of the larch is largely used in some countries for tanning;
it is taken from the trunk only, being stripped from the trees when
felled; its value is about equal to that of birch bark; but, according
to the experience of British tanners, it is scarcely half as strong as
that of the oak. The soft inner bark is occasionally used in Siberia
as a ferment, by hunters and others, being boiled and mixed with
rye-meal, and buried in the snow for a short time, when it is employed
as a substitute for other leaven, and in making the sour liquor called
"quass." In Germany a fungus (_Polyporus Laricis_) grows on the roots
and stems of decaying larches, which was formerly in esteem as a
drastic purgative. The young shoots of the larch are sometimes given
in Switzerland as fodder to cattle.
The larch, though mentioned by Parkinson in 1629 as "nursed up" by a few
"lovers of variety" as a rare exotic, does not seem to have been much
grown in England till early in the 18th century. In Scotland the date of
its introduction is a disputed point, but it seems to have been planted
at Dunkeld by the 2nd duke of Athole in 1727, and about thirteen or
fourteen years later considerable plantations were made at that place,
the commencement of one of the largest planting experiments on record;
it is estimated that 14 million larches were planted on the Athole
estates between that date and 1826. The cultivation of the tree rapidly
spread, and the larch has become a conspicuous feature of the scenery in
many parts of Scotland. It grows as rapidly and attains as large a size
in British habitats suited to it as in its home on the Alps, and often
produces equally good timber. The larch of Europe is essentially a
mountain tree, and requires not only free air above, but a certain
moderate amount of moisture in the soil beneath, with, at the same time,
perfect drainage, to bring the timber to perfection. Where there is
complete freedom from stagnant water in the ground, and abundant room
for the spread of its branches to light and air, the larch will flourish
in a great variety of soils, stiff clays, wet or mossy peat, and moist
alluvium being the chief exceptions; in its native localities it seems
partial to the debris of primitive and metamorphic rocks, but is
occasionally found growing luxuriantly on calcareous subsoils; in
Switzerland it attains the largest size, and forms the best timber, on
the northern declivities of the mountains; but in Scotland a southern
aspect appears most favourable.
The best variety for culture in Britain is that with red female
flowers; the light-flowered kinds are said to produce inferior wood,
and the Siberian larch does not grow in Scotland nearly as fast as the
Alpine tree. The larch is raised from seed in immense numbers in
British nurseries; that obtained from Germany is preferred, being more
perfectly ripened than the cones of home growth usually are. The seeds
are sown in April, on rich ground, which should not be too highly
manured; the young larches are planted out when two years old, or
sometimes transferred to a nursery bed to attain a larger size; but,
like all conifers, they succeed best when planted young; on the
mountains, the seedlings are usually put into a mere slit made in the
ground by a spade with a triangular blade, the place being first
cleared of any heath, bracken, or tall herbage that might smother the
young tree; the plants should be from 3 to 4 ft. apart, or even more,
according to the growth intended before thinning, which should be
begun as soon as the boughs begin to overspread much; little or no
pruning is needed beyond the careful removal of dead branches. The
larch is said not to succeed on arable land, especially where corn has
been grown, but experience does not seem to support this view; that
against the previous occupation of the ground by Scotch fir or Norway
spruce is probably better founded, and, where timber is the object, it
should not be planted with other conifers. On the Grampians and
neighbouring hills the larch will flourish at a greater elevation than
the pine, and will grow up to an altitude of 1700 or even 1800 ft.;
but it attains its full size on lower slopes. In very dry and bleak
localities, the Scotch fir will probably be more successful up to 900
ft. above the sea, the limit of the luxuriant growth of that hardy
conifer in Britain; and in moist valleys or on imperfectly drained
acclivities Norway spruce is more suitable. The growth of the larch
while young is exceedingly rapid; in the south of England it will
often attain a height of 25 ft. in the first ten years, while in
favourable localities it will grow upwards of 80 ft. in half a century
or less; one at Dunkeld felled sixty years after planting was 110 ft.
high; but usually the tree does not increase so rapidly after the
first thirty of forty years. Some larches in Scotland rival in size
the most gigantic specimens standing in their native woods; a tree at
Dalwick, Peeblesshire, attained 5 ft. in diameter; one at Glenarbuck,
near the Clyde, grew above 140 ft. high, with a circumference of 13
ft. The annual increase in girth is often considerable even in large
trees; the fine larch near the abbey of Dunkeld figured by Strutt in
his _Sylva Britannica_ increased 2½ ft. between 1796 and 1825, its
measurement at the latter date being 13 ft., with a height of 97½ ft.
In the south of England, the larch is much planted for the supply of
hop-poles, though in parts of Kent and Sussex poles formed of Spanish
chestnut are regarded as still more lasting. In plantations made with
this object, the seedlings are placed very close (from 1½ to 2 ft.
apart), and either cut down all at once, when the required height is
attained or thinned out, leaving the remainder to gain a greater
length; the land is always well trenched before planting. The best
month for larch planting, whether for poles or timber, is November;
larches are sometimes planted in the spring, but the practice cannot
be commended, as the sap flows early, and, if a dry period follows,
the growth is sure to be checked. The thinnings of the larch woods in
the Highlands are in demand for railway sleepers, scaffold poles, and
mining timber, and are applied to a variety of agricultural purposes.
The tree generally succeeds on the Welsh hills.
The young seedlings are sometimes nibbled by the hare and rabbit; and
on parts of the highland hills both bark and shoots are eaten in the
winter by the roe-deer; larch woods should always be fenced in to keep
out the hill-cattle, which will browse upon the shoots in spring. The
"woolly aphis," "American blight," or "larch blight" (_Eriosoma
laricis_) often attacks the trees in close valleys, but rarely spreads
much unless other unhealthy conditions are present. The larch suffers
from several diseases caused by fungi; the most important is the
larch-canker caused by the parasitism of _Peziza Willkommii_. The
spores germinate on a damp surface and enter the cortex through small
cracks or wounds in the protecting layer. The fungus-mycelium will go
on growing indefinitely in the cambium layer, thus killing and
destroying a larger area year by year. The most effective method of
treatment is to cut out the diseased branch or patch as early as
possible. Another disease which is sometimes confused with that caused
by the _Peziza_ is "heart-rot"; it occasionally attacks larches only
ten years old or less, but is more common when the trees have acquired
a considerable size, sometimes spreading in a short time through a
whole plantation. The trees for a considerable period show little sign
of unhealthiness, but eventually the stem begins to swell somewhat
near the root, and the whole tree gradually goes off as the disease
advances; when cut down, the trunk is found to be decayed at the
centre, the "rot" usually commencing near the ground. Trees of good
size are thus rendered nearly worthless, often showing little sign of
unhealthiness till felled. Great difference of opinion exists among
foresters as to the cause of this destructive malady; but it is
probably the direct result of unsuitable soil, especially soil
containing insufficient nourishment.
Considerable quantities of larch timber are imported into Britain for
use in the dockyards, in addition to the large home supply. The
quality varies much, as well as the colour and density; an Italian
sample in the museum at Kew (of a very dark red tint) weighs about 24½
lb. to the cub. ft., while a Polish specimen, of equally deep hue, is
44 lb. 1 oz. to the same measurement.
For the landscape gardener, the larch is a valuable aid in the
formation of park and pleasure ground; but it is never seen to such
advantage as when hanging over some tumbling burn or rocky pass among
the mountains. A variety with very pendent boughs, known as the
"drooping" larch var. _pendula_, is occasionally met with in gardens.
The bark of the larch has been introduced into pharmacy, being given,
generally in the form of an alcoholic tincture, in chronic bronchitic
affections and internal haemorrhages. It contains, in addition to
tannin, a peculiar principle called _larixin_, which may be obtained
in a pure state by distillation from a concentrated infusion of the
bark; it is a colourless substance in long crystals, with a bitter and
astringent taste, and a faint acid reaction; hence some term it
_larixinic acid_.
The European larch has long been introduced into the United States,
where, in suitable localities, it flourishes as luxuriantly as in
Britain. Plantations have been made in America with an economic view,
the tree growing much faster, and producing good timber at an earlier
age than the native hackmatack (or tamarack), while the wood is less
ponderous, and therefore more generally applicable.
The genus is represented in the eastern parts of North America by the
hackmatack (_L. americana_), of which there are several varieties, two
so well marked that they are by some botanists considered specifically
distinct. In one (_L. microcarpa_) the cones are very small, rarely
exceeding ½ in. in length, of a roundish-oblong shape; the scales are
very few in number, crimson in the young state, reddish-brown when ripe;
the tree much resembles the European larch in general appearance but is
of more slender growth; its trunk is seldom more than 2 ft. in diameter
and rarely above 80 ft. high; this form is the red larch, the _épinette
rouge_ of the French Canadians. The black larch (_L. pendula_) has
rather larger cones, of an oblong shape, about ¾ in. long, purplish or
green in the immature state, and dark brown when ripe, the scales
somewhat more numerous, the bracts all shorter than the scales. The bark
is dark bluish-grey, smoother than in the red larch, on the trunk and
lower boughs often glossy; the branches are more or less pendulous and
very slender.
The red larch grows usually on higher and drier ground, ranging from
the Virginian mountains to the shores of Hudson Bay; the black larch
is found often on moist land, and even in swamps. The hackmatack is
one of the most valuable timber trees of America; it is in great
demand in the ports of the St Lawrence for shipbuilding. It is far
more durable than any of the oaks of that region, is heavy and
close-grained, and much stronger, as well as more lasting, than that
of the pines and firs of Canada. In many parts all the finer trees
have been cut down, but large woods of it still exist in the less
accessible districts; it abounds especially near Lake St John, Quebec,
and in Newfoundland is the prevalent tree in some of the forest
tracts; it is likewise common in Maine and Vermont. In the timber and
building yards the "red" hackmatack is the kind preferred, the
produce, probably, of _L. microcarpa_; the "grey" is less esteemed;
but the varieties from which these woods are obtained cannot always be
traced with certainty. Several fine specimens of the red larch exist
in English parks, but its growth is much slower than that of _L.
europaea_; the more pendulous forms of _L. pendula_ are elegant trees
for the garden. The hackmatacks might perhaps be grown with advantage
in places too wet for the common larch.
In western America a larch (_L. occidentalis_) occurs more nearly
resembling _L. europaea_. The leaves are short, thicker and more rigid
than in any of the other larches; the cones are much larger than those
of the hackmatacks, egg-shaped or oval in outline; the scales are of a
fine red in the immature state, the bracts green and extending far
beyond the scales in a rigid leaf-like point. The bark of the trunk
has the same reddish tint as that of the common larch of Europe. It is
the largest of all larches and one of the most useful timber trees of
North America. Some of the trees are 250 ft. high and 6 to 8 ft. in
diameter. The wood is the hardest and strongest of all the American
conifers; it is durable and adapted for construction work or household
furniture.
LARCHER, PIERRE HENRI (1726-1812), French classical scholar and
archaeologist, was born at Dijon on the 12th of October 1726. Originally
intended for the law, he abandoned it for the classics. His (anonymous)
translation of Chariton's _Chaereas and Callirrhoë_ (1763) marked him as
an excellent Greek scholar. His attack upon Voltaire's _Philosophie de
l'historie_ (published under the name of l'Abbé Bazin) created
considerable interest at the time. His archaeological and mythological
_Mémoire sur Vénus_ (1775), which has been ranked with similar works of
Heyne and Winckelmann, gained him admission to the Académie des
Inscriptions (1778). After the imperial university was founded, he was
appointed professor of Greek literature (1809) with Boissonade as his
assistant. He died on the 22nd of December 1812. Larcher's best work was
his translation of Herodotus (1786, new ed. by L. Humbert, 1880) on the
preparation of which he had spent fifteen years. The translation itself,
though correct, is dull, but the commentary (translated into English,
London, 1829, new ed. 1844, by W. D. Cooley) dealing with historical,
geographical and chronological questions, and enriched by a wealth of
illustration from ancient and modern authors, is not without value.
See J. F. Boissonade, _Notice sur la vie et les écrits de P. L._
(1813); F. A. Wolf, _Literarische Analecten_, i. 205; D. A.
Wyttenbach, _Philomathia_, iii. (1817).
LARCIUS (less accurately LARTIUS), TITUS, probably surnamed FLAVUS, a
member of an Etruscan family (cf. Lars Tolumnius, Lars Porsena) early
settled in Rome. When consul in 501 B.C. he was chosen dictator (the
title and office being then introduced for the first time) to command
against the thirty Latin cities, which had sworn to reinstate Tarquin in
Rome. Other authorities put the appointment three years later, when the
plebeians refused to serve against the Latins until they had been
released from the burden of their debts. He opposed harsh measures
against the Latins, and also interested himself in the improvement of
the lot of the plebeians. His brother, Spurius, is associated with
Horatius Cocles in the defence of the Sublician bridge against the
Etruscans.
See Livy ii. 10, 18, 21, 29; Dion. Halic. v. 50-77, vi. 37; Cicero,
_De Re Publica_, ii. 32.
LARD (Fr. _lard_, from Lat. _laridum_, bacon fat, related to Gr. [Greek:
larinos] fat, [Greek: laros] dainty or sweet), the melted and strained
fat of the common hog. Properly it is prepared from the "leaf" or fat of
the bowel and kidneys, but in commerce the term as applied to products
which include fat obtained from other parts of the animal and sometimes
containing no "leaf" at all. Lard of various grades is made in enormous
quantities by the great pork-packing houses at Chicago and elsewhere in
America. "Neutral lard" is prepared at a temperature of 40°-50° C. from
freshly killed hogs; the finest quality, used for making oleomargarine,
is got from the leaf, while the second, employed by biscuit and pastry
bakers, is obtained from the fat of the back. Steam heat is utilized in
extracting inferior qualities, such as "choice lard" and "prime steam
lard," the source of the latter being any fat portion of the animal.
Lard is a pure white fat of a butter-like consistence; its specific
gravity is about 0.93, its solidifying point about 27°-30° C., and its
melting point 35°-45° C. It contains about 60% of olein and 40% of
palmitin and stearin. Adulteration is common, the substances used
including "stearin" both of beef and of mutton, and vegetable oils such
as cotton seed oil: indeed, mixtures have been sold as lard that contain
nothing but such adulterants. In the pharmacopoeia lard figures as
_adeps_ and is employed as a basis for ointments. Benzoated lard, used
for the same purpose, is prepared by heating lard with 3% of powdered
benzoin for two hours; it keeps better than ordinary lard, but has
slightly irritant properties.
Lard oil is the limpid, clear, colourless oil expressed by hydraulic
pressure and gentle heat from lard; it is employed for burning and for
lubrication. Of the solid residue, lard "stearine," the best qualities
are utilized for making oleomargarine, the inferior ones in the
manufacture of candles.
See J. Lewkowitsch, _Oils, Fats and Waxes_ (London, 1909).
LARDNER, DIONYSIUS (1793-1859), Irish scientific writer, was born at
Dublin on the 3rd of April 1793. His father, a solicitor, wished his son
to follow the same calling. After some years of uncongenial desk work,
Lardner entered Trinity College, Dublin, and graduated B.A. in 1817. In
1828 he became professor of natural philosophy and astronomy at
University College, London, a position he held till 1840, when he eloped
with a married lady, and had to leave the country. After a lecturing
tour through the principal cities of the United States, which realized
£40,000, he returned to Europe in 1845. He settled at Paris, and resided
there till within a few months of his death, which took place at Naples
on the 29th of April 1859.
Though lacking in originality or brilliancy, Lardner showed himself to
be a successful popularizer of science. He was the author of numerous
mathematical and physical treatises on such subjects as algebraic
geometry (1823), the differential and integral calculus (1825), the
steam engine (1828), besides hand-books on various departments of
natural philosophy (1854-1856); but it is as the editor of _Lardner's
Cabinet Cyclopaedia_ (1830-1844) that he is best remembered. To this
scientific library of 134 volumes many of the ablest savants of the
day contributed, Lardner himself being the author of the treatises on
arithmetic, geometry, heat, hydrostatics and pneumatics, mechanics (in
conjunction with Henry Kater) and electricity (in conjunction with C.
V. Walker). The _Cabinet Library_ (12 vols., 1830-1832) and the
_Museum of Science and Art_ (12 vols., 1854-1856) are his other chief
undertakings. A few original papers appear in the Royal Irish
Academy's _Transactions_ (1824), in the Royal Society's _Proceedings_
(1831-1836) and in the Astronomical Society's _Monthly Notices_
(1852-1853); and two _Reports_ to the British Association on railway
constants (1838, 1841) are from his pen.
LARDNER, NATHANIEL (1684-1768), English theologian, was born at
Hawkhurst, Kent. After studying for the Presbyterian ministry in London,
and also at Utrecht and Leiden, he took licence as a preacher in 1709,
but was not successful. In 1713 he entered the family of a lady of rank
as tutor and domestic chaplain, where he remained until 1721. In 1724 he
was appointed to deliver the Tuesday evening lecture in the Presbyterian
chapel, Old Jewry, London, and in 1729 he became assistant minister to
the Presbyterian congregation in Crutched Friars. He was given the
degree of D.D. by Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1745. He died at
Hawkhurst on the 24th of July 1768.
An anonymous volume of _Memoirs_ appeared in 1769; and a life by
Andrew Kippis is prefixed to the edition of the _Works_ of Lardner,
published in 11 vols., 8vo in 1788, in 4 vols. 4to in 1817, and 10
vols. 8vo in 1827. The full title of his principal work--a work which,
though now out of date, entitles its author to be regarded as the
founder of modern critical research in the field of early Christian
literature--is _The Credibility of the Gospel History; or the
Principal Facts of the New Testament confirmed by Passages of Ancient
Authors, who were contemporary with our Saviour or his Apostles, or
lived near their time_. Part i., in 2 vols. 8vo, appeared in 1727; the
publication of part ii., in 12 vols. 8vo, began in 1733 and ended in
1755. In 1730 there was a second edition of part i., and the
_Additions and Alterations_ were also published separately. A
_Supplement_, otherwise entitled _A History of the Apostles and
Evangelists, Writers of the New Testament_, was added in 3 vols.
(1756-1757), and reprinted in 1760. Other works by Lardner are _A
Large Collection of Ancient Jewish and Heathen Testimonies to the
Truth of the Christian Revelation, with Notes and Observations_ (4
vols., 4to, 1764-1767); _The History of the Heretics of the two first
Centuries after Christ_, published posthumously in 1780 and a
considerable number of occasional sermons.
LAREDO, a city and the county-seat of Webb county, Texas, U.S.A., and a
sub-port of entry, on the Rio Grande opposite Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and
150 m. S. of San Antonio. Pop. (1900) 13,429, of whom 6882 were
foreign-born (mostly Mexicans) and 82 negroes; (1910 census) 14,855. It
is served by the International & Great Northern, the National of Mexico,
the Texas Mexican and the Rio Grande & Eagle Pass railways, and is
connected by bridges with Nuevo Laredo. Among the principal buildings
are the U.S. Government Building, the City Hall and the County Court
House; and the city's institutions include the Laredo Seminary (1882)
for boys and girls, the Mercy Hospital, the National Railroad of Mexico
Hospital and an Ursuline Convent. Loma Vista Park (65 acres) is a
pleasure resort, and immediately W. of Laredo on the Rio Grande is Fort
McIntosh (formerly Camp Crawford), a United States military post. Laredo
is a jobbing centre for trade between the United States and Mexico, and
is a sub-port of entry in the Corpus Christi Customs District. It is
situated in a good farming and cattle-raising region, irrigated by water
from the Rio Grande. The principal crop is Bermuda onions; in 1909 it
was estimated that 1500 acres in the vicinity were devoted to this crop,
the average yield per acre being about 20,000 lb. There are coal mines
about 25 m. above Laredo on the Rio Grande, and natural gas was
discovered about 28 m. E. in 1908. The manufacture of bricks is an
important industry. Laredo was named from the seaport in Spain, and was
founded in 1767 as a Mexican town; it originally included what is now
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and was long the only Mexican town on the left
bank of the river. It was captured in 1846 by a force of Texas Rangers,
and in 1847 was occupied by U.S. troops under General Lamar. In 1852 it
was chartered as a city of Texas.
LA RÉOLE, a town of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement
in the department of Gironde, on the right bank of the Gironde, 38 m.
S.E. of Bordeaux by rail. Pop. (1906) 3469. La Réole grew up round a
monastery founded in the 7th or 8th century, which was reformed in the
11th century and took the name of _Regula_, whence that of the town. A
church of the end of the 12th century and some of the buildings (18th
century) are left. There is also a town hall of the 12th and 14th
centuries. The town fortifications were dismantled by order of
Richelieu, but remains dating from the 12th and 14th centuries are to be
seen, as well as a ruined château built by Henry II. of England. La
Réole has a sub-prefecture, a tribunal of first instance, a communal
college and an agricultural school. The town is the centre of the
district in which the well-known breed of Bazadais cattle is reared. It
is an agricultural market and carries on trade in the wine of the region
together with liqueur distillery and the manufacture of casks, rope,
brooms, &c.
LARES (older form _Lases_), Roman tutelary deities. The word is
generally supposed to mean "lords," and identified with Etruscan
_larth_, _lar_; but this is by no means certain. The attempt to
harmonize the Stoic demonology with Roman religion led to the Lares
being compared with the Greek "heroes" during the period of Greco-Roman
culture, and the word is frequently translated [Greek: hêrôes]. In the
later period of the republic they are confounded with the Penates (and
other deities), though the distinction between them was probably more
sharply marked in earlier times. They were originally gods of the
cultivated fields, worshipped by each household where its allotment
joined those of others (see below). The distinction between public and
private Lares existed from early times. The latter were worshipped in
the house by the family alone, and the household Lar (_familiaris_) was
conceived of as the centre-point of the family and of the family cult.
The word itself (in the singular) came to be used in the general sense
of "home." It is certain that originally each household had only one
Lar; the plural was at first only used to include other classes of
Lares, and only gradually, after the time of Cicero, ousted the
singular. The image of the Lar, made of wood, stone or metal, sometimes
even of silver, stood in its special shrine (_lararium_), which in early
times was in the atrium, but was afterwards transferred to other parts
of the house, when the family hearth was removed from the atrium. In
some of the Pompeian houses the _lararium_ was represented by a niche
only, containing the image of the lar. It was usually a youthful figure,
dressed in a short, high-girt tunic, holding in one hand a _rhyton_
(drinking-horn), in the other a _patera_ (cup). Under the Empire we find
usually two of these, one on each side of the central figure of the
Genius of the head of the household, sometimes of Vesta the
hearth-deity. The whole group was called indifferently Lares or Penates.
A prayer was said to the Lar every morning, and at each meal offerings
of food and drink were set before him; a portion of these was placed on
the hearth and afterwards shaken into the fire. Special sacrifices were
offered on the kalends, nones, and ides of every month, and on the
occasion of important family events. Such events were the birthday of
the head of the household; the assumption of the _toga virilis_ by a
son; the festival of the Caristia in memory of deceased members of the
household; recovery from illness; the entry of a young bride into the
house for the first time; return home after a long absence. On these
occasions the Lares were crowned with garlands, and offerings of cakes
and honey, wine and incense, but especially swine, were laid before
them. Their worship persisted throughout the pagan period, although its
character changed considerably in later times. The emperor Alexander
Severus had images of Abraham, Christ and Alexander the Great among his
household Lares.
The public Lares belonged to the state religion. Amongst these must be
included, at least after the time of Augustus, the _Lares compitales_.
Originally two in number, mythologically the sons of Mercurius and Lara
(or Larunda), they were the presiding deities of the cross-roads
(_compita_), where they had their special chapels. It has been
maintained by some that they are the twin brothers so frequent in early
religions, the Romulus and Remus of the Roman foundation legends. Their
sphere of influence included not only the cross-roads, but the whole
neighbouring district of the town and country in which they were
situated. They had a special annual festival, called Compitalia, to
which public games were added some time during the republican period.
When the colleges of freedmen and slaves, who assisted the presidents of
the festival, were abolished by Julius Caesar, it fell into disuse. Its
importance was revived by Augustus, who added to these Lares his own
Genius, the religious personification of the empire.
The state itself had its own Lares, called _praestites_, the protecting
patrons and guardians of the city. They had a temple and altar on the
Via Sacra, near the Palatine, and were represented on coins as young men
wearing the chlamys, carrying lances, seated, with a dog, the emblem of
watchfulness, at their feet. Mention may also be made of the _Lares
grundules_, whose worship was connected with the white sow of Alba Longa
and its thirty young (the epithet has been connected with _grunnire_, to
grunt): the _viales_, who protected travellers; the _hostilii_, who kept
off the enemies of the state; the _permarini_, connected with the sea,
to whom L. Aemilius Regillus, after a naval victory over Antiochus (190
B.C.), vowed a temple in the Campus Martius, which was dedicated by M.
Aemilius Lepidus the censor in 179.
The old view that the Lares were the deified ancestors of the family has
been rejected lately by Wissowa, who holds that the Lar was originally
the protecting spirit of a man's lot of arable land, with a shrine at
the _compitum_, i.e. the spot where the path bounding his arable met
that of another holding; and thence found his way into the house.
In addition to the manuals of Marquardt and Preller-Jordan, and
Roscher's _Lexikon der Mythologie_, see A. de Marchi, _Il Culto
privato di Roma antica_ (1896-1903), p. 28 foll.; G. Wissowa,
_Religion und Kultus der Römer_ (1902), p. 148 foll.; _Archiv für
Religionswissenschaft_ (1904, p. 42 foll.) and W. Warde Fowler in the
same periodical (1906; p. 529).
LA RÉVELLIÈRE-LÉPEAUX, LOUIS MARIE DE (1753-1824), French politician,
member of the Directory, the son of J. B. de la Révellière, was born at
Montaign (Vendée), on the 24th of August 1753. The name of Lépeaux he
adopted from a small property belonging to his family, and he was known
locally as M. de Lépeaux. He studied law at Angers and Paris, being
called to the bar in 1775. A deputy to the states-general in 1789, he
returned at the close of the session to Angers, where with his
school-friends J. B. Leclerc and Urbain René Pilastre he sat on the
council of Maine-et-Loire, and had to deal with the first Vendéen
outbreaks. In 1792 he was returned by the department to the Convention,
and on the 19th of November he proposed the famous decree by which
France offered protection to foreign nations in their struggle for
liberty. Although La Révellière-Lépeaux voted for the death of Louis
XVI., he was not in general agreement with the extremists. Proscribed
with the Girondins in 1793 he was in hiding until the revolution of 9.10
Thermidor (27th and 28th of July 1794). After serving on the commission
to prepare the initiation of the new constitution he became in July 1795
president of the Assembly, and shortly afterwards a member of the
Committee of Public Safety. His name stood first on the list of
directors elected, and he became president of the Directory. Of his
colleagues he was in alliance with Jean François Rewbell and to a less
degree with Barras, but the greatest of his fellow-directors, Lazare
Carnot, was the object of his undying hatred. His policy was marked by a
bitter hostility to the Christian religion, which he proposed to
supplant as a civilizing agent by theophilanthropy, a new religion
invented by the English deist David Williams. The credit of the _coup
d'état_ of 18 Fructidor (4th of September 1797), by which the allied
directors made themselves supreme, La Révellière arrogated to himself in
his _Mémoires_, which in this as in other matters must be read with
caution. Compelled to resign by the revolution of 30 Prairial (18th of
June 1799) he lived in retirement in the country, and even after his
return to Paris ten years later took no part in public affairs. He died
on the 27th of March 1824.
The _Mémoires_ of La Révellière-Lépeaux were edited by R. D. D'Angers
(Paris, 3 vols., 1895). See also E. Charavay, _La Révellière-Lépeaux
et ses mémoires_ (1895) and A. Meynier, _Un Représentant de la
bourgeoisie angevine_ (1905).
LARGENTIÈRE, a town of south-eastern France, capital of an
arrondissement in the department of Ardèche, in the narrow valley of the
Ligne, 29 m. S.W. of Privas by road. Pop. (1906) 1690. A church of the
12th, 13th and 15th centuries and the old castle of the bishops of
Viviers, lords of Largentière, now used as a hospital, are the chief
buildings. The town is the seat of a sub-prefect and of a tribunal of
first instance; and has silk-mills, and carries on silk-spinning,
wine-growing and trade in fruit and silk. It owes its name to
silver-mines worked in the vicinity in the middle ages.
LARGILLIÈRE, NICOLAS (1656-1746), French painter, was born at Paris on
the 20th of October 1656. His father, a merchant, took him to Antwerp at
the age of three, and while a lad he spent nearly two years in London.
The attempt to turn his attention to business having failed, he entered,
some time after his return to Antwerp, the studio of Goubeau, quitting
this at the age of eighteen to seek his fortune in England, where he was
befriended by Lely, who employed him for four years at Windsor. His
skill attracted the notice of Charles II., who wished to retain him in
his service, but the fury aroused against Roman Catholics by the Rye
House Plot alarmed Largillière, and he went to Paris, where he was well
received by Le Brun and Van der Meulen. In spite of his Flemish
training, his reputation, especially as a portrait-painter, was soon
established; his brilliant colour and lively touch attracted all the
celebrities of the day--actresses, public men and popular preachers
flocking to his studio. Huet, bishop of Avranches, Cardinal de Noailles,
the Duclos and President Lambert, with his beautiful wife and daughter,
are amongst his most noted subjects. It is said that James II. recalled
Largillière to England on his accession to the throne in 1685, that he
declined the office of keeper of the royal collections, but that, during
a short stay in London, he painted portraits of the king, the queen and
the prince of Wales. This last is impossible, as the birth of the prince
did not take place till 1688; the three portraits, therefore, painted by
Largillière of the prince in his youth must all have been executed in
Paris, to which city he returned some time before March 1686, when he
was received by the Academy as a member, and presented as his diploma
picture the fine portrait of Le Brun, now in the Louvre. He was received
as an historical painter; but, although he occasionally produced works
of that class ("Crucifixion," engraved by Roettiers), and also treated
subjects of still life, it was in historical portraits that he excelled.
Horace Walpole states that he left in London those of Pierre van der
Meulen and of Sybrecht. Several of his works are at Versailles. The
church of St Étienne du Mont at Paris contains the finest example of
Largillière's work when dealing with large groups of figures; it is an
_ex voto_ offered by the city to St Geneviève, painted in 1694, and
containing portraits of all the leading officers of the municipality.
Largillière passed through every post of honour in the Academy, until in
1743 he was made chancellor. He died on the 20th of March 1746. Jean
Baptiste Oudry was the most distinguished of his pupils. Largillière's
work found skilful interpreters in Van Schuppen, Edelinck, Desplaces,
Drevet, Pitou and other engravers.
LARGS, a police burgh and watering place of Ayrshire, Scotland. Pop.
(1901) 3246. It is situated 43 m. W. by S. of Glasgow by the Glasgow &
South-Western railway. Its fine beach and dry, bracing climate have
attracted many wealthy residents, and the number of summer visitors is
also large. The public buildings include the Clark hospital, the
Victoria infirmary convalescent home and the Stevenson institute and
mechanics' library. Skelmorlie Aisle, the sole relic of the old parish
church of St Columba, was converted into a mausoleum in 1636. Near it a
mound covers remains, possibly those of the Norwegians who fell in the
battle (1263) between Alexander III. and Haco, king of Norway. The
harbour is used mainly by Clyde passenger steamers and yachtsmen. From
the quay a broad esplanade has been constructed northwards round the
bay, and there is an excellent golf course. Kelburne Castle, 2 m. S., a
seat of the earl of Glasgow, stands in romantic scenery. FAIRLIE, 3 m.
S., another seaside resort, with a station on the Glasgow &
South-Western railway, is the connecting-point for Millport on Great
Cumbrae. Once a fishing village, it has acquired a great reputation for
its yachts.
LARGUS, SCRIBONIUS, court physician to the emperor Claudius. About A.D.
47, at the request of Gaius Julius Callistus, the emperor's freedman, he
drew up a list of 271 prescriptions (_Compositiones_), most of them his
own, although he acknowledged his indebtedness to his tutors, to friends
and to the writings of eminent physicians. Certain old wives' remedies
are also included. The work has no pretensions to style, and contains
many colloquialisms. The greater part of it was transferred without
acknowledgment to the work of Marcellus Empiricus (c. 410), _De
Medicamentis Empiricis, Physicis, et Rationabilibus_, which is of great
value for the correction of the text of Largus.
See the edition of the _Compositiones_ by G. Helmreich (Teubner
series, 1887).
LARINO (anc. _Larinum_) a town and episcopal see of the Molise (province
of Campobasso), Italy, 32 m. N.E. of Campobasso by rail (20 m. direct),
984 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 7044. The cathedral, completed in
1319, has a good Gothic façade; the interior has to some extent been
spoilt by later restoration. The campanile rests upon a Gothic arch
erected in 1451. The Palazzo Comunale has a courtyard of the 16th
century. That the ancient town (which is close to the modern) existed
before the Roman supremacy had extended so far is proved by the coins.
It lay in the 2nd Augustan region (Apulia), but the people belonged to
the Frentani by race. Its strong position gave it importance in the
military history of Italy from the Hannibalic wars onwards. The town was
a _municipium_, situated on the main road to the S.E., which left the
coast at Histonium (Vasto) and ran from Larinum E. to Sipontum. From
Larinum a branch road ran to Bovianum Vetus. Remains of its city walls,
of its amphitheatre and also of baths, &c., exist, and it did not cease
to be inhabited until after the earthquake of 1300, when the modern city
was established. Cluentius, the client of Cicero, who delivered a speech
in his favour, was a native of Larinum, his father having been praetor
of the allied forces in the Social War. (T. As.)
LARISSA (Turk. _Yeni Shehr_, "new town"), the most important town of
Thessaly, situated in a rich agricultural district on the right bank of
the Salambria (Peneios, Peneus, Peneius), about 35 m. N.W. of Volo, with
which it is connected by rail. Pop. (1889) 13,610, (1907) 18,001. Till
1881 it was the seat of a pasha in the vilayet of Jannina; it is now the
capital of the Greek province and the seat of a nomarch. Its long
subjection to Turkey has left little trace of antiquity, and the most
striking features in the general view are the minarets of the disused
mosques (only four are now in use) and the Mahommedan burying-grounds.
It was formerly a Turkish military centre and most of the people were of
Turkish blood. In the outskirts is a village of Africans from the
Sudan--a curious remnant of the forces collected by Ali Pasha. The
manufactures include Turkish leather, cotton, silk and tobacco; trade
and industry, however, are far from prosperous, though improving owing
to the immigration of the Greek commercial element. Fevers and agues are
prevalent owing to bad drainage and the overflowing of the river; and
the death-rate is higher than the birth-rate. A considerable portion of
the Turkish population emigrated in 1881; a further exodus took place in
1898. The department of Larissa had in 1907 a population of 95,066.
Larissa, written Larisa on ancient coins and inscriptions, is near the
site of the Homeric Argissa. It appears in early times, when Thessaly
was mainly governed by a few aristocratic families, as an important
city under the rule of the Aleuadae, whose authority extended over the
whole district of Pelasgiotis. This powerful family possessed for many
generations before 369 B.C. the privilege of furnishing the Tagus, or
generalissimo, of the combined Thessalian forces. The principal rivals
of the Aleuadae were the Scopadae of Crannon, the remains of which
(called by the Turks _Old Larissa_) are about 14 m. to the S.W. The
inhabitants sided with Athens during the Peloponnesian War, and during
the Roman invasion their city was of considerable importance. Since
the 5th century it has been the seat of an archbishop, who has now
fifteen suffragans. Larissa was the headquarters of Ali Pasha during
the Greek War of Independence, and of the crown prince Constantine
during the Greco-Turkish War; the flight of the Greek army from this
place to Pharsala took place on the 23rd of April 1897. Notices of
some ancient inscriptions found at Larissa are given by Miller in
_Mélanges philologiques_ (Paris, 1880); several sepulchral reliefs
were found in the neighbourhood in 1882. A few traces of the ancient
acropolis and theatre are still visible.
The name Larissa was common to many "Pelasgian" towns, and apparently
signified a fortified city or _burg_, such as the citadel of Argos.
Another town of the name in Thessaly was Larissa Cremaste, surnamed
Pelasgia (Strabo ix. p. 440), situated on the slope of Mt. Othrys.
(J. D. B.)
LARISTAN, a sub-province of the province of Fars in Persia, bounded E.
and N.E. by Kerman and S. by the Persian Gulf. It lies between 26° 30´
and 28° 25´ N. and between 52° 30´ and 55° 30´ E. and has an extreme
breadth and length of 120 and 210 m. respectively, with an area of about
20,000 sq. m. Pop. about 90,000. Laristan consists mainly of mountain
ranges in the north and east, and of arid plains varied with rocky hills
and sandy valleys stretching thence to the coast. In the highlands,
where some fertile upland tracts produce corn, dates and other fruits,
the climate is genial, but elsewhere it is extremely sultry, and on the
low-lying coast lands malarious. Good water is everywhere so scarce that
but for the rain preserved in cisterns the country would be mostly
uninhabitable. Many cisterns are infested with Guinea worm (_filaria
medinensis_, Gm.). The coast is chiefly occupied by Arab tribes who were
virtually independent, paying merely a nominal tribute to the shah's
government until 1898. They reside in small towns and mud forts
scattered along the coast. The people of the interior are mostly of the
old Iranian stock, and there are also a few nomads of the Turkish
Baharlu tribe which came to Persia in the 11th century when the province
was subdued by a Turkish chief. Laristan remained an independent state
under a Turkish ruler until 1602, when Shah Ibrahim Khan was deposed and
put to death by Shah 'Abbas the Great. The province is subdivided into
eight districts: (1) Lar, the capital and environs, with 34 villages;
(2) Bikhah Ihsham with 11; (3) Bikhah Fal with 10; (4) Jehangiriyeh with
30; (5) Shibkuh with 36; (6) Fumistan with 13; (7) Kauristan with 4; (8)
Mazayijan with 6 villages. Lingah, with its principal place Bander
Lingah and 11 villages, formerly a part of Laristan, is now included in
the "Persian Gulf Ports," a separate administrative division. Laristan
is famous for the condiment called _mahiabeh_ (fish-jelly), a compound
of pounded small sprat-like fish, salt, mustard, nutmeg, cloves and
other spices, used as a relish with nearly all foods.
LARIVEY, PIERRE (c. 1550-1612), French dramatist, of Italian origin, was
the son of one of the Giunta, the famous printers of Florence and
Venice. The family was established at Troyes and had taken the name of
Larivey or L'Arrivey, by way of translation from _giunto_. Pierre
Larivey appears to have cast horoscopes, and to have acted as clerk to
the chapter of the church of St Étienne, of which he eventually became a
canon. He has no claim to be the originator of French comedy. The
_Corrivaux_ of Jean de la Taille dates from 1562, but Larivey
naturalized the Italian comedy of intrigue in France. He adapted, rather
than translated, twelve Italian comedies into French prose. The first
volume of the _Comédies facétieuses_ appeared in 1579, and the second in
1611. Only nine in all were printed.[1] The licence of the manners
depicted in these plays is matched by the coarseness of the expression.
Larivey's merit lies in the use of popular language in dialogue, which
often rises to real excellence, and was not without influence on Molière
and Regnard. Molière's _L'Avare_ owes something to the scene in
Larivey's masterpiece, _Les Esprits_, where Séverin laments the loss of
his purse, and the opening scene of the piece seems to have suggested
Regnard's _Retour imprévu_. It is uncertain whether Larivey's plays were
represented, though they were evidently written for the stage. In any
case prose comedy gained very little ground in popular favour before the
time of Molière. Larivey was the author of many translations, varying in
subject from the _Facétieuses nuits_ (1573) of Straparola to the
_Humanité de Jésus-Christ_ (1604) from Pietro Aretino.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] _Le Laquais_, from the _Ragazzo_ of Ludovico Dolce; _La Veuve_,
from the _Vedova_ of Nicolo Buonaparte; _Les Esprits_, from the
_Aridosio_ of Lorenzino de Medicis; _Le Morfondu_, from the _Gelosia_
of Antonio Grazzini; _Les Jaloux_, from the _Gelosi_ of Vincent
Gabbiani; and _Les Escolliers_, from the _Cecca_ of Girolamo Razzi,
in the first volume; and in the second, _Constance_, from the
_Costanza_ of Razzi; _Le Fidèle_, from the _Fedele_ of Luigi
Pasqualigo; and _Les Tromperies_, from the _Inganni_ of N. Secchi.
LARK (O. Eng. _láwerce_, Ger. _Lerche_, Dan. _Laerke_, Dutch
_Leeuwerik_), a bird's name used in a rather general sense, the specific
meaning being signified by a prefix, as skylark, titlark, woodlark. It
seems to be nearly conterminous with the Latin _Alauda_ as used by older
authors; and, though this was to some extent limited by Linnaeus,
several of the species included by him under the genus he so designated
have long since been referred elsewhere. By Englishmen the word lark,
used without qualification, almost invariably means the skylark, _Alauda
arvensis_, which, as the best-known and most widely spread species
throughout Europe, has been invariably considered the type of the genus.
Of all birds it holds unquestionably the foremost place in English
literature. It is one of the most favourite cage birds, as it will live
for many years in captivity, and, except in the season of moult, will
pour forth its thrilling song many times in an hour for weeks or months
together. The skylark is probably the most plentiful of the class in
western Europe. Not only does it frequent almost all unwooded districts
in that quarter of the globe, but, unlike most birds, its numbers
increase with the spread of agricultural improvement. Nesting chiefly in
the growing corn, its eggs and young are protected in a great measure
from molestation; and, as each pair of birds will rear several broods in
the season, their produce on the average may be set down as at least
quadrupling the original stock--the eggs in each nest varying from five
to three. Young larks leave their birthplace as soon as they can shift
for themselves. When the stubbles are cleared, old and young congregate
in flocks.
In Great Britain in the autumn they give place to others coming from
more northerly districts, and then as winter succeeds in great part
vanish, leaving but a tithe of the numbers previously present. On the
approach of severe weather great flocks arrive from the continent of
Europe. On the east coast of both Scotland and England this immigration
has been noticed as occurring in a constant stream for as many as three
days in succession. Farther inland the birds are observed "in numbers
simply incalculable," and "in countless hundreds." In these migrations
enormous numbers are netted for the markets, but the rate of
reproduction is so rapid, and the conditions of life so favourable in
Europe that there is no reason to fear any serious diminution in the
numbers of the species.
The skylark's range extends across the Old World from the Faeroe to the
Kurile Islands. In winter it occurs in North China, Nepal, the Punjab,
Persia, Palestine, Lower Egypt and Barbary. It sometimes strays to
Madeira, and has been killed in Bermuda, though its unassisted
appearance there is doubtful. It has been successfully introduced on
Long Island, in the state of New York, into Hawaii and into New
Zealand--in which latter it has become as troublesome a denizen as are
some other subjects upon which acclimatization societies have exercised
their activity.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--A, _Alauda agrestis_; B, _Alauda arvensis_.]
Allied to the skylark a considerable number of species have been
described, of which perhaps a dozen may be deemed valid, besides a
supposed local race, _Alauda agrestis_, the difference between which and
the normal bird is shown in the annexed woodcut (fig. 1), kindly lent to
this work by H. E. Dresser, in whose _Birds of Europe_ it is described
at length. These are found in various parts of Africa and Asia.
The woodlark, _Lullula arborea_, is a much more local and, therefore, a
far less numerous bird than the skylark, from which it may be easily
distinguished by its finer bill, shorter tail, more spotted breast and
light superciliary stripe. Though not actually inhabiting woods, as its
common name might imply, it is seldom found far from trees. Its song
wants the variety and power of the skylark's, but has a resonant
sweetness peculiarly its own. The bird, however, requires much care in
captivity. It has by no means so wide a range as the skylark, and
perhaps the most eastern locality recorded for it is Erzerum, while its
appearance in Egypt and even in Algeria must be accounted rare.
Not far removed from the foregoing is a group of larks characterized by
a larger crest, a stronger and more curved bill, a rufous lining to the
wings, and some other minor features. This group has been generally
termed _Galerita_, and has for its type the crested lark, the _Alauda
cristata_ of Linnaeus, a bird common enough in parts of France and some
other countries of the European continent, and one which has been
obtained several times in the British Islands. Many of the birds of this
group frequent the borders if not the interior of deserts, and such as
do so exhibit a more or less pale coloration, whereby they are
assimilated in hue to that of their haunts. The same characteristic may
be observed in several other groups--especially those known as belonging
to the genera _Calandrella_, _Ammomanes_ and _Certhilauda_, some species
of which are of a light sandy or cream colour. The genus last named is
of very peculiar appearance, presenting in some respects an
extraordinary resemblance to the hoopoes, so much so that the first
specimen described was referred to the genus _Upupa_, and named _U.
alaudipes_. The resemblance, however, is merely one of analogy.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--A, Lullula arborea; B, _Certhilauda_.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--A, _Melanocorypha calandra_; B, _Rhamphocorys
clot-bey_.]
There is, however, abundant evidence of the susceptibility of the
Alaudine structure to modification from external circumstances--in other
words, of its plasticity; and perhaps no homogeneous group of _Passeres_
could be found which better displays the working of natural selection.
Almost every character that among Passerine birds is accounted most sure
is in the larks found subject to modification. The form of the bill
varies in an extraordinary degree. In the woodlark (fig. 2, A), already
noticed, it is almost as slender as a warbler's; in _Ammomanes_ it is
short; in _Certhilauda_ (fig. 2, B) it is elongated and curved; in
_Pyrrhulauda_ and _Melanocorypha_ (fig. 3, A) it is stout and finchlike;
while in _Rhamphocorys_ (fig. 3, B) it is exaggerated to an extent that
surpasses almost any Fringilline form, exceeding in its development that
found in some members of the perplexing genus _Paradoxornis_, and even
presenting a resemblance to the same feature in the far-distant
_Anastomus_--the tomia of the maxilla not meeting those of the mandibula
along their whole length, but leaving an open space between them. The
hind claw, generally greatly elongated in larks, is in _Calandrella_
(fig. 4) and some other genera reduced to a very moderate size. The
wings exhibit almost every modification, from the almost entire abortion
of the first primary in the skylark to its considerable development
(fig. 5), and from tertials and scapulars of ordinary length to the
extreme elongation found in the _Motacillidae_ and almost in certain
_Limicolae_. The most constant character indeed of the _Alaudidae_ would
seem to be that afforded by the _podotheca_ or covering of the tarsus,
which is scutellate behind as well as in front, but a character easily
overlooked.[1]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--_Calandrella brachydactyla_.]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--A, _Alauda arborea_; B, _Certhilauda_; C,
_Melanocorypha calandra_.]
In the Old World larks are found in most parts of the Palaearctic,
Ethiopian and Indian regions; but only one genus, _Mirafra_, inhabits
Australia, where it is represented by, so far as is ascertained, a
single species, _M. horsfieldi_; and there is no true lark indigenous to
New Zealand. In the New World there is also only one genus, _Otocorys_,
where it is represented by many races, some of which closely approach
the Old World shore-lark, _O. alpestris_. The shore-lark is in Europe a
native of only the extreme north, but is very common near the shores of
the Varanger Fjord, and likewise breeds on mountain-tops farther
south-west, though still well within the Arctic circle. The mellow tone
of its call-note has obtained for it in Lapland a name signifying
"bell-bird," and the song of the cock is lively, though not very loud.
The bird trustfully resorts to the neighbourhood of houses, and even
enters the villages of East Finmark in search of its food. It produces
at least two broods in the season, and towards autumn migrates to lower
latitudes in large flocks. These have been observed in winter on the
east coast of Great Britain, and the species instead of being regarded,
as it once was, in the light of an accidental visitor to the United
Kingdom, must now be deemed an almost regular visitor, though in very
varying numbers. The observations on its habits made by Audubon in
Labrador have long been known, and often reprinted. Other congeners of
this bird are the _O. penicillata_ of south-eastern Europe, Palestine
and central Asia--to which are referred by H. E. Dresser (_B. Europe_,
iv. 401) several other forms originally described as distinct. All these
birds, which have been termed horned larks, from the tuft of elongated
black feathers growing on each side of the head, form a little group
easily recognized by their peculiar coloration, which calls to mind some
of the ringed plovers, _Aegialitis_.
The name of lark is also frequently applied to many birds which do not
belong to the _Alaudidae_ as now understood. The mud-lark, rock-lark,
tit-lark and tree-lark are pipits (q.v.). The grasshopper-lark is one of
the aquatic warblers (q.v.), while the so-called meadow-lark of America
is an Icterus (q.v.). Sand-lark and sea-lark are likewise names often
given to some of the smaller members of the _Limicolae_. Of the true
larks, _Alaudidae_, there may be perhaps about one hundred species, and
it is believed to be a physiological character of the family that they
moult but once in the year, while the pipits, which in general
appearance much resemble them, undergo a double moult, as do others of
the _Motacillidae_, to which they are most nearly allied. (A. N.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] By assigning far too great an importance to this superficial
character (in comparison with others), C. J. Sundevall (_Tentamen_,
pp. 53-63) was induced to array the larks, hoopoes and several other
heterogeneous groups in one "series," to which he applied the name of
_Scutelliplantares_.
LARKHALL, a mining and manufacturing town of Lanarkshire, Scotland, near
the left bank of the Clyde, 1 m. S.E. of Glasgow by the Caledonian
railway. Pop. (1901) 11,879. The highest bridge in Scotland has been
thrown across the river Avon, which flows close by. Brick-making is
carried on at several of the adjoining collieries. Other industries
include bleaching, silk-weaving, fire-clay and enamelling works, and a
sanitary appliances factory. The town has a public hall and baths.
LARKHANA, a town and district of British India, in Sind, Bombay. The
town is on a canal not far from the Indus, and has a station on the
North-Western railway, 281 m. N. by E. of Karachi. It is pleasantly
situated in a fertile locality, and is well laid out with wide streets
and spacious gardens. It is a centre of trade, with manufactures of
cotton, silk, leather, metal-ware and paper. Pop. (1901) 14,543.
The DISTRICT OF LARKHANA, lying along the right bank of the Indus, was
formed out of portions of Sukkur and Karachi districts in 1901, and has
an area of 5091 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 656,083, showing an increase of 10%
in the decade. Its western part is mountainous, but the remainder is a
plain of alluvium watered by canals and well cultivated, being the most
fertile part of Sind. The staple grain-crops are rice, wheat and
millets, which are exported, together with wool, cotton and other
agricultural produce. Cotton cloth, carpets, salt and leather goods are
manufactured, and dyeing is an important industry. The district is
served by the North-Western railway.
LARKSPUR, in botany, the popular name for species of _Delphinium_, a
genus of hardy herbaceous plants belonging to the natural order
Ranunculaceae (q.v.). They are of erect branching habit, with the
flowers in terminal racemes, often of considerable length. Blue is the
predominating colour, but purple, pink, yellow (_D. Zalil_ or
_sulphureum_), scarlet (_D. cardinale_) and white also occur; the "spur"
is produced by the elongation of the upper sepal. The field or rocket
larkspur (_D. Ajacis_), the branching larkspur (_D. consolida_), _D.
cardiopetalum_ and their varieties, are charming annuals; height about
18 in. The spotted larkspur _(D. requienii_) and a few others are
biennials. The perennial larkspurs, however, are the most gorgeous of
the family. There are numerous species of this group, natives of the old
and new worlds, and a great number of varieties, raised chiefly from _D.
exaltatum_, _D. formosum_ and _D. grandiflorum_. Members of this group
vary from 2 ft. to 6 ft. in height.
The larkspurs are of easy cultivation, either in beds or herbaceous
borders; the soil should be deeply dug and manured. The annual varieties
are best sown early in April, where they are intended to flower, and
suitably thinned out as growth is made. The perennial kinds are
increased by the division of existing plants in spring, or by cuttings
taken in spring or autumn and rooted in pots in cold frames. The
varieties cannot be perpetuated with certainty by seed. Seed is the most
popular means, however, of raising larkspurs in the majority of gardens,
and is suitable for all ordinary purposes; it should be sown as soon as
gathered, preferably in rows in nursery beds, and the young plants
transplanted when ready. They should be fit for the borders in the
spring of the following year, and if strong, should be planted in groups
about 3 ft. apart. Delphiniums require exposure to light and air. Given
plenty of space in a rich soil, the plants rarely require to be staked
except in windy localities.
LARNACA, LARNICA or LARNECA (anc. _Citium_, Turk. _Tuzla_), a town of
the island of Cyprus, at the head of a bay on the south coast, 23 m.
S.S.E. from Nicosia. Pop. (1901) 7964. It is the principal port of the
island, exporting barley, wheat, cotton, raisins, oranges, lemons and
gypsum. There is an iron pier 450 ft. long, but vessels anchor in the
bay in from 16 to 70 ft. of water. Larnaca occupies the site of the
ancient _Citium_, but the citadel of the ancient city was used to fill
up the ancient harbour in 1879. The modern and principal residential
part of the town is called Scala. Mycenaean tombs and other antiquities
have been found (see CYPRUS).
LA ROCHE, a small town in the Belgian Ardennes, noticeable for its
antiquity and its picturesque situation. Pop. (1904) 2065. Its name is
derived from its position on a rock commanding the river Ourthe, which
meanders round the little place, and skirts the rock on which are the
interesting ruins of the old castle of the 11th century. This is
supposed to have been the site of a hunting box of Pippin, and certainly
the counts of La Roche held it in fief from his descendants, the
Carolingian rulers. In the 12th century they sold it to the counts of
Luxemburg. In the 16th and 17th centuries the French and Imperialists
frequently fought in its neighbourhood, and at Tenneville, not far
distant, is shown the tomb of an English officer named Barnewall killed
in one of these encounters in 1692. La Roche is famous as a tourist
centre on account of its fine sylvan scenery. Among the local
curiosities is the Diable-Château, a freak of nature, being the apparent
replica of a medieval castle. La Roche is connected by steam tramway
with Melreux, a station on the main line from Marloie to Liége.
LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, the name of an old French family which is derived from
a castle[1] in the province of Angoumois (department of Charente), which
was in its possession in the 11th century. François de La Rochefoucauld
(1494-1517), godson of King Francis I., was made count in 1515. At the
time of the wars of religion the family fought for the Protestant cause.
François (1588-1650) was created duke and peer of France by Louis XIII.
in 1622. His son François was the author of the _Maxims_, and the son of
the latter acquired for his house the estates of La Roche-Guyon and
Liancourt by his marriage with Jeanne Charlotte du Plessis-Liancourt.
Alexandre, duc de La Rochefoucauld (d. 1762), left two daughters, who
married into the Roye branch of the family. Of the numerous branches of
the family the most famous are those of Roucy, Roye, Bayers,
Doudeauville, Randan and Estissac, which all furnished distinguished
statesmen and soldiers.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The castle was largely rebuilt in the reign of Francis I., and is
one of the finest specimens of the Renaissance architecture in
France.
LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, FRANÇOIS DE (1613-1680), the greatest maxim writer of
France, one of her best memoir writers, and perhaps the most complete
and accomplished representative of her ancient nobility, was born at
Paris in the Rue des Petits Champs on the 15th of September 1613. The
author of the _Maxims_, who during the lifetime of his father (see
above) and part of his own most stirring years bore the title of prince
de Marcillac, was somewhat neglected in the matter of education, at
least of the scholastic kind; but he joined the army before he was
sixteen, and almost immediately began to make a figure in public life.
He had been nominally married a year before to Andrée de Vivonne, who
seems to have been an affectionate wife, while not a breath of scandal
touches her--two points in which La Rochefoucauld was perhaps more
fortunate than he deserved. For some years Marcillac continued to take
part in the annual campaigns, where he displayed the utmost bravery,
though he never obtained credit for much military skill. Then he passed
under the spell of Madame de Chevreuse, the first of three celebrated
women who successively influenced his life. Through Madame de Chevreuse
he became attached to the queen, Anne of Austria, and in one of her
quarrels with Richelieu and her husband a wild scheme seems to have been
formed, according to which Marcillac was to carry her off to Brussels on
a pillion. These caballings against Richelieu, however, had no more
serious results (an eight days' experience of the Bastille excepted)
than occasional exiles, that is to say, orders to retire to his father's
estates. After the death of the great minister (1642), opportunity
seemed to be favourable to the vague ambition which then animated half
the nobility of France. Marcillac became one of the so-called
_importants_, and took an active part in reconciling the queen and Condé
in a league against Gaston of Orleans. But the growing credit of Mazarin
came in his way, and the _liaison_ in which about this time (1645) he
became entangled with the beautiful duchess of Longueville made him
irrevocably a Frondeur. He was a conspicuous figure in the siege of
Paris, fought desperately in the desultory engagements which were
constantly taking place, and was severely wounded at the siege of
Mardyke. In the second Fronde Marcillac followed the fortunes of Condé,
and the death of his father, which happened at the time (1650), gave
rise to a characteristic incident. The nobility of the province gathered
to the funeral, and the new duke de La Rochefoucauld took the
opportunity of persuading them to follow him in an attempt on the
royalist garrison of Saumur, which, however, was not successful. We have
no space to follow La Rochefoucauld through the tortuous cabals and
negotiations of the later Fronde; it is sufficient to say that he was
always brave and generally unlucky. His run of bad fortune reached its
climax in the battle of the Faubourg Saint Antoine (1652), where he was
shot through the head, and it was thought that he would lose the sight
of both eyes. It was nearly a year before he recovered, and then he
found himself at his country seat of Verteuil, with no result of twenty
years' fighting and intriguing except impaired health, a seriously
embarrassed fortune, and some cause for bearing a grudge against almost
every party and man of importance in the state. He spent some years in
this retirement, and he was fortunate enough (thanks chiefly to the
fidelity of Gourville, who had been in his service, and who, passing
into the service of Mazarin and of Condé, had acquired both wealth and
influence) to be able to repair in some measure the breaches in his
fortune. He did not, however, return to court life much before Mazarin's
death, when Louis XIV. was on the eve of assuming absolute power, and
the turbulent aristocratic anarchy of the Fronde was a thing utterly of
the past.
Somewhat earlier, La Rochefoucauld had taken his place in the salon of
Madame de Sablé, a member of the old Rambouillet coterie, and the
founder of a kind of successor to it. It was known that he, like almost
all his more prominent contemporaries, had spent his solitude in writing
memoirs, while the special literary employment of the Sablé salon was
the fabrication of _Sentences_ and _Maxims_. In 1662, however, more
trouble than reputation, and not a little of both, was given to him by a
surreptitious publication of his memoirs, or what purported to be his
memoirs, by the Elzevirs. Many of his old friends were deeply wounded,
and he hastened to deny flatly the authenticity of the publication, a
denial which (as it seems, without any reason) was not very generally
accepted. Three years later (1665) he published, though without his
name, the still more famous _Maxims_, which at once established him high
among the men of letters of the time. About the same date began the
friendship with Madame de la Fayette, which lasted till the end of his
life. The glimpses which we have of him henceforward are chiefly derived
from the letters of Madame de Sévigné, and, though they show him
suffering agonies from gout, are on the whole pleasant. He had a circle
of devoted friends; he was recognized as a moralist and man of letters
of the first rank; he might have entered the Academy for the asking; and
in the altered measure of the times his son, the prince de Marcillac, to
whom some time before his death he resigned his titles and honours,
enjoyed a considerable position at court. Above all, La Rochefoucauld
was generally recognized by his contemporaries from the king downward as
a type of the older noblesse as it was before the sun of the great
monarch dimmed its brilliant qualities. This position he has retained
until the present day. He died at Paris on the 17th of March 1680, of
the disease which had so long tormented him.
La Rochefoucauld's character, if considered without the prejudice which
a dislike to his ethical views has sometimes occasioned, is thoroughly
respectable and even amiable. Like almost all his contemporaries, he saw
in politics little more than a chessboard where the people at large were
but pawns. The weight of testimony, however, inclines to the conclusion
that he was unusually scrupulous in his conduct, and that his
comparative ill-success in the struggle arose more from this
scrupulousness than from anything else. He has been charged with
irresolution, and there is some ground for admitting the charge so far
as to pronounce him one of those the keenness of whose intellect,
together with their apprehension of both sides of a question, interferes
with their capacity as men of action. But there is no ground whatever
for the view which represents the Maxims as the mere outcome of the
spite of a disappointed intriguer, disappointed through his own want of
skill rather than of fortune.
His importance as a social and historical figure is, however, far
inferior to his importance in literature. His work in this respect
consists of three parts--letters, _Memoirs_ and the _Maxims_. His
letters exceed one hundred in number, and are biographically valuable,
besides displaying not a few of his literary characteristics; but they
need not further detain us. The _Memoirs_, when they are read in their
proper form, yield in literary merit, in interest, and in value to no
memoirs of the time, not even to those of Retz, between whom and La
Rochefoucauld there was a strange mixture of enmity and esteem which
resulted in a couple of most characteristic "portraits." But their
history is unique in its strangeness. It has been said that a pirated
edition appeared in Holland, and this, despite the author's protest,
continued to be reprinted for some thirty years. It has been now proved
to be a mere cento of the work of half a dozen different men, scarcely a
third of which is La Rochefoucauld's, and which could only have been
possible at a time when it was the habit of persons who frequented
literary society to copy pell-mell in commonplace books the MS.
compositions of their friends and others. Some years after La
Rochefoucauld's death a new recension appeared, somewhat less incorrect
than the former, but still largely adulterated, and this held its ground
for more than a century. Only in 1817 did anything like a genuine
edition (even then by no means perfect) appear. The _Maxims_, however,
had no such fate. The author re-edited them frequently during his life,
with alterations and additions; a few were added after his death, and it
is usual now to print the whole of them, at whatever time they appeared,
together. Thus taken, they amount to about seven hundred in number, in
hardly any case exceeding half a page in length, and more frequently
confined to two or three lines. The view of conduct which they
illustrate is usually and not quite incorrectly summed up in the words
"everything is reducible to the motive of self-interest." But though not
absolutely incorrect, the phrase is misleading. The _Maxims_ are in no
respect mere deductions from or applications of any such general theory.
They are on the contrary independent judgments on different relations of
life, different affections of the human mind, and so forth, from which,
taken together, the general view may be deduced or rather composed.
Sentimental moralists have protested loudly against this view, yet it is
easier to declaim against it in general than to find a flaw in the
several parts of which it is made up. With a few exceptions La
Rochefoucauld's maxims represent the matured result of the reflection of
a man deeply versed in the business and pleasures of the world, and
possessed of an extraordinarily fine and acute intellect, on the conduct
and motives which have guided himself and his fellows. There is as
little trace in them of personal spite as of _forfanterie de vice_. But
the astonishing excellence of the literary medium in which they are
conveyed is even more remarkable than the general soundness of their
ethical import. In uniting the four qualities of brevity, clearness,
fulness of meaning and point, La Rochefoucauld has no rival. His
_Maxims_ are never mere epigrams; they are never platitudes; they are
never dark sayings. He has packed them so full of meaning that it would
be impossible to pack them closer, yet there is no undue compression; he
has sharpened their point to the utmost, yet there is no loss of
substance. The comparison which occurs most frequently, and which is
perhaps on the whole the justest, is that of a bronze medallion, and it
applies to the matter no less than to the form. Nothing is left
unfinished, yet none of the workmanship is finical. The sentiment, far
from being merely hard, as the sentimentalists pretend, has a vein of
melancholy poetry running through it which calls to mind the traditions
of La Rochefoucauld's devotion to the romances of chivalry. The maxims
are never shallow; each is the text for a whole sermon of application
and corollary which any one of thought and experience can write. Add to
all this that the language in which they are written is French, still at
almost its greatest strength, and chastened but as yet not emasculated
by the reforming influence of the 17th century, and it is not necessary
to say more. To the literary critic no less than to the man of the world
La Rochefoucauld ranks among the scanty number of pocket-books to be
read and re-read with ever new admiration, instruction and delight.
The editions of La Rochefoucauld's _Maxims_ (as the full title runs,
_Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales_) published in his
lifetime bear the dates 1665 (_editio princeps_), 1666, 1671, 1675,
1678. An important edition which appeared after his death in 1693 may
rank almost with these. As long as the _Memoirs_ remained in the state
above described, no edition of them need be mentioned, and none of the
complete works was possible. The previous more or less complete
editions are all superseded by that of MM Gilbert and Gourdault
(1868-1883), in the series of "Grands Écrivains de la France," 3 vols.
There are still some puzzles as to the text; but this edition supplies
all available material in regard to them. The handsomest separate
edition of the _Maxims_ is the so-called _Édition des bibliophiles_
(1870); but cheap and handy issues are plentiful. See the English
version by G. H. Powell (1903). Nearly all the great French critics of
the 19th century have dealt more or less with La Rochefoucauld: the
chief recent monograph on him is that of J. Bourdeau in the _Grands
écrivains français_ (1893). (G. Sa.)
LA ROCHEFOUCAULD-LIANCOURT, FRANÇOIS ALEXANDRE FRÉDÉRIC, DUC DE
(1747-1827), French social reformer, was born at La Roche Guyon on the
11th of January 1747, the son of François Armand de La Rochefoucauld,
duc d'Estissac, grand master of the royal wardrobe. The duc de Liancourt
became an officer of carbineers, and married at seventeen. A visit to
England seems to have suggested the establishment of a model farm at
Liancourt, where he reared cattle imported from England and Switzerland.
He also set up spinning machines on his estate, and founded a school of
arts and crafts for the sons of soldiers, which became in 1788 the École
des Enfants de la Patrie under royal protection. Elected to the
states-general of 1789 he sought in vain to support the cause of royalty
while furthering the social reforms he had at heart. On the 12th of
July, two days before the fall of the Bastille, he warned Louis XVI. of
the state of affairs in Paris, and met his exclamation that there was a
revolt with the answer, "_Non, sire, c'est une révolution._" On the 18th
of July he became president of the Assembly. Established in command of a
military division in Normandy, he offered Louis a refuge in Rouen, and,
failing in this effort, assisted him with a large sum of money. After
the events of the 10th of August 1792 he fled to England, where he was
the guest of Arthur Young, and thence passed to America. After the
assassination of his cousin, Louis-Alexandre, duc de La Rochefoucauld
d'Enville, at Gisors on the 14th of September 1792 he assumed the title
of duc de La Rochefoucauld. He returned to Paris in 1799, but received
small favour from Napoleon. At the Restoration he entered the House of
Peers, but Louis XVIII. refused to reinstate him as master of the
wardrobe, although his father had paid 400,000 francs for the honour.
Successive governments, revolutionary and otherwise, recognized the
value of his institutions at Liancourt, and he was for twenty-three
years government inspector of his school of arts and crafts, which had
been removed to Châlons. He was one of the first promoters of
vaccination in France; he established a dispensary in Paris, and he was
an active member of the central boards of administration for hospitals,
prisons and agriculture. His opposition to the government in the House
of Peers led to his removal in 1823 from the honorary positions he held,
while the vaccination committee, of which he was president, was
suppressed. The academies of science and of medicine admitted him to
their membership by way of protest. Official hostility pursued him even
after his death (27th of March 1827), for the old pupils of his school
were charged by the military at his funeral. His works, chiefly on
economic questions, include books on the English system of taxation,
poor-relief and education.
His eldest son, François, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1765-1848),
succeeded his father in the House of Peers. The second, Alexandre,
comte de La Rochefoucauld (1767-1841), married a San Domingo heiress
allied to the Beauharnais family. Mme de La Rochefoucauld became dame
d'honneur to the empress Josephine, and their eldest daughter married
a brother-in-law of Pauline Bonaparte, Princess Borghese. La
Rochefoucauld became ambassador successively to Vienna (1805) and to
the Hague (1808-1810), where he negotiated the union of Holland with
France. During the "Hundred Days" he was made a peer of France. He
subsequently devoted himself to philanthropic work, and in 1822 became
deputy to the Chamber and sat with the constitutional royalists. He
was again raised to the peerage in 1831.
The third son, Frédéric Gaétan, marquis de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt
(1779-1863), was a zealous philanthropist and a partisan of
constitutional monarchy. He took no part in politics after 1848. The
marquis wrote on social questions, notably on prison administration;
he edited the works of La Rochefoucauld, and the memoirs of Condorcet;
and he was the author of some vaudevilles, tragedies and poems.
LA ROCHEJACQUELEIN, DE, the name of an ancient French family of La
Vendée, celebrated for its devotion to the throne during and after the
Revolution. Its original name was Duverger, derived from a fief near
Bressuire in Poitou, and its pedigree is traceable to the 13th century.
In 1505 Gui Duverger married Renée, heiress of Jacques Lemartin,
seigneur de La Rochejacquelein, whose name he assumed. His grandson,
Louis Duverger, seigneur de La Rochejacquelein, was a devoted adherent
of Henry II., and was badly wounded at the battle of Arques; other
members of the family were also distinguished soldiers, and the
seigniory was raised to a countship and marquisate in reward for their
services.
At the outbreak of the Revolution the chief of the family was HENRI
LOUIS AUGUSTE, marquis de La Rochejacquelein, _maréchal de camp_ in the
royal army, who had three sons named after himself--Henri, Louis and
Auguste. The marquis fled abroad with his second son Louis at the time
of the emigration of the nobles. He entered the service of Great
Britain, and died in San Domingo in 1802.
HENRI, comte de La Rochejacquelein, born at Dubertien, near Châtillon,
sur Sèvres, on the 20th of August 1772, did not emigrate with his
father. He served in the constitutional guard of the king, and remained
in Paris till the execution of Louis XVI. He then took refuge with the
marquis de Lescure on his own estates in Poitou. When the anti-clerical
policy of the revolutionary powers provoked the rising of the peasantry
of La Vendée, he put himself at the head of the men of his
neighbourhood, and came rapidly to the front among the gentlemen whom
the peasants took for leaders. In spite of his youth and his reluctance
to assume the responsibility, he was chosen as commander-in-chief after
the defeat of the Vendéans by the republicans at Cholet. His brilliant
personal courage, his amiability and his loyalty to the cause make him a
very attractive figure, but a commander-in-chief of the Vendéans, who
came and went as they pleased, had little real power or opportunity to
display the qualities of a general. The comte de La Rochejacquelein had
in fact to obey his army, and could only display his personal valour in
action. He could not avert the mistaken policy which led to the rout at
Le Mans, and was finally shot in an obscure skirmish at Nouaillé on the
4th of March 1794.
Louis, marquis de La Rochejacquelein, the younger brother of Henri,
accompanied his father in the emigration, served in the army of Condé,
and entered the service of England in America. He returned to France
during the Consulate, and in 1801 married the marquise de Lescure, widow
of his brother's friend, who was mortally wounded at Cholet. Marie
Louise Victoire de Donnissan, born at Versailles on the 25th of October
1772, belonged to a court family and was the god-daughter of Mme
Victoire, daughter of Louis XV. At the age of seventeen she married the
marquis de Lescure, whom she accompanied in the war of La Vendée. After
his death she went through various adventures recorded in her memoirs,
first published at Bordeaux in 1815. They are of extreme interest, and
give a remarkable picture of the war and the fortunes of the royalists.
She saved much of her own property and her first husband's, when a
conciliatory policy was adopted after the fall of the Terrorists. After
her second marriage she lived with her husband on her estates, both
refusing all offers to take service with Napoleon. In 1814 they took an
active part in the royalist movement in and about Bordeaux. In 1815 the
marquis endeavoured to bring about another Vendéan rising for the king,
and was shot in a skirmish with the Imperialist forces at the Pont des
Marthes on the 4th of June 1815. The marquis died at Orleans in 1857.
Their eldest son, HENRI AUGUSTE GEORGES, marquis de La Rochejacquelein,
born at Château Citran in the Gironde on the 28th of September 1805, was
educated as a soldier, served in Spain in 1822, and as a volunteer in
the Russo-Turkish War of 1828. During the reign of Louis Philippe he
adhered to the legitimist policy of his family, but he became reconciled
to the government of Napoleon III. and was mainly known as a clerical
orator and philanthropist. He died on the 7th of January 1867.
His son and successor, JULIEN MARIE GASTON, born at Chartres on the 27th
of March 1833, was an active legitimist deputy in the Assembly chosen at
the close of the German War of 1870-1871. He was a strong opponent of
Thiers, and continued to contest constituencies as a legitimist with
varying fortunes till his death in 1897.
AUTHORITIES.--_Henri de La Rochejacquelein et la guerre de la Vendée
d'après des documents_ inédits (Niort, 1890); A. F. Nettement, _Vie de
Mme la Marquise de La Rochejacquelein_ (Paris, 1876). The _Memoirs_ of
the marquise were translated into English by Sir Walter Scott, and
issued as a volume of "Constable's Miscellany" (Edinburgh, 1827).
LA ROCHELLE, a seaport of western France, capital of the department of
Charente-Inférieure, 90 m. S. by E. of Nantes on the railway to
Bordeaux. Pop. (1906) town 24,524, commune 33,858. La Rochelle is
situated on the Atlantic coast on an inlet opening off the great bay in
which lie the islands of Ré and Oléron. Its fortifications, constructed
by Vauban, have a circuit of 3½ m. with seven gates. Towards the sea are
three towers, of which the oldest (1384) is that of St Nicholas. The
apartment in the first storey was formerly used as a chapel. The Chain
Tower, built towards the end of the 14th century, is so called from the
chain which guarded the harbour at this point; the entrance to the tidal
basin was at one time spanned by a great pointed arch between the two
towers. The lantern tower (1445-1476), seven storeys high, is surmounted
by a lofty spire and was once used as a lighthouse. Of the ancient
gateways only one has been preserved in its entirety, that of the
"Grosse Horloge," a huge square tower of the 14th or 15th century, the
corner turrets of which have been surmounted with trophies since 1746.
The cathedral of La Rochelle (St Louis or St Bartholomew) is a heavy
Grecian building (1742-1762) with a dome above the transept, erected on
the site of the old church of St Bartholomew, destroyed in the 16th
century and now represented by a solitary tower dating from the 14th
century. Externally the town-house is in the Gothic style of the latter
years of the 15th century and has the appearance of a fortress, though
its severity is much relieved by the beautiful carving of the two
entrances, of the machicolations and of the two belfries. The buildings
looking into the inner court are in the Renaissance style (16th and
early 17th centuries) and contain several fine apartments. In the old
episcopal palace (which was in turn the residence of Sully, the prince
of Condé, Louis XIII., and Anne of Austria, and the scene of the
marriage of Alphonso VI. of Portugal with a princess of Savoy)
accommodation has been provided for a library, a collection of records
and a museum of art and antiquities. Other buildings of note are an
arsenal with an artillery museum, a large hospital, a special Protestant
hospital, a military hospital and a lunatic asylum for the department.
In the botanical gardens there are museums of natural history. Medieval
and Renaissance houses give a peculiar character to certain districts:
several have French, Latin or Greek inscriptions of a moral or religious
turn and in general of Protestant origin. Of these old houses the most
interesting is one built in the middle of the 16th century and wrongly
known as that of Henry II. The parade-ground, which forms the principal
public square, occupies the site of the castle demolished in 1590. Some
of the streets have side-arcades; the public wells are fed from a large
reservoir in the Champ de Mars; and among the promenades are the Cours
des Dames with the statue of Admiral Duperré, and outside the Charruyer
Park on the west front of the ramparts, and the Mail, a beautiful piece
of greensward. In this direction are the sea-bathing establishments.
La Rochelle is the seat of a bishopric and a prefect, and has tribunals
of first instance and of commerce, a chamber of commerce and a branch of
the Bank of France; its educational establishments include an
ecclesiastical seminary, a lycée and a training college for girls.
Ship-building, saw-milling and the manufacture of briquettes and
chemicals, sardine and tunny-preserving and petroleum-refining are among
the industries. The rearing of oysters and mussels and the exploitation
of salt marshes is carried on in the vicinity.
The inlet of La Rochelle is protected by a stone mole constructed by
Richelieu and visible at low tide. The harbour, one of the safest on the
coast, is entered by a channel 2730 yds. long, and comprises an outer
harbour opening on the one hand into a floating basin, on the other into
a tidal basin with another floating basin adjoining it. Behind the tidal
basin is the Maubec reservoir, the waters of which, along with those of
the Marans canal, help to scour the port and navigable channel. Some 200
sailing ships are engaged in the fisheries, and the fish market of La
Rochelle is the most important on the west coast. The harbour is,
however, inaccessible to the largest vessels, for the accommodation of
which the port of La Pallice, inaugurated in 1891, was created. Lying
about 3 m. W.S.W. of La Rochelle, this port opens into the bay opposite
the eastern extremity of the island of Ré. It was artificially excavated
and affords safe anchorage in all weathers. The outer port, protected by
two jetties, has an area of 29 acres and a depth of 16½ ft. below lowest
tide-level. At the extremity of the breakwater is a wharf where ships
may discharge without entering the basin. A lock connects with the inner
basin, which has an area of 27 acres, with 5900 ft. of quayage, a
minimum depth of 28 ft., and depths of 29½ ft. and 36 ft. at high, neap
and spring tides. Connected with the basin are two graving docks. La
Pallice has regular communication with South America by the vessels of
the Pacific Steam Navigation Company and by those of other companies
with London, America, West Africa, Egypt and the Far East. The port has
petroleum refineries and chemical manure works.
In 1906 there entered the port of La Rochelle, including the dock of La
Pallice, 441 vessels with a tonnage of 629,038, and cleared 468 vessels
with a tonnage of 664,861 (of which 235 of 241,146 tons cleared with
ballast). These figures do not include vessels entering from, or
clearing for, other ports in France. The imports (value, £1,276,000 in
1900 as compared with £1,578,000 in 1907) include coal and patent fuel,
superphosphates, natural phosphates, nitrate of soda, pyrites,
building-timber, wines and alcohol, pitch, dried codfish, petroleum,
jute, wood-pulp. Exports (value, £1,294,000 in 1900; £1,979,000 in 1907)
include wine and brandy, fancy goods, woven goods, garments, skins, coal
and briquettes, furniture, potatoes.
La Rochelle existed at the close of the 10th century under the name of
Rupella. It belonged to the barony of Châtelaillon, which was annexed
by the duke of Aquitaine and succeeded Châtelaillon as chief town in
Aunis. In 1199 it received a communal charter from Eleanor, duchess of
Guienne, and it was in its harbour that John Lackland disembarked when
he came to try to recover the domains seized by Philip Augustus.
Captured by Louis VIII. in 1224, it was restored to the English in
1360 by the treaty of Brétigny, but it shook off the yoke of the
foreigner when Du Guesclin recovered Saintonge. During the 14th, 15th
and 16th centuries La Rochelle, then an almost independent commune,
was one of the great maritime cities of France. From its harbour in
1402 Jean de Béthencourt set out for the conquest of the Canaries, and
its seamen were the first to turn to account the discovery of the new
world. The salt-tax provoked a rebellion at Rochelle which Francis I.
repressed in person; in 1568 the town secured exemption by the payment
of a large sum. At the Reformation La Rochelle early became one of the
chief centres of Calvinism, and during the religious wars it armed
privateers which preyed on Catholic vessels in the Channel and on the
high seas. In 1571 a synod of the Protestant churches of France was
held within its walls under the presidency of Beza for the purpose of
drawing up a confession of faith. After the massacre of St
Bartholomew, La Rochelle held out for six and a half months against
the Catholic army, which was ultimately obliged to raise the siege
after losing more than 20,000 men. The peace of the 24th of June 1573,
signed by the people of La Rochelle in the name of all the Protestant
party, granted the Calvinists full liberty of worship in several
places of safety. Under Henry IV. the town remained quiet, but under
Louis XIII. it put itself again at the head of the Huguenot party. Its
vessels blockaded the mouth of the Gironde and stopped the commerce of
Bordeaux, and also seized the islands of Ré and Oléron and several
vessels of the royal fleet. Richelieu then resolved to subdue the town
once for all. In spite of the assistance rendered by the English
troops under Buckingham and in spite of the fierce energy of their
mayor Guiton, the people of La Rochelle were obliged to capitulate
after a year's siege (October 1628). During this investment Richelieu
raised the celebrated mole which cut off the town from the open sea.
La Rochelle then became the principal port for the trade between
France and the colony of Canada. But the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes (1685) deprived it of some thousands of its most industrious
inhabitants, and the loss of Canada by France completed for the time
the ruin of its commerce. Its privateers, however, maintained a
vigorous struggle with the English during the republic and the empire.
See P. Suzanne, _La Rochelle pittoresque_ (La Rochelle, 1903), and E.
Couneau, _La Rochelle disparue_ (La Rochelle, 1904).
LA ROCHE-SUR-YON, a town of western France, capital of the department of
Vendée, on an eminence on the right bank of the Yon, 48 m. S. of Nantes
on the railway to Bordeaux. Pop. (1906) town 10,666, commune 13,685. The
castle of La Roche, which probably existed before the time of the
crusades, and was frequently attacked or taken in the Hundred Years' War
and in the wars of religion, was finally dismantled under Louis XIII.
When Napoleon in 1804 made this place, then of no importance, the chief
town of a department, the stones from its ruins were employed in the
erection of the administrative buildings, which, being all produced at
once after a regular plan, have a monotonous effect. The equestrian
statue of Napoleon I. in an immense square overlooking the rest of the
town; the statue of General Travot, who was engaged in the
"pacification" of La Vendée; the museum, with several paintings by P.
Baudry, a native artist, of whom there is a statue in the town, are the
only objects of interest. Napoleon-Vendée and Bourbon-Vendée, the names
borne by the town according to the dominance of either dynasty, gave
place to the original name after the revolution of 1870. The town is the
seat of a prefect and a court of assizes, and has a tribunal of first
instance, a chamber of commerce, a branch of the Bank of France, a lycée
for boys and training colleges for both sexes. It is a market for
farm-produce, horses and cattle, and has flour-mills. The dog fairs of
La Roche are well known.
LAROMIGUIÈRE, PIERRE (1756-1837), French philosopher, was born at
Livignac on the 3rd of November 1756, and died on the 12th of August
1837 in Paris. As professor of philosophy at Toulouse he was
unsuccessful and incurred the censure of the parliament by a thesis on
the rights of property in connexion with taxation. Subsequently he came
to Paris, where he was appointed professor of logic in the École Normale
and lectured in the Prytanée. In 1799 he was made a member of the
Tribunate, and in 1833 of the Academy of Moral and Political Science. In
1793 he published _Projet d'éléments de metaphysique_, a work
characterized by lucidity and excellence of style. He wrote also two
_Mémoires_, read before the Institute, _Les Paradoxes de Condillac_
(1805) and _Leçons de philosophie_ (1815-1818). Laromiguière's
philosophy is interesting as a revolt against the extreme physiological
psychology of the natural scientists, such as Cabanis. He distinguished
between those psychological phenomena which can be traced directly to
purely physical causes, and the actions of the soul which originate from
within itself. Psychology was not for him a branch of physiology, nor on
the other hand did he give to his theory an abstruse metaphysical basis.
A pupil of Condillac and indebted for much of his ideology to Destutt de
Tracy, he attached a fuller importance to Attention as a psychic
faculty. Attention provides the facts, Comparison groups and combines
them, while Reason systematizes and explains. The soul is active in its
choice, i.e. is endowed with freewill, and is, therefore, immortal. For
natural science as a method of discovery he had no respect. He held that
its judgments are, at the best, statements of identity, and that its
so-called discoveries are merely the reiteration, in a new form, of
previous truisms. Laromiguière was not the first to develop these views;
he owed much to Condillac, Destutt de Tracy and Cabanis. But, owing to
the accuracy of his language and the purity of his style, his works had
great influence, especially over Armand Marrast, Cardaillac and Cousin.
A lecture of his in the École Normale impressed Cousin so strongly that
he at once devoted himself to the study of philosophy. Jouffroy and
Taine agree in describing him as one of the great thinkers of the 19th
century.
See Damiron, _Essai sur la philosophie en France au XIX^e siècle_;
Biran, _Examen des leçons de philosophie_; Victor Cousin, _De Methodo
sive de Analysi_; Daunou, _Notice sur Laromiguière_; H. Taine, _Les
Philosophes classiques du XIX^e siècle_; Gatien Arnoult, _Étude sur
Laromiguière_; Compayré, _Notice sur Laromiguière_; Ferraz,
_Spiritualisme et Libéralisme_; F. Picavet, _Les Idéologues_.
LARRA, MARIANO JOSÉ DE (1809-1837), Spanish satirist, was born at Madrid
in 1809. His father served as a regimental doctor in the French army,
and was compelled to leave the Peninsula with his family in 1812. In
1817 Larra returned to Spain, knowing less Spanish than French. His
nature was disorderly, his education was imperfect, and, after futile
attempts to obtain a degree in medicine or law, he made an imprudent
marriage at the age of twenty, broke with his relatives and became a
journalist. On the 27th of April 1831 he produced his first play, _No
más mostrador_, based on two pieces by Scribe and Dieulafoy. Though
wanting in originality, it is brilliantly written, and held the stage
for many years. On the 24th of September 1834 he produced _Macias_, a
play based on his own historical novel, _El Doncel de Don Enrique el
Doliente_ (1834). The drama and novel are interesting as experiments,
but Larra was essentially a journalist, and the increased liberty of the
press after the death of Ferdinand VII. gave his caustic talent an
ampler field. He was already famous under the pseudonyms of "Juan Pérez
de Munguía" and "Figaro" which he used in _El Pobrecito Hablador_ and
_La Revista Española_ respectively. Madrid laughed at his grim humour;
ministers feared his vitriolic pen and courted him assiduously; he was
elected as deputy for Ávila, and a great career seemed to lie before
him. But the era of military _pronunciamientos_ ruined his personal
prospects and patriotic plans. His writing took on a more sombre tinge;
domestic troubles increased his pessimism, and, in consequence of a
disastrous love-affair, he committed suicide on the 13th of February
1837. Larra lived long enough to prove himself the greatest prose-writer
that Spain can boast during the 19th century. He wrote at great speed
with the constant fear of the censor before his eyes, but no sign of
haste is discernible in his work, and the dexterity with which he aims
his venomous shafts is amazing. His political instinct, his abundance of
ideas and his forcible, mordant style would have given him a foremost
position at any time and in any country; in Spain, and in his own
period, they placed him beyond all rivalry. (J. F.-K.)
LARSA (Biblical _Ellasar_, Gen. xiv. 1), an important city of ancient
Babylonia, the site of the worship of the sun-god, Shamash, represented
by the ancient ruin mound of Senkereh (Senkera). It lay 15 m. S.E. of
the ruin mounds of Warka (anc. _Erech_), near the east bank of the
Shatt-en-Nil canal. Larsa is mentioned in Babylonian inscriptions as
early as the time of Ur-Gur, 2700 or 2800 B.C., who built or restored
the _ziggurat_ (stage-tower) of E-Babbar, the temple of Shamash.
Politically it came into special prominence at the time of the Elamite
conquest, when it was made the centre of Elamite dominion in Babylonia,
perhaps as a special check upon the neighbouring Erech, which had played
a prominent part in the resistance to the Elamites. At the time of
Khammurabi's successful struggle with the Elamite conquerors it was
ruled by an Elamite king named Eriaku, the Arioch of the Bible, called
Rim-Sin by his Semitic subjects. It finally lost its independence under
Samsu-iluna, son of Khammurabi, c. 1900 B.C., and from that time until
the close of the Babylonian period it was a subject city of Babylon.
Loftus conducted excavations at this site in 1854. He describes the
ruins as consisting of a low, circular platform, about 4½ m. in
circumference, rising gradually from the level of the plain to a central
mound 70 ft. high. This represents the ancient _ziggurat_ of the temple
of Shamash, which was in part explored by Loftus. From the inscriptions
found there it appears that, besides the kings already mentioned,
Khammurabi, Burna-buriash (buryas) and the great Nebuchadrezzar restored
or rebuilt the temple of Shamash. The excavations at Senkereh were
peculiarly successful in the discovery of inscribed remains, consisting
of clay tablets, chiefly contracts, but including also an important
mathematical tablet and a number of tablets of a description almost
peculiar to Senkereh, exhibiting in bas-relief scenes of everyday life.
Loftus found also the remains of an ancient Babylonian cemetery. From
the ruins it would appear that Senkereh ceased to be inhabited at or
soon after the Persian conquest.
See W. K. Loftus, _Chaldaea and Susiana_ (1857). (J. P. Pe.)
LARTET, EDOUARD (1801-1871), French archaeologist, was born in 1801 near
Castelnau-Barbarens, department of Gers, France, where his family had
lived for more than five hundred years. He was educated for the law at
Auch and Toulouse, but having private means elected to devote himself to
science. The then recent work of Cuvier on fossil mammalia encouraged
Lartet in excavations which led in 1834 to his first discovery of fossil
remains in the neighbourhood of Auch. Thenceforward he devoted his whole
time to a systematic examination of the French caves, his first
publication on the subject being _The Antiquity of Man in Western
Europe_ (1860), followed in 1861 by _New Researches on the Coexistence
of Man and of the Great Fossil Mammifers characteristic of the Last
Geological Period_. In this paper he made public the results of his
discoveries in the cave of Aurignac, where evidence existed of the
contemporaneous existence of man and extinct mammals. In his work in the
Périgord district Lartet had the aid of Henry Christy (q.v.). The first
account of their joint researches appeared in a paper descriptive of the
Dordogne caves and contents, published in _Revue archéologique_ (1864).
The important discoveries in the Madeleine cave and elsewhere were
published by Lartet and Christy under the title _Reliquiae Aquitanicae_,
the first part appearing in 1865. Christy died before the completion of
the work, but Lartet continued it until his breakdown in health in 1870.
The most modest and one of the most illustrious of the founders of
modern palaeontology, Lartet's work had previously been publicly
recognized by his nomination as an officer of the Legion of Honour; and
in 1848 he had had the offer of a political post. In 1857 he had been
elected a foreign member of the Geological Society of London, and a few
weeks before his death he had been made professor of palaeontology at
the museum of the Jardin des Plantes. He died at Seissan in January
1871.
LARVAL FORMS, in biology. As is explained in the article on EMBRYOLOGY
(q.v.), development and life are coextensive, and it is impossible to
point to any period in the life of an organism when the developmental
changes cease. Nevertheless it is customary to speak of development as
though it were confined to the early period of life, during which the
important changes occur by which the uninucleated zygote acquires the
form characteristic of the species. Using the word in this restricted
sense, it is pointed out in the same article that the developmental
period frequently presents two phases, the embryonic and the larval.
During the embryonic phase the development occurs under protection,
either within the egg envelopes, or within the maternal body, or in a
brood pouch. At the end of this phase the young organism becomes free
and uses, as a rule, its own mouth and digestive organs. If this happens
before it has approximately acquired the adult form, it is called a
larva (Lat. _larva_, ghost, spectre, mask), and the subsequent
development by which the adult form is acquired constitutes the larval
phase. In such forms the life-cycle is divided into three phases, the
embryonic, the larval and the adult. The transition between the first
two of these is always abrupt; whereas the second and third, except in
cases in which a metamorphosis occurs (see METAMORPHOSIS), graduate into
one another, and it is not possible to say when the larval stage ends
and the adult begins. This is only what would be expected when it is
remembered that the developmental changes never cease. It might be held
that the presence of functional reproductive organs, or the possibility
of rapidly acquiring them, marks off the adult phase of life from the
larval. But this test sometimes fails. In certain of the Ctenophora
there is a double sexual life; the larva becomes sexually mature and
lays eggs, which are fertilized and develop; it then loses its
generative organs and develops into the adult, which again develops
reproductive organs (_dissogony_; see Chun, _Die Ctenophoren des Golfes
von Neapel_, 1880). In certain Amphibia the larva may develop sexual
organs and breed (axolotl), but in this case (_neoteny_) it is doubtful
whether further development may occur in the larva. A very similar
phenomenon is found in certain insect larvae (_Cecidomyia_), but in this
case ova alone are produced and develop parthenogenetically
(paedogenesis). Again in certain Trematoda larval stages known as the
sporocyst and redia produce ova which have the power of developing
unfertilized; in this case the larva probably has not the power of
continuing its development. It is very generally held by philosophers
that the end of life is reproduction, and there is much to be said for
this view; but, granting its truth, it is difficult to see why the
capacity for reproduction should so generally be confined to the later
stages of life. We know by more than one instance that it is possible
for the larva to reproduce by sexual generation; why should not the
phenomenon be more common? It is impossible in the present state of our
knowledge to answer this question.
The conclusion, then, that we reach is that the larval phase of life
graduates into the later phases, and that it is impossible to
characterize it with precision, as we can the embryonic phase.
Nevertheless great importance has been attached, in certain cases, to
the forms assumed by the young organism when it breaks loose from its
embryonic bonds. It has been widely held that the study of larvae is of
greater importance in determining genetic affinity than the study of
adults. What justification is there for this view? The phase of life,
chosen for the ordinary anatomical and physiological studies and
labelled as the adult phase, is merely one of the large number of stages
of structure through which the organism passes during its free life. In
animals with a well-marked larval phase, by far the greater number of
the stages of structure are included in the larval period, for the
developmental changes are more numerous and take place with greater
rapidity at the beginning of life than in its later periods. As each of
the larval stages is equal in value for the purposes of our study to the
adult phase, it clearly follows that, if there is anything in the view
that the anatomical study of organisms is of importance in determining
their mutual relations, the study of the organism in its various larval
stages must have a greater importance than the study of the single and
arbitrarily selected stage of life called the adult.
The importance, then, of the study of larval forms is admitted, but
before proceeding to it this question may be asked: What is the meaning
of the larval phase? Obviously this is part of a larger problem: Why
does an organism, as soon as it is established at the fertilization of
the ovum, enter upon a cycle of transformations which never cease until
death puts an end to them? It is impossible to give any other answer to
this question than this, viz. that it is a property of living matter to
react in a remarkable way to external forces without undergoing
destruction. As is explained in EMBRYOLOGY, development consists of an
orderly interaction between the organism and its environment. The action
of the environment produces certain morphological changes in the
organism. These changes enable the organism to move into a new
environment, which in its turn produces further structural changes in
the organism. These in their turn enable, indeed necessitate, the
organism to move again into a new environment, and so the process
continues until the end of the life-cycle. The essential condition of
success in this process is that the organism should always shift into
the environment to which its new structure is suited, any failure in
this leading to impairment of the organism. In most cases the shifting
of the environment is a very gradual process, and the morphological
changes in connexion with each step of it are but slight. In some cases,
however, jumps are made, and whenever such jumps occur we get the
morphological phenomenon termed metamorphosis. It would be foreign to
our purpose to consider this question further here, but before leaving
it we may suggest, if we cannot answer, one further question. Has the
duration and complexity of the life-cycle expanded or contracted since
organisms first appeared on the earth? According to the current view,
the life-cycle is continually being shortened at one end by the
abbreviation of embryonic development and by the absorption of larval
stages into the embryonic period, and lengthened at the other by the
evolutionary creation of new adult phases. What was the condition of the
earliest organisms? Had they the property of reacting to external forces
to the same extent and in the same orderly manner that organisms have
to-day?
For the purpose of obtaining light upon the genetic affinities of an
organism, a larval stage has as much importance as has the adult stage.
According to the current views of naturalists, which are largely a
product of Darwinism, it has its counterpart, as has the adult stage, in
the ancestral form from which the living organism has been derived by
descent with modification. Just as the adult phase of the living form
differs owing to evolutionary modification from the adult phase of the
ancestor, so each larval phase will differ for the same reason from the
corresponding larval phase in the ancestral life-history. Inasmuch as
the organism is variable at every stage of its existence, and is exposed
to the action of natural selection, there is no reason why it should
escape modification at any stage. But, as the characters of the ancestor
are unknown, it is impossible to ascertain what the modification has
been, and the determination of which of the characters of its descendant
(whether larval or adult) are new and which ancient must be conjectural.
It has been customary of late years to distinguish in larvae those
characters which are supposed to have been recently acquired as
_caenogenetic_, the ancient characters being termed _palingenetic_.
These terms, if they have any value, are applicable with equal force to
adults, but they are cumbrous, and the absence of any satisfactory test
which enables us to distinguish between a character which is ancestral
and one which has been recently acquired renders their utility very
doubtful. Just as the adult may be supposed, on evolution doctrine, to
be derived from an ancestral adult, so the various larval stages may be
supposed to have been derived from the corresponding larval stage of the
hypothetical ancestor. If we admit organic evolution at all, we may
perhaps go so far, but we are not in a position to go further, and to
assert that each larval stage is representative of and, so to speak,
derived from some adult stage in the remote past, when the organism
progressed no further in its life-cycle than the stage of structure
revealed by such a larval form. We may perhaps have a right to take up
this position, but it is of no advantage to us to do so, because it
leads us into the realm of pure fancy. Moreover, it assumes that an
answer can be given to the question asked above--has the life-cycle of
organisms contracted or expanded as the result of evolution? This
question has not been satisfactorily answered. Indeed we may go further
and say that naturalists have answered it in different ways according to
the class of facts they were contemplating at the moment. If we are to
consider larvae at all from the evolution point of view, we must treat
them as being representative of ancestral larvae from which they have
been derived by descent with modification; and we must leave open the
question whether and to what extent the first organisms themselves
passed through a complicated life-cycle.
From the above considerations it is not surprising to find that the
larvae of different members of any group resemble each other to the same
kind of degree as do the adults, and that the larvae of allied groups
resemble one another more closely than do the larvae of remote groups,
and finally that a study of larvae does in some cases reveal affinities
which would not have been evident from a study of adults alone. Though
it is impossible to give here an account of the larval forms of the
animal kingdom, we may illustrate these points, which are facts of
fundamental importance in the study of larvae, by a reference to
specific cases.
The two great groups, Annelida and Mollusca, which by their adult
structure present considerable affinity with one another, agree in
possessing a very similar larval form, known as the _trochosphere_ or
_trochophore_.
[Illustration: After V. Drasche in _Beiträge zur Entwickelung der
Polychaeten, Entwickelung von Pomatoceros_.
FIG. 1.--Trochosphere Larva of the Chaetopod _Pomatoceros trigueter_, L.
(Osmic acid preparation.)
1. The apical plate.
2. Long cilia of preoral band (velum).
3. Long cilia of postoral band.
4. Mouth.
5. Excretory organ.
6. Mesoblastic band.
7. Anus.]
A typical trochosphere larva (figs. 1, 2) possesses a small,
transparent body divided into a large preoral lobe and a small
postoral region. The mouth (4) is on the ventral surface at the
junction of the preoral lobe with the hinder part of the body, and
there is an anus (7) at the hind end. Connecting the two is a curved
alimentary canal which is frequently divided into oesophagus, stomach
and intestine. There is a preoral circlet of powerful cilia, called
the "velum" (2), which encircles the body just anterior to the mouth
and marks off the preoral lobe, and there is very generally a second
ring of cilia immediately behind the mouth (3). At the anterior end of
the preoral lobe is a nervous thickening of the ectoderm called the
apical plate (1). This usually carries a tuft of long cilia or sensory
hairs, and sometimes rudimentary visual organs. Mesoblastic bands are
present, proceeding a short distance forwards from the anus on each
side of the middle ventral line (6), and at the anterior end of each
of these structures is a tube (5) which more or less branches
internally and opens on the ventral surface. The branches of this tube
end internally in peculiar cells containing a flame-shaped flagellum
and floating in the so-called body cavity, into which, however, they
do not open. These are the primitive kidneys. The body cavity, which
is a space between the ectoderm and alimentary canal, is not lined by
mesoderm and is traversed by a few muscular fibres. Such a larva is
found, almost as described, in many Chaetopods (fig. 1), in _Echiurus_
(fig. 2), in many Gastropods (fig. 3), and Lamellibranchiates (fig.
4). This typical structure of the larva is often departed from, and
the molluscan trochosphere can be distinguished from the annelidan by
the possession of a rudiment at least of the shell-gland and foot
(figs. 3 and 4); but in all cases in which the young leaves the egg at
an early stage of development it has a form which can be referred
without much difficulty to the trochosphere type just described. A
larva similar to the trochosphere in some features, particularly in
possessing a preoral ring of cilia and an apical plate, is found in
the Polyzoa, and in adult Rotifera, which latter, in their ciliary
ring and excretory organs, present some resemblance to the
trochosphere, and are sometimes described as permanent adult
trochospheres. But in these phases the resemblance to the typical
forms is not nearly so close as it is in the case of the larva of
Annelida and Mollusca.
[Illustration: After Hatschek, "Echiurus" in Claus's _Arbeiten aus dem
zoolog. Institut der Wien_.
FIG. 2.--Young Trochosphere Larva of the Gephyrean _Echiurus_, seen in
optical section.
1. Apical plate.
2. Muscle-bands.
3. Preoral band of cilia (velum).
4. Mouth.
5. Mesoblastic band.
6. Anus.]
[Illustration: After Patten, "Patella" in Claus's _Arbeiten aus dem
zoolog. Institut der Wien_.
FIG. 3.--Larva of the Gastropod _Patella_, seen in longitudinal
vertical section.
1. Apical plate.
2. Cilia of preoral circlet (velum).
3. Mouth.
4. Foot.
5. Anal tuft of cilia.
6. Shell-gland covered by shell.]
In the Echinodermata there are two distinct larval forms which cannot
be brought into relation with one another. The one of these is found
in the Asteroids, Ophiuroids, Echinoids and Holothuroids; the other in
the Crinoids.
[Illustration: After Hatschek on "Teredo" in Claus's Arbeiten aus dem
zoolog. Institut der Wien.
FIG. 4.--A, Embryo, and B, Young Trochosphere Larva of the
Lamellibranch _Teredo_.
In A the shell-gland (1) and the mouth (2) and the rudiment of the
enteron (3) are shown; (4) primitive mesoderm cells.
In B the shell-gland has flattened out and the shell is formed. 1,
Apical plate; 2, muscles; 3, shell; 4, anal invagination; 5,
mesoblast; 6, mouth; 7, foot.
The cilia of the preoral and postoral bands are not clearly
differentiated at this stage.]
The first is, in its most primitive form, a small transparent
creature, with a mouth and anus and a postoral longitudinal ciliated
band (fig. 5, A). In Asteroids the band of cilia becomes divided in
such a way as to give rise to two bands, the one preoral, encircling
the preoral lobe, and the other remaining postoral (fig. 5, B). In the
other groups the band remains single and longitudinal. In all cases
the edges of the body carrying the ciliary bands become sinuous (fig.
6) and sometimes prolonged into arms (figs. 7-9), and each of the four
groups has its own type of larva. In Asteroids, in which the band
divides, the larva is known as the bipinnaria (fig. 7); in
Holothurians it is called the auricularia (fig. 6); in Echinoids and
Ophiuroids, in which the arms are well marked, it is known as the
pluteus, the echinopluteus (fig. 9) and ophiopluteus (fig. 8)
respectively.
All these forms were obviously distinct but as obviously modifications
of a common type and related to one another. They present certain
remarkable structural features which differentiate them from other
larval types except the tornaria larvae of the Enteropneusta. They
possess an alimentary canal with a mouth and anus as does the
trochosphere, but they differ altogether from that larva in having a
diverticulum of the alimentary canal which gives rise to the coelom
and to a considerable part of the mesoblast. Further, they are without
an apical plate with its tuft of sensory hairs.
In Crinoids the type is different (fig. 10), and might belong to a
different phylum. The body is opaque, and encircled by five ciliary
bands, and is without either mouth, anus or arms, and there is a tuft
of cilia on the preoral lobe. A resemblance to the other Echinoderm
larvae is found in the fact that coelomic diverticula of the enteron
are present.
[Illustration: From Balfour's _Comparative Embryology_, by permission
of Macmillan & Co., Ltd.
FIG. 5.--Diagrams of side views of two young Echinoderm Larvae,
showing the course of the ciliary bands. A, auricularia larva of a
Holothurian; B, bipinnaria larva of an Asteroid; a, anus; l.c, in A
primitive longitudinal ciliary band, in B postoral longitudinal
ciliary band; m, mouth; pr.c, preoral ciliary band; st, stomach.]
[Illustration: After J. Müller.
FIG. 6.--_Auricularia stelligera_, ventral view, somewhat
diagrammatic. The larva of a Holothurian.
1. Frontal area.
2. Preoral arm.
3. Anterior transverse portion of ciliary band.
4. Posterior transverseportion of same.
5. Postoral arm.
6. Anal area.
7. Posterior lateral arm.
8. Posterior dorsal arm.
9. Oral depression.
10. Middle dorsal arm.
11. Anterior dorsal arm.
12. Anterior lateral arm.
13. Ventral median arm.
14. Dorsal median arm.
15. Unpaired posterior arm.]
The larvae of two other groups present certain resemblances to the
typical Echinoderm larvae. The one of these is the tornaria larva of
the Enteropneusta (fig. 11), which recalls Echinoderms in the
possession of two ciliary bands, the one preoral and the other
postoral and partly longitudinal, and in the presence of gut
diverticula which give rise to the coelom; but, like the trochosphere,
it possesses an apical plate with sensory organs on the preoral lobe.
The resemblance of the tornaria to the bipinnaria is so close that,
taking into consideration certain additional resemblances in the
arrangement of the coelomic vesicles which arise from the original gut
diverticulum, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that there is
affinity between the Echinoderm and Enteropneust phyla. Here we have a
case like that of the Tunicata in which an affinity which is not
evident from a study of the adult alone is revealed by a study of the
young form. The other larva which recalls the Echinoderm type is the
Actinotrocha of _Phoronis_ (fig. 12), but the resemblance is not
nearly so close, being confined to the presence of a postoral
longitudinal band of cilia which is prolonged into arm-like processes.
[Illustration: After J. Müller.
FIG. 7.--_Bipinnaria elegans_, the Larva of a Star-fish. Description and
lettering as in fig. 6.]
[Illustration: After J. Müller.
FIG. 8.--_Ophiopluteus bimaculatus_, the Larva of an Ophiurid.
Description and lettering as in fig. 6.]
[Illustration: After J. Müller.
FIG. 9.--_Echinopluteus_, the Larva of a Spatangid. Description and
lettering as in fig. 6.]
[Illustration: After Seeliger on "Antedon" in Spengel's _Zoologische
Jahrbücher_.
FIG. 10.--A free-swimming Larva of Antedon, ventral view. It has an
apical tuft of cilia, five ciliated bands, and a depression--the
vestibular depression--on its ventral surface. v, Vestibular depression;
f, adhesive pit.]
The following groups have larvae which cannot be related to other
larvae: the Porifera, Coelenterata, Turbellaria and Nemertea,
Brachiopoda, Myriapoda, Insecta, Crustacea, Tunicata. We may shortly
notice the larvae of the two latter.
[Illustration: After Metschnikoff.
FIG. 11.--Tornaria Larva of an Enteropneust, side view.
ee, Apical plate.
aa, Preoral ciliary band.
bb, Postoral ciliary band.
dd, Mouth.
ff, Anterior coelomic vesicle and pore.
gg, Alimentary canal.
hh, Anus.]
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Actinotrocha Larva of _Phoronis_, side view.
(Modified after Benham.)
1. Apical plate.
2. Mouth.
3. Postoral ciliary band and arms.
4. Perianal ciliary band.]
In the Crustacea the larvae are highly peculiar and share, in a
striking manner, certain of the important features of specialization
presented by the adult, viz. the presence of a strong cuticle and of
articulated appendages and the absence of cilia. They are remarkable
among larvae for the number of stages which they pass through in
attaining the adult state. However numerous these may be, they almost
always have, when first set free from the egg, one of two forms, that
of the _nauplius_ (fig. 13, A) or that of the _zoaea_ (fig. 13, B).
The nauplius is found throughout the group and is the more important
of the two; the zoaea is confined to the higher members, in some of
which it merely forms a stage through which the larva, hatched as a
nauplius, passes in its gradual development. The nauplius larva is of
classic interest because its occurrence has enabled zoologists to
determine with precision the position in the animal kingdom of a
group, the Cirripedia, which was placed by the illustrious Cuvier
among the Mollusca.
In the Tunicata the remarkable tadpole larva, the structure and
development of which was first elucidated by the great Russian
naturalist, A. Kowalevsky, possesses a similar interest to that of the
nauplius larva of Cirripeds, and of the tornaria larva of the
Enteropneusta, in that it pointed the way to the recognition of the
affinities of the Tunicata, affinities which were entirely unsuspected
till they were revealed by a study of the larvae.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--A, Nauplius of the Crustacean _Penaeus_, dorsal
view. B, Zoaea Larva of the same animal, ventral view.
1. 2. 3. The three pairs of appendages of the nauplius larva (the
future first and second antennae and mandibles).
3. Mandible.
4. First maxilla.
5. Second maxilla.
6. First maxilliped.
7. Second maxilliped.
8. Third maxilliped.]
With regard to the occurrence of larvae, three general statements may be
made. (1) They are always associated with a small egg in which the
amount of food yolk is not sufficient to enable the animal to complete
its development in the embryonic state. (2) A free-swimming larva is
usually found in cases in which the adult is attached to foreign
objects. (3) A larval stage is, as a rule, associated with internal
parasitism of the adult. The object gained by the occurrence of a larva
in the two last cases is to enable the species to distribute itself over
as wide an area as possible. It may further be asserted that land and
fresh-water animals develop without a larval stage much more frequently
than marine forms. This is probably partly due to the fact that the
conditions of land and fresh-water life are not so favourable for the
spread of a species over a wide area by means of simply-organized larvae
as are those of marine life, and partly to the fact that, in the case of
fresh-water forms at any rate, a feebly-swimming larva would be in
danger of being swept out to sea by currents.
1. The association of larvae with small eggs. This is a true statement
as far as it goes, but in some cases small eggs do not give rise to
larvae, some special form of nutriment being provided by the parent,
e.g. Mammalia, in which there is a uterine nutrition by means of a
placenta; some Gastropoda (e.g. _Helix waltoni_, _Bulimus_), in which,
though the ovum is not specially large, it floats in a large quantity
of albumen at the expense of which the development is completed; some
Lamellibranchiata (_Cyclas_, &c.), Echinodermata (many _Ophiurids_,
&c.), &c., in which development takes place in a brood pouch. In the
majority of cases, however, in which there is a small amount of food
yolk and no special arrangements for parental care, a larva is formed.
No better group than the Mollusca can be taken to illustrate this
point, for in them we find every kind of development from the
completely embryonic development of the Cephalopoda, with their large
heavily-yolked eggs, to the development of most marine
Lamellibranchiata and many Gastropoda, in which the embryonic period
is short and there is a long larval development. The Mollusca are
further specially interesting for showing very clearly cases in which,
though the young are born or hatched fully developed, the larval
stages are passed through in the egg, and the larval organs (e.g.
velum) are developed but without function (e.g. _Paludina_, _Cyclas_,
_Onchidium_). As already mentioned, the larval form of the Mollusca is
the trochosphere.
2. Free-swimming larvae are usually formed when the adult is fixed. We
need only refer to the cases of the Cirripedia with their well-marked
nauplius and cypris larvae, to _Phoronis_ with its remarkable
_actinotrocha_, to the Crinoidea, Polyzoa, &c. There are a few
exceptions to this rule, e.g. the Molgulidae amongst the fixed
Tunicata, _Tubularia_, _Myriothela_, &c., among the Hydrozoa.
3. Internal parasites generally have a stage which may be called
larval, in which they are transferred either by active or passive
migration to a new host. In most Nematoda, some Cestoda, and in
Trematoda this larva leads a free life; but in some nematodes
(_Trichina_) and some cestodes the larva does not become free.
(A. Se.*)
LARYNGITIS, an inflammation of the mucus of the _larynx_. There are
three chief varieties: _acute_, _chronic_, and _oedematous_. The larynx
is also liable to attacks of inflammation in connexion with tubercle or
syphilis.
_Acute Laryngitis_ may be produced by an independent catarrh, or by one
extending either from the nasal or the bronchial mucous membrane into
that of the larynx. The causes are various, "catching cold" being the
most common. Excessive use of the voice either in speaking or singing
sometimes gives rise to it. The inhalation of irritating particles,
vapours, &c., and swallowing very hot fluids or corrosive poisons are
well-recognized causes. It may also occur in connexion with diseases,
notably measles and influenza. As a result of the inflammation there is
a general swelling of the parts about the larynx and the epiglottis, the
result being a narrowing of the channel for the entrance of the air, and
to this the chief dangers are due. The symptoms vary with the intensity
of the attack; there is first a sense of tickling, then of heat,
dryness, and pain in the throat, with some difficulty in swallowing.
There is a dry cough, with expectoration later; phonation becomes
painful, while the voice is husky, and may be completely lost. In
children there is some dyspnoea. In favourable cases, which form the
majority, the attack tends to abate in a few days, but the inflammation
may become of the oedematous variety, and death may occur suddenly from
an asphyxial paroxysm. Many cases of acute laryngitis are so slight as
to make themselves known only by hoarseness and the character of the
cough, nevertheless in every instance the attack demands serious
attention. The diagnosis is not, in adults, a matter of much difficulty,
especially if an examination is made with the laryngoscope; in children,
however, it is more difficult, and the question of diphtheria must not
be lost sight of. The treatment is, first and foremost, rest; no talking
must be allowed. The patient should be kept in bed, in a room at an even
temperature, and the air saturated with moisture. An ice-bag round the
throat gives much relief, while internally diaphoretics may be given,
and a full dose of Dover's powder if there be much pain or cough.
_Chronic Laryngitis_ usually occurs as a result of repeated attacks of
the acute form. It is extremely common in people who habitually over-use
the voice, and is the cause of the hoarse voice one associates with
street sellers. The constant inhalation of irritating vapours, such as
tobacco smoke, may also cause it. There is usually little or no pain,
only the unpleasant sensation of tickling in the larynx, with a constant
desire to cough. The changes in the mucous membrane are more permanent
than in the acute variety, and there nearly always accompanies this a
chronic alteration of the membrane of the pharynx (_granular
pharyngitis_). The treatment consists in stopping the cause, where
known, e.g. the smoking or shouting. Careful examination should be made
to see if there is any nasal obstruction, and the larynx should be
treated locally with suitable astringents, by means of a brush, spray or
insufflation. Overheated and ill-ventilated rooms must be avoided, as
entrance into them immediately aggravates the trouble and causes a
paroxysm of coughing.
_Oedematous Laryngitis_ is a very fatal condition, which may occur,
though rarely, as a sequence of acute laryngitis. It is far more
commonly seen in syphilitic and tubercular conditions of the larynx, in
kidney disease, in certain fevers, and in cases of cellulitis of the
neck. The larynx is also one of the sites of _Angeioneurotic oedema_. In
this form of laryngitis there are all the symptoms of acute laryngitis,
but on a very much exaggerated scale. The dyspnoea, accompanied by
marked stridor, may arise and reach a dangerous condition within the
space of an hour, and demand the most prompt treatment. On examination
the mucous membrane round the epiglottis is seen to be enormously
swollen. The treatment is ice round the throat and internally,
scarification of the swollen parts, and should that not relieve the
asphyxial symptoms, tracheotomy must be performed immediately.
_Tubercular Laryngitis_ is practically always associated with phthisis.
The mucous membrane is invaded by the tubercles, which first form small
masses. These later break down and ulcerate; the ulceration then spreads
up and down, causing an immense amount of destruction. The first
indication is hoarseness, or, in certain forms, pain on swallowing. The
cough is, as a rule, a late symptom. A sudden oedema may bring about a
rapid fatal termination. The general treatment is the same as that
advised for phthisis; locally, the affected parts may be removed by one
or a series of operations, generally under local anaesthesia, or they
may be treated with some destructive agent such as lactic acid. The pain
on swallowing can be best alleviated by painting with a weak solution of
cocaine. The condition is a very grave one; the prognosis depends
largely on the associated pulmonary infection--if that be extensive, a
very small amount of laryngeal mischief resists treatment, while, if the
case be the contrary, a very extensive mischief may be successfully
dealt with.
_Syphilitic Laryngitis._--Invasion of the larynx in syphilis is very
common. It may occur in both stages of the disease and in the inherited
form. In the secondary stage the damage is superficial, and the symptoms
those of a slight acute laryngitis. The injury in the tertiary stage is
much more serious, the deeper structures are invaded with the formation
of deep ulcers, which may when they heal form strong cicatrices, which
produce a narrowing of the air-passage which may eventually require
surgical interference. Occasionally a fatal oedema may arise. The
treatment consists of administering constitutional remedies, local
treatment being of comparatively slight importance.
_Paroxysmal Laryngitis_, or _Laryngismus stridulus_, is a nervous
affection of the larynx that occurs in infants. It appears to be
associated with adenoids. The disease consists of a reflex spasm of the
glottis, which causes a complete blocking of the air-passages. The
attacks, which are recurrent, cause acute asphyxiation. They may cease
for no obvious reason, or one may prove fatal. The whole attack is of
such short duration that the infant has either recovered or succumbed
before assistance can be called. After an attack, careful examination
should be made, and the adenoids, if present, removed by operation.
LA SABLIÈRE, MARGUERITE DE (c. 1640-1693), friend and patron of La
Fontaine, was the wife of Antoine Rambouillet, sieur de la Sablière
(1624-1679), a Protestant financier entrusted with the administration of
the royal estates, her maiden name being Marguerite Hessein. She
received an excellent education in Latin, mathematics, physics and
anatomy from the best scholars of her time, and her house became a
meeting-place for poets, scientists and men of letters, no less than for
brilliant members of the court of Louis XIV. About 1673 Mme de la
Sablière received into her house La Fontaine, whom for twenty years she
relieved of every kind of material anxiety. Another friend and inmate of
the house was the traveller and physician François Bernier, whose
abridgment of the works of Gassendi was written for Mme de la Sablière.
The abbé Chaulieu and his fellow-poet, Charles Auguste, marquis de La
Fare, were among her most intimate associates. La Fare sold his
commission in the army to be able to spend his time with her. This
liaison, which seems to have been the only serious passion of her life,
was broken in 1679. La Fare was seduced from his allegiance, according
to Mme de Sévigné by his love of play, but to this must be added a new
passion for the actress La Champmeslé. Mme de la Sablière thenceforward
gave more and more attention to good works, much of her time being spent
in the hospital for incurables. Her husband's death in the same year
increased her serious tendencies, and she was presently converted to
Roman Catholicism. She died in Paris on the 8th of January 1693.
LA SALE (or LA SALLE), ANTOINE DE (c. 1388-1462?), French writer, was
born in Provence, probably at Arles. He was a natural son of Bernard de
la Salle,[1] a famous soldier of fortune, who served many masters, among
others the Angevin dukes. In 1402 Antoine entered the court of Anjou,
probably as a page, and in 1407 he was at Messina with Duke Louis II.,
who had gone there to enforce his claim to the kingdom of Sicily. The
next years he perhaps spent in Brabant, for he was present at two
tournaments given at Brussels and Ghent. With other gentlemen from
Brabant, whose names he has preserved, he took part in the expedition of
1415 against the Moors, organized by John I. of Portugal. In 1420 he
accompanied Louis III. on another expedition to Naples, making in that
year an excursion from Norcia to the Monte della Sibilla, and the
neighbouring Lake of Pilate. The story of his adventures on this
occasion, and an account, with some sceptical comments, of the local
legends regarding Pilate, and the Sibyl's grotto,[2] form the most
interesting chapter of _La Salade_, which is further adorned with a map
of the ascent from Montemonaco. La Sale probably returned with Louis
III. of Anjou, who was also comte de Provence, in 1426 to Provence,
where he was acting as _viguier_ of Aries in 1429. In 1434 René, Louis's
successor, made La Sale tutor to his son Jean d'Anjou, duc de Calabre,
to whom he dedicated, between the years 1438 and 1447, his _La Salade_,
which is a text-book of the studies necessary for a prince. The primary
intention of the title is no doubt the play on his own name, but he
explains it on the ground of the miscellaneous character of the book--a
salad is composed "of many good herbs." In 1439 he was again in Italy in
charge of the castle of Capua, with the duc de Calabre and his young
wife, Marie de Bourbon, when the place was besieged by the king of
Aragon. René abandoned Naples in 1442, and Antoine no doubt returned to
France about the same time. His advice was sought at the tournaments
which celebrated the marriage of the unfortunate Margaret of Anjou at
Nancy in 1445; and in 1446, at a similar display at Saumur, he was one
of the umpires. La Sale's pupil was now twenty years of age, and, after
forty years' service of the house of Anjou, La Sale left it to become
tutor to the sons of Louis de Luxembourg, comte de Saint Pol, who took
him to Flanders and presented him at the court of Philippe le Bon, duke
of Burgundy. For his new pupils he wrote at Châtelet-sur-Oise, in 1451,
a moral work entitled _La Salle_.
He was nearly seventy years of age when he wrote the work that has made
him famous, _L'Hystoire et plaisante cronicque du petit Jehan de Saintré
et de la jeune dame des Belles-Cousines, Sans autre nom nommer_,
dedicated to his former pupil, Jean de Calabre. An _envoi_ in MS. 10,057
(nouv. acq. fr.) in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, states that it
was completed at Châtelet on the 6th of March 1455 (i.e. 1456). La Sale
also announces an intention, never fulfilled, apparently, of writing a
romance of _Paris et Vienne_. The MSS. of _Petit Jehan de Saintré_
usually contain in addition _Floridam et Elvide_, translated by Rasse de
Brunhamel from the Latin of Nicolas de Clamange, and dedicated to La
Sale; also _Addiction extraite des Cronicques de Flandres_, of which
only a few lines are original. Brunhamel says in his dedication that La
Sale had delighted to write honourable histories from the time of his
"florie jeunesse," which confirms a reasonable inference from the style
of _Petit Jehan de Saintré_ that its author was no novice in the art of
romance-writing. The _Réconfort à Madame de Neufville_, a consolatory
epistle including two stories of parental fortitude, was written at
Vendeuil-sur-Oise about 1458, and in 1459 La Sale produced his treatise
_Des anciens tournois et faictz d'armes_ and the _Journée d'Onneur et de
Prouesse_. He followed his patron to Genappe in Brabant when the Dauphin
(afterwards Louis XI.) took refuge at the Burgundian court.
La Sale is generally accepted as the author of one of the most famous
satires in the French language, _Les Quinze Joyes de mariage_, because
his name has been disengaged from an acrostic at the end of the Rouen
MS. He is also supposed to have been the "acteur" in the collection of
licentious stories supposed to be narrated by various persons at the
court of Philippe le Bon, and entitled the _Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_.
One only of the stories is given in his name, but he is credited with
the compilation of the whole, for which Louis XI. was long held
responsible. A completed copy of this was presented to the Duke of
Burgundy at Dijon in 1462. If then La Sale was the author, he probably
was still living; otherwise the last mention of him is in 1461.
_Petit Jehan de Saintré_ gives, at the point when the traditions of
chivalry were fast disappearing, an account of the education of an
ideal knight and rules for his conduct under many different
circumstances. When Petit Jehan, aged thirteen, is persuaded by the
Dame des Belles-Cousines to accept her as his lady, she gives him
systematic instruction in religion, courtesy, chivalry and the arts of
success. She materially advances his career until Saintré becomes an
accomplished knight, the fame of whose prowess spreads throughout
Europe. This section of the romance--apparently didactic in
intention--fits in with the author's other works of edification. But
in the second part this virtuous lady falls a victim to a vulgar
intrigue with Damp Abbé. One of La Sale's commentators, M. Joseph
Nève, ingeniously maintains that the last section is simply to show
how the hero, after passing through the other grades of education,
learns at last by experience to arm himself against coquetry. The book
may, however, be fairly regarded as satirizing the whole theory of
"courteous" love, by the simple method of fastening a repulsive
conclusion on an ideal case. The contention that the _fabliau_-like
ending of a romance begun in idyllic fashion was due to the corrupt
influences of the Dauphin's exiled court, is inadmissible, for the
last page was written when the prince arrived in Brabant in 1456. That
it is an anti-clerical satire seems unlikely. The profession of the
seducer is not necessarily chosen from that point of view. The
language of the book is not disfigured by coarseness of any kind, but,
if the brutal ending was the expression of the writer's real views,
there is little difficulty in accepting him as the author of the
_Quinze Joyes de mariage_ and the _Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles._--Both
these are masterpieces in their way and exhibit a much greater
dramatic power and grasp of dialogue than does _Petit Jehan_. Some
light is thrown on the romance by the circumstances of the duc de
Calabre, to whom it was dedicated. His wife, Marie de Bourbon, was one
of the "Belles-Cousines" who contended for the favour of Jacques or
Jacquet de Lalaing in the _Livre des faits de Jacques Lalaing_ which
forms the chief source of the early exploits of Petit Jehan.
The incongruities of La Sale's aims appear in his method of
construction. The hero is not imaginary. Jehan de Saintré flourished
in the Hundred Years' War, was taken prisoner after Poitiers, with the
elder Boucicaut, and was employed in negotiating the treaty of
Bretigny. Froissart mentioned him as "le meilleur et le plus vaillant
chevalier de France." His exploits as related in the romance are,
however, founded on those of Jacques de Lalaing (c. 1422-1453), who
was brought up at the Burgundian court, and became such a famous
knight that he excited the rivalry of the "Belles-Cousines," Marie de
Bourbon and Marie de Clèves, duchesse d'Orléans. Lalaing's exploits
are related by more than one chronicler, but M. Gustave Raynaud thinks
that the _Livre des faits de Jacques de Lalaing_, published among the
works of Georges Chastelain, to which textual parallels may be found
in _Petit Jehan_, should also be attributed to La Sale, who in that
case undertook two accounts of the same hero, one historical and the
other fictitious. To complicate matters, he drew, for the later
exploits of Petit Jehan, on the _Livres des faits de Jean Boucicaut_,
which gives the history of the younger Boucicaut. The atmosphere of
the book is not the rough realities of the English wars in which the
real Saintré figured but that of the courts to which La Sale was
accustomed.
The title of _Les Quinze Joyes de mariage_ is, with a profanity
characteristic of the time, borrowed from a popular litany, _Les
Quinze Joies de Notre Dame_, and each chapter terminates with a
liturgical refrain voicing the miseries of marriage. Evidence in
favour of La Sale's authorship is brought forward by M. E. Gossart
(_Bibliophile belge_, 1871, pp. 83-7), who quotes from his didactic
treatise of _La Salle_ a passage paraphrased from St Jerome's treatise
against Jovinian which contains the chief elements of the satire.
Gaston Paris (_Revue de Paris_, Dec. 1897) expressed an opinion that
to find anything like the malicious penetration by which La Sale
divines the most intimate details of married life, and the painful
exactness of the description, it is necessary to travel as far as
Balzac. The theme itself was common enough in the middle ages in
France, but the dialogue of the _Quinze Joyes_ is unusually natural
and pregnant. Each of the fifteen vignettes is perfect in its kind.
There is no redundance. The diffuseness of romance is replaced by the
methods of the writers of the _fabliaux_.
In the _Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_ the Italian _novella_ is naturalized
in France. The book is modelled on the _Decameron_ of Boccaccio, and
owes something to the Latin _Facetiae_ of the contemporary scholar
Poggio; but the stories are rarely borrowed, and in cases where the
_Nouvelles_ have Italian parallels they appear to be independent
variants. In most cases the general immorality of the conception is
matched by the grossness of the details, but the ninety-eighth story
narrates what appears to be a genuine tragedy, and is of an entirely
different nature from the other _contes_. It is another version of the
story of Floridam et Elvide already mentioned.
Not content with allowing these achievements to La Sale, some critics
have proposed to ascribe to him also the farce of _Maître Pathelin_.
The best editions of La Sale's undoubted and reputed works
are:--_Petit Jehan de Saintré_ by J. M. Guichard (1843); _Les Cent
Nouvelles Nouvelles_ by Thomas Wright (Bibl. elzévérienne, 1858); _Les
Quinze Joyes de mariage_ by P. Jannet (Bibl. elzév., 1857). _La
Salade_ was printed more than once during the 16th century. _La Salle_
was never printed. For its contents see E. Gossart in the _Bibliophile
belge_ (1871, pp. 77 et seq.). See also the authorities quoted above,
and Joseph Nève, _Antoine de la Salle, sa vie et ses ouvrages ...
suivi du Réconfort de Madame de Fresne ... et de fragments et
documents inédits_ (1903), who argues for the rejection of _Les Quinze
Joyes_ and the _Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_ from La Sale's works; Pietro
Toldo, _Contributo allo studio della novella francese del XV e XVI
secolo_ (1895), and a review of it by Gaston Paris in the _Journal des
Savants_ (May 1895); L. Stern, "Versuch über Antoine de la Salle," in
_Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen_, vol. xlvi.; and G.
Raynaud, "Un Nouveau Manuscrit du Petit Jehan de Saintré," in
_Romania_, vol. xxxi. (M. Br.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] For his career, see Paul Durrieu, _Les Gascons en Italie_ (Auch,
1885, pp. 107-71).
[2] For the legend of the Sibyl current in Italy at the time, given
by La Sale, and its inter-relation with the Tannhäuser story, see W.
Soederhjelm, "A. de la Salle et la légende de Tannhäuser" in
_Mémoires de la soc. néo-philologique d'Helsingfors_ (1897, vol.
ii.); and Gaston Paris, "Le Paradis de la Reine Sibylle," and "La
Légende du Tannhäuser," in the _Revue de Paris_ (Dec. 1897 and March
1898).
LASALLE, ANTOINE CHEVALIER LOUIS COLLINET, COUNT (1775-1809), French
soldier, belonged to a noble family in Lorraine. His grandfather was
Abraham Fabert, marshal of France. Entering the French army at the age
of eleven, he had reached the rank of lieutenant when the Revolution
broke out. As an aristocrat, he lost his commission, but he enlisted in
the ranks, where his desperate bravery and innate power of command soon
distinguished him. By 1795 he had won back his grade, and was serving as
a staff-officer in the army of Italy. On one occasion, at Vicenza, he
rivalled Seydlitz's feat of leaping his horse over the parapet of a
bridge to avoid capture, and, later, in Egypt, he saved Davout's life in
action. By 1800 he had become colonel, and in one combat in that year he
had two horses killed under him, and broke seven swords. Five years
later, having attained the rank of general of brigade, he was present
with his brigade of light cavalry at Austerlitz. In the pursuit after
Jena in 1806, though he had but 600 hussars and not one piece of
artillery with him, he terrified the commandant of the strong fortress
of Stettin into surrender, a feat rarely equalled save by that of
Cromwell on Bletchingdon House. Made general of division for this
exploit, he was next in the Polish campaign, and at Heilsberg saved the
life of Murat, grand duke of Berg. When the Peninsular War began,
Lasalle was sent out with one of the cavalry divisions, and at Medina de
Rio Seco, Gamonal and Medellin broke every body of troops which he
charged. A year later, at the head of one of the cavalry divisions of
the _Grande Armée_ he took part in the Austrian war. At Wagram he was
killed at the head of his men. With the possible exception of Curély,
who was in 1809 still unknown, Napoleon never possessed a better leader
of light horse. Wild and irregular in his private life, Lasalle was far
more than a _beau sabreur_. To talent and experience he added that power
of feeling the pulse of the battle which is the true gift of a great
leader. A statue of him was erected in Lunéville in 1893. His remains
were brought from Austria to the Invalides in 1891.
LA SALLE, RENÉ ROBERT CAVELIER, SIEUR DE (1643-1687), French explorer in
North America, was born at Rouen on the 22nd of November 1643. He taught
for a time in a school (probably Jesuit) in France, and seems to have
forfeited his claim to his father's estate by his connexion with the
Jesuits. In 1666 he became a settler in Canada, whither his brother, a
Sulpician abbé, had preceded him. From the Seminary of St Sulpice in
Montreal La Salle received a grant on the St Lawrence about 8 m. above
Montreal, where he built a stockade and established a fur-trading post.
In 1669 he sold this post (partly to the Sulpicians who had granted it
to him) to raise funds for an expedition to China[1] by way of the
Ohio,[2] which he supposed, from the reports of the Indians, to flow
into the Pacific. He passed up the St Lawrence and through Lake Ontario
to a Seneca village on the Genesee river; thence with an Iroquois guide
he crossed the mouth of the Niagara (where he heard the noise of the
distant falls) to Ganastogue, an Iroquois colony at the head of Lake
Ontario, where he met Louis Joliet and received from him a map of parts
of the Great Lakes. La Salle's missionary comrades now gave up the quest
for China to preach among the Indians. La Salle discovered the Ohio
river, descended it at least as far as the site of Louisville, Kentucky,
and possibly, though not probably, to its junction with the Mississippi,
and in 1669-1670, abandoned by his few followers, made his way back to
Lake Erie. Apparently he passed through Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake
Michigan, and some way down the Illinois river. Little is known of these
explorations, for his journals are lost, and the description of his
travels rests only on the testimony of the anonymous author of a
_Histoire de M. de la Salle_. Before 1673 La Salle had returned to
Montreal. Becoming convinced, after the explorations of Marquette and
Joliet in 1673, that the Mississippi flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, he
conceived a vast project for exploring that river to its mouth and
extending the French power to the lower Mississippi Valley. He secured
the support of Count Frontenac, then governor of Canada, and in 1674 and
1677 visited France, obtaining from Louis XIV. on his first visit a
patent of nobility and a grant of lands about Fort Frontenac, on the
site of the present Kingston, Ontario, and on his second visit a patent
empowering him to explore the West at his own expense, and giving him
the buffalo-hide monopoly. Late in the year 1678, at the head of a small
party, he started from Fort Frontenac. He established a post above
Niagara Falls, where he spent the winter, and where, his vessel having
been wrecked, he built a larger ship, the "Griffon," in which he sailed
up the Great Lakes to Green Bay (Lake Michigan), where he arrived in
September 1679. Sending back the "Griffon" freighted with furs, by which
he hoped to satisfy the claims of his creditors, he proceeded to the
Illinois river, and near what is now Peoria, Illinois, built a fort,
which he called Fort Crèvecoeur. Thence he detached Father Hennepin,
with one companion, to explore the Illinois to its mouth, and, leaving
his lieutenant, Henri de Tonty (c. 1650-c. 1702),[3] with about fifteen
men, at Fort Crèvecoeur, he returned by land, afoot, to Canada to obtain
needed supplies, discovering the fate of the "Griffon" (which proved to
have been lost), thwarting the intrigues of his enemies and appeasing
his creditors. In July 1680 news reached him at Fort Frontenac that
nearly all Tonty's men had deserted, after destroying or appropriating
most of the supplies; and that twelve of them were on their way to kill
him as the surest means of escaping punishment. These he met and
captured or killed. He then returned to the Illinois, to find the
country devastated by the Iroquois, and his post abandoned. He formed a
league of the Western Indians to fight the Iroquois, then went to
Michilimackinac, where he found Tonty, proceeded again to Fort Frontenac
to obtain supplies and organize his expedition anew, and returned in
December 1681 to the Illinois. Passing down the Illinois to the
Mississippi, which he reached in February 1682, he floated down that
stream to its mouth, which he reached on the 9th of April, and, erecting
there a monument and a cross, took formal possession in the name of
Louis XIV., in whose honour he gave the name "Louisiana" to the region.
He then returned to Michilimackinac, whence, with Tonty, he went again
to the Illinois and established a fort, Fort St Louis, probably on
Starved Rock (near the present Ottawa, Illinois), around which nearly
20,000 Indians (Illinois, Miamis and others seeking protection from the
Iroquois) had been gathered. La Salle then went to Quebec, and La Barre,
who had succeeded Frontenac, being unfriendly to him, again visited
France (1684), where he succeeded in interesting the king in a scheme to
establish a fort at the mouth of the Mississippi and to seize the
Spanish posts in the vicinity. On the 24th of July 1684, with four
vessels under the command of himself and Captain Beaujeu, a naval
officer, he sailed from La Rochelle. Mistaking, it appears, the inlets
of Matagorda Bay (which La Salle called St Louis's Bay) in the present
state of Texas, for the mouth of an arm of the Mississippi, he landed
there, and Beaujeu, soon afterwards returned to France. The expedition
had met with various misfortunes; one vessel had been captured by the
Spaniards and another had been wrecked; and throughout La Salle and
Beaujeu had failed to work in harmony. Soon finding that he was not at
the mouth of the Mississippi, La Salle established a settlement and
built a fort, Fort St Louis, on the Lavaca (he called it La Vache)
river, and leaving there the greater part of his force, from October
1685 to March 1686 he vainly sought for the Mississippi. He also made
two attempts to reach the Illinois country and Canada, and during the
second, after two months of fruitless wanderings, he was assassinated,
on the 19th of March 1687, by several of his followers, near the Trinity
river in the present Texas.
His colony on the Lavaca, after suffering terribly from privation and
disease and being attacked by the Indians, was finally broken up, and a
force of Spaniards sent against it in 1689 found nothing but dead bodies
and a dismantled fort; the few survivors having become domesticated in
the Indian villages near by. Some writers, notably J. G. Shea, maintain
that La Salle never intended to fortify the mouth of the Mississippi,
but was instructed to establish an advanced post near the Spanish
possessions, where he was to await a powerful expedition under a
renegade Spaniard, Peñalosa, with whom he was to co-operate in expelling
the Spaniards from this part of the continent.[4]
La Salle was one of the greatest of the explorers in North America.
Besides discovering the Ohio and probably the Illinois, he was the first
to follow the Mississippi from its upper course to its mouth and thus to
establish the connexion between the discoveries of Radisson, Joliet and
Marquette in the north with those of De Soto in the south. He was stern,
indomitable and full of resource.
The best accounts of La Salle's explorations may be found in Francis
Parkman's _La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West_ (Boston,
1879; later revised editions), in Justin Winsor's _Cartier to
Frontenac_ (Boston, 1894), and in J. G. Shea's _Discovery and
Exploration of the Mississippi Valley_ (New York, 1852); see also P.
Chesnel, _Histoire de Cavelier de La Salle, explorations et conquête
du bassin du Mississippi_ (Paris, 1901). Of the early narratives see
Louis Hennepin, _Description de la Louisiane_ (1683); Joutel, _Journal
historique du dernier voyage que feu M. de la Salle fit dans le Golfe
de Mexique, &c._ (Paris, 1713); and Henri de Tonty, _Derniers
Découvertes dans l'Amérique septentrionale de M. de La Salle_ (Paris,
1697). Original narratives may be found, translated into English, in
_The Journeys of René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, as related
by his Faithful Lieutenant, Henri de Tonty, &c._ (2 vols., New York,
1905), edited by I. J. Cox; in Benjamin E. French's _Historical
Collections of Louisiana_ (6 series, New York, 1846-1853), and in
Shea's _Early Voyages Up and Down the Mississippi_ (Albany, 1861); and
an immense collection of documents relating to La Salle may be found
in Pierre Margry's _Découvertes et établissements des Français dans
l'ouest et dans le sud de l'Amérique septentrionale, 1614-1754;
Mémoires et documents originaux recueillis et publiés_ (6 vols.,
Paris, 1875-1886), especially in vol. ii. (C. C. W.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The name La Chine was sarcastically applied to La Salle's
settlement on the St Lawrence.
[2] The Iroquois seem to have used the name Ohio for the Mississippi,
or at least for its lower part; and this circumstance makes the story
of La Salle's exploration peculiarly difficult to disentangle.
[3] Tonty (or Tonti), an Italian, born at Gaeta, was La Salle's
principal lieutenant, and was the equal of his chief in intrepidity.
Before his association with La Salle he had engaged in military
service in Europe, during which he had lost a hand. He accompanied La
Salle to the mouth of the Mississippi, and was in command of Fort St
Louis from the time of its erection until 1702, except during his
journeys down the Mississippi in search of his chief. In 1702 he
joined d'Iberville in lower Louisiana, and soon after was despatched
on a mission to the Chickasaw Indians. This is the last authentic
trace of him.
[4] Although La Salle and Don Diego de Peñalosa (1624-1687) presented
to the French government independent plans for an expedition against
the Spaniards and Peñalosa afterwards proposed their co-operation,
there is no substantial evidence that this project was adopted.
Parkman is of the opinion that La Salle proposed his expedition
against the Spaniards in the hope that the conclusion of peace
between France and Spain would prevent its execution and that he
might then use the aid he had thus received in establishing a
fortified commercial colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. See E.
T. Miller, "The Connection of Peñalosa with the La Salle Expedition,"
in the _Quarterly_ of the Texas State Historical Association, vol. v.
(Austin, Tex., 1902).
LA SALLE, ST JEAN BAPTISTE DE (1651-1719), founder of the order of
Christian Brothers, was born at Reims. The son of a rich lawyer, his
father's influence early secured him a canonry in the cathedral; there
he established a school, where free elementary instruction was given to
poor children. The enterprise soon broadened in scope; a band of
enthusiastic assistants gathered round him; he resolved to resign his
canonry, and devote himself entirely to education. His assistants were
organized into a community, which gradually rooted itself all over
France; and a training-school for teachers, the Collège de Saint-Yon,
was set up at Rouen. In 1725, six years after the founder's death, the
society was recognized by the pope, under the official title of
"Brothers of the Christian Schools"; its members took the usual monastic
vows, but did not aspire to the priesthood. During the first hundred
years of its existence its activities were mainly confined to France;
during the 19th century it spread to most of the countries of western
Europe, and has been markedly successful in the United States. When La
Salle was canonized in 1900, the total number of brothers was estimated
at 15,000. Although the order has been chiefly concerned with elementary
schools, it undertakes most branches of secondary and technical
education; and it has served as a model for other societies, in Ireland
and elsewhere, slightly differing in character from the original
institute.
LA SALLE, a city of La Salle county, Illinois, U.S.A., on the Illinois
river, near the head of navigation, 99 m. S.W. of Chicago. Pop. (1900)
10,446, of whom 3471 were foreign-born; (1910 census) 11,537. The city
is served by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Chicago, Rock Island
& Pacific, and the Illinois Central railways, and by the Illinois &
Michigan Canal, of which La Salle is the western terminus. The city has
a public library. The principal industries are the smelting of zinc and
the manufacture of cement, rolled zinc, bricks, sulphuric acid and
clocks; in 1905 the city's factory products were valued at $3,158,173.
In the vicinity large quantities of coal are mined, for which the city
is an important shipping point. The municipality owns and operates the
waterworks and the electric lighting plant. The first settlement was
made here in 1830; and the place which was named in honour of the
explorer, René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was chartered as a
city in 1852 and rechartered in 1876.
LASAULX, ARNOLD CONSTANTIN PETER FRANZ VON (1839-1886), German
mineralogist and petrographer, was born at Castellaun near Coblenz on
the 14th of June 1839. He was educated at Berlin, where he took his Ph.
D. in 1868. In 1875 he became professor of mineralogy at Breslau, and in
1880 professor of mineralogy and geology at Bonn. He was distinguished
for his researches on minerals and on crystallography, and he was one of
the earlier workers on microscopic petrography. He described in 1878 the
eruptive rocks of the district of Saar and Moselle. In 1880 he edited
_Der Aetna_ from the MSS. of Dr W. Sartorius von Waltershausen, the
results of observations made between the years 1834-1869. He was author
of _Elemente der Petrographie_ (1875), _Einführung in die Gesteinslehre_
(1885), and _Précis de pétrographie_ (1887). He died at Bonn on the 25th
of January 1886.
LASCAR, the name in common use for all oriental, and especially Indian,
sailors, which has been adopted in England into the Merchant Shipping
Acts, though without any definition. It is derived from the Persian
_lashkar_ = army, or camp, in which sense it is still used in India,
e.g. Lashkar, originally the camp, now the permanent capital, of Sindhia
at Gwalior. It would seem to have been applied by the Portuguese, first
to an inferior class of men in military service (cf. "gun-lascars"), and
then to sailors as early as the 17th century. The form _askari_ on the
east coast of Africa, equivalent to "sepoy," comes from the Arabic
'_askar_ = army, which is believed to be itself taken from the Persian.
LASCARIS, CONSTANTINE (d. 1493 or 1500), Greek scholar and grammarian,
one of the promoters of the revival of Greek learning in Italy, was born
at Constantinople. He was a member of the noble Bithynian family, which
had furnished three emperors of Nicaea during the 13th century. After
the fall of Constantinople in 1453, he took refuge first in Corfu and
then in Italy, where Francesco Sforza, duke of Milan, appointed him
Greek tutor to his daughter. Here was published his _Grammatica Graeca,
sive compendium octo orationis partium_, remarkable as being the first
book entirely in Greek issued from the printing press. After leaving
Milan, Lascaris taught in Rome under the patronage of Cardinal
Bessarion, and in Naples, whither he had been summoned by Ferdinand I.
to deliver a course of lectures on Greece. Ultimately, on the invitation
of the inhabitants, he settled in Messina, Sicily, where he continued to
teach publicly until his death. Among his numerous pupils here was
Pietro Bembo. Lascaris bequeathed his library of valuable MSS. to the
senate of Messina; the collection was afterwards carried to Spain and
lodged in the Escurial.
The _Grammatica_, which has often been reprinted, is the only work of
value produced by Lascaris. Some of his letters are given by J.
Iriarte in the _Regiae Bibliothecae Matritensis codices Graeci
manuscripti_, i. (Madrid, 1769). His name is known to modern readers
in the romance of A. F. Villemain, _Lascaris, ou les Grecs du
quinzième siècle_ (1825). See also J. E. Sandys, _Hist. Class.
Schol._, ed. 2, vol. ii. (1908), pp. 76 foll.
LASCARIS, JOANNES [JOHN], or JANUS (c. 1445-1535), Greek scholar,
probably the younger brother of Constantine Lascaris, surnamed
Rhyndacenus from the river Rhyndacus in Bithynia, his native province.
After the fall of Constantinople he was taken to the Peloponnese, thence
to Crete, and ultimately found refuge in Florence at the court of
Lorenzo de' Medici, whose intermediary he was with the sultan Bayezid
II. in the purchase of Greek MSS. for the Medicean library. On the
expulsion of the Medici from Florence, at the invitation of Charles
VIII. of France, Lascaris removed to Paris (1495), where he gave public
instruction in Greek. By Louis XII. he was several times employed on
public missions, amongst others to Venice (1503-1508), and in 1515 he
appears to have accepted the invitation of Leo X. to take charge of the
Greek college he had founded at Rome. We afterwards (1518) find Lascaris
employed along with Budaeus (Budé) by Francis I. in the formation of the
royal library at Fontainebleau, and also again sent in the service of
the French crown to Venice. He died at Rome, whither he had been
summoned by Pope Paul III., in 1535. Among his pupils was Musurus.
Amongst other works, Lascaris edited or wrote: _Anthologia
epigrammatum Graecorum_ (1494), in which he ascribed the collection of
the Anthology to Agathias, not to Planudes; _Didymi Alexandrini
scholia in Iliadem_ (1517); Porphyrius of Tyre's _Homericarum
quaestionum liber_ (1518); _De veris Graecarum litterarum formis ac
causis apud antiquos_ (Paris, 1556). See H. Hody, _De Graecis
illustribus_ (London, 1742); W. Roscoe, _Life of Leo X._ ii. (1846);
C. F. Börner, _De doctis hominibus Graecis_ (Leipzig, 1750); A.
Horawitz in Ersch & Gruber's _Allgemeine Encyclopädie_; J. E. Sandys,
_Hist. Class. Schol._, ed. 2, vols. ii. (1908), p. 78.
LAS CASAS, BARTOLOMÉ DE (1474-1566), for some time bishop of Chiapa in
Mexico, and known to posterity as "The Apostle of the Indies," was a
native of Seville. His father, one of the companions of Columbus in the
voyage which resulted in the discovery of the New World, sent him to
Salamanca, where he graduated. In 1498 he accompanied his father in an
expedition under Columbus to the West Indies, and in 1502 he went with
Nicolás de Ovando, the governor, to Hayti, where in 1510 he was admitted
to holy orders, being the first priest ordained in the American
colonies. In 1511 he passed over to Cuba to take part in the work of
"population and pacification," and in 1513 or 1514 he witnessed and
vainly endeavoured to check the massacre of Indians at Caonao. Soon
afterwards there was assigned to him and his friend Renteria a large
village in the neighbourhood of Zagua, with a number of Indians attached
to it in what was known as _repartimiento_ (allotment); like the rest of
his countrymen he made the most of this opportunity for growing rich,
but occasionally celebrated mass and preached. Soon, however, having
become convinced of the injustice connected with the _repartimiento_
system, he began to preach against it, at the same time giving up his
own slaves. With the consent of his partner he resolved to go to Spain
on behalf of the oppressed natives, and the result of his
representations was that in 1516 Cardinal Jimenes caused a commission to
be sent out for the reform of abuses, Las Casas himself, with the title
of "protector of the Indians," being appointed to advise and report on
them. This commission had not been long at San Domingo before Las Casas
perceived the indifference of his coadjutors to the cause which he
himself had at heart, and July 1517 found him again in Spain, where he
developed his scheme for the complete liberation of the Indians--a
scheme which not only included facilities for emigration from Spain, but
was intended to give to each Spanish resident in the colonies the right
of importing twelve negro slaves. The emigration movement proved a
failure, and Las Casas lived long enough to express his shame for having
been so slow to see that Africans were as much entitled to freedom as
were the natives of the New World. Overwhelmed with disappointment, he
retired to the Dominican monastery in Haiti; he joined the order in 1522
and devoted eight years to study. About 1530 he appears to have
revisited the Spanish court, but on what precise errand is not known;
the confusion concerning this period of his life extends to the time
when, after visits to Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Guatemala, he
undertook an expedition in 1537 into Tuzulutlan, the inhabitants of
which were, chiefly through his tact, peaceably converted to
Christianity, mass being celebrated for the first time amongst them in
the newly founded town of Rabinal in 1538. In 1539 Las Casas was sent to
Spain to obtain Dominican recruits, and through Loaysa, general of the
order, and confessor of Charles V., he was successful in obtaining royal
orders and letters favouring his enterprise. During this stay in Europe,
which lasted more than four years, he visited Germany to see the
emperor; he also (1542) wrote his _Veynte Razones_, in defence of the
liberties of the Indians and the _Brevisima Relacion de la Destruycion
des las Indias occidentales_, the latter of which was published some
twelve years later. In 1543 he refused the Mexican bishopric of Cuzco,
but was prevailed upon to accept that of Chiapa, for which he sailed in
1544. Thwarted at every point by the officials, and outraged by his
countrymen in his attempt to carry out the new laws which his humanity
had procured, he returned to Spain and resigned his dignity (1547). In
1550 he met Sepúlveda in public debate on the theses drawn from the
recently published _Apologia pro libro de justis belli causis_, in which
the latter had maintained the lawfulness of waging unprovoked war upon
the natives of the New World. The course of the discussion may be traced
in the account of the _Disputa_ contained in the _Obras_ (1552). In 1565
Las Casas successfully remonstrated with Philip II. against the
financial project for selling the reversion of the _encomiendas_--a
project which would have involved the Indians in hopeless bondage. In
July of the following year he died at Madrid, whither he had gone to
urge (and with success) the necessity of restoring a court of justice
which had been suppressed in Guatemala. His _Historia de las Indias_ was
not published till 1875-1876.
Sir Arthur Helps' _Life of Las Casas_ (London, 1868) has not been
superseded; but see also F. A. MacNutt, _Bartholomew de Las Casas_
(1909).
LAS CASES, EMMANUEL AUGUSTIN DIEUDONNÉ MARIN JOSEPH, MARQUIS
(1766-1842), French official, was born at the castle of Las Cases near
Revel in Languedoc. He was educated at the military schools of Vendôme
and Paris; he entered the navy and took part in various engagements of
the years 1781-1782. The outbreak of the Revolution in 1789 caused him
to "emigrate," and he spent some years in Germany and England, sharing
in the disastrous Quiberon expedition (1795). He was one of the few
survivors and returned to London, where he lived in poverty. He returned
to France during the Consulate with other royalists who rallied to the
side of Napoleon, and stated afterwards to the emperor that he was
"conquered by his glory." Not until 1810 did he receive much notice from
Napoleon, who then made him a chamberlain and created him a count of the
empire (he was marquis by hereditary right). After the first abdication
of the emperor (11th of April 1814), Las Cases retired to England, but
returned to serve Napoleon during the Hundred Days. The second
abdication opened up for Las Cases the most noteworthy part of his
career. He withdrew with the ex-emperor and a few other trusty followers
to Rochefort; and it was Las Cases who first proposed and strongly urged
the emperor to throw himself on the generosity of the British nation.
Las Cases made the first overtures to Captain Maitland of H.M.S.
"Bellerophon" and received a guarded reply, the nature of which he
afterwards misrepresented. Las Cases accompanied the ex-emperor to St
Helena and acted informally but very assiduously as his secretary,
taking down numerous notes of his conversations which thereafter took
form in the famous _Mémorial de Ste Hélène_. The limits of this article
preclude an attempt at assessing the value of this work. It should be
read with great caution, as the compiler did not scruple to insert his
own thoughts and to colour the expressions of his master. In some cases
he misstated facts and even fabricated documents. It is far less
trustworthy than the record penned by Gourgaud in his _Journal_.
Disliked by Montholon and Gourgaud, Las Cases seems to have sought an
opportunity to leave the island when he had accumulated sufficient
literary material. However that may be, he infringed the British
regulations in such a way as to lead to his expulsion by the governor,
Sir Hudson Lowe (November, 1816). He was sent first to the Cape of Good
Hope and thence to Europe, but was not at first allowed by the
government of Louis XVIII. to enter France. He resided at Brussels; but,
gaining permission to come to Paris after the death of Napoleon, he took
up his residence there, published the _Mémorial_, and soon gained an
enormous sum from it. He died in 1842 at Passy.
See _Mémoires de E. A. D., comte de Las Cases_ (Brussels, 1818);
_Mémorial de Ste Hélène_ (4 vols., London and Paris, 1823; often
republished and translated); _Suite au mémorial de Ste Hélène, ou
observations critiques_, &c. (2 vols., Paris, 1824), anonymous, but
known to be by Grille and Musset-Pathay. See too GOURGAUD, MONTHOLON,
and LOWE, SIR HUDSON. (J. Hl. R.)
LASHIO, the headquarters of the superintendent, northern Shan States,
Burma, situated in 22° 56´ N. and 97° 45´ E. at an altitude of 3100 ft.,
on a low spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao. It is the present
terminus of the Mandalay-Kun Long railway and of the government cart
road from Mandalay, from which it is 178 m. distant. It consists of the
European station, with court house and quarters for the civil officers;
the military police post, the headquarters of the Lashio battalion of
military police; the native station, in which the various nationalities,
Shans, Burmans, Hindus and Mahommedans, are divided into separate
quarters, with reserves for government servants and for the temporary
residences of the five sawbwas of the northern Shan States; and a
bazaar. Under Burmese rule Lashio was also the centre of authority for
the northern Shan States, but the Burmese post in the valley was close
to the Nam Yao, in an old Chinese fortified camp. The Lashio valley was
formerly very populous; but a rebellion, started by the sawbwa of
Hsenwi, about ten years before the British occupation, ruined it, and it
is only slowly approaching the prosperity it formerly enjoyed; pop.
(1901) 2565. The annual rainfall averages 54 in. The average maximum
temperature is 80.5° and the average minimum 55.5°.
LASKER, EDUARD (1829-1884), German publicist, was born on the 14th of
October 1829, at Jarotschin, a village in Posen, being the son of a
Jewish tradesman. He attended the gymnasium, and afterwards the
university of Breslau. In 1848, after the outbreak of the revolution, he
went to Vienna and entered the students' legion which took so prominent
a part in the disturbances; he fought against the imperial troops during
the siege of the city in October. He then continued his legal studies at
Breslau and Berlin, and after a visit of three years to England, then
the model state for German liberals, entered the Prussian judicial
service. In 1870 he left the government service, and in 1873 was
appointed to an administrative post in the service of the city of
Berlin. He had been brought to the notice of the political world by some
articles he wrote from 1861 to 1864, which were afterwards published
under the title _Zur Verfassungsgeschichte Preussens_ (Leipzig, 1874),
and in 1865 he was elected member for one of the divisions of Berlin in
the Prussian parliament. He joined the radical or _Fortschritts_ party,
and in 1867 was also elected to the German parliament, but he helped to
form the national liberal party, and in consequence lost his seat in
Berlin, which remained faithful to the radicals; after this he
represented Magdeburg and Frankfort-on-Main in the Prussian, and
Meiningen in the German, parliament. He threw himself with great energy
into his parliamentary duties, and quickly became one of its most
popular and most influential members. An optimist and idealist, he
joined to a fervent belief in liberty an equal enthusiasm for German
unity and the idea of the German state. His motion that Baden should be
included in the North German Confederation in January 1870 caused much
embarrassment to Bismarck, but was not without effect in hastening the
crisis of 1870. His great work, however, was the share he took in the
judicial reform during the ten years 1867-1877. To him more than to any
other single individual is due the great codification of the law. While
he again and again was able to compel the government to withdraw or
amend proposals which seemed dangerous to liberty, he opposed those
liberals who, unable to obtain all the concessions which they called
for, refused to vote for the new laws as a whole. A speech made by
Lasker on the 7th of February 1873, in which he attacked the management
of the Pomeranian railway, caused a great sensation, and his exposure of
the financial mismanagement brought about the fall of Hermann Wagener,
one of Bismarck's most trusted assistants. By this action he caused,
however, some embarrassment to his party. This is generally regarded as
the beginning of the reaction against economic liberalism by which he
and his party were to be deprived of their influence. He refused to
follow Bismarck in his financial and economic policy after 1878; always
unsympathetic to the chancellor, he was now selected for his most bitter
attacks. Between the radicals and socialists on the one side and the
government on the other, like many of his friends, he was unable to
maintain himself. In 1879 he lost his seat in the Prussian parliament;
he joined the _Sezession_, but was ill at ease in his new position.
Broken in health and spirits by the incessant labours of the time when
he did "half the work of the Reichstag," he went in 1883 for a tour in
America, and died suddenly in New York on the 5th of January 1884.
Lasker's death was the occasion of a curious episode, which caused
much discussion at the time. The American House of Representatives
adopted a motion of regret, and added to it these words: "That his
loss is not alone to be mourned by the people of his native land,
where his firm and constant exposition of, and devotion to, free and
liberal ideas have materially advanced the social, political and
economic conditions of these people, but by the lovers of liberty
throughout the world." This motion was sent through the American
minister at Berlin to the German foreign office, with a request that
it might be communicated to the president of the Reichstag. It was to
ask Bismarck officially to communicate a resolution in which a foreign
parliament expressed an opinion in German affairs exactly opposed to
that which the emperor at his advice had always followed. Bismarck
therefore refused to communicate the resolution, and returned it
through the German minister at Washington.
Among Lasker's writings may be mentioned: _Zur Geschichte der
parlamentarischen Entwickelung Preussens_ (Leipzig, 1873), _Die
Zukunft des Deutschen Reichs_ (Leipzig, 1877) and _Wege und Ziele der_
_Kulturentwickelung_ (Leipzig, 1881). After his death his _Fünfzehn
Jahre parlamentarischer Geschichte 1866-1880_ appeared edited by W.
Cahn (Berlin, 1902). See also L. Bamberger, _Eduard Lasker,
Gedenkrede_ (Leipzig, 1884); A. Wolff, _Zur Erinnerung an Eduard
Lasker_ (Berlin, 1884); Freund, _Einiges über Eduard Lasker_ (Leipzig,
1885); and _Eduard Lasker, seine Biographie und letzte öffentliche
Rede_, by various writers (Stuttgart, 1884). (J. W. He.)
LASKI, the name of a noble and powerful Polish family, is taken from the
town of Lask, the seat of their lordship.
JAN LASKI, the elder (1456-1531), Polish statesman and ecclesiastic,
appears to have been largely self-taught and to have owed everything to
the remarkable mental alertness which was hereditary in the Laski
family. He took orders betimes, and in 1495 was secretary to the Polish
chancellor Zawisza Kurozwecki, in which position he acquired both
influence and experience. The aged chancellor entrusted the sharp-witted
young ecclesiastic with the conduct of several important missions.
Twice, in 1495 and again in 1500, he was sent to Rome, and once on a
special embassy to Flanders, of which he has left an account. On these
occasions he had the opportunity of displaying diplomatic talent of a
high order. On the accession to the Polish throne in 1501 of the
indolent Alexander, who had little knowledge of Polish affairs and
chiefly resided in Lithuania, Laski was appointed by the senate the
king's secretary, in which capacity he successfully opposed the growing
separatist tendencies of the grand-duchy and maintained the influence of
Catholicism, now seriously threatened there by the Muscovite propaganda.
So struck was the king by his ability that on the death of the Polish
chancellor in 1503 he passed over the vice-chancellor Macics Dzewicki
and confided the great seal to Laski. As chancellor Laski supported the
_szlachta_, or country-gentlemen, against the lower orders, going so far
as to pass an edict excluding henceforth all plebeians from the higher
benefices of the church. Nevertheless he approved himself such an
excellent public servant that the new king, Sigismund I., made him one
of his chief counsellors. In 1511 the chancellor, who ecclesiastically
was still only a canon of Cracow, obtained the coveted dignity of
archbishop of Gnesen which carried with it the primacy of the Polish
church. In the long negotiations with the restive and semi-rebellious
Teutonic Order, Laski rendered Sigismund most important political
services, proposing as a solution of the question that Sigismund should
be elected grand master, while he, Laski, should surrender the primacy
to the new candidate of the knights, Albert of Brandenburg, a solution
which would have been far more profitable to Poland than the ultimate
settlement of 1525. In 1513 Laski was sent to the Lateran council,
convened by Pope Julius II., to plead the cause of Poland against the
knights, where both as an orator and as a diplomatist he brilliantly
distinguished himself. This mission was equally profitable to his
country and himself, and he succeeded in obtaining from the pope for the
archbishops of Gnesen the title of _legati nati_. In his old age Laski's
partiality for his nephew, Hieronymus, led him to support the
candidature of John Zapolya, the protégé of the Turks, for the Hungarian
crown so vehemently against the Habsburgs that Clement VII.
excommunicated him, and the shock of this disgrace was the cause of his
sudden death in 1531. Of his numerous works the most noteworthy are his
collection of Polish statutes entitled: _Statuta provinciae gnesnensis
antiqua, &c._ (Cracow, 1525-1528) and _De Ruthenorum nationibus eorumque
erroribus_, printed at Nuremberg.
See Heinrich R. von Zeissberg, _Joh. Laski, Erzbischof in Gnesen_
(Vienna, 1874); and Jan Korytkowski, _Jan Laski, Archbishop of Gnesen_
(Gnesen, 1880).
HIERONYMUS JAROSLAW LASKI (1496-1542), Polish diplomatist, nephew of
Archbishop Laski, was successively palatine of Inowroclaw and of
Sieradia. His first important mission was to Paris in 1524, ostensibly
to contract an anti-Turkish league with the French king, but really to
bring about a matrimonial alliance between the dauphin, afterwards Henry
II., and the daughter of King Sigismund I., a project which failed
through no fault of Laski's. The collapse of the Hungarian monarchy at
Mohacs (1526) first opened up a wider career to Laski's adventurous
activity. Contrary to the wishes of his own sovereign, Sigismund I.,
whose pro-Austrian policy he detested, Laski entered the service of John
Zapolya, the Magyar competitor for the Hungarian throne, thereby
seriously compromising Poland both with the emperor and the pope.
Zapolya despatched him on an embassy to Paris, Copenhagen and Munich for
help, but on his return he found his patron a refugee in Transylvania,
whither he had retired after his defeat by the German king Ferdinand I.
at Tokay in 1527. In his extremity Zapolya placed himself under the
protection of the sultan, Laski being sent to Constantinople as his
intermediary. On his way thither he was attacked and robbed of
everything, including his credentials and the rich presents without
which no negotiations were deemed possible at the Porte. But Laski was
nothing if not audacious. Proceeding on his way to the Turkish capital
empty-handed, he nevertheless succeeded in gaining the confidence of
Gritti, the favourite of the grand vizier, and ultimately persuaded the
sultan to befriend Zapolya and to proclaim him king of Hungary. He went
still further, and without the slightest authority for his action
concluded a ten years' truce between his old master King Sigismund of
Poland and the Porte. He then returned to Hungary at the head of 10,000
men, with whose aid he enabled Zapolya to re-establish his position and
defeat Ferdinand at Saros-Patak. He was rewarded with the countship of
Zips and the governor-generalship of Transylvania. But his influence
excited the jealousy of the Magyars, and Zapolya was persuaded to
imprison him. On being released by the interposition of the Polish grand
hetman, Tarnowski, he became the most violent opponent of Zapolya.
Shortly after his return to Poland, Laski died suddenly at Cracow,
probably poisoned by one of his innumerable enemies.
See Alexander Hirschberg, _Hieronymus Laski_ (Pol.) (Lemberg, 1888).
JAN LASKI, the younger (1499-1560), also known as _Johannes a Lasco_,
Polish reformer, son of Jaroslaw (d. 1523), voivode of Sieradia and
nephew of the famous Archbishop Laski. During his academical course
abroad he made the acquaintance of Zwingli and Erasmus and returned to
Poland in 1526 saturated with the new doctrines. Nevertheless he took
orders, and owing to the influence of his uncle obtained the bishopric
of Veszprem in Hungary from King John Zapolya, besides holding a canonry
of Cracow and the office of royal secretary. In 1531 he resigned all his
benefices rather than give up a woman whom he had secretly married, and
having incurred general reprobation and the lasting displeasure of his
uncle the archbishop, he fled to Germany, where ultimately (1543) he
adopted the Augsburg Confession. For the next thirteen years Laski was a
wandering apostle of the new doctrines. He was successively
superintendent at Emden and in Friesland, passed from thence to London
where he became a member of the so-called _ecclesia peregrinorum_, a
congregation of foreign Protestants exiled in consequence of the
Augsburg Interim of 1548 and, on being expelled by Queen Mary, took
refuge first in Denmark and subsequently at Frankfort-on-Main, where he
was greatly esteemed. From Frankfort he addressed three letters (printed
at Basel) to King Sigismund, Augustus, and the Polish gentry and people,
urging the conversion of Poland to Protestantism. In 1556, during the
brief triumph of the anti-catholics, he returned to his native land,
took part in the synod of Brzesc, and published a number of polemical
works, the most noteworthy of which were _Forma ac ratio tota
ecclesiastici ministerii in peregrinorum Ecclesiae instituta_ (Pinczow,
1560), and in Polish, _History of the Cruel Persecution of the Church of
God in 1567_, republished in his _Opera_, edited by A. Kuyper at
Amsterdam in 1866. He died at Pinczow in January 1560 and was buried
with great pomp by the Polish Protestants, who also struck a medal in
his honour. Twice married, he left two sons and two daughters. His
nephew (?) Albert Laski, who visited England in 1583, wasted a fortune
in aid of Dr Dee's craze for the "philosopher's stone." Laski's writings
are important for the organization of the _ecclesia peregrinorum_, and
he was concerned in the Polish version of the Bible, not published till
1563.
See H. Dalton, _Johannes a Lasco_ (1881), English version of the
earlier portion by J. Evans (1886); Bartels, _Johannes a Lasco_
(1860); Harboe, _Schicksale des Johannes a Lasco_ (1758); R. Wallace,
_Antitrinitarian Biography_ (1850); Bonet-Maury, _Early Sources of
Eng. Unit. Christianity_ (1884); W. A. J. Archbold in _Dict. Nat.
Biog._ (1892) under "Laski," George Pascal, _Jean de Lasco_ (Paris,
1894); _Life_ in Polish by Antoni Walewski (Warsaw, 1872); and Julian
Bukowski, _History of the Reformation in Poland_ (Pol.) (Cracow,
1883). (R. N. B.)
LAS PALMAS, the capital of the Spanish island of Grand Canary, in the
Canary archipelago, and of an administrative district which also
comprises the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura; on the east coast,
in 28° 7´ N. and 5° 24´ W. Pop. (1900) 44,517. Las Palmas is the largest
city in the Canary Islands, of which it was the capital until 1833. It
is the seat of a court of appeal, of a brigadier, who commands the
military forces in the district, of a civil lieutenant-governor, who is
independent of the governor-general except in connexion with elections
and municipal administration, and of a bishop, who is subordinate to the
archbishop of Seville. The palms from which the city derives its name
are still characteristic of the fertile valley which it occupies. Las
Palmas is built on both banks of a small river, and although parts of it
date from the 16th century, it is on the whole a clean and modern city,
well drained, and supplied with pure water, conveyed by an aqueduct from
the highlands of the interior. Its principal buildings include a
handsome cathedral, founded in the 16th century but only completed in
the 19th, a theatre, a museum, an academy of art, and several hospitals
and good schools. The modern development of Las Palmas is largely due to
the foreign merchants, and especially to the British who control the
greater portion of the local commerce. La Luz, the port, is connected
with Las Palmas by a railway 4 m. long; it is a free port and harbour of
refuge, officially considered the third in importance of Spanish ports,
but actually the first in the matter of tonnage. It is strongly
fortified. The harbour, protected by the promontory of La Isleta, which
is connected with the mainland by a narrow bar of sand, can accommodate
the largest ships, and affords secure anchorage in all weathers. Ships
can discharge at the breakwater (1257 yds. long) or at the Santa
Catalina mole, constructed in 1883-1902. The minimum depth of water
alongside the quays is 4½ ft. There are floating water-tanks, numerous
lighters, titan and other cranes, repairing workshops, and very large
supplies of coal afloat and ashore. La Luz is one of the principal
Atlantic coaling stations, and the coal-trade is entirely in British
hands. Other important industries are shipbuilding, fishing, and the
manufacture of glass, leather and hats. The chief exports are fruit,
vegetables, sugar, wine and cochineal; coal, iron, cement, timber,
petroleum, manure, textiles and provisions are the chief imports. (See
also CANARY ISLANDS.)
LASSALLE, FERDINAND (1825-1864), German socialist, was born at Breslau
on the 11th of April 1825, of Jewish extraction. His father, a
prosperous merchant in Breslau, intended Ferdinand for a business
career, and sent him to the commercial school at Leipzig; but the boy
got himself transferred to the university, first at Breslau, and
afterwards at Berlin. His favourite studies were philology and
philosophy; he became an ardent Hegelian. Having completed his
university studies in 1845, he began to write a work on Heraclitus from
the Hegelian point of view; but it was soon interrupted by more stirring
interests, and did not see the light for many years. It was in Berlin,
towards the end of 1845, that he met the lady with whom his life was to
be associated in so remarkable a way, the Countess Hatzfeldt. She had
been separated from her husband for many years, and was at feud with him
on questions of property and the custody of their children. Lassalle
attached himself to the cause of the countess, whom he believed to have
been outrageously wronged, made special study of law, and, after
bringing the case before thirty-six tribunals, reduced the powerful
count to a compromise on terms most favourable to his client. The
process, which lasted ten years, gave rise to not a little scandal,
especially that of the _Cassettengeschichte_ which pursued Lassalle all
the rest of his life. This "affair of the casket" arose out of an
attempt by the countess's friends to get possession of a bond for a
large life annuity settled by the count on his mistress, a Baroness
Meyendorf, to the prejudice of the countess and her children. Two of
Lassalle's comrades succeeded in carrying off the casket, which
contained the lady's jewels, from the baroness's room at an hotel in
Cologne. They were prosecuted for theft, one of them being condemned to
six months' imprisonment. Lassalle, accused of moral complicity, was
acquitted on appeal. He was not so fortunate in 1849, when he underwent
a year's durance for resistance to the authorities of Düsseldorf during
the troubles of that stormy period. But going to prison was a familiar
experience in Lassalle's life. Till 1859 Lassalle resided mostly in the
Rhine country, prosecuting the suit of the countess, finishing the work
on Heraclitus, which was not published till 1858, taking little part in
political agitation, but ever a helpful friend of the working men. He
was not allowed to live in Berlin because of his connexion with the
disturbances of '48. In 1859, however, he entered the city disguised as
a carter, and, through the influence of Humboldt with the king, got
permission to stay there. The same year he published a remarkable
pamphlet on the _Italian War and the Mission of Prussia_, in which he
warned his countrymen against going to the rescue of Austria in her war
with France. He pointed out that if France drove Austria out of Italy
she might annex Savoy, but could not prevent the restoration of Italian
unity under Victor Emmanuel. France was doing the work of Germany by
weakening Austria; Prussia should form an alliance with France to drive
out Austria and make herself supreme in Germany. After their realization
by Bismarck these ideas have become sufficiently commonplace; but they
were nowise obvious when thus published by Lassalle. In 1861 he
published a great work in two volumes, _System der erworbenen Rechte_
(_System of Acquired Rights_).
Now began the short-lived activity which was to give him an historical
significance. It was early in 1862, when the struggle of Bismarck with
the Prussian liberals was already begun. Lassalle, a democrat of the
most advanced type, saw that an opportunity had come for asserting a
third great cause--that of the working men--which would outflank the
liberalism of the middle classes, and might even command the sympathy of
the government. His political programme was, however, entirely
subordinate to the social, that of bettering the condition of the
working classes, for which he believed the schemes of Schulze-Delitzsch
were utterly inadequate. Lassalle flung himself into the career of
agitator with his accustomed vigour. His worst difficulties were with
the working men themselves, among whom he met the most discouraging
apathy. His mission as organizer and emancipator of the working class
lasted only two years and a half. In that period he issued about twenty
separate publications, most of them speeches and pamphlets, but one of
them, that against Schulze-Delitzsch, a considerable treatise, and all
full of keen and vigorous thought. He founded the "Allgemeiner Deutscher
Arbeiterverein," was its president and almost single-handed champion,
conducted its affairs, and carried on a vast correspondence, not to
mention about a dozen state prosecutions in which he was during that
period involved. Berlin, Leipzig, Frankfort and the industrial centres
on the Rhine were the chief scenes of his activity. His greatest success
was on the Rhine, where in the summers of 1863 and 1864 his travels as
missionary of the new gospel resembled a triumphal procession. The
agitation was growing rapidly, but he had achieved little substantial
success when a most unworthy death closed his career.
While posing as the messiah of the poor, Lassalle was a man of decidedly
fashionable and luxurious habits. His suppers were well known as among
the most exquisite in Berlin. It was the most piquant feature of his
life that he, one of the gilded youth, a connoisseur in wines, and a
learned man to boot, had become agitator and the champion of the working
man. In one of the literary and fashionable circles of Berlin he had met
a Fräulein von Dönniges, for whom he at once felt a passion, which was
ardently reciprocated. In the summer of 1864 he met her again on the
Rigi, when they resolved to marry. She was a young lady of twenty,
decidedly unconventional and original in character, but the daughter of
a Bavarian diplomatist then resident at Geneva, who would have nothing
to do with Lassalle. The lady was imprisoned in her own room, and soon,
apparently under the influence of very questionable pressure, renounced
Lassalle in favour of another admirer, a Wallachian, Count von
Racowitza. Lassalle sent a challenge both to the lady's father and her
betrothed, which was accepted by the latter. At the Carouge, a suburb of
Geneva, the meeting took place on the morning of August 28, 1864, when
Lassalle was mortally wounded, and he died on the 31st of August. In
spite of such a foolish ending, his funeral was that of a martyr, and by
many of his adherents he has been regarded since with feelings almost of
religious devotion.
Lassalle did not lay claim to any special originality as a socialistic
thinker, nor did he publish any systematic statement of his views. Yet
his leading ideas are sufficiently clear and simple. Like a true
Hegelian he saw three stages in the development of labour: the ancient
and feudal period, which, through the subjection of the labourer,
sought solidarity without freedom; the reign of capital and the middle
classes, established in 1789, which sought freedom by destroying
solidarity; and the new era, beginning in 1848, which would reconcile
solidarity with freedom by introducing the principle of association.
It was the basis and starting-point of his opinions that, under the
empire of capital and so long as the working man was merely a receiver
of wages, no improvement in his condition could be expected. This
position he founded on the law of wages formulated by Ricardo, and
accepted by all the leading economists, that wages are controlled by
the ordinary relations of supply and demand, that a rise in wages
leads to an increase in the labouring population, which, by increasing
the supply of labour, is followed by a corresponding fall of wages.
Thus population increases or decreases in fixed relation to the rise
or fall of wages. The condition of the working man will never
permanently rise above the mere standard of living required for his
subsistence, and the continued supply of his kind. Lassalle held that
the co-operative schemes of Schulze-Delitzsch on the principle of
"self-help" were utterly inadequate, for the obvious reason that the
working classes were destitute of capital. The struggle of the working
man helping himself with his empty pockets against the capitalists he
compared to a battle with teeth and nails against modern artillery. In
short, Lassalle accepted the orthodox political economy to show that
the inevitable operation of its laws left no hope for the working
classes, and that no remedy could be found but by abolishing the
conditions in which these laws had their validity--in other words, by
abolishing the present relations of labour and capital altogether. And
this could only be done by the productive association of the working
men with money provided by the state. And he held that such
association should be the voluntary act of the working men, the
government merely reserving the right to examine the books of the
various societies. All the arrangements should be carried out
according to the rules of business usually followed in such
transactions. But how move the government to grant such a loan? Simply
by introducing (direct) universal suffrage. The working men were an
overwhelming majority; they were the state, and should control the
government. The aim of Lassalle, then, was to organize the working
classes into a great political power, which in the way thus indicated,
by peaceful resolute agitation, without violence or insurrection,
might attain the goal of productive association. In this way the
fourth estate would be emancipated from the despotism of the
capitalist, and a great step taken in the solution of the great
"social question."
It will be seen that the net result of Lassalle's life was to produce
a European scandal, and to originate a socialistic movement in
Germany, which, at the election of 1903, returned to the Reichstag
eighty-one members and polled 3,010,771 votes, and at the election of
1907 returned forty-three members and polled 3,258,968 votes. (The
diminution in the number of members returned in 1907 was due mostly to
combination among the different political groups.) This result, great
as it was, would hardly have been commensurate with his ambition,
which was boundless. In the heyday of his passion for Fräulein von
Dönniges, his dream was to be enthroned as the president of the German
republic with her seated at his side. With his energy, ability and
gift of dominating and organizing, he might indeed have done a great
deal. Bismarck coquetted with him as the representative of a force
that might help him to combat the Prussian liberals; in 1878, in a
speech before the Reichstag, he spoke of him with deep respect, as a
man of the greatest amiability and ability from whom much could be
learned. Even Bishop Ketteler of Mainz had declared his sympathy for
the cause he advocated.
Lassalle's _Die Philosophie Herakleitos des Dunklen von Ephesos_
(Berlin, 1858), and the _System der erworbenen Rechte_ (Leipzig, 1861)
are both marked by great learning and intellectual power. But of far
more historical interest are the speeches and pamphlets connected with
his socialistic agitation, of which the most important are--_Ueber
Verfassungswesen_; _Arbeiterprogramm_; _Offenes Antwortschreiben_;
_Zur Arbeiterfrage_; _Arbeiterlesebuch_; _Herr Bastiat-Schulze von
Delitzsch, oder Kapital und Arbeit_. His drama, _Franz von Sickingen_,
published in 1859, is a work of no poetic value. His _Collected Works_
were issued at Leipzig in 1899-1901.
The best biography of Lassalle is H. Oncken's _Lassalle_ (Stuttgart,
1904); another excellent work on his life and writings is George
Brandes's Danish work, _Ferdinand Lassalle_ (German translation, 4th
ed., Leipzig, 1900). See also A. Aaberg, _Ferdinand Lassalle_
(Leipzig, 1883); C. v. Plener, _Lassalle_ (Leipzig, 1884); G. Meyer,
_Lassalle als Sozialökonom_ (Berlin, 1894); Brandt, _F. Lassalles
sozialökonomische Anschauungen und praktische Vorschläge_ (Jena,
1895); Seillière, _Études sur Ferdinand Lassalle_ (Paris, 1897); E.
Bernstein, _Ferd. Lassalle und seine Bedeutung für die Arbeiterklasse_
(Berlin, 1904). There is a considerable literature on his love affair
and death; the most notable books are: _Meine Beziehungen zu F.
Lassalle_, by Helene von Racowitza, a very strange book; _Enthüllungen
über das tragische Lebensende F. Lassalle's_ by B. Becker; _Im
Anschluss an die Memoiren der H. von Racowitza_, by A. Kutschbach, and
George Meredith's _Tragic Comedians_ (1880). (T. K.)
LASSEN, CHRISTIAN (1800-1876), German orientalist, was born on the 22nd
of October 1800, at Bergen in Norway. Having received his earliest
university education at Christiania, he went to Germany, and continued
his studies at Heidelberg and Bonn. In the latter university Lassen
acquired a sound knowledge of Sanskrit. He next spent three years in
Paris and London, engaged in copying and collating MSS., and collecting
materials for future research, especially in reference to the Hindu
drama and philosophy. During this period he published, jointly with E.
Burnouf, his first work, _Essai sur le Pâli_ (Paris, 1826). On his
return to Bonn he studied Arabic, and took the degree of Ph.D., his
dissertation discussing the Arabic notices of the geography of the
Punjab (_Commentatio geographica atque historica de Pentapotamia
Indica_, Bonn, 1827). Soon after he was admitted _Privatdozent_, and in
1830 was appointed extraordinary and in 1840 ordinary professor of Old
Indian language and literature. In spite of a tempting offer from
Copenhagen, in 1841, Lassen remained faithful to the university of his
adoption to the end of his life. He died at Bonn on the 8th of May 1876,
having been affected with almost total blindness for many years. As
early as 1864 he was relieved of the duty of lecturing.
In 1829-1831 he brought out, in conjunction with August W. von
Schlegel, a critical annotated edition of the _Hitopadesa_. The
appearance of this edition marks the starting-point of the critical
study of Sanskrit literature. At the same time Lassen assisted von
Schlegel in editing and translating the first two cantos of the epic
_Ramayana_ (1829-1838). In 1832 he brought out the text of the first
act of Bhavabhuti's drama, _Malatimadhava_, and a complete edition,
with a Latin translation, of the _Sankhya-karika_. In 1837 followed
his edition and translation of Jayadeva's charming lyrical drama,
_Gitagovinda_ and his _Institutiones linguae Pracriticae_. His
_Anthologia Sanscritica_, which came out the following year (new ed.
by Johann Gildemeister, 1868), contained several hitherto unpublished
texts, and did much to stimulate the study of Sanskrit in German
universities. In 1846 Lassen brought out an improved edition of
Schlegel's text and translation of the "Bhagavadgita." He did not
confine himself to the study of Indian languages, but acted likewise
as a scientific pioneer in other fields of philological inquiry. In
his _Beiträge zur Deutung der Eugubinischen Tafeln_ (1833) he prepared
the way for the correct interpretation of the Umbrian inscriptions;
and the _Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes_ (7 vols.,
1837-1850), started and largely conducted by him, contains, among
other valuable papers from his pen, grammatical sketches of the
Beluchi and Brahui languages, and an essay on the Lycian inscriptions.
Soon after the appearance of Burnouf's _Commentaire sur le Yaçna_
(1833), Lassen also directed his attention to the Zend, and to Iranian
studies generally; and in _Die altpersischen Keilinschriften von
Persepolis_ (1836) he first made known the true character of the Old
Persian cuneiform inscriptions, thereby anticipating, by one month,
Burnouf's _Mémoire_ on the same subject, while Sir Henry Rawlinson's
famous memoir on the Behistun inscription, though drawn up in Persia,
independently of contemporaneous European research, at about the same
time, did not reach the Royal Asiatic Society until three years later.
Subsequently Lassen published, in the sixth volume of his journal
(1845), a collection of all the Old Persian cuneiform inscriptions
known up to that date. He also was the first scholar in Europe who
took up, with signal success, the decipherment of the newly-discovered
Bactrian coins, which furnished him the materials for _Zur Geschichte
der griechischen und indo-skythischen Könige in Bakterien, Kabul, und
Indien_ (1838). He contemplated bringing out a critical edition of the
_Vendidad_; but, after publishing the first five fargards (1852), he
felt that his whole energies were required for the successful
accomplishment of the great undertaking of his life--his _Indische
Altertumskunde_. In this work--completed in four volumes, published
respectively in 1847 (2nd ed., 1867), 1849 (2nd ed., 1874), 1858 and
1861--which forms one of the greatest monuments of untiring industry
and critical scholarship, everything that could be gathered from
native and foreign sources, relative to the political, social and
intellectual development of India, from the earliest times down to the
Mahommedan invasion, was worked up by him into a connected historical
account.
LASSEN, EDUARD (1830-1904), Belgian musical composer, was born in
Copenhagen, but was taken as a child to Brussels and educated at the
Brussels Conservatoire. He won the _prix de Rome_ in 1851, and went for
a long tour in Germany and Italy. He settled at Weimar, where in 1861 he
succeeded Liszt as conductor of the opera, and he died there on the 15th
of January 1904. Besides many well-known songs, he wrote
operas--_Landgraf Ludwig's Brautfahrt_ (1857), _Frauenlob_ (1861), _Le
Captif_ (1868)--instrumental music to dramas, notably to Goethe's
_Faust_ (1876), two symphonies and various choral works.
LASSO (LASSUS), ORLANDO (c. 1530-1594), Belgian musical composer, whose
real name was probably Roland Delattre, was born at Mons, in Hainault,
probably not much earlier than 1532, the date given by the epitaph
printed at the end of the volumes of the _Magnum opus musicum_; though
already in the 16th century the opinions of his biographers were divided
between the years 1520 and 1530. Much is reported, but very little
known, of his connexions and his early career. The discrepancy as to the
date of his birth appears also in connexion with his appointment at the
church of St John Lateran in Rome. If he was born in 1530 or 1532 he
could not have obtained that appointment in 1541. What is certain is
that his first book of madrigals was published in Venice in 1555, and
that in the same year he speaks of himself in the preface of Italian and
French songs and Latin motets as if he had recently come from Rome. He
seems to have visited England in 1554 and to have been introduced to
Cardinal Pole, to whom an adulatory motet appears in 1556. (This is not,
as might hastily be supposed, a confusion resulting from the fact that
the ambassador from Ferdinand, king of the Romans, Don Pedro de Lasso,
attended the marriage of Philip and Mary in England in the same year.)
His first book of motets appeared at Antwerp in 1556, containing the
motet in honour of Cardinal Pole. The style of Orlando had already begun
to purify itself from the speculative and chaotic elements that led
Burney, who seems to have known only his earlier works, to call him "a
dwarf on stilts" as compared with Palestrina. But where he is orthodox
he is as yet stiff, and his secular compositions are, so far, better
than his more serious efforts.
In 1557, if not before, he was invited by Albrecht IV., duke of Bavaria,
to go to Munich. The duke was a most intelligent patron of all the fine
arts, a notable athlete, and a man of strict principles. Munich from
henceforth never ceased to be Orlando's home; though he sometimes paid
long visits to Italy and France, whether in response to royal
invitations or with projects of his own. In 1558 he made a very happy
marriage by which he had four sons and two daughters. The four sons all
became good musicians, and we owe an inestimable debt to the pious
industry of the two eldest sons, who (under the patronage of Duke
Maximilian I., the second successor of Orlando's master) published the
enormous collection of Orlando's Latin motets known as the _Magnum opus
musicum_.
Probably no composer has ever had more ideal circumstances for artistic
inspiration and expression than had Orlando. His duty was to make music
all day and every day, and to make it according to his own taste.
Nothing was too good, too severe or too new for the duke. Church music
was not more in demand than secular. Instrumental music, which in the
16th century had hardly any independent existence, accompanied the meals
of the court; and Orlando would rise from dessert to sing trios and
quartets with picked voices. The daily prayers included a full mass with
polyphonic music. This amazing state of things becomes more intelligible
and less alarming when we consider that 16th-century music was no sooner
written than it could be performed. With such material as Orlando had at
his disposal, musical performance was as unattended by expense and
tedious preliminaries as a game of billiards in a good billiard room.
Not even Haydn's position at Esterhaz can have enabled him, as has been
said, to "ring the bell" for musicians to come and try a new orchestral
effect with such ease as that with which Orlando could produce his work
at Munich. His fame soon became world-wide, and every contemporary
authority is full of the acclamation with which Orlando was greeted
wherever his travels took him.
Very soon, with this rapid means of acquiring experience, Orlando's
style became as pure as Palestrina's; while he always retained his
originality and versatility. His relations to the literary culture of
the time are intimate and fascinating; and during his stay at the court
of France in 1571 he became a friend of the poet Ronsard. In 1579 Duke
Albrecht died. Orlando's salary had already been guaranteed to him for
life, so that his outward circumstances did not change, and the new duke
was very kind to him. But the loss of his master was a great grief and
seems to have checked his activity for some time. In 1589, after the
publication of six Masses, ending with a beautiful _Missa pro
defunctis_, his strength began to fail; and a sudden serious illness
left him alarmingly depressed and inactive until his death on the 14th
of June 1594.
If Palestrina represents the supreme height attained by 16th-century
music, Orlando represents the whole century. It is impossible to
exaggerate the range and variety of his style, so long as we recognise
the limits of 16th-century musical language. Even critics to whom this
language is unfamiliar cannot fail to notice the glaring differences
between Orlando's numerous types of art, though such critics may believe
all those types to be equally crude and archaic. The swiftness of
Orlando's intellectual and artistic development is astonishing. His
first four volumes of madrigals show a very intermittent sense of
beauty. Many a number in them is one compact mass of the fashionable
harsh play upon the "false relation" between twin major and minor
chords, which is usually believed to be the unenviable distinction of
the English madrigal style from that of the Italians. It must be
confessed that in the Italian madrigal (as distinguished from the
_villanella_ and other light forms), Orlando never attained complete
certainty of touch, though some of his later madrigals are indeed
glorious. But in his French chansons, many of which are settings of the
poems of his friend Ronsard, his wit and lightness of touch are
unfailing. In setting other French poems he is sometimes unfortunately
most witty where the words are most gross, for he is as free from modern
scruples as any of his Elizabethan contemporaries. In 1562, when the
Council of Trent was censuring the abuses of Flemish church music,
Orlando had already purified his ecclesiastical style; though he did not
go so far as to Italianize it in order to oblige those modern critics
who are unwilling to believe that anything appreciably unlike Palestrina
can be legitimate. At the same time Orlando's Masses are not among his
greatest works. This is possibly partly due to the fact that the
proportions of a musical Mass are at the mercy of the local practice of
the liturgy; and that perhaps the uses of the court at Munich were not
quite so favourable to broadly designed proportion (not length) as the
uses of Rome. Differences which might cramp the 16th-century composer
need not amount to anything that would draw down the censure of
ecclesiastical authorities. Be this as it may, Orlando's other church
music is always markedly different from Palestrina's, and often fully as
sublime. It is also in many ways far more modern in resource. We
frequently come upon things like the _Justorum animae_ [Magnum Opus, No.
260 (301)] which in their way are as overpoweringly touching as, for
example, the Benedictus of Beethoven's _Mass in D_ or the soprano solo
in Brahms's _Deutsches Requiem_.
No one has approached Orlando in the ingenuity, quaintness and humour of
his tone-painting. He sometimes descends to extremely elaborate musical
puns, carrying farther than any other composer since the dark ages the
absurd device of setting syllables that happened to coincide with the
_sol-fa_ system to the corresponding _sol-fa_ notes. But in the most
absurd of such cases he evidently enjoys twisting these notes into a
theme of pregnant musical meaning. The quaintest instance is the motet
_Quid estis pusillanimes_ [Magnum Opus, No. 92 (69)] where extra
_sol-fa_ syllables are introduced into the text to make a good theme in
combination with the syllables already there by accident! (_An nescitis
Justitiae Ut Sol [Fa Mi] Re Laxatas_ _habenas possit denuo cohibere?_).
The significance of these euphuistic jokes is that they always make good
music in Orlando's hands. There is musical fun even in his voluminous
parody of the stammering style of word-setting in the burlesque motet
_S.U.Su. PER. per. super F.L.U._, which gets through one verse of a
psalm in fifteen minutes.
When it was a question of purely musical high spirits Orlando was
unrivalled; and his setting of Walter de Mape's _Fertur in conviviis_
(given in the _Magnum opus_ with a stupid moral derangement of the
text), and most of his French chansons, are among the most deeply
humorous music in the world.
But it is in the tests of the sublime that Orlando shows himself one of
the greatest minds that ever found expression in art. Nothing sublime
was too unfamiliar to frighten him into repressing his quaint fancy,
though he early repressed all that thwarted his musical nature. His
_Penitential Psalms_ stand with Josquin's _Miserere_ and Palestrina's
first book of _Lamentations_ as artistic monuments of 16th-century
penitential religion, just as Bach's _Matthew Passion_ stands alone
among such monuments in later art. Yet the passage (quoted by Sir Hubert
Parry in vol. 3 of the _Oxford History of Music_) "Nolite fieri sicut
mulus" is one among many traits which are ingeniously and grotesquely
descriptive without losing harmony with the austere profundity of the
huge works in which they occur. It is impossible to read any large
quantity of Orlando's mature music without feeling that a mind like his
would in modern times have covered a wider field of mature art than any
one classical or modern composer known to us. Yet we cannot say that
anything has been lost by his belonging to the 16th century. His music,
if only from its peculiar technique of crossing parts and unexpected
intervals, is exceptionally difficult to read; and hence intelligent
conducting and performance of it is rare. But its impressiveness is
beyond dispute; and there are many things which, like the _Justorum
animae_ cannot even be read, much less heard, without emotion.
Orlando's works as shown by the plan of Messrs Breitkopf & Härtel's
complete critical edition (begun in 1894) comprise: (1) the _Magnum
opus musicum_, a posthumous collection containing Latin pieces for
from two to twelve voices, 516 in number (or, counting by single
movements, over 700). Not all of these are to the original texts. The
_Magnum opus_ fills eleven volumes. (2) Five volumes of madrigals,
containing six books, and a large number of single madrigals, and
about half a volume of lighter Italian songs (villanellas, &c.). (3)
Three volumes (not four as in the prospectus) of French _chansons_.
(4) Two volumes of German four-part and five-part _Lieder_. (5) Serial
church music: three volumes, containing _Lessons from the Book of Job_
(two settings). _Passion according to St Matthew_ (i.e. like the
Passions of Victoria and Soriano, a setting of the words of the crowds
and of the disciples); _Lamentations_ of Jeremiah; _Morning Lessons_;
the _Officia_ printed in the third volume of the _Patroncinium_ (a
publication suggested and supported by Orlando's patrons and
containing eight entire volumes of his works); the Seven Penitential
Psalms; German Psalms and _Prophetiae Sibyllarum_, (6) one hundred
_Magnificats_ (_Jubilus B. M. Virginis_) 3 vols., (7) eight volumes of
Masses, (8) two volumes of Latin songs not in the _Magnum opus_, (9)
five volumes of unpublished works. (D. F. T.)
LASSO (Span. _lazo_, snare, ultimately from Lat. _laqueus_, cf. "lace"),
a rope 60 to 100 ft. in length with a slip-noose at one end, used in the
Spanish and Portuguese parts of America and in the western United States
for catching wild horses and cattle. It is now less employed in South
America than in the vast grazing country west of the Mississippi river,
where the herders, called locally cow-boys or cow-punchers, are provided
with it. When not in use, the lasso, called _rope_ in the West, is
coiled at the right of the saddle in front of the rider. When an animal
is to be caught the herder, galloping after it, swings the coiled lasso
round his head and casts it straight forward in such a manner that the
noose settles over the head or round the legs of the quarry, when it is
speedily brought into submission. A shorter rope called _lariat_ (Span.
_la reata_) is used to picket horses.
LAST. 1. (A syncopated form of "latest," the superlative of O.E. _laét_,
late), an adjective applied to the conclusion of anything, all that
remains after everything else has gone, or that which has just occurred.
In theology the "four last things" denote the final scenes of Death,
Judgment, Heaven and Hell; the "last day" means the Day of Judgment (see
ESCHATOLOGY).
2. (O.E. _lást_, footstep; the word appears in many Teutonic languages,
meaning foot, footstep, track, &c.; it is usually referred to a Teutonic
root _lais_, cognate with Lat. _lira_, a furrow; from this root, used
figuratively, came "learn" and "lore"), originally a footstep, trace or
track, now only used of the model of a foot in wood on which a shoemaker
makes boots and shoes; hence the proverb "let the cobbler stick to his
last," "_ne sutor ultra crepidam_."
3. (O.E. _hlaest_; the work is connected with the root seen in "lade,"
and is used in German and Dutch of a weight; it is also seen in
"ballast"), a commercial weight or measure of quantity, varying
according to the commodity and locality; originally applied to the load
of goods carried by the boat or wagon used in carrying any particular
commodity in any particular locality, it is now chiefly used as a weight
for fish, a "last" of herrings being equal to from 10,000 to 12,000
fish. The German _Last_ = 4000 lb, and this is frequently taken as the
nominal weight of an English "last." A "last" of wool = 12 sacks, and of
beer = 12 barrels.
LASUS, Greek lyric poet, of Hermione in Argolis, flourished about 510
B.C. A member of the literary and artistic circle of the Peisistratidae,
he was the instructor of Pindar in music and poetry and the rival of
Simonides. The dithyramb (of which he was sometimes considered the
actual inventor) was developed by him, by the aid of various changes in
music and rhythm, into an artistically constructed choral song, with an
accompaniment of several flutes. It became more artificial and mimetic
in character, and its range of subjects was no longer confined to the
adventures of Dionysus. Lasus further increased its popularity by
introducing prize contests for the best poem of the kind. His
over-refinement is shown by his avoidance of the letter _sigma_ (on
account of its hissing sound) in several of his poems, of one of which
(a hymn to Demeter of Hermione) a few lines have been preserved in
Athenaeus (xiv. 624 E). Lasus was also the author of the first
theoretical treatise on music.
See Suïdas s.v.; Aristophanes, _Wasps_, 1410, _Birds_, 1403 and
schol.; Plutarch, _De Musica_, xxix.; Müller and Donaldson, _Hist. of
Greek Literature_, i. 284; G. H. Bode, _Geschichte der hellenischen
Dichtkunst_, ii. pt. 2, p. 111; F. W. Schneidewin, _De Laso
Hermionensi Comment_. (Göttingen, 1842); Fragm. in Bergk, _Poet. Lyr._
LAS VEGAS, a city and the county-seat of San Miguel county, New Mexico,
U.S.A., in the north central part of New Mexico, on the Gallinas river,
and 83 m. by rail E. of Santa Fé. Though usually designated as a single
municipality, Las Vegas consists of two distinct corporations, the old
town on the W. bank of the river and the city proper on the E. bank.
Pop. of the city (1890) 2385; (1900) 3552 (340 being foreign-born and
116 negroes); (1910) 3755. According to local estimates, the combined
population of the city and the old town in 1908 was 10,000. Las Vegas is
served by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé railway, and is its division
headquarters in New Mexico. The city lies in a valley at the foot of the
main range of the Rocky Mountains, and is about 6400 ft. above the sea.
There are high peaks to the W. and within a short distance of the city
much beautiful mountain scenery, especially along the "Scenic Route," a
highway from Las Vegas to Santa Fé, traversing the Las Vegas canyon and
the Pecos Valley forest reserve. The country E. of the city consists of
level plains. The small amount of rainfall, the great elevation and the
southern latitude give the region a dry and rarified air, and Las Vegas
is a noted health resort. Six miles distant, and connected with the city
by rail, are the Las Vegas Hot Springs. The old town on the W. bank of
the Gallinas river retains many features of a Mexican village, with low
adobe houses facing narrow and crooked streets. Its inhabitants are
largely of Spanish-American descent. The part on the E. bank or city
proper is thoroughly modern, with well-graded streets, many of them
bordered with trees. The most important public institutions are the New
Mexico insane asylum, the New Mexico normal university (chartered 1893,
opened 1898), the county court house (in the old town), the academy of
the Immaculate Conception, conducted by the Sisters of Loretto, Saint
Anthony's sanatorium, maintained by the Sisters of Charity, La Salle
institute, conducted by the Christian Brothers, a Presbyterian mission
school and a Methodist manual training and commercial school. There are
railway machine-shops, and various manufactories. Las Vegas lies in the
centre of an extensive grazing region, has large stockyards and annually
ships great quantities of wool. Three of the local newspapers are
published in Spanish. Las Vegas was founded in 1835, under the
government of the Mexican Republic. On the 15th of August 1846, during
the war between Mexico and the United States, Gen. Stephen W. Kearny
entered the town, and its alcalde took the oath of allegiance to the
United States. There was but little progress or development until the
arrival of the railway in 1879. In 1888 the part east of the river was
incorporated as a town under the name of East Las Vegas, and in 1896 it
was chartered as the city of Las Vegas. The old Las Vegas, west of the
river, was incorporated as a town in 1903.
LASWARI, one of the decisive battles of India. It was fought on the 1st
of November 1803 between the British under General Lake, and the
Mahratta troops of Sindia, consisting of the remnant of Perron's
battalions. Laswari is a village in the state of Alwar some 80 m. S. of
Delhi, and here Lake overtook the enemy and attacked them with his
cavalry before the infantry arrived. The result was indecisive, but when
the infantry came up there ensued one of the most evenly contested
battles ever fought between the British and the natives of India, which
ended in a complete victory for the British.
LATACUNGA (LLACTACUNGA, or, in local parlance, TACUNGA), a plateau town
of Ecuador, capital of the province of Léon, 46 m. S. of Quito, near the
confluence of the Alagues and Cutuchi to form the Patate, the headstream
of the Pastaza. Pop. (1900, estimate) 12,000, largely Indian. Latacunga
stands on the old road between Guayaquil and Quito and has a station on
the railway between those cities. It is 9141 ft. above sea-level; and
its climate is cold and unpleasant, owing to the winds from the
neighbouring snowclad heights, and the barren, pumice-covered table-land
on which it stands. Cotopaxi is only 25 m. distant, and the town has
suffered repeatedly from eruptions. Founded in 1534, it was four times
destroyed by earthquakes between 1698 and 1798. The neighbouring ruins
of an older native town are said to date from the Incas.
LA TAILLE, JEAN DE (c. 1540-1608), French poet and dramatist, was born
at Bondaroy. He studied the humanities in Paris under Muret, and law at
Orleans under Anne de Bourg. He began his career as a Huguenot, but
afterwards adopted a mild Catholicism. He was wounded at the battle of
Arnay-le Duc in 1570, and retired to his estate at Bondaroy, where he
wrote a political pamphlet entitled _Histoire abrégée des singeries de
la ligue_, often published with the _Satire Ménippée_. His chief poem is
a satire on the follies of court life, _Le Courtisan retiré_; he also
wrote a political poem, _Le Prince nécessaire_. But his fame rests on
his achievements in drama. In 1572 appeared the tragedy of _Saül le
furieux_, with a preface on _L' Art de la tragédie_. Like Jodelle,
Grévin, La Péruse and their followers, he wrote, not for the general
public to which the mysteries and farces had addressed themselves, but
for the limited audience of a lettered aristocracy. He therefore
depreciated the native drama and insisted on the Senecan model. In his
preface La Taille enunciates the unities of place, time and action; he
maintains that each act should have a unity of its own and that the
scenes composing it should be continuous; he objects to deaths on the
stage on the ground that the representation is unconvincing, and he
requires as subject of the tragedy an incident really terrible,
developed, if possible, by elaborate intrigue. He criticizes e.g. the
subject of the sacrifice of Abraham, chosen by Théodore de Bèze for his
tragedy (1551), as unsuitable because "pity and terror" are evoked from
the spectators without real cause. If in _Saül le furieux_ he did not
completely carry out his own convictions he developed his principal
character with great ability. A second tragedy, _La Famine ou les
Gabéonites_ (1573), is inferior in construction, but is redeemed by the
character of Rizpah. He was also the author of two comedies, _Le
Négromant_ and _Les Corrivaux_, both written apparently by 1562 but not
published until 1573. _Les Corrivaux_ is remarkable for its colloquial
prose dialogue, which foreshadows the excellence of later French comedy.
His brother, JACQUES DE LA TAILLE (1542-1562), composed a number of
tragedies, of which _La Mort de Daire_ and _La Mort d'Alexandre_ (both
published in 1573) are the chief. He is best known by his _Manière de
faire des vers en français comme en grec et en latin_, an attempt to
regulate French verse by quantity. He died of plague at the age of 20.
His _Poésies diverses_ were published in 1572.
The works of Jean de la Taille were edited by René de Maulde (4 vols.,
1878-1882). See also É. Faguet, _La Tragédie française au XVI^e
siècle_ (1883).
LATAKIA (anc. _Laodicea_), the chief town of a sanjak in the Beirut
vilayet of Syria, situated on the coast, opposite the island of Cyprus.
The oldest name of the town, according to Philo Herennius, was [Greek:
Ramitha] or [Greek: Leukè aktê] it received that of Laodicea (_ad mare_)
from Seleucus Nicator, who refounded it in honour of his mother as one
of the four "sister" cities of the Syrian Tetrapolis (Antioch, Seleucia,
Apamea, Laodicea). In the Roman period it was favoured by Caesar, and
took the name of Julia; and, though it suffered severely when the
fugitive Dolabella stood his last siege within its walls (43 B.C.),
Strabo describes it as a flourishing port, which supplied, from the
vineyards on the mountains, the greater part of the wine imported to
Alexandria. The town received the privileges of an Italian colony from
Severus, for taking his part against Antioch in the struggle with Niger.
Laodicea was the seat of an ancient bishopric, and even had some claim
to metropolitan rights. At the time of the crusades, "Liche," as Jacques
de Vitry says it was popularly called, was a wealthy city. It fell to
Tancred with Antioch in 1102, and was recovered by Saladin in 1188. A
Christian settlement was afterwards permitted to establish itself in the
town, and to protect itself by fortifications; but it was expelled by
Sultan Kala'un and the defences destroyed. By the 16th century Laodicea
had sunk very low; the revival in the beginning of the 17th was due to
the new trade in tobacco. The town has several times been almost
destroyed by earthquakes--in 1170, 1287 and 1822.
The people are chiefly employed in tobacco cultivation, silk and oil
culture, poultry rearing and the sponge fishery. There is a large export
of eggs to Alexandria; but the wealth of the place depends most on the
famous "Latakia" tobacco, grown in the plain behind the town and on the
Ansarieh hills. There are three main varieties, of which the worst is
dark in colour and strong in flavour; the best, grown in the districts
of Diryus and Amamareh, is light and aromatic, and is exported mainly to
Alexandria; but much goes also to Constantinople, Cyprus and direct to
Europe. After the construction of a road through Jebel Ansarieh to
Hamah, Latakia drew a good deal of traffic from upper Syria; but the
Hamah-Homs railway has now diverted much of this again. The products of
the surrounding district, however, cause the town to increase steadily,
and it is a regular port of call for the main Levantine lines of
steamers. The only notable object of antiquity is a triumphal arch,
probably of the early 3rd century, in the S.E. quarter of the modern
town. Latakia and its neighbourhood formerly produced a very beautiful
type of rug, examples of which are highly prized. (D. G. H.)
LATEEN (the Anglicized form of Fr. _latine_, i.e. _voile latine_, Latin
sail, so-called as the chief form of rig in the Mediterranean), a
certain kind of triangular sail, having a long yard by which it is
suspended to the mast. A "lateener" is a vessel rigged with a lateen
sail and yard. This rig was formerly much used, and is still the typical
sail of the _felucca_ of the Mediterranean, and _dhow_ of the Arabian
Sea.
LA TÈNE (Lat. _tenuis_, shallow), the site of a lake-dwelling at the
north end of Lake Neuchâtel, between Marin and Préfargier. According to
some, it was originally a Helvetic _oppidum_; according to others, a
Gallic commercial settlement. R. Forrer distinguishes an older
semi-military, and a younger civilian settlement, the former a Gallic
customs station, the latter, which may be compared to the _canabae_ of
the Roman camps, containing the booths and taverns used by soldiers and
sailors. He also considers the older station to have been, not as
usually supposed, Helvetic, but pre- or proto-Helvetic, the character of
which changed with the advance of the Helvetii into Switzerland (c.
110-100 B.C.). La Tène has given its name to a period of culture (c. 500
B.C.-A.D. 100), the phase of the Iron age succeeding the Hallstatt
phase, not as being its starting-point, but because the finds are the
best known of their kind. The latter are divided into early (c. 500-250
B.C.), middle (250-100 B.C.) and late (100 B.C.-A.D. 100), and chiefly
belong to the middle period. They are mostly of iron, and consist of
swords, spear-heads, axes, scythes and knives, which exhibit a
remarkable agreement with the description of the weapons of the southern
Celts given by Diodorus Siculus. There are also brooches, bronze
kettles, torques, small bronze ear-rings with little glass pearls of
various colours, belt-hooks and pins for fastening articles of clothing.
The La Tène culture made its way through France across to England, where
it has received the name of "late Celtic"; a remarkable find has been
made at Aylesford in Kent.
See F. Keller, _Lake Dwellings of Switzerland_, vi. (Eng. trans.,
1878); V. Gross, _La Tène un_ oppidum _helvète_ (1886); E. Vouga, _Les
Helvètes à La Tène_ (1886); P. Reinecke, _Zur Kenntnis der la Tène
Denkmäler der Zone nordwärts der Alpen_ (Mainzer Festschrift, 1902);
R. Forrer, _Reallexikon der prähistorischen ... Altertümer_ (1907),
where many illustrations are given.
LATERAN COUNCILS, the ecclesiastical councils or synods held at Rome in
the Lateran basilica which was dedicated to Christ under the title of
Salvator, and further called the basilica of Constantine or the church
of John the Baptist. Ranking as a papal cathedral, this became a
much-favoured place of assembly for ecclesiastical councils both in
antiquity (313, 487) and more especially during the middle ages. Among
these numerous synods the most prominent are those which the tradition
of the Roman Catholic church has classed as ecumenical councils.
1. The first Lateran council (the ninth ecumenical) was opened by Pope
Calixtus II. on the 18th of March 1123; its primary object being to
confirm the concordat of Worms, and so close the conflict on the
question of investiture (q.v.). In addition to this, canons were enacted
against simony and the marriage of priests; while resolutions were
passed in favour of the crusaders, of pilgrims to Rome and in the
interests of the truce of God. More than three hundred bishops are
reported to have been present.
For the resolutions see _Monumenta Germaniae_, Leges, iv., i. 574-576
(1893); Mansi, _Collectio Conciliorum_, xxi. p. 281 sq.; Hefele,
_Conciliengeschichte_, v. 378-384 (ed. 2, 1886).
2. The second Lateran, and tenth ecumenical, council was held by Pope
Innocent II. in April 1139, and was attended by close on a thousand
clerics. Its immediate task was to neutralize the after-effects of the
schism, which had only been terminated in the previous year by the death
of Anacletus II. (d. 25th January 1138). All consecrations received at
his hands were declared invalid, his adherents were deposed, and King
Roger of Sicily was excommunicated. Arnold of Brescia, too, was removed
from office and banished from Italy.
Resolutions, ap. Mansi, op. cit. xxi., 525 sq.; Hefele,
_Conciliengeschichte_, v. 438-445 (ed. 2).
3. At the third Lateran council (eleventh ecumenical), which met in
March 1179 under Pope Alexander III., the clergy present again numbered
about one thousand. The council formed a sequel to the peace of Venice
(1177), which marked the close of the struggle between the papacy and
the emperor Frederick I. Barbarossa; its main object being to repair the
direct or indirect injuries which the schism had inflicted on the life
of the church and to display to Christendom the power of the see of
Rome. Among the enactments of the council, the most important concerned
the appointment to the papal throne (Canon 1), the electoral law of 1059
being supplemented by a further provision declaring a two-thirds
majority to be requisite for the validity of the cardinals' choice. Of
the participation of the Roman clergy and populace, or of the imperial
ratification, there was no longer any question. Another resolution, of
importance for the history of the treatment of heresy, was the canon
which decreed that armed force should be employed against the Cathari in
southern France, that their goods were liable to confiscation and their
persons to enslavement by the princes, and that all who took up weapons
against them should receive a two years' remission of their penance and
be placed--like the crusaders--under the direct protection of the
church.
Resolutions, _ap._ Mansi, _op. cit._ xxii. 212 sq.; Hefele,
_Conciliengeschichte_, v. 710-719 (ed. 2).
4. The fourth Lateran council (twelfth ecumenical), convened by Pope
Innocent III. in 1215, was the most brilliant and the most numerously
attended of all, and marks the culminating point of a pontificate which
itself represents the zenith attained by the medieval papacy. Prelates
assembled from every country in Christendom, and with them the deputies
of numerous princes. The total included 412 bishops, with 800 priors and
abbots, besides the representatives of absent prelates and a number of
inferior clerics. The seventy decrees of the council begin with a
confession of faith directed against the Cathari and Waldenses, which is
significant if only for the mention of a transubstantiation of the
elements in the Lord's Supper. A series of resolutions provided in
detail for the organized suppression of heresy and for the institution
of the episcopal inquisition (Canon 3). On every Christian, of either
sex, arrived at years of discretion, the duty was imposed of confessing
at least once annually and of receiving the Eucharist at least at Easter
(Canon 21). Enactments were also passed touching procedure in the
ecclesiastical courts, the creation of new monastic orders, appointments
to offices in the church, marriage-law, conventual discipline, the
veneration of relics, pilgrimages and intercourse with Jews and
Saracens. Finally, a great crusade was resolved upon, to defray the
expenses of which it was determined that the clergy should lay aside
one-twentieth--the pope and the cardinals one-tenth--of their revenues
for the next three years; while the crusaders were to be held free of
all burdens during the period of their absence.
Resolutions, _ap._ Mansi, _op. cit._ xxii. 953 sq.; Hefele,
_Conciliengeschichte_, v. 872-905 (ed. 2). See also INNOCENT III.
5. The fifth Lateran council (eighteenth ecumenical) was convened by
Pope Julius II. and continued by Leo X. It met from the 3rd of May 1512
to the 16th of March 1517, and was the last great council anterior to
the Reformation. The change in the government of the church, the rival
council of Pisa, the ecclesiastical and political dissensions within and
without the council, and the lack of disinterestedness on the part of
its members, all combined to frustrate the hopes which its convocation
had awakened. Its resolutions comprised the rejection of the pragmatic
sanction, the proclamation of the pope's superiority over the council,
and the renewal of the bull _Unam sanctam_ of Boniface VIII. The theory
that it is possible for a thing to be theologically true and
philosophically false, and the doctrine of the mortality of the human
soul, were both repudiated; while a three years' tithe on all church
property was set apart to provide funds for a war against the Turks.
See Hardouin, _Coll. Conc._ ix. 1570 sq.; Hefele-Hergenröther,
_Conciliengeschichte_, viii. 454 sq.; (1887). Cf. bibliography under
LEO X. (C. M.)
LATERITE (Lat. _later_, a brick), in petrology, a red or brown
superficial deposit of clay or earth which gathers on the surface of
rocks and has been produced by their decomposition; it is very common in
tropical regions. In consistency it is generally soft and friable, but
hard masses, nodules and bands often occur in it. These are usually rich
in iron. The superficial layers of laterite deposits are often indurated
and smooth black or dark-brown crusts occur where the clays have long
been exposed to a dry atmosphere; in other cases the soft clays are full
of hard nodules, and in general the laterite is perforated by tubules,
sometimes with veins of different composition and appearance from the
main mass. The depth of the laterite beds varies up to 30 or 40 ft., the
deeper layers often being soft when the surface is hard or stony; the
transition to fresh, sound rock below may be very sudden. That laterite
is merely rotted crystalline rock is proved by its often preserving the
structures, veins and even the outlines of the minerals of the parent
mass below; the felspars and other components of granite gneiss having
evidently been converted _in situ_ into a soft argillaceous material.
Laterite occurs in practically every tropical region of the earth, and
is very abundant in Ceylon, India, Burma, Central and West Africa,
Central America, &c. It is especially well developed where the
underlying rock is crystalline and felspathic (as granite gneiss,
syenite and diorite), but occurs also on basalts in the Deccan and in
other places, and is found even on mica schist, sandstone and quartzite,
though in such cases it tends to be more sandy than argillaceous. Many
varieties have been recognized. In India a calcareous laterite with
large concretionary blocks of carbonate of lime is called kankar
(kunkar), and has been much used in building bridges, &c., because it
serves as a hydraulic cement. In some districts (e.g. W. Indies) similar
types of laterite have been called "puzzuolana" and are also used as
mortar and cement. Kankar is also known and worked in British East
Africa. The clay called cabook in Ceylon is essentially a variety of
laterite. Common laterite contains very little lime, and it seems that
in districts which have an excessive rainfall that component may be
dissolved out by percolating water, while kankar, or calcareous
laterite, is formed in districts which have a smaller rainfall. In India
also a distinction is made between "high-level" and "low-level"
laterites. The former are found at all elevations up to 5000 ft. and
more, and are the products of the decomposition of rock _in situ_; they
are often fine-grained and sometimes have a very well-marked
concretionary structure. These laterites are subject to removal by
running water, and are thus carried to lower grounds forming transported
or "low-level" laterites. The finer particles tend to be carried away
into the rivers, while the sand is left behind and with it much of the
heavy iron oxides. In such situations the laterites are sandy and
ferruginous, with a smaller proportion of clay, and are not intimately
connected with the rocks on which they lie. On steep slopes laterite
also may creep or slip when soaked with rain, and if exposed in sections
on roadsides or river banks has a bedded appearance, the stratification
being parallel to the surface of the ground.
Chemical and microscopical investigations show that laterite is not a
clay like those which are so familiar in temperate regions; it does not
consist of hydrous silicate of alumina, but is a mechanical mixture of
fine grains of quartz with minute scales of hydrates of alumina. The
latter are easily soluble in acid while clay is not, and after treating
laterite with acids the alumina and iron leave the silica as a residue
in the form of quartz. The alumina seems to be combined with variable
proportions of water, probably as the minerals hydrargillite, diaspore
and gibbsite, while the iron occurs as goethite, turgite, limonite,
haematite. As already remarked, there is a tendency for the superficial
layers to become hard, probably by a loss of the water contained in
these aluminous minerals. These chemical changes may be the cause of the
frequent concretionary structure and veining in the laterite. The great
abundance of alumina in some varieties of laterite is a consequence of
the removal of the fine particles of gibbsite, &c., from the quartz by
the action of gentle currents of water. We may also point out the
essential chemical similarity between laterite and the seams of bauxite
which occur, for example, in the north of Ireland as reddish clays
between flows of Tertiary basalt. The bauxite is rich in alumina
combined with water, and is used as an ore of aluminium. It is often
very ferruginous. Similar deposits occur at Vogelsberg in Germany, and
we may infer that the bauxite beds are layers of laterite produced by
sub-aerial decomposition in the same manner as the thick laterite
deposits which are now in course of formation in the plateau basalts of
the Deccan in India.
The conditions under which laterite are formed include, first, a high
seasonal temperature, for it occurs only in tropical districts and in
plains or mountains up to about 5000 ft. in height; secondly, a heavy
rainfall, with well-marked alternation of wet and dry seasons (in arid
countries laterite is seldom seen, and where the rainfall is moderate
the laterite is often calcareous); third, the presence of rocks
containing aluminous minerals such as felspar, augite, hornblende and
mica. On pure limestones such as coral rocks and on quartzites
laterite deposits do not originate except where the material has been
transported.
Many hypotheses have been advanced to account for the essential
difference between lateritization and the weathering processes
exhibited by rocks in temperate and arctic climates. In the tropics
the rank growth of vegetation produces large amounts of humus and
carbonic acid which greatly promote rock decomposition; igneous and
crystalline rocks of all kinds are deeply covered under rich dark
soils, so that in tropical forests the underlying rocks are rarely to
be seen. In the warm soil nitrification proceeds rapidly and bacteria
of many kinds flourish. It has also been argued that the frequent
thunderstorms produce much nitric acid in the atmosphere and that this
may be a cause of lateritization, but it is certainly not a necessary
factor, as beds of laterite occur in oceanic islands lying in regions
of the ocean where lightning is rarely seen. Sir Thomas Holland has
brought forward the suggestion that the development of laterite may
depend on the presence in the soil of bacteria which are able to
decompose silicate of alumina into quartz and hydrates of alumina. The
restricted distribution of laterite deposits might then be due to the
inhibiting effect of low temperatures on the reproduction of these
organisms. This very ingenious hypothesis has not yet received the
experimental confirmation which seems necessary before it can be
regarded as established. Malcolm Maclaren, rejecting the bacterial
theory, directs special attention to the alternate saturation of the
soil with rain water in the wet season and desiccation in the
subsequent drought. The laterite beds are porous, in fact they are
traversed by innumerable tubules which are often lined with deposits
of iron oxide and aluminous minerals. We may be certain that, as in
all soils during dry weather, there is an ascent of water by capillary
action towards the surface, where it is gradually dissipated by
evaporation. The soil water brings with it mineral matter in solution,
which is deposited in the upper part of the beds. If the alumina be at
one time in a soluble condition it will be drawn upwards and
concentrated near the surface. This process explains many
peculiarities of laterites, such as their porous and slaggy structure,
which is often so marked that they have been mistaken for slaggy
volcanic rocks. The concretionary structure is undoubtedly due to
chemical rearrangements, among which the escape of water is probably
one of the most important; and many writers have recognized that the
hard ferruginous crust, like the induration which many soft laterites
undergo when dug up and exposed to the air, is the result of
desiccation and exposure to the hot sun of tropical countries. The
brecciated structure which many laterites show may be produced by
great expansion of the mass consequent on absorption of water after
heavy rains, followed by contraction during the subsequent dry season.
Laterites are not of much economic use. They usually form a poor soil,
full of hard concretionary lumps and very unfertile because the potash
and phosphates have been removed in solution, while only alumina, iron
and silica are left behind. They are used as clays for puddling, for
making tiles, and as a mortar in rough work. Kankar has filled an
important part as a cement in many large engineering works in India.
Where the iron concretions have been washed out by rains or by
artificial treatment (often in the form of small shot-like pellets)
they serve as an iron ore in parts of India and Africa. Attempts are
being made to utilize laterite as an ore of aluminium, a purpose for
which some varieties seem well adapted. There are also deposits of
manganese associated with some laterites in India which may ultimately
be valuable as mineral ores. (J. S. F.)
LATH (O. Eng. _laett_, Mid. Eng. _lappe_, a form possibly due to the
Welsh _llath_; the word appears in many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch
_lat_, Ger. _Latte_, and has passed into Romanic, cf. Ital. _latta_, Fr.
_latte_), a thin flat strip of wood or other material used in building
to form a base or groundwork for plaster, or for tiles, slates or other
covering for roofs. Such strips of wood are employed to form
lattice-work, or for the bars of venetian blinds or shutters. A
"lattice" (O. Fr. _lattis_) is an interlaced structure of laths fastened
together so as to form a screen with diamond-shaped or square
interstices. Such a screen was used, as it still is in the East, as a
shutter for a window admitting air rather than light; it was hence used
of the window closed by such a screen. In modern usage the term is
applied to a window with diamond-shaped panes set in lead-work. A window
with a lattice painted red was formerly a common inn-sign (cf.
Shakespeare, _2 Hen. IV._ ii. 2. 86); frequently the window was
dispensed with, and the sign remained painted on a board.
LATHE. (1) A mechanical appliance in which material is held and rotated
against a tool for cutting, scraping, polishing or other purpose (see
TOOLS). This word is of obscure origin. It may be a modified form of
"lath," for in an early form of lathe the rotation is given by a treadle
or spring lath attached to the ceiling. The _New English Dictionary_
points out a possible source of the word in Dan. _lad_, meaning
apparently a supporting framework, found in the name of the
turning-lathe, _drejelad_, and also in _savelad_, saw-bench,
_vaeverlad_, loom, &c. (2) One of five, formerly six, districts
containing three or more hundreds, into which the county of Kent was
divided. Though the division survives, it no longer serves any
administrative purpose. It was formerly a judicial division, the court
of the lathe being superior to that of the hundred. In this it differs
from the rape (q.v.) of Sussex, which was a geographical rather than an
administrative division. In O. Eng. the word was _laéð_, the origin of
which is doubtful. The _New English Dictionary_ considers it almost
certainly identical with O. Norse _lad_, landed possessions, territory,
with a possible association in meaning with such words as _leið_, court,
_mótlaeaða_, attendance at a meeting or moot, or with Mod. Dan. _laegd_,
a division of the country for military purposes.
LATHROP, FRANCIS (1849-1909), American artist, was born at sea, near the
Hawaiian Islands, on the 22nd of June 1849, being the great-grandson of
Samuel Holden Parsons, and the son of George Alfred Lathrop (1819-1877),
who for some time was United States consul at Honolulu. He was a pupil
of T. C. Farrar (1838-1891) in New York, and studied at the Royal
academy of Dresden. In 1870-1873 he was in England, studying under Ford
Madox Brown and Burne-Jones, and working in the school of William
Morris, where he devoted particular attention to stained glass.
Returning to America in 1873, he became known as an illustrator, painted
portraits, designed stained glass, and subsequently confined himself to
decorative work. He designed the chancel of Trinity church, Boston, and
decorated the interior of Bowdoin college chapel, at Brunswick, Maine,
and several churches in New York. The Marquand memorial window,
Princeton chapel, is an example of his work in stained glass. His latest
work was a series of medallions for the building of the
Hispanic-American society in New York. He was one of the charter members
of the Society of American Artists, and became an associate of the
National Academy of Design, New York, of which also William L. Lathrop
(b. 1859) an artist who is to be distinguished from him, became a member
in 1907. He died at Woodcliff, New Jersey, on the 18th of October 1909.
His younger brother, GEORGE PARSONA LATHROP (1851-1898), born near
Honolulu on the 25th of August 1851, took up literature as a profession.
He was an assistant editor of the _Atlantic Monthly_ in 1875-1877, and
editor of the Boston _Courier_ in 1877-1879. He was one of the founders
(1883) of the American copyright league, was prominent in the movement
for Roman Catholic summer schools, and wrote several novels, some verse
and critical essays. He was the author of _A Study of Nathaniel
Hawthorne_ (1876), and edited the standard edition (Boston, 1883) of
Hawthorne's works. In 1871 he married in London the second daughter of
Nathaniel Hawthorne--Rose Hawthorne Lathrop (b. 1851). After his death
Mrs Lathrop devoted herself entirely to charity. She was instrumental in
establishing (1896) and subsequently conducted St Rose's free home for
cancer in New York City. In 1900 she joined the Dominican order, taking
the name of Mother Mary Alphonsa and becoming superioress of the
Dominican community of the third order; and she established in 1901 and
subsequently conducted this order's Rosary Hill home (for cancerous
patients) at Hawthorne, N.Y. She published a volume of poems (1888);
_Memories of Hawthorne_ (1897); and, with her husband, _A Story of
Courage: Annals of the Georgetown Convent of the Visitation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary_ (1894).
LATIMER, HUGH (c. 1490-1555), English bishop, and one of the chief
promoters of the Reformation in England, was born at Thurcaston,
Leicestershire. He was the son of a yeoman, who rented a farm "of three
or four pounds by year at the uttermost." Of this farm he "tilled as
much as kept half a dozen men," retaining also grass for a hundred sheep
and thirty cattle. The year of Latimer's birth is not definitely known.
In the _Life_ by Gilpin it is given as 1470, a palpable error, and
possibly a misprint for 1490.[1] Foxe states that at "the age of
fourteen years he was sent to the university of Cambridge," and as he
was elected fellow of Clare in 1509, his year of entrance was in all
likelihood 1505. Latimer himself also, in mentioning his conversion from
Romanism about 1523, says that it took place after he was thirty years
of age. According to Foxe, Latimer went to school "at the age of four or
thereabout." The purpose of his parents was to train him up "in the
knowledge of all good literature," but his father "was as diligent to
teach him to shoot as any other thing." As the yeomen of England were
then in comparatively easy circumstances, the practice of sending their
sons to the universities was quite usual; indeed Latimer mentions that
in the reign of Edward VI., on account of the increase of rents, the
universities had begun wonderfully to decay. He graduated B.A. in 1510
and M.A. in 1514. Before the latter date he had taken holy orders. While
a student he was not unaccustomed "to make good cheer and be merry," but
at the same time he was a punctilious observer of the minutest rites of
his faith and "as obstinate a Papist as any in England." So keen was his
opposition to the new learning that his oration on the occasion of
taking his degree of bachelor of divinity was devoted to an attack on
the opinions of Melanchthon. It was this sermon that determined his
friend Thomas Bilney to go to Latimer's study, and ask him "for God's
sake to hear his confession," the result being that "from that time
forward he began to smell the word of God, and forsook the school
doctors and such fooleries." Soon his discourses exercised a potent
influence on learned and unlearned alike; and, although he restricted
himself, as indeed was principally his custom through life, to the
inculcation of practical righteousness, and the censure of clamant
abuses, a rumour of his heretical tendencies reached the bishop of Ely,
who resolved to become unexpectedly one of his audience. Latimer, on
seeing him enter the church, boldly changed his theme to a portrayal of
Christ as the pattern priest and bishop. The points of comparison were,
of course, deeply distasteful to the prelate, who, though he professed
his "obligations for the good admonition he had received," informed the
preacher that he "smelt somewhat of the pan." Latimer was prohibited
from preaching in the university or in any pulpits of the diocese, and
on his occupying the pulpit of the Augustinian monastery, which enjoyed
immunity from episcopal control, he was summoned to answer for his
opinions before Wolsey, who, however, was so sensible of the value of
such discourses that he gave him special licence to preach throughout
England.
At this time Protestant opinions were being disseminated in England
chiefly by the surreptitious circulation of the works of Wycliffe, and
especially of his translations of the New Testament. The new leaven had
begun to communicate its subtle influence to the universities, but was
working chiefly in secret and even to a great extent unconsciously to
those affected by it, for many were in profound ignorance of the
ultimate tendency of their own opinions. This was perhaps, as regards
England, the most critical conjuncture in the history of the
Reformation, both on this account and on account of the position in
which Henry VIII. then stood related to it. In no small degree its
ultimate fate seemed also to be placed in the hands of Latimer. In 1526
the imprudent zeal of Robert Barnes had resulted in an ignominious
recantation, and in 1527 Bilney, Latimer's most trusted coadjutor,
incurred the displeasure of Wolsey, and did humiliating penance for his
offences. Latimer, however, besides possessing sagacity, quick insight
into character, and a ready and formidable wit which thoroughly
disconcerted and confused his opponents, had naturally a distaste for
mere theological discussion, and the truths he was in the habit of
inculcating could scarcely be controverted, although, as he stated them,
they were diametrically contradictory of prevailing errors both in
doctrine and practice. In December 1529 he preached his two "sermons on
the cards," which awakened a turbulent controversy in the university,
and his opponents, finding that they were unable to cope with the
dexterity and keenness of his satire, would undoubtedly have succeeded
in getting him silenced by force, had it not been reported to the king
that Latimer "favoured his cause," that is, the cause of the divorce.
While, therefore, both parties were imperatively commanded to refrain
from further dispute, Latimer was invited to preach before Henry in the
Lent of 1530. The king was so pleased with the sermon that after it "he
did most familiarly talk with him in a gallery." Of the special regard
which Henry seemed to have conceived for him Latimer took advantage to
pen the famous letter on the free circulation of the Bible, an address
remarkable, not only for what Froude justly calls "its almost unexampled
grandeur," but for its striking repudiation of the aid of temporal
weapons to defend the faith, "for God," he says, "will not have it
defended by man or man's power, but by His Word only, by which He hath
evermore defended it, and that by a way far above man's power and
reason." Though the appeal was without effect on the immediate policy of
Henry, he could not have been displeased with its tone, for shortly
afterwards he appointed Latimer one of the royal chaplains. In times so
"out of joint" Latimer soon became "weary of the court," and it was with
a sense of relief that he accepted the living of West Kington, or West
Kineton, Wiltshire, conferred on him by the king in 1531. Harassed by
severe bodily ailments, encompassed by a raging tumult of religious
conflict and persecution, and aware that the faint hopes of better times
which seemed to gild the horizon of the future might be utterly darkened
by a failure either in the constancy of his courage or in his
discernment and discretion, he exerted his eloquence with unabating
energy in the furtherance of the cause he had at heart. At last a sermon
he was persuaded to preach in London exasperated John Stokesley, bishop
of the diocese, and seemed to furnish that fervent persecutor with an
opportunity to overthrow the most dangerous champion of the new
opinions. Bilney, of whom Latimer wrote, "if such as he shall die evil,
what shall become of me?" perished at the stake in the autumn of 1531,
and in January following Latimer was summoned to answer before the
bishops in the consistory. After a tedious and captious examination, he
was in March brought before convocation, and, on refusing to subscribe
certain articles, was excommunicated and imprisoned; but through the
interference of the king he was finally released after he had
voluntarily signified his acceptance of all the articles except two, and
confessed that he had erred not only "in discretion but in doctrine." If
in this confession he to some extent tampered with his conscience, there
is every reason to believe that his culpable timidity was occasioned,
not by personal fear, but by anxiety lest by his death he should hinder
instead of promoting the cause of truth. After the consecration of
Cranmer to the archbishopric of Canterbury in 1533 Latimer's position
was completely altered. A commission appointed to inquire into the
disturbances caused by his preaching in Bristol severely censured the
conduct of his opponents; and, when the bishop prohibited him from
preaching in his diocese, he obtained from Cranmer a special licence to
preach throughout the province of Canterbury. In 1534 Henry formally
repudiated the authority of the pope, and from this time Latimer was the
chief co-operator with Cranmer and Cromwell in advising the king
regarding the series of legislative measures which rendered that
repudiation complete and irrevocable.
It was, however, the preaching of Latimer more than the edicts of Henry
that established the principles of the Reformation in the minds and
hearts of the people; and from his preaching the movement received its
chief colour and complexion. The sermons of Latimer possess a
combination of qualities which constitute them unique examples of that
species of literature. It is possible to learn from them more regarding
the social and political condition of the period than perhaps from any
other source, for they abound, not only in exposures of religious
abuses, and of the prevailing corruptions of society, but in references
to many varieties of social injustice and unwise customs, in racy
sketches of character, and in vivid pictures of special features of the
time, occasionally illustrated by interesting incidents in his own life.
The homely terseness of his style, his abounding humour--rough, cheery
and playful, but irresistible in its simplicity, and occasionally
displaying sudden and dangerous barbs of satire--his avoidance of
dogmatic subtleties, his noble advocacy of practical righteousness, his
bold and open denunciation of the oppression practised by the powerful,
his scathing diatribes against ecclesiastical hypocrisy, the transparent
honesty of his fervent zeal, tempered by sagacious moderation--these are
the qualities which not only rendered his influence so paramount in his
lifetime, but have transmitted his memory to posterity as perhaps that
of the one among his contemporaries most worthy of our interest and
admiration.
In September 1535 Latimer was consecrated bishop of Worcester. While
holding this office he was selected to officiate as preacher when the
friar, John Forest, whom he vainly endeavoured to move to submission,
was burned at the stake for denying the royal supremacy. In 1539, being
opposed to the "act of the six articles," Latimer resigned his
bishopric, learning from Cromwell that this was the wish of the king. It
would appear that on this point he was deceived, but as he now declined
to accept the articles he was confined within the precincts of the
palace of the bishop of Chichester. After the attainder of Cromwell
little is known of Latimer until 1546, when, on account of his connexion
with the preacher Edward Crome, he was summoned before the council at
Greenwich, and committed to the Tower of London. Henry died before his
final trial could take place, and the general pardon at the accession of
Edward VI. procured him his liberty. He declined to resume his see,
notwithstanding the special request of the Commons, but in January 1548
again began to preach, and with more effectiveness than ever, crowds
thronging to listen to him both in London and in the country. Shortly
after the accession of Mary in 1553 a summons was sent to Latimer to
appear before the council at Westminster. Though he might have escaped
by flight, and though he knew, as he quaintly remarked, that "Smithfield
already groaned for him," he at once joyfully obeyed. The pursuivant, he
said, was "a welcome messenger." The hardships of his imprisonment, and
the long disputations at Oxford, told severely on his health, but he
endured all with unbroken cheerfulness. On the 16th of October 1555 he
and Ridley were led to the stake at Oxford. Never was man more free than
Latimer from the taint of fanaticism or less dominated by "vainglory,"
but the motives which now inspired his courage not only placed him
beyond the influence of fear, but enabled him to taste in dying an
ineffable thrill of victorious achievement. Ridley he greeted with the
words, "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall
this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as (I trust)
shall never be put out." He "received the flame as it were embracing it.
After he had stroked his face with his hands, and (as it were) bathed
them a little in the fire, he soon died (as it appeared) with very
little pain or none."
Two volumes of Latimer's sermons were published in 1549. A complete
edition of his works, edited by G. E. Corrie for the Parker Society,
appeared in two volumes (1844-1845). His _Sermon on the Ploughers_ and
_Seven Sermons preached before Edward VI._ were reprinted by E. Arber
(1869). The chief contemporary authorities for his life are his own
_Sermons_, John Stow's _Chronicle_ and Foxe's _Book of Martyrs_. In
addition to memoirs prefixed to editions of his sermons, there are
lives of Latimer by R. Demaus (1869, new and revised ed. 1881), and by
R. M. and A. J. Carlyle (1899). (T. F. H.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The only reasons for assigning an earlier date are that he was
commonly known as "old Hugh Latimer," and that Bernher, his Swiss
servant, states incidentally that he was "above threescore and seven
years" in the reign of Edward VI. Bad health and anxieties probably
made him look older than his years, but under Edward VI. his powers
as an orator were in full vigour, and he was at his book winter and
summer at two o'clock in the morning.
LATINA, VIA, an ancient highroad of Italy, leading S.E. from Rome. It
was probably one of the oldest of Roman roads, leading to the pass of
Algidus, so important in the early military history of Rome; and it must
have preceded the Via Appia as a route to Campania, inasmuch as the
Latin colony at Cales was founded in 334 B.C. and must have been
accessible from Rome by road, whereas the Via Appia was only made
twenty-two years later. It follows, too, a far more natural line of
communication, without the engineering difficulties which the Via Appia
had to encounter. As a through route it no doubt preceded the Via
Labicana (see LABICANA, VIA), though the latter may have been preferred
in later times. After their junction, the Via Latina continued to follow
the valley of the Trerus (Sacco), following the line taken by the modern
railway to Naples, and passing below the Hernican hill-towns, Anagnia,
Ferentinum, Frusino, &c. At Fregellae it crossed the Liris, and then
passed through Aquinum and Casinum, both of them comparatively low-lying
towns. It then entered the interval between the Apennines and the
volcanic group of Rocca Monfina, and the original road, instead of
traversing it, turned abruptly N.E. over the mountains to Venafrum, thus
giving a direct communication with the interior of Samnium by roads to
Aesernia and Telesia. In later times, however, there was in all
probability a short cut by Rufrae along the line taken by the modern
highroad and railway. The two lines rejoined near the present railway
station of Caianello and the road ran to Teanum and Cales, and so to
Casilinum, where was the crossing of the Volturnus and the junction with
the Via Appia. The distance from Rome to Casilinum was 129 m. by the Via
Appia, 135 m. by the old Via Latina through Venafrum, 126 m. by the
short cut by Rufrae. Considerable remains of the road exist in the
neighbourhood of Rome; for the first 40 m., as far as Compitum
Anagninum, it is not followed by any modern road; while farther on in
its course it is in the main identical with the modern highroad.
See T. Ashby in _Papers of the British School at Rome_ iv. 1 sq., v. 1
sq. (T. As.)
LATINI, BRUNETTO (c. 1210-c. 1294), Italian philosopher and scholar, was
born in Florence, and belonged to the Guelph party. After the disaster
of Montaperti he took refuge for some years (1261-1268) in France, but
in 1269 returned to Tuscany and for some twenty years held successive
high offices. Giovanni Villani says that "he was a great philosopher and
a consummate master of rhetoric, not only in knowing how to speak well,
but how to write well.... He both began and directed the growth of the
Florentines, both in making them ready in speaking well and in knowing
how to guide and direct our republic according to the rules of
politics." He was the author of various works in prose and verse. While
in France he wrote in French his prose _Trésor_, a summary of the
encyclopaedic knowledge of the day (translated into Italian as _Tesoro_
by Bono Giamboni in the 13th century), and in Italian his poem
_Tesoretto_, rhymed couplets in heptasyllabic metre, a sort of
abridgment put in allegorical form, the earliest Italian didactic verse.
He is famous as the friend and counsellor of Dante (see _Inferno_, xv.
82-87).
For the _Trésor_ see P. Chabville's edition (1863); for the _Tesoro_,
Gaiter's edition (1878); for the _Tesoretto_, B. Wiese's study in
_Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie_, vii. See also the
biographical and critical accounts of Brunetto Latini by Thoe Sundby
(1884), and Marchesini (1887 and 1890).
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 2 - "Lamennais, Robert de" to "Latini, Brunetto"" ***
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